In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred, the main character, says, “Such songs are not sung anymore in public, especially ones that use words like free.” (54) Their freedom to sing is prohibited, especially songs that might inspire them to think independently. Once again, in another quote, Offred explains, “We were careful to exchange nothing more than the ordinary greetings. Nobody wanted to be reported, for disloyalty.” All of the people were scared to say anything beyond a simplistic greeting because of the way society was changing. The fact that they felt scared to talk shows that their independent thought and freedom to express those thoughts was being heavily repressed. In Wall-E, propaganda is commonly used to control the citizens. The ocean and dancing example from before can also be used to show that the information that they are receiving is monitored and only certain things get through to them. The television with the ABC’s also fits into this characteristic. The screens on everyone’s chairs were constantly feeding them altered information as well as propaganda. In a final example, while everyone was watching their screens they saw a commercial that persuaded them to change from red jumpsuits to blue jumpsuits. Everyone had changed instantly into a blue jumpsuit. The ability to control these citizens’ clothing is a major …show more content…
A dehumanized state, constant usage of propaganda, and having restrictions placed on information, independent thought, and freedom are aspects the two have in common with each other. Women are thought of as containers in The Handmaid’s Tale and nobody realizes what’s happening around them in Wall-E. Propaganda is heavily used in both with Buy N’ Large in the movie and a public execution in the novel. Prohibited songs and instantly being able to follow trends are ways that freedom and independent thought are restricted in the novel and the movie. While they have many differences like their plots, characters, and settings, The Handmaid’s Tale and Wall-E are also very similar in their dystopian societies. Maybe the decision on whether to see the movie or read the book will become one of the past since these two, who don’t even have the same plot, are so