Jillian English Blog Post #4

Zootopia

Disney is known for packing powerful messages into kid friendly films and Zootopia was no different. Zootopia follows an ambitious bunny named Judy with hopes to become the first bunny cop of the land. Zootopia is built around the idea that all animals, no matter the species, can live together harmoniously. At first glance this racial allegory seems to have the prey represent the minority groups and the predators as the majority, however I found out that it’s the opposite.  Judy Hopps enters the police force through the new “Mammal Inclusion Initiative” which very much favors affirmative action. However, later in the movie we find out that prey makes up 90% of the population dismissing my beliefs that the prey was in fact the minority group. As the story progresses, random predators around Zootopia turn “savage” due to injections from tractor juice. This is an allusion to the 1980s crack epidemic where an influx of crack in minority communities caused chaos. This epidemic kills the peaceful dynamic in Zootopia. One scene that really portray the prejudice is when Judy was on the train and a bunny pulled her kids away from the tiger that sat in the seat next to her. The mother was trying to protect her children while the tiger’s eyes showed how upset he was because he truly means ton harm. Also, even Judy herself is discriminatory, she tells the press that predators are naturally “savage”. I didn’t like the fact that the minority groups are considered the predators. I feel like this just reinforces the twisted ideas of the real world that minority naturally are more savage then their counterparts. However, I don’t believe Zootopia did this on purpose. They try to dismiss the claims that some animals are more savage then others, however on the allegorical side they are just simply reinforcing the idea that minority groups are the “savage” ones.  Overall, Zootopia highlights the different obstacles minorities overcome when integrating into a new society. Zootopia represents our natural instincts of judging based on looks and dirty rumors while trying to look past them to make a more peaceful society in the face of true ugliness.

Jamie Schwartz Post #4

The allegory behind Zootopia represents a society of animals that have long ago shed their primal “savage” instincts and now live in peace. The land of Zootopia is the culmination of everything these animals have achieved, and as Judy insists, a place “where anyone can be anything.” However, taking a closer look at the conflict in the movie, I realized that the predator-prey tension draws close parallels to racial and ethnic tension in our own society. This can be seen from the very beginning of the movie, when Judy’s parents tell stay wary of foxes. Despite that predators and prey live together, there is still an undertone of distrust between them, similarly to the subtle prejudices that people in our society have towards people of different gender, race, or sexuality than their own.

During the part of the movie when it is revealed that predators are biologically predisposed to being savages, I was reminded of the White Man’s Burden, the rhetoric used in the pre-Civil War era. This phrase falsely implied that black people were too “savage” to function normally in society, and that white people had an “obligation” to “save” them.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and its interpretation of utopian society.

Darius Zootopia

In Zootopia you see a verity of messages to be seen by an unsuspecting young audience. To me the most prevalent message was that of race. At first the races that were being represented weren’t specified. But it all became clear when the bunny cop was called a “token” which is a black person put in a certain position to please the black community. There was never a bunny on the force so I feel like she was going to be promoted to police status because it was time to have a bunny on there. That part was pretty like affirmative action because even though the other predators didn’t have to get perfect scores to be on the force the bunny did so they had to hire her. In some aspects, but all, I saw the bunnies mixed people and the predators as full black people. The reason I see it like that because of how to animals were dressed. They had on track suits and chains. It was clear that they were black because of how to police were handling them when they went “savage”. Speaking of going “savage”, this brings a great point to light. When the bunny is asked about the predators going “savage” she says it’s not their fault, it’s in their DNA to go “savage” because they are predators. This statement is the main reason I think the bunny was mixed. That statement was extremely racist and she didn’t know why. The fox feels offended and the children that watched this movie probably didn’t catch what I caught. The bunny pulled an Uncle Tom move. An Uncle Tom is a black person who does something to sell out their own. That is exactly what happened there. Another observation I made was the little animals. The assistant to the mayor kept saying that the small animals need to stick together. I saw them as white people because a lot of white people think their race is dying out so they need to stick together.

Brina Martinez Post #4

 

Overcoming stereotypes is a huge part of the movie Zootopia. Zootopia represents what society is like, except with the use of animals. But even with animals Disney found a way to address stereotypes and racial issues through a kids movie.

All of these problems were addressed from the very being of the movie, starting with Judy’s parents who told her to give up on her dreams of being a cop, because “bunnies don’t do that.” Which is a problem kids and even adults face today, being told that they can't do certain things because of who they are. And the movie ended with Nick proving not to be like every other fox, which would represent those people who overcome stereotypes and prove themselves not to be like everyone else.

One of the biggest moments in the movie was when Judy defended the Nick at the Popsicle shop. Judy believed he could be a good fox despite what her parents and everyone else told her, and even after being scratched by a fox when she was younger. But after leaving the shop she soon discovered the whole thing was a scam or as Nick called it a "hustle." Nick was just like every other fox until he began to help Judy solve the case. We later learned that Nick is the way he is because at a young age he wanted to be a Zootopia Junior Ranger but the other animals didn’t trust him because he was a fox. All of these scenes show real life situations, and even how younger children in the movie are taught not to trust foxes or children in real life are taught not to trust certain groups of people because of their races and how they look.

The movie also shows how not everyone falls into certain stereotypes that society has put in place. For instance, Judy becomes valedictorian of her class, and becomes the first bunny cop of Zootopia. Even after overcoming those obstacles more are placed and she still has to prove herself tough enough to be a cop. Judy starts off giving tickets and at the end solves a case. Nick who is made out to be a sleazy, clever fox, turns out to be the only one to help Judy on her case, even though it took a little bit of manipulation at first. The elephant is made out to be a clever one, who can remember everything, but she can’t! This shows how some groups of people are given certain stereotypes but not everyone apart of that group actually fits the stereotype.

Although Zootopia is a kid’s movie, it puts out a very important message addressing stereotyping. It shows us what our world is like today. The movie also problems we faces everyday in society because of things like our race, or the way we look. The movie also shows us that despite these stereotypes we can be like Judy Hops and become the first bunny cop in Zootopia.

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.