Ten-Minute Analysis: Zootopia
In the end of Zootopia, Nick and Judy catch a sloth speeding; this is probably just a quick gag, but to me it represents a final wink to the viewer. What exactly have we watched, after all? We’ve seen a society plagued by racism and with stereotypes embedded at every turn–while some characters willingly accept these stereotypes, others defy it. There’s an elephant that has a terrible memory. There’s a fox that you can trust. In the end scene, there’s a sloth that drives quickly.
Zootopia and Ellison: A Comparison
Invisible Man tells the story of a Black American in his efforts to grapple with and perhaps overcome racism. The plot is rather complex and there’s quite a bit of debate on what each character represents, but I think the unnamed narrator is best characterized by two things: His eloquence, and his relationship to violence.
Using both attributes, the narrator finds himself a spokesperson for an organization that seeks racial equality…sort of. Their aims become complicated and in the middle of a riot, the unnamed narrator realizes he’s been used. Without getting too deep into Ellison’s work (which people are still debating to this day), I did want to emphasize the narrator’s agency.
Like Judy, the Invisible Man initially believes in an ideal and attempts to correct the underlying problems in the society he lives in. The invisible man issignificant — others recognize his talents, and they seek to exploit them to their own aims. Judy proves herself capable–she uncovers a conspiracy, she speaks for the police department, and the mayor attempts to use her to draw the population against predators.
Beyond Direct Representation
[ten minutes is up, but I’m going to keep going]
The Film Theorists have claimed predators are an obvious allegory for African Americans, and I respectfully disagree. Much better, I think, is the Carlin Brothers’ interpretation: You can’t just draw a 1:1 correspondence. First of all, this is biology; 90% of animals really are prey. Second, if you try to draw direct comparisons between animals and races then you’ll completely misinterpret what this movie is trying to say. The dangerous implication is that different human races are literally different species, and I really don’t think this is what the movie is supposed to be about. Rather, I think we should see Zootopia as a universe that parallels our own, but without such obvious representations.
The Concept of Transcendence in a Racist Society
I read a paper that glorified the Invisible Man’s self-proclaimed invisibility — he can mine this trait for agency, neither accepting it nor rejecting it. I really don’t get what this paper was trying to say. In the end, the narrator isn’t really doing anything. In my mind, the narrator has sort of given up.
Not so with Nick and Judy. A potential conspiracy, perhaps even a genocide has been thwarted (that may be an exaggeration, but whatever). Judy was a character who did not care about her society’s view of her, and Nick was someone who (much like many of the real people in a racist society) allowed himself to be defined by it. In the end, both characters resisted this and were applauded for doing so.
But did they win? Is this an overall victory? The political returns to power by using the very rhetorical techniques Nick mocks. Stereotypes still run rampant and are sometimes perpetuated: As honest trailers calls them, the stereotypical dumb southerner, Italian mob boss, and donut-eating cop all seem to fit their molds perfectly. Is there not still some difficulty with the structure in place? Or is the movie trying to say that some degree of stereotyping is okay, so long as it’s not taken to the extreme?
As one Youtuber says, perhaps it’s a good thing that we have so many questions at the film’s end.
