Everyone likes the movie "Zootopia." While people enjoy Officer Judy’s cute adventure in "Zootopia," most don’t realize this fictional world can have a profound reflection on our current society.
Disney has released a clip of a deleted scene, named "The Taming Party", from the original storyboard on the DVD. People have shared it online. Surprisingly, the scene is heavier and darker than anyone could have imagined.
In the clip, Judy and Nick escape the capture. They run into an adulthood commencement party for a cub. They see the cub is given a shock collar as an adulthood gift, with other animals reciting a pledge in the background starts “With this collar, Zootopia welcomes you.” The cub puts the collar on. However, when he gets excited, the collar shocks him. His father is heartbroken. Judy then looks at Nick, she saw the same collar on Nick’s neck. The audience is left silent…
Well, it’s heartbreaking, isn’t it?
There is something about this clip that is worth speculating. The name, “The Taming Party”, has many meanings. A bear that was tamed is not a bear anymore because he loses his culture and identity. Moreover, when the father is handing the gift, he hesitated. He seems helpless. He knows that his son has to have the shock ring in order to be accepted by the society of "Zootopia." But he also knows that once he wear the shock collar on, he won't be able to have the taste of freedom anymore. No other animals will truly sees him as one of them because they used to be aggressive animals. Saying the words from the "Zootopia's" pledge, the father knows the shock collar is not a sign of honor, as they say, but a chain and a social tag. The baby bear is also confused. He's too young to understand the sophisticated world and prejudice. He still innocently thinks the collar is a sign of being a “bear”…
The clip also creates a profound reflection on the problems in our society, specifically racial profiling. Since 9/11, media and politics have depicted Muslims as terrorists, despite the common sense that most are not. Thus, some think it will be a good idea to segregate a certain group so that we can keep this country safe. (Thanks Ted Cruz and Trump!) Muslims, like all “aggressive” animals in the movie, are given a social tag. They are forced to received different treatment and special scrutiny in order to be accepted by American society. When they have such restrictions, freedom doesn’t mean the same to them anymore. They can never live as equally as others.
We should reflect on how we are treating other ethnic groups from this gut-wrenching clip. Just because certain extremists have committed a gruesome crime, we can’t segregate any ethnic group. Racial segregation happened in history before, and we all know it was not morally right. Let’s not make the same mistake again.
(Zootopia - Deleted Scene)
