Subtle political messages.

Tired of being anvilicious? Well, let's talk about more subtle political messages in animation.

• In Horton Hears A Who, the Kangaroo can easily be a stand-in for high authority in general. She harbors a resentment towards Horton for being a deviant and sees the "speck" fiasco as a way to get rid of him and enforce her authority on the jungle. Finally, everyone turns their back on authority once Horton is proven right and she gets shunned for her troubles.

Got any more?

"YOU FILTHY SWINE!!! I WILL KEEEEL YOU!!!

Guys, I think that Lorax movie might have something to say about the environment. *drives off in gas-guzzling SUV*

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The legend of Korra may have a few tidbits of social and political messages:

Book 1: Fashism/communism

Book 2: Views of financial status being a sign for power instead of leadership skills

Book 3: Discovering heritage and not being brave enough/care enough to learn more about it

Dakota's blog An odd agent of justice

That... is actually pretty accurate to the subject matter.

Even if I had different face, I AM STILL DISGRACED.

I'm actually getting some kinda Objectivist /Darwinistleanings from Korra,the same sort of "Some people are just stronger than others,you just have to accept that" BS that mangled The Incredibles.

That's why Amon ended being so discredited and why Asami was the lone non-bender shown positively in the first.

But also why Tarrlok fell since he abused his governmental power,instead of just letting the market drive out the Equalists.

Book 2 was more about the top can just do wtf they want,probably satirical against that kind of thing.Almost as if some kind of apology for the dickish Randian undertones the first season had.

I dunno, those innocent civilians that Tarrlok was trying to arrest for no reason didn't seem to be portrayed too negatively. (Though I do wish they went more in depth with that, beyond that one scene.)

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I think Book 2 of Korra is a brilliant deconstruction of conservative mentality, with Unalaq standing as the religious fanatic/sociopath using morality as an excuse side and Varrick in the ultra-capitalist side. Neither of them want things to change for the better: Unalaq thinks his moral standards are above the very lives of his fellow human beings, while Varrick wants to staisfy his neverending greed.

Season 2 was not all that great... But damn if you nailed something this show captured perfectly, regarding said 2 protagonists. I concede that Varrick was fucking awesome at his role, though. He really gave Season 2 some much needed energy.

Even if I had different face, I AM STILL DISGRACED.

Book 2 undermined any attempts at complex morality when Unalaq went full-on evil. All the difference between a well-intentioned but cruel religious zealot and a Religion of Evil figure straight-up.

Superior to Season 1 since we could breathe and actually take in the characters,no rod-shodding over development just for plot, all the "main characters" weren't just flat like Bolin was.

And not Objectivist.

While his presentation left something to be desired, his motivations are still hardcore fanatism to the end, as his end goal was basically to return things to the way they were in Wan's time. I actually think his means, to use Vaatu to become the Dark Avatar, are a nice comment on conservative christians and their willingness to resort to things they'd supposedly be against just to make the world conform to their viewpoint.

I was going to talk about Princess Mononoke, then I remembered we were in the Western Animation forum.

Still, I have yet to see a single movie, animated or not, eastern or western, that comes close to the depth of Mononoke when it comes to environmental conflicts. Compared to it, The Lorax comes out as painfully one-sided.

As for Korra S2, there was that bit about "necessary wars", and propaganda used to convince a nation that a war is something that has to be done.

The 1972 Lorax special from De Patie-Freleng is more nuanced than the book was, having the Once-ler tell the Lorax that there's a lot of people working in his factory and he can't just stop production and make all these people lose their jobs. (The Lorax even admits that he wouldn't know what to do in this situation.)

But on the topic... How about a subtle religious message?

The Ren And Stimpy episode "Reverend Jack," while pretty much a parody of John K. and what led him to be fired, might also work as a satire on religion.

edited 21st Jul '14 7:30:34 AM by Aldo930

"They say I'm old fashioned, and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast."

Isn't there that one Rescue Rangers episode that deals with cults?

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Had Disney been more faithful to the source material (with Anti-Villain Frollo), The Hunchback may have delivered it. There is still something with the "nice" bishop who forces Frollo to take care of Quasimodo. He shows that faith is not the reason Frollo goes crazy, and that you shouldn't try to use it to justify everything. Now, I wouldn't call that subtle.

What are you talking about, HELLFIRE is extremely subtle.

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