Silent Film Reflection

What elements of silent film did you see in the first part of Wall-E? 
By watching the first part of Wall-E, you could see many different elements of silent film being put together in order to tell a meaningful and interesting story and character development. One element would be the soundtrack. Seeing that the characters are robots and the there isn't any human life on the planet, the sound effects, soundtrack, and background music really help enhance the story as well as help set the emotion and mood of the movie. Soundtrack was used throughout the first scene, with Wall-E's video/music, even with the little sounds of the cockroach. The soundtrack of this movie really helped engage the audience. Another element of silent film that was included in the movie was they used quite simple and basic camera shots. You could see that if they used quite complex camera shots the meaning of the video as well as the subject would have been very different. With basic camera angles, the audience was able to connect to the character more and see the setting a lot better. Exaggerated acting and movement was another element of silent film that was used in this film. Without dialogue, it's quite difficult for the message to be seen, but with exaggerated movements and gestures the audience was able to comprehend everything. Through facial expressions, hand gestures, and little sound effects, emotion and the story was instantly seen. Relating back to the camera shots, a lot of the shots were at a eye-level angle, but a lot of the angles were quite different which really helped make it more interesting.

Even without dialogue, how does Wall-E's personality come forth in silent portion of the movie? 
With every action that Wall-E makes, his personality shines through. Even without dialogue the audience are aware of Wall-E's personality because of his actions. From picking up trash everyday, and keeping the little things that may not be appreciated in life to listening to love songs and falling in love with another robot. Throughout the silent portion, you could tell that he appreciates the little things in life, and that he's very hard working as well as very dedicated to his job. He'll do anything to make use of little objects that he finds, as well as finish his job.

Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin are both silent movie actors to whom Wall-E could be compared. Compare their method of comedic acting to Wall-E's. 
Wall-E compares to Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin due to the fact that they both turn to using exaggerated facial expressions and movements in order to portray their character. Not only are they all portraying a comedic character, they're not afraid to show their goofy sides. Wall-E is often clueless and clumsy which usually makes the audience laugh. When I was in fourth grade, we would regularly watch Charlie Chaplin films, and I remember watching him constantly falling or acting in a way that made him seem different and unique. Chaplin, Keaton and Wall-E all have their own unique way of acting as well as in a humorous way.

What do you think the lack of dialogue contributed to the portion of the film? Be specific using scenes examples. 
The lack of dialogue really helped enhance the emotion of the characters in the film also the character development. Through the silent section of the film, Wall-E is seen as quite a quirky and energetic character who finds happiness in the littlest of things. For example, when Wall-E found the ring in a box, he took a look at the ring and threw it away. Instead, he decided to keep the box that held it. This scene showed that through his small action, his character and personality shined through. Usually, humans would be drawn to the ring, seeing that it's most likely worth a lot. Wall-E's lack of dialogue helped the audience understand and begin to think about a new message/theme. The lack of dialogue also showed that Wall-E was perfectly fine on his own, but when watching his movie of the couple falling in love, he couldn't help but want his own little lover. The lack of dialogue really helped the character development because it showed that before he met Eva, he was missing something in his life. Once he met her, he began to fall in love and began to show bigger and happier emotions and facial expressions.