Disney's new movie "Zootopia" hit theaters on March 4th, earning the top box office spot and grossing 75.1 million dollars in its first week of being released. It is a fun and light-hearted film that people of all ages can enjoy. While there was a lot of funny jokes and humorous movie references, there is a deeper almost dark theme that runs through the entire film and the execution of this is just brilliant. Disney decided to tackle the messy business of prejudice that has been running ramped through our country and their message is one that everyone needs to hear.
America has had a rollercoaster of blame lately and usually its not targeted to any one person, but to a group of people. Whether it be police officers accused of police brutality, immigrants of terrorism, wealthy of uncaring, poor of laziness, minorities of crime, males of controlling, or females of inferiority, we can all see the repercussions of prejudice.
We cannot continue in this cycle of stereotyping groups and then pointing the blame at them.
There are always partial truths to each stereotype, for instance there have been recent violent interactions with police officers in several areas, but does that mean that all police officers are all out to get us? No, of course not, just take a look at Officer Judy Hopps.
She has a strong desire to do the right thing and make a difference in the world. I honestly believe that this is how most cops are. The majority of them risk their lives every day to make sure that everyone else is safe, and I think we need to remember this when we pass by our men and women in uniform.
As far as the other issues, the main theme can be applied to all of them. Throughout the movie there is reference to this "old" idea of predators versus prey. In the beginning, it explains how they were predators against prey in their primitive nature, but that they have now overcome their differences and live in harmony. However, there are still different signs that they have not quite gotten over their old ideals.
We start the film following Judy, and we automatically feel for her and want her to accomplish her big dreams. She is bullied and labelled as weak and inferior because of her status as prey. Automatically, we start to assume that predators are nasty and it is in their nature to attack prey.
Except then we meet Nick Wilde and our hearts melt when we hear his backstory. Turns out that predator and prey alike are victims of stereotyping: both the big guys, and the little guys. What does this have to say about us in our society?
I think we don't do a good enough job of putting ourselves in the shoes of others. We are all people and we all matter. Let's get to know one another better. Let's stop judging people and start listening to them. We can make the world a better place if we learn how to get along with people who are different from us just like Nick and Judy did.
