Zootopia tackles topics that family films usually avoid: racism, sexism, fearmongering and drugs. But it never uses any of these words. We unpack how skillfully the film addresses adult topics in terms that kids can understand.
Works Cited & Consulted: * Grauso, Alisha. “In Hindsight: How The Marketing Of ‘Zootopia’ Won Big By Getting Weird.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 08 Mar. 2016. Web. 30 Jan. 2017. * Han, Angie. “‘Zootopia’ Easter Eggs: Did You Catch These References?” Slash Film, 01 Apr. 2016.
.
.
Transcript provided by Youtube:
00:02
Zootopia is hardly the first kids movie to appeal to adults, but what stands out
00:06
about Zooptia is that it tackles adult topics that family films usually avoid:
00:11
racism, sexism, bigotry, and drugs.
00:14
[Crazy world are you living in where you think a bunny
00:16
could be a cop]
00:17
Of course none of these terms is ever expressly named.
00:20
The movie uses metaphor and analogy
00:23
so that kids can grasp the underlying point, while
00:25
adults also might learn a fresh approach to controversial issues,
00:29
and you’d never call Zootopia gritty, heavy, or moralizing
00:32
because it pulls all this off while while still feeling light, entertaining, and heartfelt.
00:37
Even before the film’s release,
00:39
Zootopia was already making strides to draw in a more mature crowd.
00:42
Many of their promotional pieces were parodies of film posters for R-rated films such
00:47
as The Big Short, The Revenant and Mad Max Fury Road.
00:53
On the primary level, Zootopia is an allegory about prejudice.
00:56
[The next time you think you
00:57
will ever be anything more than just a stupid carrot farm and dumb bunny]
01:02
The way that the Zootopia animal society is structured mirrors our real-world racial tensions.
01:08
The city is made up of 90% prey and 10% predator.
01:12
[Vicious Predator or Meek Prey]
01:16
Even though the prey is the vast majority and thus protected by social
01:20
institutions, the minority, the predators, are made out to be feared.
01:25
Authorities and power, who are part of the majority, vilify the predators, highlighting
01:29
their physical strength and different looks.
01:31
There’s also a clear segregation
01:33
that takes place as animals are separated by species
01:36
and businesses turn away certain kinds.
01:38
[We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.]
01:44
[Very first rabbit officer: Judy Hopps/O. M. Goodness they really did hire a bunny.]
01:51
Then, there’s the discrimination in Judy Hopps workplace.
01:54
As a bunny surrounded by
01:56
physically larger animals, Judy represents the female in a
01:59
male-dominated workplace.
02:01
[Parking Duty.] [I was top of my class at the Academy.]
02:03
[Well then writing 100 tickets a day should be easy.]
02:05
When she’s first forced to work
02:07
parking duty this speaks to how women historically have been stalked in
02:10
secretarial or administrative jobs with the excuse that they’re unfit
02:14
for more leadership roles.
02:15
[I don’t want to be a meter maid, I want to be a real cop.]
02:19
Judy’s co-workers equate her smaller size with an inability to do the job
02:23
because the job is designed for animals who fit the Big Animal for Male profile.
02:29
But like other smart women facing sexism, Judy uses her smarts to outwit,
02:33
work around, and find different means to excel.
02:36
[I gotta tell you, you are even cuter than
02:38
I thought you’d be.] [A bunny can call another bunny cute,
02:41
but when other animals do it…] [You’re a cute meter maid doll. It’s not exactly a place
02:45
for a cute little bunny.] [Don’t call me cute. Get in the car.]
02:49
She objects to being called cute,
02:51
challenging her co-workers and even us watching because naturally we’d never
02:55
thought twice about calling bunnies cute. [Go back home would that cute fuzzy wuzzy little tail]
02:58
It seems absurd that this would be offensive.
03:00
[You’re not seriously looking
03:02
for a new assistant, are you?]
03:03
But as we react to that absurdity we’re implicitly
03:06
encouraged to apply the same questioning to how we talk about women
03:09
while sure it might be a nice compliment for some to tell a woman she’s cute or pretty,
03:14
In a working context, this talk elevates her appearance over her merits and minimizes
03:18
her status as a serious professional.
03:23
Zootopia also casts a spotlight on the
03:25
dangers of media fearmongering.
03:28
When Judy hold the press conference, she’s
03:29
surrounded by horrifying imagery of predators in mid growl, shrouded in black
03:33
and white. The way the Predators are portrayed in the media masks that as
03:38
much outnumbered minority, the Predators are actually a disadvantaged group.
03:42
The reporter’s questions seem intentionally leading, meant to instigate fear, alienate
03:47
predators solely for the sake of pushing headlines.
03:50
[Have any other foxes gone savage?]
03:51
[More bad news in this city gripped by fear.]
03:54
The media’s tendency to sensationalized
03:56
and play upon the public’s fear is an ever-present reality.
03:59
This problem is exceptionally relevant in today’s media climate
04:02
with its polarized news sources and plethora of fake news feeding divisive political agendas.
04:08
Even though Judy is one of the prey and experiences discrimination, she’s not without fault.
04:13
[It may have something to do with…biology.]
04:18
Her remark, while not intending to
04:20
perpetuate problematic stereotypes, alludes to highly racially charged
04:24
offensive discussions of genetics from our world in history.
04:28
Afterwards, Judy is confronted by her partner Nick, the Fox, who’s a predator.
04:32
[Nick, stop it. You’re not like them.]
04:35
[Oh, there’s a them now…]
04:37
This event leads to a series of scenes showing microaggression:
04:40
a mother on the train pulling her child away from the predator,
04:43
Judy carrying around Fox repellent.
04:45
[What can you tell us about the
04:46
animals that went savage?]
04:47
[..by a savage polar bear.]
04:48
And repetitions of the word savage,
04:50
which can be associated with critiques of the media’s
04:53
usage of words like thug.
04:54
Judy’s mistake and its consequences is
04:57
one of the movies most explicit lessons to the audience.
05:00
Even if we don’t consider ourselves guilty of prejudice,
05:03
microaggression, and even word choice can be
05:05
gateways to treating people as others or less than.
05:07
[They thought it would be better
05:09
if a predator, such as myself, wasn’t the first face that you see when
05:15
you walk into the ZPD.]
05:16
So we should examine even our small
05:18
and unconscious actions.
05:22
As Judy discovers that Bellwether orchestrated the
05:25
predator attacks to fear monger and seize power,
05:28
the movie points out government’s officials ability
05:31
to use fear to coerce and manipulate voters.
05:34
[Get them.]
05:36
[Prey fears predator and you stay in power?]
05:39
[Fear always works.]
05:41
This is a relevant parallel to the rise of populism all over the globe today,
05:45
and it’s unusual for a kid’s film to raise the prospect that authorities might not
05:49
be trustworthy, honest, or well-intentioned.
05:53
[I was trying to protect the City.]
05:54
[You were just trying to protect your job.]
05:57
[Hey, no kiss bye-bye for Daddy?]
06:00
[You kiss me tomorrow, I’ll bite your face off. Ciao.]
06:07
And let’s not forget other inside jokes that make the movie fun for adults.
06:11
[Oh, hi! I’m Judy your new neighbor.]
06:13
[Oh, yeah? Well we’re loud.
06:14
Don’t expect us to apologize for it.]
06:16
We see an array of pirated DVDs
06:17
that pun on Disney and Pixar movie titles.
06:21
The mask the scientist uses to make the Night Howler drugs
06:24
in an abandoned train car, visually recalls the mask and
06:27
environment we associate with the process of cooking meth.
06:30
The movie also contains references to The Godfather
06:32
which most kids won’t have seen.
06:34
[To come here unannounced on the day of my daughter is to be married.]
06:37
And the visit to the DMV finds comedy from its reputation for being unreasonably slow.
06:42
[They’re all SLOTHS?]
06:44
A problems kids are unlikely to have experienced.
06:47
[D.] [Mhm, 0-3.]
06:52
When kids emerge from Zootopia, they won’t be using any of this advanced
06:56
language to discuss race, drugs, gender or the DMV,
07:00
but it raises an interesting discussion
07:02
about how we can talk to kids about issues like inequality.
07:06
So yeah,
07:07
Zootopia is a fun ride that makes us smile while also encourages us, adults and kids,
07:12
to think a little deeper.
07:14
[Judy Hopps can do anything like a boy can do.]
07:19
[Zootopia isn’t just for kids.]
07:22
[That’s a wrap.]
—
This post was previously published on Youtube.
—
***
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want to join our calls on a regular basis, please join us as a Premium Member, today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
Talk to you soon.
—
Photo credit: Screenshot from video
The post Zootopia’s Deep Meaning: How We Talk to Kids appeared first on The Good Men Project.