Examples Of Transcendentalism In Finding Nemo

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Transcendentalism is an idealistic philosophical and social movement that developed in New England around 1836 in reaction to rationalism and romanticism. This philosophy taught that all people have knowledge about themselves and the world around them that "transcends" or goes beyond what they can see, hear, taste, touch or feel. To achieve this one must transcend and go beyond everyday human experiences in the physical world. Transcendentalism dwells on the importance of emotion, individualism, and nature, and these beliefs are still used today in pop culture. In the Disney Pixar movie Finding Nemo, aspects of transcendentalism are depicted.
The beauty and serenity of nature is a key viewpoint in the transcendentalist philosophy and Finding …show more content…

In Finding Nemo, Nemo is a nonconformist because he grew up with one weaker fin and had to struggle to live with that unlike most of the other fish who found swimming to be easy. Nonconformity was very important in the lives of transcendentalist and was included in many works of literature. “A single red ant on the hillside of this valley, evidentially full of excitement, who either had dispatched his foe, or had not taken part in the battle.” In this quote Thoreau describes an ant that was different than the others sitting away from where the other ants were. This shows how the ant was different than the other and hasn’t participated in what was the normal behavior for the ants. The ant represents the lifestyle of a transcendentalist, living a different life and not adjusting to what other people do. Dory represents this transcendentalist concept because she doesn’t care about what other people think. She lived and acted differently than the other fish. Her famous quote “just keep swimming” shows she knew she was different and wouldn’t let being different set her back. Being different and standing out from the crowd are very important in this film. Nonconformity relates to pop culture because many people are different and have different qualities or features, just like the ocean in Finding Nemo with many different species and

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