Zootopia

This blog post is part of an ongoing project for my Introduction to Persuasion, COMM 333, class at Old Dominion University. The film I chose to analyze was Zootopia. I chose this film because subliminal messaging and word plays have always been interesting to me. This movie has examples of both direct and indirect advertising and product placement all throughout it. Zootopia is a made-up story and a part of the Disney animated films, but makes plenty of real world references. Judy Hopps, a police officer, graduated valedictorian in her police officer academy but is assigned parking duty because her skills are questioned since she is a rabbit. Nick Wilde, a con artist who happens to be a fox, becomes involved with Hopps after she persuades him into admitting to tax evasion and records his confession. The plot of the movie is for Judy Hopps to persuade her upper officers to accept her as a real police officer. Her parents won’t even support their daughter’s decision to be a police officer. In the opening of the movie, Judy Hopps’ parents try to persuade her from being a police officer. Her dad says that he and his wife are happy because they gave up on their dreams and settled and that Judy should too. Cognitive dissonance is when attitudes and emotions are not stable, therefore there is no harmony (Lietzenmayer, 2017). Nick Wilde experiences cognitive dissonance when he finds himself leaving his old ways of conning behind and wanting to help Officer Hopps solve the case of the missing otter. Cognitive dissonance is connected to social judgment theory and there are three latitudes on the continuum of social judgment theory: acceptance, non-commitment, and rejection (Lietzenmayer, 2017). At first, Nick Wilde did not want to help Officer Hopps and was in the latitude of rejection. At the end of the movie, Nick realizes that he wants to turn to a life of good and honest and transitions across to the latitude of acceptance. During module 4 we learned about credibility. One way credibility can be established is through the use of celebrity endorsements. Shakira, world renowned Colombian pop star, is the voice for the Zootopia theme song “Try Everything” and is also portrayed in the film as a gazelle.

Nick Wilde, the fox, does not have any credibility at all after Officer Hopps witnesses him conning innocent people through a “poor dad” story and the use of a sidekick dressed as a baby. The fact that he is a fox, the symbol for cunningness and slyness, makes him untrustworthy to most people so he must rely on persuasion to get what he wants throughout the film. The final example I will discuss is the indirect advertising that was used throughout the movie. Like I said before, the movie takes place in a make-believe world but makes indirect references to real world brands and products. The characters use phones that are significantly similar in style to Apple’s iPhone. References are made to apps and Facetime. There are a multitude of billboards or commercials portrayed in the movie that use word play as a way to make a reference to real brands. For example, when in the city there is a billboard that says, “Just zoo it” which immediately reminds me of Nike’s slogan “Just do it”. Whether these companies payed for this advertisement or Disney just decided to put it in as a way to add to the story line and create some entertaining imagery, I am not sure. The entertainment aspect of these definitely adds some fun to the movie, especially for me as an adult watching the movie. Some of the brands that can be recognized throughout the movie include Target, Nike, Starbucks, Uber, and many more. You can see a visual of these in the pictures below. Even though this is labeled as a children’s movie, most of these brand references are targeted to adults. This makes sense because parents or adults are usually the ones accompanying children to films.

Overall, I think the main persuasive message that is portrayed throughout the film is targeted to the viewers is that message is that you can do anything that you want to do. No matter who you are, what you are, big or small, young or old, you can be anything. The phrase “In Zootopia you can be anything” is repeatedly stated several times throughout the film. I think this message is an important one because everyone can use a little motivation every now and then. This blog post has shown me the many different types of persuasion. Not only is persuasion in our everyday lives through commercials, but it is shown in movies, TV shows, documentaries, plays and any other type of entertainment. This assignment has shown me that even shows aimed towards children can have “adult” persuasive messages. Persuasion is everywhere and being aware of it as well as learning the different concepts can shape the way you see something as simple as a movie or your favorite television show. Persuasion is all around us. Throughout this class I In the future, I will use the concepts I have learned in order to shape my decisions in a more constructive manner. Usually, I only thought of persuasion as being done explicitly through commercials and advertisements. Now I understand that there is much more to just sending out a commercial in hopes that someone will buy your product. Credibility is probably the most important factor to me when I view persuasive messages. A product or message endorsed by a celebrity, especially one I like, definitely grabs my attention more than a regular TV commercial actress does. It’s important to know the relation of the topic because if you are being persuaded, you need to know if the persuader is creditable or not so you are not steered in the wrong direction. References: Lietzenmayer, A. (2017). Attitudes. Retrieved from http://ple1.odu.edu/courses/201520/comm333/modules/3/1/1 Gass, R.H., Seiter, J.S.. (2016). Persuasion: Social influence and compliance gaining. New Jersey: Peason Education, Inc. Picture 1: Serico, C. (2016, March 07). Shakira's demand for her 'Zootopia' character: 'Give her bigger hips'. Retrieved October 05, 2017, from https://www.today.com/popculture/shakira-s-demand-her-zootopia-character-gazelle-give-her-some-t78431 Picture 2: Jones, S. (n.d.). Real World Brands Through Product Placement in Zootopia [Infographic]. Retrieved October 07, 2017, from http://blog.hollywoodbranded.com/real-world-brands-through-product-placement-in-zootopia-infographic