Zootopia analysis

         Zootopia is a utopia ,because it is where  predator and prey live together. The predators are no longer "savage". The dream of Zootopia is that there you can be anything you want.  This movie parodies The Godfather and the Dmv, but the main topics of this movie are stereotypes, prejudice, and racial profiling.
          Judy is a bunny. She wants to be a cop. The stereotype is that a bunny cant be a cop, but she doesn't fit this narrative , because she ends up graduating from the police academy at the top of her class. Even though she proved she was worthy she still faced prejudices at her job. When her boss was assigning jobs he made her a meter maid instead of giving her a real job. Judy's situation is what many women face. There are lots of jobs that are deemed as a job that a woman cant do. And even when a woman does get the job they still are not treated the same as their male coworkers.
           Nick is a fox. The stereotypes about fox in this movie is that they are shifty, sly, and non trustworthy. When we first see Nick he is being profiled by Judy. She sees him going into an ice cream parlor and follows him in. Inside the parlor the Elephant who worked their made comment like "Aren't there any fox ice cream parlors." He also insinuates that ,because he is a fox he cant read. He even said something to like he gets to decide who gets to come inside. Lastly when Judy and Nick were trying to explain where the Jaguar went her boss said "You think i'm gonna believe a fox." Those scenes were like a step back in time to the civil rights era. The scene when they were in the ice cream parlor reminded me of all the pictures I have seen where black people were not allowed in certain  restaurants.
             The movie also parodied the movie The Godfather, and what a day at the Dmv is like. The scene where Judy and Nick are took in in to meet Mr. Big is a parody of the scene from the Godfather. The polar bears are wearing black suits the lighting is dark , and violins are playing in the background. Mr Big says to them you come to me on the day of my daughters wedding", which is a popular line form the movie. Mr. Big even has an accent like they have in the movie.The parodied the Dmv by having sloths as the employees. The movie is eluding to the fact of how slow the Dmv is. There was long lines like the Dmv has, and the sloth was taking forever to give them one thing. By the time they got what they wanted is was night time.
         
       

KD 4th Blogpost

The movie Zootopia goes on a journey with a bunny named Judy and a con fox named Nick to solve the city’s biggest case on fourteen missing mammals. As we travel with Judy we see firsthand what she goes through to solve this case all alone with only the help from a sly fox she busted for nickel and diming the citizens of Zootopia. The values and situations portrayed in this animation movie go deeper than a child's imagination. As a young adult watching this film, not only did it become one of my favorite movies but I also noticed many of situations we face in the world today acted on in this film. There were a handful of scenes circling around discrimination, double standards, and race privilege.

At the beginning of the movie, we see Judy as a child dreaming and hoping to be a successful police officer, in her school play. In her performance, she states that her dream is to move to Zootopia and help make the city a better place. Here is where we see Zootopia as a utopia for Judy. Its sets as a dream home and career starting place for her. She sees Zootopia as a place where all her troubles will be solved and everyone will come together as one as be treated as equal. But, before she can even make it there she runs into setbacks. There are many people around her telling her she can't do it because there has never been a bunny police officer. Which makes me asks the question, are they doubting her because he is a rabbit or are they doubting her because she is a female? These scenes directly display the world's double standard issues. We raise our children to believe that they can be anything they want to be but as soon as they strive for the biggest goal they can we have a reason that they can’t or should not achieve it. For instance, we tell our little girls to be everything they can be but if they make one wrong move they’re either a harlot or lazy. On the other hand, when our boys mess up they get a slap on the wrist with the “he’s just a boy” excuse. The movie definitely exemplifies this with all the people throughout the movie telling her she can’t be a police officer and she shouldn’t go to Zootopia. Which leaves me with the question, how come when a guy has drastic dreams everyone roots him on to do it yet, when it a girl who has giant dreams people come up with a million reasons for why it won’t work?

As we advance more into the movie, we see a handful of scenes showing discrimination towards the predators. On her first day working in Zootopia, we see Nick on the opposite side of town where the prey are, trying to buy a popsicle, yet the elephant refuses it to him. After the predators begin to go savage, we see a cheetah sit next to a mother rabbit and her child on a train and as the cheetah sits down next to her child she scoots her child closer to her. This scene actually hit home because it reminds me of how some white people act when they get around black people. Without even knowing their background, they judge us based off what others do and hold the whole race accountable as a whole. The number of real situations displayed throughout this movie was astonishing. The values and humanitarian acts the producers and directors managed to insert into a child’s animation movie amazed me. It shows you firsthand what is going on in the world yet they had a unique way of disguising it in an animation film.

Zootopia Analysis (Philip Baglio post 4)

After finishing the movie, it was difficult to remember that Zootopia was a Disney animation. Compared to other Disney classics, like Frozen, Zootopia lies completely on the other side of the spectrum of what a children’s movies can be. In its simplest form, Zootopia takes on the structure of a fable. We’ve all heard the story of the Tortoise and the Hare and know the meaning of its message, but Zootopia finds a way to modernize the themes and lesson we’ve been accustomed to hearing.

Naturally, as humans we have the tendency to categorize and stereotype all aspects of our lives. We’ve even done so to the point that we see animals in that same light. The fox is wily. The owl is wise. This film uses those beliefs to centralize their anamorphic mammal world. These distinctions allowed the writers to easily divide these animals between predator and prey. The history of Zootopia is built on the fact that these two groups were able to deter from their past where prey lived at the mercy of the predators to live harmoniously in a world where anything is possible.

Initially, it appears that the prey would be seen as the minority subjected to oppression by the laws of the predators. Their mayor is a lion for goodness sake! But that whole idea of history tending to repeat itself disappears as the main conflict begins to develop. It is revealed that because the prey now have power, they ultimately have total authority. This is because they have the second biggest controlling factor; the majority. Predators only make up 10% of the population, we’re told. This immediately shifts the focus from a “bunny” not being capable to work as a cop to an otter not being able to control his “savage” tendencies. The turn was unexpected but just as powerful. We learn how quickly a specific group can become the minority given the events that take place. In our world today, we’ve shaped what distinctions give power and what distinctions don’t, but none of that is set in stone. It is all subject to change. Most people look at Zootopia with one perspective, the politically "racial" allegory between predator and prey. Most miss the idea of how societal structure can indirectly put a group in a situation to be ill-treated.

The idea of a utopia or place where everything is perfect in every aspect is unrealistic. There is always some underlying flaw that can be taken advantage of just like Bellwether did. It’s possible for a place to have utopic aspects, but as we can see in Zooptopia there is always some way for an imperfection to exist whether its surfacing was direct or not.

Tamiara Hicks #4

                                 Zootopia 

I wanted to analyze the aspect of animals and their representation and the part they play in making this movie realistic and achievable. 

As a child we all read and looked at pictures of animals in a storybook and we noticed their undeniable characteristics. For example, we know that snakes are sneaky, sloths are always sleepy/tired, and ants are persistent and attentive. I can honestly say that it allows storytellers to get to the heart of their message in a way that is almost subliminal. We all know the characteristics of a rabbit or a fox and so those creatures allow us as an audience to absorb the moral meaning without feeling lectured. Zootopia is a city where all the animals well mammals come together to build a new world in harmony. Zootopia has twelve different biome districts and their animals have been living in anthropomorphized peace for centuries. But what appears to be a beautiful mosaic from the outside is actually a city riddled with ancient uneasiness between species, uneasiness that is about to boil over in violent ways.

After watching this movie i can conclude that it’s hipper attitude is earned, its references are clever instead of cloying and its politics are unimpeachable. My fav character is Judy Hopps. She is the first bunny to ever enter the Zootopia police force, and she does it as part of the new "Mammal Inclusion Initiative." I love that in the city of Zootopia the predators are a minority they only make up what 10% of the population. It's funny that the mayor is a lion lol my zodiac sign! 

What happens is that a rash of disappearing predator cases ends up being the result of a strange scenario wherein predators go ‘savage’ - they no longer walk on two legs, they lose their intelligence and they start trying to kill tiny fluffy little prey animals. The animals going savage destroys Zootopia’s peace between the species. One very pointed scene has a bunny mom pulling her little bunny kids closer when a tiger sits next to them on the subway. 

But the film fails its messaging, and it fails because it builds its entire allegorical premise on a flawed foundation: the minorities are predators. 

We know that since the beginning of time that predators eat prey. THAT'S NATURE!!!  This is their relationship, and we in the audience understand it as such. Yes, the bunny should be pulling her kids away from the tiger. The tiger is demonstrably, historically dangerous. He has evolved to be dangerous to her. 

I really liked Nick, the hustler fox who, has a heart of gold. I did notice that the animal designs feel like classical two-legged animals with some modern spins on them.It’s very plot-oriented, it’s very caught up in its own metaphors and messages, and so the relationship between Judy and Nick feels like it’s hitting checkmarks instead of being an organic, growing thing. 

Zootopia - Blog Post #4

Zootopia is advertised as a perfect place; it’s the place that values opportunity and harmony. In this district, anyone can obtain any job they desire. This district allows for predators and their prey to live among each other in peace. The main characters, Judy Hoops and Nick Wilde, are an example of a prey and their predators successfully coexisting in one society. The animals being fearless is one of the key components that enables this society to function in such a way. When the animals begin to experience a sense of fear of their predators, the society begins to experience chaos. The movie Zootopia depicts the ideas of a Utopian society for animals while acknowledging the contradictions that altered the society from truly being perfect. One fault that occurred was discrimination which is addressed numerous times throughout the movie.

The story begins with displaying the imperfections in the small town of Bunny Burrow, where the main character, Judy, is from. As a child, Judy dreams of being on the police force in Zootopia because of the values of which the city is built on. Zootopia gives her hope of being able to be a police officer. She confidently shares her dreams with others including her parents and they all tell her that she is unable to take on such a dangerous career. The animals on the police force are typically predators which Judy is not. One night while attending a fair, Judy encounters a fox named Gideon Grey who insults her for being a bunny and slashes her face with his paw. This incident along with the input of her parents influences Judy’s perspective on foxes, who are the archenemies of rabbits, in a negative way. When Judy graduates, her parents give her a fox repellent spray as a going away gift. Once Judy starts work on the police force she encounters Nick by pursuing and capturing him on a police chase which helps justify her current point of views on foxes. At this point foxes are perceived as shifty, untrustworthy, and a threat.

However, Judy still experiences discrimination herself even with this act of honorary. The animals on the police force underestimate her ability of being a cop just as the animals in her home town did. To change their perspectives, Judy must prove herself to the other animals in hopes of being taken seriously. She chooses to do so by taking on the case of Emmitt Ottorton. Nick, who is a con artist fox, unwillingly helps Judy with obtaining evidence and following up on leads.  Together they manage to solve the case of Emmitt Ottorton. The rabbit and the fox working together to solve the disappearance of Emmitt Ottorton portrays peace being in full effect. While Judy worked alongside Nick on the Emmitt Ottorton case, she was able to realize that not all foxes are shifty or untrustworthy. No one trusted the fox nor did they take the rabbit seriously but with Judy and Nick working together it showed that a Bunny can be more than just a farmer and a fox can be helpful and reliable. 

Zootopia Blog #4

Zootopia Blog

Zootopia is an animated movie about a bunny following her dreams in a utopian society. The irony is that most of this movies’ audience hasn’t even learned what a utopia is yet. Everyone doubted Judy Hopps, the bunny, including her parents, and encouraged her to be who she’s “supposed” to be and not who she wants to be. In the movie, bunnies worked on farms with their families and that’s what is expected of her. However, she is determined to be the first bunny police officer. Her character was ambitious and determined. Zootopia was known as the city where everyone can be whoever they want, which is what motivated her. One major issue in this utopia was the norms. Hopps struggled and fought to fit outside the norm and doing so, she ended up setting a norm herself. When she said that all prey animals will eventually go savage, she unintentionally included her partner, Nick the fox, in that norm. This completely contradicted her motivation to be who you want and not what people see you as.

Another problem in this utopia is the corrupt government. The mayor and assistant mayor were scheming against the entire city. They were the outliers in the utopia who distanced themselves. They didn’t want the society to be happily ever after. They aspired for more of a good guy versus bad guy city. Their plan was to target all the prey and make them evil again, however, Hopps caught on to the scheme and ended it.

It was very interesting how Nick and Hopps became such good friends throughout the movie. In the beginning of the movie, naturally, Hopps’ feared foxes. Now, she was good friends and worked with one. Had she not come to the utopia, she may have still had that fear instilled in her. Towards the end of the movie, Nick and Hopps were faced with a speed racer case. Come to find out, the speed racer was a sloth. Earlier in the movie, this same sloth performed everything extremely slow. It was ironic that the slowest character was a fast driver and was in trouble for speeding. This goes to show that anyone can be anything they want in Zootopia. This utopian movie was full of irony and realizations.

Jalen Brewer (Zootopia Blog)

To briefly summarize, this movie is about an amateur bunny cop named Judy who unites with a fox to solve a mystery in the town of Zootopia.  Although this movie is targeted towards young kids, the underlying message is current and up-to-the-minute.  Throughout the Disney animated feature film, the concepts of stereotyping, and race relations are prevalent.

            First, the whole purpose of Zootopia was to give all animals of the many different species equal opportunities with the absence of discrimination.  Many efficient tactics were taken to achieve the different stereotypes, but two instances really caught my eye.  The first example of this took place in the form of dialogue between Judy and Nick.  Towards the end of the movie, Judy was giving her speech and she made the mistake of blaming the way predators acted to their “biological makeup”.  Seeing that Nick was a fox, and society crowned him and his kind to be savages, he was very offended.  Later on, Judy claims that Nick is “not like them”.  What she basically meant was that most fox are bad, but Nick is the exception since he does not line up with their behavior.  This small sequence of events is all too familiar with how our current society puts negative labels on certain people and their race.  The last stereotypical event that stuck out to me was when Judy was trying to crack the case by speaking to the elephant.  In this case, the elephant was given a positive stereotype of having a great memory, but like many others, she did not fulfill what Zootopia labeled her to be.  This part of the movie was very significant because it reiterates the fact that not everybody is comfortable with conforming to what society labels them to be.  This can also be traced back to our present-day society with how people stereotype one race to be known for athleticism, or a great amount of intelligence.  In my opinion, this movie did a fantastic job of shooting down all sorts of stereotypes created by a society.

           

Next, the idea of race became evident in this all-too-real movie.  Many instances of race were brought up but one towards the beginning of the movie was very realistic.  This happened when Judy was new to the police academy and she was at the front desk speaking with the receptionist.  First, the man called Judy a cute little bunny.  Once again, this is all too realistic as her response was something like, “Bunnies can call other bunnies cute but other animals can’t call bunnies cute.”  The instant reaction to this vital dialogue was that the word “cute” for bunnies in Zootopia was equivalent to racial slurs in our society; specifically the “N” word.  This Disney movie was definitely targeted to younger aged children, but the key principles that people of all ages can learn from it are valuable and beneficial.