Each year there is always that one children’s movie that people from every age group rush to the theatre to see because it’s just so “cute.” Zootopia is that movie this year.
Only, this movie isn’t “cute”; it’s multi-layered and sheds light on serious social problems that society has been struggling with for years. Discrimination has ransacked our history and still thrives and is boldly depicted throughout the current political campaigning.
Set in a world where all animals “peacefully” get along, Zootopia resembles the modern day world in many ways.
1. Pre-Conceived Notions
Judy Hopps, the main character of the PG film, always wanted to be a police officer and ever since she made that apparent, she’s been discouraged. Early on, her childhood bully made it quite clear that she was just a bunny and couldn’t do much else other than work on her parent’s carrot farm. Her bully even goes as far to beat her up and “proves” his point that she’s merely a weak bunny. Her parents jumped on the bandwagon, too; they wished she would just stay on the carrot farm because they believe bunnies don’t go into law enforcement, they stay at home with the family and work on the farm. All of this is reduced down to the fact that persons, both insiders and outsiders to her life, underestimated her and categorized her without giving her a fighting chance. Instead, they chose to cling to stigmas that have lingered in the world today. I’m looking at you, Donald Trump!
2. Gender Roles
While delving into the layered character of Judy Hopps and her plot line, one can clearly see the resemblance of sexism. Throughout the movie, Hopps has been deemed weak, emotional and her small stature hasn’t been overlooked.
What does that sound like?
All of these characteristics have been tagged and associated to being female. And when we look at many of the male characters in Zootopia, (the ram Police Chief Bogo, a slew of animal police officers and the Mayor of the city) all we can see far and wide are authority holding, strong and bold beings. And then there’s little Hopps who’s been reduced to a meter maid after finishing top of her academy class and the little lamb Mayweather who’s the Assistant Mayor. These roles may have been accidental, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t prevalent. These roles give way to some of the major stigmas that surround the gender issues that run rampant throughout society currently.
3. Embracing Stereotypes
In both our modern day world and fictional Zootopia, stereotypes are embraced. When you constantly create dynamics where you discriminate people, there comes a time where some individuals (or animals) succumb to it. Nick Wilde, a fox and conman in Zootopia, is an explicit example of this. As a child, Wilde went out for what’s equivalent to cub scouts in our realm. He was treated like one of the other animals until his initiation ceremony, where he was violently muzzled and taunted for being a fox, who are supposedly untrustworthy and conniving as well as a predator. In this so-called world where everyone “peacefully” gets along, there’s discrimination at it’s finest. Unfortunately, Nick never forgot that incident and came to the decision that if people were only going to look at him as a sly, conniving fox then he would be just that. And in essence, he made a living making a Popsicle con and avoiding taxes.
4. “Us v. Them” Mentality
All of these issues are factions that just accumulate to a segregated society. In the workspace, it becomes: women have to stick together. What’s not being said is whom they are siding against: men. Regarding race, it is painfully obvious that there is still distinct segregation and discrimination in today’s society– whether it is clusters of minorities sitting together in your college cafeteria, or a minority simply walking down the street while microaggression rears its ugly head and the white neighbors check and secure their wallets– it’s clear that it’s minorities versus the majority. In Zootopia, it’s predator versus prey. For instance, Wilde walked into an ice-cream parlor and asked the elephant behind the counter for ice cream for his son and was refused service. Granted, Wilde was in the midst of a con, but the elephant didn’t know that and refused to serve him because he was “his kind,” a predator. This mentality isn’t new and it unfortunately still surrounds everyday life.
In sum, be aware of what you say and what you do. This world is full of issues and problems that date back years upon years. But make a conscious decision to not be a part of the problem and instead make an effort to be a catalyst for fixing it.