Movie Review

All three of these films center around design elements, both big and small. They also indicate how design impacts the past, present, and future. Each movie expresses how designs are more than the sum of their parts. They are individual representations of a moment, a feeling, or a place in time. In Everything is Illuminated design is used as a tool for memory. The main character Jonathan treasures each moment so much that he chooses a particular artifact to embody the memories of his life. In Helvetica we see a focus on the current world of font design, and how one font has infiltrated all aspects of daily life around the world. A universal design with mass cultural appeal is very unique. This choice for so many companies and businesses to conform to a particular font says something about the time we live in today. Through Wall-E we see the dangers of mass consumerism, which coincides with the design world. Additionally, this movie shows projections of future design and what things might look like 200 years from now.

Helvetica is an interesting documentary that unveils the history and impact of this singularly, powerful font. It speaks to the nature of mass consumerism, and how when something is successful in the design world it continues to be recycled throughout society. The mysterious magic that seems to accompany the implementation of Helvetica is the main topic of the film. Both advocates and critics are featured in interviews explaining their subjective theories on the prevalence of the font. Each typographer did agree on one thing, that this is a product of our culture, and a reflection of the ideals of the world today. This is font that has not been stigmatized by the majority of the population. The clarity and the simplicity of its design have allowed it to be like a chameleon and adapt to the message each individual brand attempts to convey.  Despite its widespread popularity, many typographers view this as a typeface completely void of creativity or personality. What does this say about our culture? Maybe that in today’s world rigid, predictable, clarity is more imperative than diverse ingenuity.

While Helvetica focuses on the present, Everything is Illuminated is a film that emphasizes the past, and how through memories things can become illuminated in a different light. Each individual artifact Jonathan collects enables him to capture a moment in time that can later be revisited. Through his experience though he begins to see beyond the façade of the objects he collects and the world, and realizes that the importance of these objects is only facilitated through the people that surround them.  A perfect example of this is with the picture of his Grandfather Safran, and the woman that supposedly saved him Augustina. This picture is what ignites Jonathans journey to find the facts surrounding this mysterious part of his grandfather’s life. Ultimately, the picture represents much more than its initial perception. Jonathan’s primary need to preserve and compartmentalize each moment of his life was a compulsion that disguised his lack of identity. In his mind these artifacts were tangible projections of who he was, but in the end he realizes that designed artifacts and mementos don’t contain the memory, it is the individual who makes each object something of significance.

In a way Wall-E is a summation of the past and the present. It is a hypothetical depiction of what the future might look like if humans continue to take and not give back. The film takes a very controversial topic and translates it through the eyes of a Disney movie. The lighthearted approach allows for a clear message that subtlety reveals itself. Every design element in the movie is futuristic and non-existent in the world today. Robots aren’t crunching our trash into little cubes while humans slowly immobilize themselves in space.  However, this outcome could definitely become a seeable future if mass consumption continues to devour our country. The desire for efficiency and immediate gratification is something that currently plagues our society today. This is all made possible through new designs in technology, nutrition, and clothing. Constantly searching for harder, better, faster, stronger is the M.O. of our culture, to the point where human interaction and compassion are values of the past.  In the film it takes a good-natured, man-made robot Wall-e, to awaken humans from their media induced coma. Although design is a crucial aspect of our civilization, it’s a very powerful thing that must be used for good and not evil.

Each film dissects design in a different way, from different perspective, and different time periods. But with each film there is an overwhelming message on the power of design. The impact these small details, typefaces, and electronics have on our subconscious, and how they are a direct reflection of who we are as a society. This notion is expressed in both Helvetica and Wall-e that consumers control what designs succeed and what designs fail. If a font could take over the world it would be Helvetica. With Wall-e we see what the world would look like if we continue on the path we are on now. Everything is Illuminated expresses the power of design in a more nostalgic way. This is the film that looks to the past as a time when each individual aesthetical element in the world was created by human hands and not a machine, which is why antiques carry with them the heart and soul of the creator and previous owners. With mass consumption individuality is thrown out the window, and conformity is adopted so that more money can be made. Everything presents a character that does not seek the modern and the novel, but instead finds hidden treasures in the forgotten objects that surround his every moment. This is a lost quality of our culture, the ability to stop and smell the roses.

Overall, each one of these movies provokes thought and intrinsic evaluation. With each film I developed a sense of my values and opinions on topics I had never before considered. I now know about the commercialization of Helvetica font, and how I appreciate typographers that continue to do their work by hand, and think outside of the box even if it means their font won’t be used in the next American Apparel ad campaign. I realize now why certain objects have memories associated with them, and that the things we own are not determinates of who we are. Also I was inspired to get back to the basics of the human condition. To strip away the devices, cars, and clothing that encapsulates us, and disarm myself in order to invite personal interaction. These movies both enhanced my views of design and alerted me to the power it has over all of us. With new designs comes responsibility, because a single font, a photograph, or a little robot has the ability to change the world.