Zootopia And Stereotypes In America

On March 16, 2016, Walt Disney Pictures released what some critics call “a movie that stands with the finest of the Disney classics.” Zootopia, in summary, is about Judy Hopps dreaming of being the first bunny police officer, and when she moves to Zootopia- a city where animals live in harmony- that dream becomes a reality. When Judy partners up with a sly fox named Nick Wilde to solve a crime, a Zootopian-wide scandal reveals that predators and prey might not actually live in harmony. On the surface, Zootopia is a beautifully animated children’s story, but on closer examination Zootopia exaggerates the issues of racial profiling and “The War on Drugs.” Much like the United States of America, Zootopia is a city where anyone, no matter his
Almost all characters in the film are stereotyped in one way or another. Foxes are seen as “hustlers.” Bunnies are seen as “cute.” Predators are seen as “savage.” In America, the same type of stereotypes still exist today. One can see that certain nationalities, such as African Americans, Muslims, and Latinos, are still being prejudiced against, and are treated unequally. Although some of the stereotypes seem harmful, not all of them are true. Predators are not all savages, and foxes are not all hustlers. African Americans are not all thugs, and Muslims are not all terrorists. While highlighting both the positive and negative aspects of these stereotypes, Walt Disney Pictures was able to convey how stereotypes affect animals and humans alike. At the end of the film, the animals of Zootopia were able to unite and put their racial differences aside. Zootopia also references “The War on Drugs.” This war has been ongoing in North America for several decades. In Zootopia, Judy tries to understand why the predators were going “savage.” She ends up cracking the case, but Judy did not realize a drug called Night Howlers was involved. The Night Howlers drug reverted the animals’ biological components back to the animals’ original “savage” ways. This correlates to “The War on Drugs.” The American government has been fighting the globalization of drugs such as Marijuana,
Children have been able to openly talk about these topics, and Children now have a better understanding on how the world works today. In the movie, Gazelle, voiced by Shakira, pleads with the Zootopian animals that, “we don’t just blindly assign blame. We don’t know why these attacks keep happening but it is irresponsible to label all predators as savages. We cannot let fear divide us. Please give me back the Zootopia I love” (Zootopia) Children are the future of the world, and Shakira was able to open up the youngsters minds with this quote alone. America is Zootopia. We need to end racial profiling and “The War on Drugs.” As Donald Trump would say, “Let’s Make America Great