This post is for my COMM 333: Persuasion course. I was tasked with the assignment to analyze a film or documentary that has examples of persuasion such as in the workplace, advertising, product placement tie-in, interpersonal persuasion in relationships among other things. The film I selected for this assignment was Zootopia. To some, Disney’s Zootopia might just seem like a fun and popular movie that the whole family can enjoy but through analyzation, there are underlying persuasive messages conveyed that cannot be ignored. These persuasive messages touched on important issues such as prejudice and stereotyping. What made the movie stand out though was that these persuasive messages also taught the audience on how to fight certain obstacles.
(Ericksen, 2016)
Module 4 highlighted the ways that traits and characteristics can impact certain demographics including gender, age, and intellect. Disney uses characteristics and traits with the hopes that this movie will resonate with children, who happen to be the target audience for this film. According to Petrovic-Mundzic, “children tend to be more vulnerable to persuasion because they lack the ability to understand the nature and intent of persuasive attempts” (Petrovic-Mundzic, 2022). The great aspect about this film is that even though the target audience is children, it can draw adults into the film as well. The main character is a rabbit named Judy Hopps. She happens to be the first rabbit to ever be a part of the police force. She is often seen being treated different by her colleagues. Since she is smaller is stature and considered as prey, there are assumptions that she will never be an accomplished police officer. Children might relate to Judy in this situation but they are not realizing that they are being persuaded into understanding the term of prejudice and why it can be seen as a moral issue.
(Anderson, 2016)
Furthermore, module 1 introduced the topic of pure versus borderline persuasion. With pure persuasion, there is clear cut intention when trying to persuade someone (Gass & Seiter, 2014). While borderline persuasion is not as clear, and persuasion can seem to be doubted (Gass & Seiter, 2014). According to Gass and Seiter, the key to intentionality is that “persuaders must intend to change another individual’s attitude or behavior and must be aware (at least at some level) that they are trying to accomplish this goal” (Gass & Seiter, 2014, p. 26). The film is showing intentionality all throughout with their persuasive messages. When it comes to intention, the Theory of Reasoned Action can then be applied after watching the film. When applying Theory of Reasoned Action, it is being implied that “people are rational and will use all information available to them to make a decision” (Petrovic-Mundzic, 2022). Children are sensible and Zootopia can persuade them to recognize how and why engaging in behavior such as prejudice and stereotypes are wrong. The Theory of Reasoned Action will allow them to evaluate their attitude and how it influences intentions and behavior. If they see someone being treated differently because of how they look, they can use the theory to ponder on how they would respond in that circumstance (Petrovic-Mundzic, 2022).
(Lapin, 2016)
Moreover, the last topic that relates with the film is credibility. Gass and Seiter describe the term as “judgements made by a perceiver concerning the believability of a communicator” (Gass & Seiter, 2014, p. 77). In order to be seen as credible, a person usually possesses a fusion of characteristics (Gass & Seiter, 2014). In the film, Judy Hopps is seen to be credible to the public since she is a police officer. After many animals who happen to be predators disappear, Judy holds a press conference. She discriminates against predators when speaking by saying that their biology as predators has lead to them going savage and attacking prey. Which is discrimination because it is suggesting that the biology that consist within predators is the sole reason as to why animals who are not big or strong are constantly being attack. She is wrong but she has characteristics that make her credible so residents will believe her. She successfully persuaded people to fear for their lives but soon she realizes her mistake and how assuming something like that is dangerous. Additionally, the Assistant Mayor Bellwether has credibility among the citizens because of her job. She also is seen as credible because she possesses a combination of characteristics that make her seem sweet. If she says something, the citizens will believe that she is being truthful because the characteristics she has does not prove her to be anything less than that. It also helps that she is a lamb, so she will be seen as prey, rather than a predator. The citizens in the film already have preconceived notions about predator and prey, so her being prey helps her out tremendously. She uses her credibility to persuade others to see her as a good person even though the film eventually reveals her to be the true mastermind behind the evil plot. She just wanted to further promote prejudice.
This assignment has helped me tremendously when it comes to persuasive communication. I feel that I can apply the many persuasion theories and topics with various forms of media. I never paid attention to just how much persuasion is used in movies. I will watch movies and just be so caught up with paying attention that I never thought to examine the ways that persuasion is happening. Rewatching Zootopia a second time allowed for me to analyze what the characters said and the motive behind saying it. This analysis has allowed for me to become more attentive in the future when it comes to different media artifacts. Now, I can be more aware of the various theories and topics of persuasions that are taken place.
References
Anderson, D. (2016). Predator and prey unite in Zootopia. Retrieved from https://www.fsunews.com/story/entertainment/2016/03/11/predator-and-prey-unite-zootopia/81649040/
Ericksen, A. (2016). ‘Zootopia’: How to make the world a better place. Retrieved from https://sojo.net/articles/zootopia-how-make-world-better-place
Gass, R.H. & Seiter, J.S. (2014). Persuasion: Social Influence and Compliance Gaining (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Lapin, A. (2016). ‘Zootopia’: A nimble tale of animal instincts and smart bunnies. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2016/03/04/468318485/zootopia-a-nimble-tale-of-animal-instincts-and-smart-bunnies
Petrovic-Mundzic, I. (2022). Theory of Reasoned Action. Retrieved from https://canvas.odu.edu/courses/115372/pages/theory-of-reasoned-action?module_item_id=3438566
Petrovic-Mundzic, I. (2022). Traits & characteristics. Retrieved from https://canvas.odu.edu/courses/115372/pages/traits-and-characteristics?module_item_id=3438610
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