Judy Hopps Zootopia

THESIS STATEMENT: The world’s media today seem to have more violence than ever. Video games have vivid depictions of accident catastrophes, fighting and murder. Television news programs generally lead with a violent story in order to gain an audience. This is free society people can stay what they want. ‘’ Media violence has many negative effect on youth today to commit crimes in society.’’

Today, Film and Television are among the most internationally supported commodities. Financially, their contributions are enormous: both industries are responsible for the circulation of billions of dollars each year. Since their respective explosions into the new media markets during the mid-twentieth century, film and television have produced consistently growing numbers of viewers and critics alike. Sparking debate over the nature of their viewing, film and television are now being questioned in social, political, and moral arenas for their potential impact on an audience. Critics claim that watching films or television is a passive activity in which the viewer becomes subconsciously

“No matter what kind of person you are, I implore you: try. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you” - Judy Hopps. The Disney movie, Zootopia, explains a society of animals where all the prey and predators get along together nicely. Judy Hopps, a rabbit, has always wanted to be a cop her whole life, but her parents want her to stay on the carrot farm to become a carrot farmer just like all of the other bunnies. After a lot of determination, Judy becomes the first prey/rabbit cop and moves to the city of Zootopia. The head officer explains that nine animals, prey and predators, throughout the four Zootopia zones had gone missing. Determined to prove her spot as a cop, Judy jumps at the opportunity to solve the mysterious cases. Judy went out trying to solve the cases with a mischievous fox to figure out what happened to the missing animals. Zootopia is a great modern day example of transcendentalism as it displays examples of nonconformity and confidence.

A Disney film, Zootopia was released on March of 2016, it is not only a kid animated movie but a movie that exposes many social issues that we face in today’s society. This film is set in a city named Zootopia, where animals all sizes big and small come together to live a peaceful and civilized life. They “have abandoned traditional predator/prey roles in favor of civilized coexistence” (Rovi). In this film, there is a rabbit named Judy Hopps who has always dreamed of becoming a police officer, she lives in a town called Bunny Burrow. Where she lives with both parents and about two-hundred brothers and sisters. Judy leaves her parents and siblings behind to pursue her dream of becoming the first rabbit police officer, despite being told she will never be a police officer due to gender inequality. On her first day of work, she is assigned to be a traffic officer or as others referred to her a “meter maid.” She is determined that this will not stop her from being a real police officer. On her first day of duty, she gives out two hundred and two parking tickets and meets a con artist that happens to be a fox named Nick Wilde. In Zootopia, foxes are untrustworthy and discriminated for being foxes. This con artist will later help officer Hopps solve a mysterious crime. In Zootopia, a total of fifteen mammals go missing, and Judy puts her career on the line, for offering to help resolve this case. She is given forty-eight hours to crack this case if

What comes to mind when one thinks of the word ‘puppy’? It is probable describe a puppy as a lovable, adorable, and cuddly companion. However, one might also identify the animal as a menace and a liability or even as a delicious source of food. Why does this single word hold so many meanings? One’s past experiences and biases influences these conflicting views and attitudes. For instance, an individual’s fond view of puppies may exist because they were raised with puppies and consequently grew affectionate toward the animals. On the contrary, if another individual has not bonded with puppies as pets, then they will share the latter point of view. In the short story “Puppy” by George Saunders, the multiple characters view single events and

Discerning good from evil is a particularly common theme in the present society, considering that it basically stands as a storyline for a series of books, motion pictures, video games, and similar concepts. Moreover, most of these products set clear definitions of the difference between good and evil by focusing on portraying evil as being associated with stereotypes. Similarly, good is associated with ideas such as honesty, the color white, or beauty, considering that these are stereotypes generally associated with the forces of good. Even with this, such stereotypes have made it difficult for people to have a complex understanding of the concept of morality.

Certain films evoke an emotion in you. Whether it being happy, sad, scared or even angry – movies have a way of teaching us new things about ourselves and even the world. I, myself, often find myself trying to piece together what types of roles individuals play within society, regardless of if it is a film or real life. We all have these roles and functions that determine how we will act, what we will do, how we will react, and who we will interact with. These are all things that we want to know about someone, not only out of curiosity but so we can predict how others that do the same will also react. The movie, Divergent, which is based on the three-novel series by Veronica Roth is one that showed me how society functions from a

Good versus Evil is an important concept. Evil sometimes overcomes our good but never exceeds good. The difference between evil and good is that good is an ability to have empathy and compassion towards other people. Evil is people who are selfish, self-absorbed and don’t have empathy towards others. Literature plays a vital role in developing concepts of good and evil and effectively portrays the morals of its time period. In the novels Dracula and The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the authors explore the human nature of good and evil in men from different perspectives of Dracula, Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll.

This can help the wider community understand their own moral obligations and behaviour within society. As noted by ‘….Smolej (2010), portrayals of crime and deviance in the media are often seen as essential parts of social control since the media has a central role in defining what is deviant and condemnable.’

The portrayal of violence on television is shown in cartoons, comedies, horrors, dramas, and many other genre television shows. Some cartoons as well as other television shows, endlessly display violence--that youth often view as a form of entertainment. However, the actions and behavior conveyed on the television do not make youth commit violent acts. It induces them to believe that violence is just the standard way of living life. On the television, the lawbreaker gets away with the crime and does not face disciplinary actions, and therefore they are not held responsible for the repercussions of their wrongdoings (Menhard 11).

In his book, More Than a Movie: Ethics in Entertainment, F. Miguel Valenti examines nine “hot buttons” of violence – “creative elements that filmmakers use to manipulate viewers’ reactions to onscreen violence.” (99) These elements, posited by researchers conducting The National Television Violence Study (Valenti, 99) are “choice of perpetrator, choice of victim, presence of consequences, rewards and punishments, the reason for the violence, weapons, realism, use of humor, and prolonged exposure” (Valenti, 100) .

In this essay I shall discuss how the film, 'The Matrix' (1999), engages in a form of cinematic philosophy. Specifically, I will discuss how the film can be seen as making an objection to the position held by Sidgwick (1907), who asserts that, positive states of consciousness, or, pleasure, is ultimately the only thing inherently valuable, which in turn becomes the basis of his utilitarian ethics. In doing so, I consider The Matrix to be a cinematic adaptation of Robert Nozick's (1974) 'experience machine' thought experiment, which the film-makers bring to life, developing it into a narrative that pulls heavily on our moral emotions. However, although the film-makers skilfully elicit the appropriate emotional responses from viewers, ensuring

For countless generations, a single aspect of life has been the center of major controversy and dispute among many and may never eventually be settled. The question remains: good or evil? This one inquiry has led to a variety of religions and cultures, as well as a great divide among the entire human civilization. However, in many circumstances which are shown in many novels and movies, good always conquers. In Something Wicked This Way Comes, Bradbury proposes the idea that good always prevails over evil by utilizing the characters as examples of vice and virtue, providing a reason as to how evil could influence one’s actions, and introducing the idea that one could outweigh the obstacles of immorality with the power of integrity.

The world is a simple place, but often at times, it seems more complicated than it really is. People exist in a world where others do not know about them because the world is so big. Existentialism is the belief that a person creates one’s self with the influence of external factors. However, more importantly, it is how a person is able to cope with these factors that allow a person to live their life. Existentialism is a key factor that is prominent throughout the story. The main characters in the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, are all influenced by outside factors that include a pregnancy substitute to make babies and pre-plan their futures, living in a controlled environment and by making the citizens live in a constant hallucination of “happiness”.

Most people think of small animals, such as sheep, as meek and submissive due to their frequent portrayal as innocent characters in children’s stories and folklore; in these same stories, antagonistic characters tend to be fiercer animals such as lions or wolves. However, the children’s movie Zootopia, in which all characters are mammals, shows that this is not always the case. The characters in this film break the stereotypes against them by being different or the opposite of what the audience expects based on their species or occupation within the film. For instance, Judy Hopps solves the case on the missing mammals and why they went savage despite being a “dumb bunny”, and Nick Wilde turns from a sly con artist to the first fox cop. This