Zootopia/Zootropolis
Mar. 29th, 2016 02:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackGeneral impression,
I loved how upbeat and optimistic the main character was, even when things didn't go well, it was lovely to see that portrayed so positively.
I love the worldbuilding of Zootropilis City, and the history of predator and prey animals now living together but not without tensions.
I loved a lot of the other characters, how they had appearances and names and attitudes and body language that all conveyed both "animal" and "human" without seeming weird.
Predator/Prey
I'm not sure if the predator/prey relationship had a specific analogue in the real world, but it seemed like a really good metaphor for several different sorts of discrimination.
We don't know if predators predating on prey ever does happen, but I think the metaphor works either way -- that if most of all animals are decent, but a small number take advantage, then a small number of prey who are jerks doesn't harm anyone specifically, but a small number of predators who are jerks, could ruin life for most prey.
OTOH, it might be that a better classification is "large, tough" animals vs small animals. Lots of the cops are large non-predators, but still think rabbits can't be cops. But -- surprise -- when people start noticing the discrimination, it isn't perfectly aimed, and the backlash itself is harmful, against predators who are completely harmless.
Police
I didn't used to notice this until highlyeccentric pointed it out, and now I see it all the time. It's really not ok to show police threatening to kill someone, even if they're clearly guilty, even if they're not actually going to be killed, because thinking that's normal allows people acting in positions of authority as police to *think* it's justified when it's really more like prejudice talking :(
I'm also a lot less sanguine about Mr Big. He was clearly shown not just acting outside the law, but murdering people on light pretexts. But then we never really worry about that, cue happy dance routine.
I loved how upbeat and optimistic the main character was, even when things didn't go well, it was lovely to see that portrayed so positively.
I love the worldbuilding of Zootropilis City, and the history of predator and prey animals now living together but not without tensions.
I loved a lot of the other characters, how they had appearances and names and attitudes and body language that all conveyed both "animal" and "human" without seeming weird.
Predator/Prey
I'm not sure if the predator/prey relationship had a specific analogue in the real world, but it seemed like a really good metaphor for several different sorts of discrimination.
We don't know if predators predating on prey ever does happen, but I think the metaphor works either way -- that if most of all animals are decent, but a small number take advantage, then a small number of prey who are jerks doesn't harm anyone specifically, but a small number of predators who are jerks, could ruin life for most prey.
OTOH, it might be that a better classification is "large, tough" animals vs small animals. Lots of the cops are large non-predators, but still think rabbits can't be cops. But -- surprise -- when people start noticing the discrimination, it isn't perfectly aimed, and the backlash itself is harmful, against predators who are completely harmless.
Police
I didn't used to notice this until highlyeccentric pointed it out, and now I see it all the time. It's really not ok to show police threatening to kill someone, even if they're clearly guilty, even if they're not actually going to be killed, because thinking that's normal allows people acting in positions of authority as police to *think* it's justified when it's really more like prejudice talking :(
I'm also a lot less sanguine about Mr Big. He was clearly shown not just acting outside the law, but murdering people on light pretexts. But then we never really worry about that, cue happy dance routine.