Civil Disobedience

Thoreau wrote "Civil Disobedience" to discuss the issues within the government and explained why people do not need to involve themselves in something so unjust. Up to this day, people are fighting for justice for a number of issues, but racism and police brutality has been brought to many people's attention recently.
After a black 18 year old, Mike Brown was fatally shot  by a white police officer in Ferguson, much of the black community fought for justice, as they saw the incident as racist and unjust since the officer who shot him, was not charged. Brown's death caused mass unrest as people rioted in the streets of Ferguson and protested all over the country. The incident trended on social media for weeks.
Although Brown was not necessarily as innocent as the media had portrayed him for much of this time, his death still sparked civil disobedience within minority groups, as he stood as a symbol for others who suffered a similar fate (likely more innocently).
It is a fact that more blacks are killed in gun violence than whites every year, which shows that something within the American government is corrupt. "Civil Disobedience" discusses the corruption in the government, as it talks a lot about slavery. Thoreau's ideas on this subject strongly tie to the Ferguson Protests today, as people are demonstrating his ideas by not putting up with injustice and not participating with the government to create change.

Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau decided to test the ideas of Emerson, that nature, self reliance, and nonconformity were the keys to one's happiness and life. As a student of Emerson's philosophies, Thoreau never stopped exploring Emerson's ideas. In Emerson's writings, the idea of escaping to nature is greatly emphasized. Thoreau practiced what Emerson preached when he abandoned society and went to live in a cabin by himself built near Walden Pond, where he began writing his own books. Thoreau found that whiling living outside of normal society and sauntering in nature, relying on no one but himself, he was happier than he had ever been, which ties together the importance of nature, self reliance, and nonconformity in Emerson's philosophies.

Emerson

Individualism

"Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another you have only an extemporaneous half possession. That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him." (Ralph Waldo Emerson. Self Reliance.)

This quote relates to trending philosophy as it is stressing the importance of being yourself rather than being something you're not, as you will gain happiness in return for being who you really are. In modern day society, it is easy to get caught up in the crowd, which causes people to lose themselves and eventually losing their happiness.

Optimism

"The sun shines today also." (Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nature.)

This quote relates to trending philosophy as it is expressing how with each new day, comes a new opportunity and that as long as the sun is shining, opportunities are endless.





Self Reliance

"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles." (Ralph Waldo Emerson. Self Reliance.)

This quote relates to trending philosophy as it stresses the importance self reliance and how if one is self reliant, all of their conflicts will be within their own control rather than in the hands of society.

Intuition

"Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string." (Ralph Waldo Emerson. Self Reliance.)

This quote relates to trending philosophy as it teaches that by having trust in yourself, you will be able to make decisions that will be right for you. Choices should reflect off personal thoughts and ideas, rather than society's thoughts and ideas which may be unrealistic.

Transcendentalism in Wall-E

Thesis: The movie Wall-E is a great example of transcendentalism in contemporary society as it portrays many of the ideas stressed in transcendentalism such as nature, nonconformity, and self reliance.




Nature

"The world is emblematic. Parts of speech are metaphors because the whole of nature is a metaphor of the human mind" (Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nature)

Emerson's quote directly explains the unification between man and nature which is shown in Wall-E, as the plant in Wall-E is a symbolizes the importance of nature, as the entire plot of the movie revolves around this plant and the condition of the Earth due to the choices of mankind.

Nonconformity

"If a man does not keep pace with his
companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer" (Henry David Thoreau. Walden.)

Thoreau's quote explains that it is okay for one to separate themselves from the rest of society and that it is important to do what YOU want to do. Wall-E has a short circuit, which is what causes him to act different than how he "should" (or what causes his nonconformity) which leads to revolutionary change in the movie.

Self Reliance

"Envy is ignorance,
imitation is suicide" (Ralph Waldo Emerson. Self Reliance.)

Emerson's quote emphasizes the point that you lose yourself when you follow the rules of society, which is why it is important to be self reliant and to use your own intuition to make choices. In Wall-E, the people living on the ship have no self reliance as they are all robots of their own society- which almost leads to their downfall, until Wall-E, who is self reliant saves them from this fate.

What is Transcendentalism?

Transcendentalism is an idealistic philosophy that revolves around the idea that everyone has knowledge and can learn from things that go beyond the senses, as well as that humans, nature, and the divine power are all interconnected. 

The big ideas of this American philosophy were emphasized in the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, as Emerson said "But if a man will be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and vulgar things" (Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nature) This quote, connecting man to nature, emphasizes the idea that god, man, and nature are one and that self reliance and intuition are the key to one's life and knowledge.