Sometimes it’s really hard to understand what’s going on in the world. We often try to compare what’s going on around us to what we know. Personally I compare events to stories I’ve seen in TV and movies. This helps me to get a better understanding of what is going on around me. With everything happening in the world the first movie that comes to mind is Zootopia.
I know that Zootopia might seem a little PG for everything going on right now, but it is, in my opinion, a movie that explains racism and institutionalized racism in the most understandable way. It’s so understandable that kids are able to get a grasp of the concept through the movie.
In Zootopia Judy Hopps is tackling a case of “predators gone savage”. The high profile case of predators reverting back to their savage ways sends the population of Zootopia into a deep fear. Predators are discriminated against throughout the film for simply being predators. It didn’t matter if they were good people or not. At one point Officer Clawhauser, an incredibly harmless cheetah, is removed from his desk at reception. This is done
because they don’t think it’s a good idea to greet people in a police station with a predator. You also see a mother pull her child further away from a tiger who’s just minding his own business on the subway. Judy Hopps even turns on her partner, a fox, out of fear.
Each of these instances is representative of racism in our society. They eventually learn that the mayor’s assistant turned the prey (the majority population) against predators in order to take control of the city. Bellwether wants the majority to fear the minority. Sound familiar?
The overall lesson of the movie is that it’s not right to judge someone else because of what they look like on the outside. That’s the lesson that so many people need to learn right now. It doesn’t matter what your skin color is. We all deserve to be given a chance as a person before we are judged. No one should fear another on site because of the color of their skin.
If you’ve never seen Zootopia I highly recommend that you go watch it. Especially right now. If you don’t understand what’s going on, find a story that can help you understand. Zootopia is just one example. Remember the Titans, Hidden Figures, and so many more movies tell stories that some of us will never truly understand. Please, try to understand what people of color have to go through everyday. I know those of us that are whiter than snow will never understand, but we can try. We can see them, we can listen to them, and we can do what we can to help them.
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