#rich in motifs and themes and with a very clear storyline to explore

[junrandot]

i really don't understand how the lotr soundtrack is not a warhorse yet

[filmanalysis21341753]

AV Essay

MELISSA COFIE 

21341753

Hypothesis: Zootopia employing a Neo noir framework in order to present a criticism by creating an illusion with comparison to the film Se7en. Is Zootopia criticizing the genre?

The genre of Neo Noir can be known for its ability and power to provide filmmakers with a method of engaging, reacting and responding to current social and cultural factors playing a part in our present day society. An example of this would be the Disney animation Zootopia (2016) directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore. This film utilises and demonstrates the stylistic traits and character types represented by political reactionary through racial and gender stereotyping. The Disney animation has won a Golden Globe, an Annie Award, including an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature film as it approaches its audience in all levels and ages. The film’s collective central style and subject matter of the fictional storyline can be classed as a classic Neo noir film as what initially started as a clear and minimalistic plot gradually revealed itself as a deeper social conspiracy.

Zootopia can be analysed and described as an immersive toon noir which indirectly covers controversial topics such as systematic racism and socio political affairs. The sequence successfully works as it directly reflects the episodic truth of our human daily lives with regards specifically to the animal kingdom and the process of classification rather than directly addressing racism, alienation, prejudice, sexism and patriarchy. Through this lighthearted and upbeat animation, Moore and Howards reflect and describe our reality through a fictional world and utopian society where all animals, both predator and prey learn to live amongst each other in harmony with the mantra that “Anyone can be anything”. The city of Zootopia, that the film takes place in, is crucial to the key element of character building throughout the story by mimicking an entire society, this including a variety of subcultures interacting with real social dynamics. “Film Noir was a movement restricted by time and place” (Paul Schrader, 1997) The family friendly neo-noir tale with political undertones quite clearly addresses societal problems of today’s world with fictional political situations. This is most evident through the introduction of anthropomorphized animals talking, dressing and working together similar in comparison to the way human beings live, with emphasis on their goals, motives and emotions. On a scene by scene basis, the film tries to provide the viewer with an understanding of the way prejudice works through the heavy use of allegory.

Co-writer of the film, Phil Johnston, “Audience expectations point towards female characters needing a love interest, and that is not the case”. This marks a turning point for Disney as this is the first film where the motives of the protagonist and female lead are led without the addition of romance as a key aspect to the film’s plot. Especially evident with Judy being the only woman working in the police department, women are integral to the plot especially when referring to the villain, the assistant Mayor of Zootopia and female sheep, Dawn Bellwether (Jenny Slate).  

When Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) joins the police force, she is challenged in terms of power and authority, being the first female and first of her species to join the specific sector of work. Her incentive being the determination to prove herself against the stereotypically masculine species, that predators and prey can work amongst each other in harmony despite size or gender. “The more sophisticated we get as storytellers and stray from that old formula that is so tired, the more exciting films are going to get and the more interesting female characters we’ll see in movies.” (Phil Johnston) Despite the strong sense of masculinity in the work environment, Judy quickly adapts to how toughness required to enforce the law by taking on the main mysterious and unsolved case facing the precinct. At this point in the film and throughout, her main aim and motives remain the same. Her challenge being working alongside criminal, Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a sly fox who proves to make her job harder with emphasis on the predator prey relationship between the fox and rabbit population.  

On the whole, although Judy pushes for equality alongside more domineering animals as her colleagues, this is not only as example of a woman in a hostile working environment but essentially a woman of a different race, in this case species. Similarly, Bellwether wants to subvert the system and put herself on top. Together these two represent and symbolize the competing ideologies of matriarchy and female equality, therefore accentuating further the power given to the female protagonist and antagonist by Disney in this particular example.

In relation to the topic of cinematic masculinity, Zootopia is far more oblique, as it never comments on Judy's singleness. In strict comparison with David Fincher’s ‘Se7en’ (1995), Fincher has a very strong reputation for his protagonists consistently being male. When looking at both Somerset & Mills, both characters initially seen as complete opposites. Somerset being the calm, calculated & experienced while Mills the young, loud and irrational. This demonstrates the difference in generations and foreshadows the way each character will react as the film progresses and more clues are picked up. The element of emasculation is also a strong and steady theme explored in the film. This is first shown when Mills is attacked and he’s not able to fully defend himself ending with scars and cuts on his face and fracture of bones. This results in his manhood being threatened because his character is a very loud hothead but is suddenly kept at bay. This is the calmest Mills is in the film. Another aspect of when Mills is emasculated is the moment the John Doe reveals he murder Mills wife. The audience see Mills break down and start to cry – this is the most vulnerable we have seen him throughout the course of the film. And his inexperience is really brought forth when he makes the decision to kill John Doe. One can see this as glorious and justifiable rage but also brings out the inner ‘Monstrosity’ that John doe had proclaimed was dormant within mills.  

In addition, the use of males and guns is seen regularly in neo-noir. It can be interpreted as a form of masculinity, with regards to the use of phallic symbols, as the protagonist usually would do their final deed with that specific gun. Similarly, it can also be viewed and interpreted as a modern aesthetic of male ego and confidence. This also links back to the aspect of hyper-masculinity. It adds a persona to the character and their traits would either be centered around that item or be altered once they have received it. In the case of Se7en, Mills is always swaying his gun and ready to use it. It is tool that he uses to showcase his position of power and level of authority by ranking as compared to Somerset who was armed but barely brought it out. He consistently carried and used tools like pens, paper and books thus showing his older and more experienced persona and furthermore throughout the film, each character traits are exposed and brought forth through the tools and aesthetics they have.  

On the contrary the film Zootopia doesn't directly address or comment on the aspect of the protagonist being female, despite this the understanding still exists. Judy is dismissed and degraded as too adorable, too miniature in size, too weak and overly emotional. A kind of prejudice mainly aimed at women, not just race in particular. “Neo-noir develops new vocabularies for classic themes” (Spicer, 2002). One element often used in neo-noir is the use of police officers or detectives as protagonists. Through this it changes the method one would follow a basic character. From their introduction to developing them as the film progresses. When dealing with someone in a position of some sort of power they are much more complex characters. Their decision making usually have a butterfly effect – as the story goes on each choice they make either takes them forward or brings them back. With officer Judy we get the sense of she knows her position and ranking but in order for her to rise to the top she must be willing to make mistakes and grow as a person to reach that next level. Her arrival to the ZPD, she is immediately stereotyped and looked upon as just young and inexperienced. Through the spectacle of neo-noir we see that she uses that as a catalyst to go on and beyond what she initially though her work was set to be. She as a character and a hungry enthusiastic officer has now gained a motif of not wanting to be the overlooked and underappreciated. When looking at se7en, each time Mills was irrational in his actions they would end up with another dead victim and John Doe out of their grasps again, which for some part became more of a cat and mouse chase. Their egos and high ranking causes them to go back to square one and restart and review their investigation multiple times.  

Additionally, by having a female character as an officer – something that is male dominated throughout neo-noir. It can be seen as an advancement and upgrade of the genre. It can be used a tool to challenge the male and patriarchal gaze. Certain utterances and behaviors that would be deemed as normal because of the over-exposure of male characters performing them. By Judie playing that role of an officer, who is faced with trials and tribulations – seeing her perspective and her execution in addressing the situations open up a different element to neo-noir. Something that had been narrowed to a specific distinct way on how the protagonists or officers of power were to be portrayed had now been broadened to a contemporary audience.  

All in all, Film Noir is argued as not just reduced to a genre, but mainly defined by its the tones, themes and qualities which describe it. Zootopia has managed to keep the key elements of neo-noir such as solitude and social hierarchy but able to embed new values and topics of discussion, through this it is able to prove the wellness of the neo-noir genre but also critiques the strongly held traditional neo-noir structure in aims to update and contemporize it effectively.  

Bibliography

Spicer, A. (2002) Film Noir, Longman/Pearson Education

Porfirio, R & Cornard T M. (2006) ‘The Philosophy of Film Noir’, University press of Kentucky

Mohanty, C. T. (1991) ‘Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses’ Indiana University Press, pp. 51-80

Crenshaw, K. (1989) ‘Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics’, University of Chicago Legal Forum, pp. 139–67

Timothy Shary, E. (2013) ‘Millennial Masculinity: Men in Contemporary American Cinema’ Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press

Kirkham, P. & Thumim, J. (1995) Me Jane : masculinity, movies, and women, New York : St. Martin's Press

Articles

Superhero Feed (2016) ZOOTOPIA Movie Clip – Assistant Mayor Bellwether

Flint, H. (2016) ‘People want Disney to #GiveElsaAGirlfriend because of the lack of LGBT representation in their films’ [online] Metro

Travers, P. (2016) ‘Zootopia’, Rolling Stone, 3 March [online]

mtv braless (2016) Is Zootopia an Intersectional Feminist Utopia? [online]

Genzlinger, N. (2016) ‘Review: In ‘Zootopia,’ an Intrepid Bunny Chases Her Dreams’ [online] The New York Times

Lucas, S. (2016) ‘Why Disney’s Zootropolis might be the most important film you see this year’ [online] The Conversation

Aekaputra, S. (2017) ‘Zootopia: A Film Theory of Gender’ University of Cambridge [online]

Collin, R. (2016) ‘Zootropolis is the Chinatown of talking animal films – review’, The Telegraph, 24 March [online]

Woods, A. (2016) ‘Zootopia’s Judy Hopps: A Unique Female Protagonist in a World of Animated Men [online] Animation World Network  

Romero, A. (2016) Zootopia, An Analysis of Female Characters as Active/Passive Females [online] Women Watch Films

Dominick, S A. (2016) Film Review: Zootopia A cute, manic Disney movie that has a little extra to say [online] Consequence of sound

Christensen, M. (2016) The Gender Politics Of Zootopia [online] Biola University

No Film School – The stylist elements of Film Noir

BFI – 10 great American noir films