Childhood is characterized by innocence. Children rarely over think things, rather they simply accept life the way that they see it. Kids normally do not have any reason to think of alternate interpretations or themes of the media they indulge in. For this reason, adults usually dismiss kid’s movies as foolish or a waste of time for people of a certain maturity. They only see them as a form of entertainment for those of lesser sophistication. Contrastingly, Judith Halberstam takes a meticulous look at these movies. In the chapter from her book The Queer Art of Failure, Halberstam analyzes popular animated movies and identifies elements in them that correspond with the queer theory. She exemplifies the ideas of Schulz by looking past the surface
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She next classifies various animated movies as either Pixarvolt or nonpixarvolt. Among the Pixarvolt films are Finding Nemo, Over the Hedge, and while not a movie, she briefly references Spongebob Squarepants. These movies are archetypes of the Pixarvolt genre. None of these animations have an emphasis on the family or on the power of individuality. Rather, all successes come only after a team effort has been made or their own selfish ambitions are put aside. In addition to Finding Nemo, Chicken Run utilizes the symbolism of the animals that are the subject of the animated feature. Instead of falling into what is the norm for society, these animals display queer behaviors. Halberstam claims that Marlin from Finding Nemo “is a parent, but not a father” and that Ginger from Chicken Run is a feminist who does not allow her romantic feelings come in the way of her political agenda and desire for freedom. She also talks about the movie Robots and how that film has queer themes to it because it addresses the idea of nature vs nurture. It says that we are who we are more because of our environment than anything else, and that humanity is not predestined to be one way by nature, but it is created by those it is comprised of. All of these topics are unconventional at best, and may perhaps be considered as divisive. These opinions go against the grain of commonly accepted truths, just as Schulz would
She next classifies various animated movies as either Pixarvolt or nonpixarvolt. Among the Pixarvolt films are Finding Nemo, Over the Hedge, and while not a movie, she briefly references Spongebob Squarepants. These movies are archetypes of the Pixarvolt genre. None of these animations have an emphasis on the family or on the power of individuality. Rather, all successes come only after a team effort has been made or their own selfish ambitions are put aside. In addition to Finding Nemo, Chicken Run utilizes the symbolism of the animals that are the subject of the animated feature. Instead of falling into what is the norm for society, these animals display queer behaviors. Halberstam claims that Marlin from Finding Nemo “is a parent, but not a father” and that Ginger from Chicken Run is a feminist who does not allow her romantic feelings come in the way of her political agenda and desire for freedom. She also talks about the movie Robots and how that film has queer themes to it because it addresses the idea of nature vs nurture. It says that we are who we are more because of our environment than anything else, and that humanity is not predestined to be one way by nature, but it is created by those it is comprised of. All of these topics are unconventional at best, and may perhaps be considered as divisive. These opinions go against the grain of commonly accepted truths, just as Schulz would