Sociological Analysis Of Zootopia

Zootopia: A Sociologist's Point of View

Zootopia is a movie that was debuted in theaters on March 4, 2016. The movie “revolves around how a tiny rabbit, Judy Hopps, overcomes all the invisible social barriers of stereotypes and prejudices around her size and thus her perceived weakness, to become a top-notch police officer” (Tan). The story “follows anthropomorphic animals in a society where predators and prey have evolved and are living and working side-by-side with each other” (Thornbury). Later, as Judy moves to Zootopia and works as a police officer in Zootopia Police Department, she is tasked to find a missing otter, which leads her to investigate a “queer case of predators turning savages in Zootopia” (Tan). The animated film addresses

Imagine how different the movie would be if Hopps was not a female, but a male rabbit. For one, addressing scenes such as “the one where she is dismissed by Chief Bogo on her first day in ZPD, where large physical size and masculinity is prized, could be very different” (Tan). Judy Hopps becoming an officer reflects how, in our society, a woman is downtrodden when entering traditionally male careers. When she is assigned as a meter maid, it is “not only more salient features, such as her identity as a prey that is at work, but her identity as a female is also working at the background, making her doubly prejudiced” (Tan). As Winston Churchill once said, “It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but it's the size of the fight in the dog.” Openly, the small, diminutive rabbit can get the work done as well as the bulky, tough ox. Judy’s spirit goes unrecognized by Chief Bogo, yet, she does not let that stop her from being the best meter

The city of Zootopia is an example of functionalism, where predators and prey live in harmony. Due to the racial stereotyping, however, the rising action led to the climax of the prey fearing the predators, disrupting the harmony the city once had. With the topic of gender, the “city where anyone can be anything,” according to Judy Hopps, and the relevance of the sociology in Zootopia is seen with a different perspective. However, the media’s views against only prejudice and deviance shows that looking at the film and finding sociological examples from a sociologist’s point of view is still a field that needs more analysis, but, with the coming years, one might find an answer to