Zootopia by Katelynn Mcllwain | Teen Ink

Zootopia by Katelynn Mcllwain

September 19, 2016
By Meli.M SILVER, Phoenix, Arizona
Meli.M SILVER, Phoenix, Arizona
5 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Katelynn Mcllwain's review of Disney's latest animated feature, Zootopia, stands out to me for its honest appraisal of the way in which themes from the film are applicable in the 21st century. Zootopia, a film about an aspiring rabbit police officer in the throes of mysterious missing predator cases and rising social tensions between predators and prey, reflects the deeply ingrained prejudice that permeates our society today. In the movie, the city of Zootopia represents a utopian society that fosters diversity and tolerance among its anthropomorphic citizens, a place in which predators and prey coexist peacefully and there is equal opportnity for all. As predators begin to go missing, the citizens of this quasi-American society become divided into two unequivocal categories: predator or prey. Predators are labeled as biologically primitive mammals who cannot control their animal instincts, a mentality that favors the supposedly genteel prey. This pattern of behavior can even be observed in America today. "In this country, and surely all around the world, whole groups are being wrongly stereotyped," Katelynn notes, drawing a parallel to the social conflict in Zootopia to the maltreatment of African-Americans and institutionalized racism in the U.S. I found her review to be profoundly enlightening about the ways that Zootopia allegorically represents our society today, and even though it is a gloomy comparison, Zootopia offers us the chance to recognize that anyone truly can be anything, irrespective of any other denominations the world may impose on us. The world is our oyster and we have chance to learn from Zootopia



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