Prejudice And Stereotypes In The Movie 'Zootopia'

The movie The Namesake brought many stereotypes to mind as I was watching it, speaking english with a deep Indian accent and the arranged marriages. Other stereotypes the movie depicted were majority of the country being poverty ridden and congested. The main character of the movie was named Gogol and was born of Indian parents in America, he experienced two different cultures, what his parents did at home and what he did after he left that household. He was not fond of his name, Gogol wanted to change his name after high school because he thought it would have been difficult for him to go through society with a name like that. After Gogol left his parents house and went off in the working world he was distant. He barely visited

The ease of modern technology that lets people communicate globally, the access to extraordinary mobility, and the well roundedness of people today has produced the biggest population in history that prides itself in being egalitarian and fair-minded. Psychologists have found evidence in recent studies that, although people are not as outwardly racist and discriminatory as they were in the past centuries, there is an underlying bias that can lead people to act in ways opposing their beliefs. In their book Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good people, psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald explore the ideas of unconscious identity, the judgment and treatment of others based on stereotypes and the phenomenon of association, and our inability to simply stop being biased as opposed to outsmarting it.

The film “Zootopia” clearly shows how social injustice is being represented, whether it be racist, bias, prejudice etc. For example, in the scene where Judy starts her first day at ZPD, everyone is assigned

How Biased Attitudes are Portrayed in Zootopia The movie of Zootopia is directed by Bryan Howard and Rich Moore. Essentially about a bunny named Judy Hopps who wants to be a police officer, and to make the world a better place. Later on, Judy learns things are not so easy and stumbles across challenges and obstacles along the way. Despite being told countless times that she can not make it, Judy perseveres but quickly encounters a problem. Biased attitudes are portrayed through the film Zootopia by Chief Bogo treating Judy differently, Judy making assumptions of the physical character of Mr. Big judging by his name, and Judy’s negative bias towards Nick and predators.

I chose to watch the movie Zootopia by Disney Animation. Although it is a children’s movie there are many stereotypes hidden throughout the film. The star of the movie is Judy Hops, a small rabbit who dreams of being a police officer. Her parents tell her it is practically impossible for her to be a police officer because no one of their background has done it before. Because she is labeled as “prey” she is not seen as police officer material. All the other law enforcement officers in the movie are bears, lions, rhinos, tigers, and other predators. They are meant to be intimidating and fit the “cops are tough” stereotypes.

The first thing that will be talked about is the symbolism in the story. The subject this movie covers are racism, drugs, politics, and stereotyping. An example of stereotyping is when Nick called Judy a “dumb bunny”. That is a stereotyping because it’s as if he thinks all bunnies are weak and unreliable.

On the surface, Zootopia might appear like a fun, silly Disney movie, but the film actually touches on powerful messages about stereotypes, prejudices, and power in today’s society, especially regarding racial relationships. Zootopia is a film about a world where prey and predators live together in supposed harmony. Judy Hopps, a bunny aspiring to become a police officer, faces resistance from other animals. Similarly, Nick Wilde, a con artist fox, faces social stereotypes that harm his self-image. These two characters work together to solve a missing mammal case, and end up discovering a darker secret: the mayor’s assistant, Bellwether, hatched a plot to turn predators into savages so that prey would finally get recognition in government. The prey, however, are the majority, making up ninety percent of Zootopia’s population, and the predators are the minority, making up ten percent of the population. (Zootopia) Throughout the movie, the viewers are exposed to the stereotypes and discrimination that the prey impose on the predators. Ultimately, this film is a message about the relationships between the dominant and minority groups. Through this prey-predator relationship, Zootopia reveals how the power of language and the dominant narrative results in both harmful stereotypes and unconscious biases.

In this paper I will discuss what happens when we allow biases and prejudice to affect our actions toward others. I will then conclude my paper with what we can do to prevent or eliminate discrimination.

The Aesthetics of Race: Zootopia In Zootopia, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, while race is not explicit in terms of humans, themes about how prejudice and discrimination among others are present in the world, from how classifying a person or an animal based on its supposed instinctive nature may affect how others perceive them. Judy Hopps, the first female rabbit and a valedictorian to join the police force while persevering through several obstacles before and after becoming an officer. Zootopia suggests that discrimination or racial inequality amongst others may be biological in nature or at least may be developed at an early age that is seen in the doll test. However general the movie may be in terms of anyone being able to enjoy the movie, inside information and social factors make up the plot that all conglomerates into its underlying themes.

Based in a world of anthropomorphic animals, Zootopia (2016) revisits the buddy-cop animation genre to present a parable on real world issues of stereotyping, fear-mongering, prejudice and sexism. Zootopia depicts the perpetuation of race and gender inequality in the United States, and by denouncing it as American propaganda, the Chinese government shows the disconnect it has with its citizenry with regard to consumption of media. Zootopia simplifies the understanding of real world issues of stereotyping and discrimination by rooting character experience in familiar reality. Centralizing the narrative around Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), the first ever bunny cop, and Nick Wilde (Nick Bateman), a con-artist fox, the movie intricately tackles

Discrimination: Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members. In Zootopia, an act of discrimination is seen in a flashback when Nick Wilde is joining the Ranger Scouts. In this scene, the members of the scouts put a muzzle on him just because he is a fox and “They cannot trust a fox”.

How does Zootopia explore a variety of important themes? Zootopia, a vivid city, where a diligent bunny and a sly fox, work together to solve a conspiracy. This movie portrays a variety of different themes, in which we can not only learn how diversity can be negative, but also how we can overcome discrimination. By discussing the themes of “Zootopia”, it can be seen how stereotypes, racism and prejudice can have a negative impact on people. Through exploring the key aspects of the themes Zootopia has incorporated, they can help us obtain a clear understanding of them.

However, many of the group-based stereotypes are incorrect and generalizing and it promotes further misunderstandings and prejudice. Prejudice is having a false attitude toward an out-group in comparison to one’s in-group. Prejudiced individuals are prejudging without knowing any information about the “Others” (Rogers and Steinfatt).

Zootopia is Disney’s New York City, the city of opportunities, where “anyone can be anything” (Zootopia). A female bunny can even be the first police officer in Zootopia history. Despite being constantly discouraged from persuading her dream, Judy Hopps proves her doubters wrong and becomes Zootopia’s first bunny police officer. Once at the male dominant Zootopian Police Department, the hopeful Judy is placed on parking duty and is outsmarted by the fox, Nick Wilde. On her second day, she is almost fired for insubordination, but Judy is given one last chance to prove herself by finding one of the missing predators. With the help of Nick Wilde, she begins her investigation, where she is constantly disrespected by the male characters. However, her feminine and masculine qualities allow her to eventually gain their respect. With Judy in the lead of the investigation, it is discovered that the once innocent Mayor Bellwether was behind the disappearances and she is arrested. Zootopia is once again peaceful and is under the protection of the respected Officer Judy Hopps. By comparing Judy Hopps to the other gender roles present in the film, Zootopia shows that moving between the masculine-feminine spectrum should be accepted and encouraged.

Prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping are important topics at the cause of debating within social psychology. A stereotype is a generalization about a group of people, in which certain traits cling to all members, regardless of actual individual variation (Akert, Aronson, & Wilson, 2010). As humans, people assign objects and individuals into categories to organize the environment. Individuals do this for not only organization, but also survival. Is stereotyping inevitable? That is the question; according to Devine (2007), it is, but Lepore and Brown (2007) have to disagree. Devine believes that “stereotyping is automatic, which makes it inevitable.” On the other hand, Lepore and Brown are not convinced that stereotyping is