Cars and society

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2006)

I had never really watched (or in this case, heard) Owen Wilson before, so up until recently when I saw this film, I didn't think much of him, just a "dumb blonde" (in a man way). Needless to say, this film changed my mind.
But what I really saw as interesting I don't think most people saw as interesting. The film was implying something about our society, which is probably what makes me like it so much. And it's all got to do with the object of the title: cars.
Cars surround us. They're displayed in TV ads, mag ads, Internet ads, and public. We love them for their speed, style, and power - everything that hotshot racecar rookie Lightning McQueen (Wilson) has, which is why he makes such a good symbol as a pop icon and the "hottest new thing." In our society, we're into the "hottest" things, like celebrities, music, action films, iPods, and, well, cars. We can't love these things enough. It's like a jungle of these that we live in, so full and thick that we can't turn without having to see these things.
This jungle may be, in fact, too big. It's so full and thick that we can get lost in there. "Cars" is implying that we have to watch our way in order to not get lost from the things that truly matter: family, friendship, and love. Lightning finds these things in Radiator Springs, which symbolizes all those. The cars there may be slow and a little "rusty" around the edges (all over the edges literally for Mater, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy), but as Doc Hudson (Paul Newman)says, "they're good people." The fact that the town is forgotten and off the map implies that in that society, love itself is forgotten. But the fact that the citizens still remain there, faithful to the cozy city, shows that it's not lost, and can get back on the map, which it does.
The first time I heard about this film was in the Parade magazine - when they were reporting that Paul Newman was to lend his voice to it. Despite the fact that I loved Pixar, I was thinking "oh no." It was to be their seventh film and, well ... I thought they could do a bit better than talking cars (they didn't put that in the magazine, but what else can it be about?).
In fact, I was still thinking that in the theater. The beginning was even starting to kind of tire. I was thinking "oh man, why'd I come here?" But that was immediately erased. Like all Pixar films, the graphics were eye-popping, the jokes were comical, the dialogue was great, and the characters stood out. Lightning McQueen was already gaining my interest as the first Pixar protagonist whom you just want to slap on the face. Paul Newman brought that usual acting talent that we expect in him all the time. When I got out of the theater, I was mainly thinking "wow" and "that was great!"