The Lorax by Dylan Lincoln

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 18:36:18 UTC

Reversing American Progress

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 19:02:08 UTC

The Lorax movie deals with themes of nature being precious and ruined by greed as well as how environments are destroyed by pollution, smog and emptiness. Reversing American Progress deals with all the same issues. In both the painting and the movie we see how western culture actively destroys and exploits the land around it. Both are cautionary warnings about what happens when you don't treat the environment with respect.

Body Ritual among the Nacirema

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 19:13:55 UTC

In the Lorax movie the Once-ler's destructive actions of cutting down Truffula trees and worshipping money mirror the exact same bizarre behaviors of the Nacirema. Miner satirizes American consumerism by framing it as a foreign culture and the Lorax criticizes our blind devotion to profits. Both show how actions that are normalized can look absurd from a different perspective.

On Crazy we Built a Nation

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 19:22:19 UTC

The Lorax shows how environmental decay can start with greed. Just like Seeing White reveals how America was built on myths of purity and power. Both work to expose a culture of selective memory. Just as the Once-ler ignores the harm he is doing, the U.S. created the concept of whiteness while pretending it's about freedom. The harm that was done is then masked by stories that only help those propped up.

American Independence and the Myth of the Founding Fathers

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 19:30:47 UTC

The Once-ler in The Lorax could be seen as a metaphor for the myth of a Founding Father. He is celebrated for innovation but everyone chooses to forget the destruction he caused. Heike shows how American origin myths erase complex situations and their consequences, just like the Once-ler forgets how much his progress cost everyone. Both show how success stories often forget exploitation whether it's of nature or people.

Lovecraft Country Episode One

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 19:42:25 UTC

Just like the Lorax Lovecraft Country Episode 1 exposes the violence underneath American myths. Both criticize a community that claims greatness while erasing harm. Whether it's hurting the environment or racial terror. Just as the Once-ler ignores warnings until it’s too late, the white people in America in Lovecraft Country refuse to see the monsters they have created. Progress in both the Lorax and the show comes with a cost.

Christopher Columbus and the Myth of "Discovery"

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 19:47:49 UTC

Just like how Heike describes Columbus, the Once-ler in The Lorax claims new land, renames it, and exploits it. He claims destruction as “discovery.” Both Columbus and the Once-ler erase. Indigenous people are erased by Columbus in real life and Truffula forests are erased by the Once-ler in the movie.

I, too

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 19:58:18 UTC

I, Too is a poem that talked about a future where the people that are cast aside and silenced are able to speak up for themselves. This reminds me of how the Lorax speaks for the trees. The speaker in the poem gets his space at the table and the Lorax warns of what happens when these voices are ignored. The future must include everyone or there will be no progress.

Made in America

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 20:03:36 UTC

The Lorax showcases disapproval towards environmental injustice and the Made in America episode of Seeing White shows that injustice in America was built through laws and that race constructed for white people to hold power. The Once-ler divided nature into profit and waste while colonial leaders divided people into white and nonwhite to maintain power. Both show systems that are inherently designed to exclude.

The New Colossus

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 20:15:39 UTC

Emma Lazarus’ The New Colossus sends a message of welcoming the tired and poor, but The Lorax shows what happens when these ideas are ignored. Thneedville is completely sealed off and its people are suffocating behind the walls and all the air that is breathed is artificial. Lazarus envisions America as a refuge for everyone and Dr.Seuss warns what it becomes when greed is the main priority. Without space for the “tempest-tost,” the golden door shuts.

If America

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 20:22:46 UTC

The Lorax practically warns of what happens when a nation's promise is buried under “wealth and waste,” just like the poem If America talks about. Both question whether America or Thneedville is still a living dream or just a fossil of what it claimed to be. The Once-ler’s world is the aftermath of forgetting his promise where only his regrets are left.

1492

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 20:26:29 UTC

In 1492, Emma Lazarus calls out a community that shuts its doors with “grim bulwarked hatred,” and then to promise refuge in a new place. But The Lorax shows that even a new world can and will fail when it is built on greed. The “doors of sunset” won't be doors if we repeat the same mistakes.

Little War on the Prairie

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 20:31:58 UTC

The Lorax shows what happens when people use greed to justify destruction, and the Little War on the Prairie episode shows how flawed that logic is. This is like how the Once-ler ignores the Truffula trees’ true worth until it's too late. Just like settlers ignored the true value of Dakota land, culture, and lives. Both stories show how the people in power rewrite history to erase violence and then make stealing land and violence look like progress.

How White People Got Made

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 20:43:05 UTC

The Once-ler’s company gaining traction in The Lorax reflects the creation of whiteness described in “How White People Got Made.” Whether cutting down trees or surveilling neighbors. The Once-ler’s factory and America’s racial hierarchy were both built by dividing communities and rewarding destruction. Whiteness, like Thneed, was displayed as progress but sold at a terrible cost.

Chenjerai's Challenge

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 20:47:04 UTC

In The Lorax, the Once-ler builds a world by destroying another one, then denies what he's done. Seeing White Part 7 challenges listeners to see the systems of power that whiteness built. Just as the Lorax asks who will speak for the trees Chenjerai asks who will speak for change? Both want action.

That's not Us, So We're Clean

dylanlincon22 — 2025-05-07 20:51:30 UTC

The Lorax shows how denial sustains destruction just like Seeing White, Part 6 shows how white Northerners try yo separate themselves from racism by blaming the South. The Once-ler says, “I meant no harm,” but the forest still gets destroyed. This is the same way, some white people claim innocence, while benefiting from the systems they disown . Both stories warn that distancing yourself doesn’t equate to responsibility.