Stereotypes In Disney Pixar's Films

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What do stereotypes add to a film? Are they for the best? Are they different than archetypes? Disney Pixar’s film Cars (John Lasseter, Joe Ranft, 2006) plays with both stereotypes and architypes. Though, this film has no humans it instills human ideals of gender, love, race, and even class into these characters. Lasseter and Ranft specifically make use of stereotyping and archetypes to bring these characters to life. Not only does the use of archetypes provide a personality within each of these characters but the stereotypes also connote negative traits as well. Cars centers on Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) a hot-shot race car trying to win the Piston cup. On his journey to California he ends up making an unexpected pit stop in the long forgotten town of Radiator Springs. It is here McQueen finds himself having to help the town rebuild their main road that is after he destroys it. Along the way he finds that he can’t do everything by himself (as he originally thought). He learns the importance of …show more content…

Douglas Brode’s description of how Disney portrays Native Americans also applies to these stereotypes. Brode uses the words like caricature, exaggeration, and satire to describe Disney’s representation of Native Americans, (27, Multiculturalism). Brode goes on to say these portrayals may not be politically correct to today’s standards but Disney is not making fun of a group of people (27, Multiculturalism). I agree with his argument. Instead, Disney (beginning with Walt and up until now) takes the most exaggerated form of a certain person and makes them the most ridiculous version. The word ‘caricature’ is the most apt way to describe these characters. Clearly, not all people with southern accents are ‘rednecks’ and not every Latino drives a lowrider like Ramone (Cheech Marin). Disney is not claiming that these portals are actual representations of any of these

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