Stereotypes In The Film 'Mother Tongue'

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Recommended: Racial stereotypes in the media

Amanda Perry
Mr. Niva
WFC P.8
25 October, 2016
Zootopia
While growing up, kids were always told by their parents, teachers or peers to “be yourself.” I remember vividly hearing “in a world where you can be anything, be yourself.” But what is truly being yourself? There are so many categories and stereotypes out in the world today, how can people truly be themselves? Some examples of such stereotypes are; Men are strong and do all the work, Women can’t do as good of a job as a man and women are not as smart as men. And there are a lot more going on around the world today. The use of stereotypes around the world limits people to being able to show their true identity and language. Language shapes the way the world perceives and identifies …show more content…

“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan is a story that effectively demonstrates how stereotypes in the world limit people to being able to show their true identity and language. Tan writes specifically about her Chinese mother, who speaks in an accent that frequently causes people to misunderstand or misjudge. Such as Judy in Zootopia, Tan describes how her mother is stereotyped in American as a non-native English speaker. Judy is struggling to fit in with the part of the police officer, while Tan’s mom “Struggles to speak like a true American” (Tan 887). Tan explains how the basic society of America would categorize her mother’s English as “broken” or “fractured” as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, Thus limiting her mother to truly be herself and speak her …show more content…

You hear people say “Be yourself” or “in a world where you can be anything, be yourself.” However, that statement is untrue when you’re constantly being put into a group. And the problem is everyone is stereotyped. We as humans are unable to really get to know each other. We are too judgmental and too ignorant to look past appearances and language to understand what another person is like. People are afraid of being judged and looked down upon by others to truly show themselves and be who they really are or want to be in this world. The movie Zootopia effectively demonstrates the negativity of stereotyping. Nick is not able to be his true self, take his true identity because he is seen as shifty. However, if the other animals were able to look past that stereotype they would realize that Nick is a kind hearted, friendly fox who is just looking to fit in the town and make friends. Eventually, the other animals learn that about Nick and accept him into the town and into the ZPD (Zootopia Police Department). It wasn’t until Nick proved that he wasn’t shifty or untrustworthy, that the animals actually got to know him and see how he is a great fox. Judy deals with the stereotype of women can’t do as good as job as men and that men are stronger than women Since she is a female rabbit trying to make it in the police force she has to deal with not only the stereotypes of mean versus women but also sexism. She proves

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