A Reconsideration of “Zootopia”: Stereotype
Zheng Kejia
Wenzhou-Kean University
Introduction The movie “Zootopia” is a comedy cartoon movie which was produced by Walt Disney Animation Studio in 2016. This movie mainly talks about how a “small” rabbit and a “sly” fox work together to detect a mysterious case, and finally found a huge conspiracy hidden behind this case (Spencer, & Howard, and Moore, 2016). Although this is an animal-based cartoon movie, it veritably and directly reflects a social psychological phenomenon which is existing in the real world: stereotype and prejudice. The following of this paper will mainly focus on how stereotypes are presented in this movie.
Explanations of “Stereotype” In social …show more content…
(2002) explained in their book, people are socialized to adopt and accept stereotypes. Despite the fact that stereotypes can be absorbed at any age, stereotypes usually formed in early childhood, under the influence of family, peers, teachers and the society. Although the parents of Judy felt proud of her dream, they still showed anxiety and suspicion because of the stereotype. Besides, when Nick was a little fox, he determined to become a boy scout provide helps for others. However, his dream was teased by the peers who held the view that the fox is untrustworthy. Gradually, Nick was forced to accept this kind of stereotype, becoming a cunning, lying fox (Spencer et al., 2016). This also illustrates that one of consequences of stereotypes is that stereotypes will influence people’s self-evaluations and lead to self-stereotyping (Cox, Abramson, Devine & Hollon, …show more content…
According to Gordon Allport, as explained by Khan, Benda and Stagnaro (2012), the theory Contact Hypothesis proposes four prerequisites for successful intergroup contact, which could effectively eliminate the negative impact of stereotypes. The four prerequisites are “1) equal status within the contact situation; 2) intergroup cooperation; 3) common goals; and 4) support of authorities, law, or customs” (Khan et al., 2012, p.6). In this movie, Judy and Nick cooperated with each other to try to achieve their common goal: solve the mysterious case. In the process of searching for the truth, Judy and Nick had received helps from both government and non-government organizations. Gradually, they established trust and intergroup friendship, and their stereotypes about each other also disappeared (Spencer et al., 2016).
Conclusion
Based on the plots of the movie “Zootopia”, this paper mainly introduces a social psychology concept: stereotype. Stereotypes provide people with shortcuts to understand the world, but sometimes they may convey some false information about certain groups. Under the influence of families, peers and the society, stereotypes are formed in early childhood and influence people in an unconscious way. Last but not the least, in order to eliminate the negative impact of stereotypes, the theory Contact Hypothesis was proposed
Zheng Kejia
Wenzhou-Kean University
Introduction The movie “Zootopia” is a comedy cartoon movie which was produced by Walt Disney Animation Studio in 2016. This movie mainly talks about how a “small” rabbit and a “sly” fox work together to detect a mysterious case, and finally found a huge conspiracy hidden behind this case (Spencer, & Howard, and Moore, 2016). Although this is an animal-based cartoon movie, it veritably and directly reflects a social psychological phenomenon which is existing in the real world: stereotype and prejudice. The following of this paper will mainly focus on how stereotypes are presented in this movie.
Explanations of “Stereotype” In social …show more content…
(2002) explained in their book, people are socialized to adopt and accept stereotypes. Despite the fact that stereotypes can be absorbed at any age, stereotypes usually formed in early childhood, under the influence of family, peers, teachers and the society. Although the parents of Judy felt proud of her dream, they still showed anxiety and suspicion because of the stereotype. Besides, when Nick was a little fox, he determined to become a boy scout provide helps for others. However, his dream was teased by the peers who held the view that the fox is untrustworthy. Gradually, Nick was forced to accept this kind of stereotype, becoming a cunning, lying fox (Spencer et al., 2016). This also illustrates that one of consequences of stereotypes is that stereotypes will influence people’s self-evaluations and lead to self-stereotyping (Cox, Abramson, Devine & Hollon, …show more content…
According to Gordon Allport, as explained by Khan, Benda and Stagnaro (2012), the theory Contact Hypothesis proposes four prerequisites for successful intergroup contact, which could effectively eliminate the negative impact of stereotypes. The four prerequisites are “1) equal status within the contact situation; 2) intergroup cooperation; 3) common goals; and 4) support of authorities, law, or customs” (Khan et al., 2012, p.6). In this movie, Judy and Nick cooperated with each other to try to achieve their common goal: solve the mysterious case. In the process of searching for the truth, Judy and Nick had received helps from both government and non-government organizations. Gradually, they established trust and intergroup friendship, and their stereotypes about each other also disappeared (Spencer et al., 2016).
Conclusion
Based on the plots of the movie “Zootopia”, this paper mainly introduces a social psychology concept: stereotype. Stereotypes provide people with shortcuts to understand the world, but sometimes they may convey some false information about certain groups. Under the influence of families, peers and the society, stereotypes are formed in early childhood and influence people in an unconscious way. Last but not the least, in order to eliminate the negative impact of stereotypes, the theory Contact Hypothesis was proposed