The Last Job on Earth is a beautifully animated tale about the last job on the planet and how the employee navigates an automated world.
It’s odd to stumble across the animated short, The Last Job on Earth, in the spring of 2020. The similarities between the storyline (created in 2016) and today’s headlines are heartbreaking, from the long food bank lines to the lack of jobs available (COVID-19 has turned this world upside down). But it isn’t the similarities that stand out the most; it’s the differences.
In The Last Job on Earth, the short ends with a message: machines are taking away jobs. Advancing technology has many benefits, which often come at a cost, and sometimes that cost is a reduction in workforce. But now, things are very different. We desperately need the laborers and factory workers. We are highly dependent on the numerous hospital staff members. And the delivery drivers we wanted to replace with drones are our new best friends. It is strange to see so many IT jobs on the line while the supermarket stockboys have more job security than ever.
Aside from the message delivered at the end, The Last Job on Earth is a beautifully animated short that gives a glimpse of a potential future, good or bad. Moth produced the short film alongside The Guardian’s Sustainable Business section.
