We should listen more to Dr. Seuss…
Dr. Seuss was a very famous children’s author, with an amazing talent of portraying real-world issues, in a simplistic story and rhyme. Capturing the attention of both younger and older audience, his timeless works of art, bring back the nostalgia of escaping into his crazy imaginative worlds. A film, that was inspired by his novel The Lorax, was a work that completely changed the way I saw business.
The film dives in the negative effect of business practices on the environment as well as the side effects of the materialistic world we live in. The original novel is written in 1971, it tackles the idea that businesses are not taking responsibility for their unethical practices on the environment. Business is represented by “the Once-ler”, who is a young entrepreneur that wants to change the world with his inventions. One of his inventions called “Thneed”, because of hit and soon he is cutting down all the trees to reach the massive demand. The Lorax is a voice to the trees and is constantly telling the Once-ler to stop destroying the forest. It also highlights the effects of our societal need to always want more as fast as possible. With that, mentioning we usually buy things that are useless to us, or just for the purpose of fitting in. Once there is nothing left, the Lorax must go because there is nothing left to defend. His last message to the Once-ler being “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better”. In this context the Lorax refers to ‘you” as the future generation, sending the message that now is the time for a change, but the only way for things to change is if everyone cares and actually wants a change.
I highly recommend this film to the younger generations, anytime I go babysit or watch a movie with my youngest sister, this film is my top pick. It exposes children to the harsh real life situations in the world and hopefully will ignite a want for a change. They’re the future of our world and should be aware of these threats. Talking to kids about this issue and asking like whether they really need that new toy, will hopefully spark a new mindset and perspective into the future consuming market.
I love to draw and Dr. Seuss was one of my childhood inspirations! Dr.Seuss was a political cartoonist at one point, allowing him to hone the skill of telling a story as simply as possible, often in one image. I think nothing sells better than a story and this is an example of one I can get behind. Targeting children to care for the environment from an early age is a healthy practice in my opinion. More artists and storytellers should join the cause!
The Lorax is a great example of how we can begin to reach young kids with messages of sustainability! In fact – I’ve seen it myself! A few of my parent’s friends kids were still pretty young when the movie was released and the impact it had on them was crazy – they were even creating their own little gardens at home.
It’s always a pleasure to see kids content focused on giving them the knowledge to do better instead of providing them with pure entertainment. I truly hope more things like this get created in Seuss’ absence.