I have not yet used this media platform yet to complain or bitch until now. But this one is really bugging me. So enjoy the short rant. Hopefully it will change your mind.
What you may ask is bothering me much to dedicate a precious blog post to the topic. The answer lies in the children’s classic by the good Dr. Suess known as the lorax. Let it first be known that I would like to send my condolences not to the family of Dr. Suess but to Theodore himself for his conscious classic being exploited to the point it currently is. Environmentalism sells, and sells very well. What we are observing with the incredible amount of product attachment to “The Lorax” is the environmental bubble meeting its inevitable needle. Brace yourself for the burst people.
Need an example. Go count how many nalgeens, keens, or any other variation of stainless steel, BPA free environmental water bottles you have. How many do you think you need? What the plastic water bottle was, the environmental friendly one has taken its place. Now Before you come riding in on your ass trying to pull me off my high elephant, let it be known that I have very much for anti thneeds and trying to be sustainable local. I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m not perfect, but I make a solid effort.
What does the Lorax stand for? For a logger, the lorax is (well was) a damn hippie trying to ruining his job, I think the housing crash is really to blame for their job loss. So for a logger, the Lorax’s last name should be Lehman. For Random House, its always meant a nice profit, one im sure drastically increased upon slipping into bed with Universal. For 60%, or 3 out of the 5 people who read this blog, it may represent a thneedless week in Yosemite, the Mojave, The big Sur coast, The Olympics, Zion, or any number of trips that one time happened. For me it’s the one thing I hold any real nostalgia for. If my house was burning down and I could take with me 4 items my copy of “The Lorax” and my truffela seeds would be the first 2. And then probably the original printing of one of the lorax pages hanging in our dinning room for number 3. Many of my most memorable experiences were spent in a lorax-esque environment, if you were their for any of them you know what I mean. I know all the words by heart. My copy goes with me everywhere in the world as a reminder of home, all the amazing trip experiences, and to strive to be a better person in the way the lorax portrayed.
Im not sad about the lorax being made into its second movie, there is an animated version of the original story. What does trouble me is the selling out of something I hold close to my heart and head. What bothers me if the exploitation of this specific book, which preaches in a very simple way against most of this things the movie is trying to sell. It would be no different than if “On the Road” or “The Monkey Wrench Gang” were made into feature lengths utilizing their appealing anti messages to sell very mainstream products. Hang on, I take that back, if the monkey wrench gang ever were to be made into a feature length its add campaign would suffer greatly at the hands of the George Washington Hayduke society. Do not think for a minute the people putting out the movie are doing it for environmental reasons, it’s not only a classic cute entertaining story, but a convenient message for a larger product marketing campaign. Pessimism be damned I would rather have that be the message than anything else. I for one will not being seeing this movie in any way, shape, or form more as my protest to all the products attached to it. HP, Target, and Mazda are three of the big contract sign ins. Mazda really, I understand that it’s a hybrid, but it would make so more environmental sense to be selling bikes, local eating and staycations. But no, they sell a Japanese car by the company that has huge majority of its manufacturing in Hiroshima of all places. I wonder if the Lorax would support shipping that car across the pacific ocean. This hypocritical statement comes to you from a guy who drives a Nissan and a Honda. Again, not perfect
The point that I’m most likely failing for portray is that environmentalism sells, and a thneed is a thneed even if it has the words “sustainable” and “environmentally friendly” printed on it. Please think twice before you make your next purchase, meal decision, or weather or not you really want to see “The Lorax”. If you do decide to see the lorax, please do it for the entertainment factor, not for its “message”or what its ‘message’ might mean to you. I apologise again for terrible writing and for bitching on a blog, I have now leveled up or down (whichever is worse) in the internet blogosphere.
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