Zootopia is one of the few movies I’ve actually started before, but never got around to finishing. It’s a funny, inspiring tale about characters who are anthropomorphic animals, living in the city of Zootopia, known as the place where anyone could be anything. Judy Hopps, first bunny police officer, achieves her childhood dream and sets out to prove those who doubt her abilities wrong. In her journey to defeat the stereotypes about bunnies, the issues of racial profiling and stereotyping are perpetuated by different characters. While Judy, despite being the valedictorian of her class, suffers from stereotyping that affects her career, our hero has her own faults as well. During her first meeting with Nick Wilde, she immediately reaches for her “fox spray” when seeing his argument with the shop owner, having flashbacks to childhood experiences of bullying. Judy feels guilty for stereotyping Nick after she realizes he’s trying to get ice cream for his kid, but as soon as she finds out she was conned, she falls back on the old stereotyping of fox as criminals, thinking she “knew it all along”. A huge rift in their friendship is caused after she suggests the changes are caused by natural savage tendencies in predators, and Nick is deeply hurt after she instinctively reaches for “fox spray” when he growls at her.

As a “prey” police officer, Judy suffers from being stereotyped as weak and incapable, but also unconsciously imposes the same type of stereotypes on predators. Despite being the hero of the movie, she too is at fault, which shows that even the victims of stereotypes can become offenders as well. I appreciate that in this movie, there is a hero who saves the day, but said hero is a human (animal?) as well and is not perfect either. All of us have most likely been guilty of stereotyping others one way or another, and it’s important to have awareness about what judgement we make about other people without knowing anything.