"Pixar is Socially Conservative" What do you think?

[Lord_Stewie]

Hey,

Came across an interesting discussion about Pixar, and wonder what you guys think about this?

Brad Bird’s The Incredibles has long had many political meanings read into it. Perhaps most controversial is how well the film lines up with Ayn Rand’s objectivist movement. It’s also quite popular with politically conservative types as well — the National Review named it number two on their list of the top 25 conservative movies. Tom Elrod, over at The House Next Door, points out that The Incredibles isn’t the only Pixar film that could be read conservatively in a recent post. He argues that while Pixar’s movies may not be politically conservative, you could apply a more relaxed notion of conservatism to many of their films due to their focus on preserving the family unit.

Here is a better explanation by Elrod:

There is something conservative about much of Pixar’s output, but when I say conservative, I mean a small “c” conservative that sees the world along the same lines as Edmund Burke: “A disposition to preserve.” I’m going to call this “social conservatism,” by which I don’t mean the religious or moral conservatism of modern political discourse, but a conservatism that is interested in preserving traditional social features - in particular, the idea of “family” - but which sees such preservation as ultimately futile. The family will dissolve, eventually, and so we must do what we can to keep it going as long as possible. It is a worldview based not on progression but on loss.

I would agree in a sense.

What do you think?

Enjoy.

[mikejet]

Makes sense.

The toys want to stick together.

The father wants to find his son.

The bugs unite to fight a common foe.

The rats want to accept their weird sibling.

[SquidPuppet]

I'd refer to their mindset/output as wholesome.

[Q?]

Bah!
Just because many of their animations are family oriented doesn't necessarily mean they're Conservative, it's just big bucks
Also, Wall*E should disprove that...

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by mikejet

Makes sense.

The toys want to stick together.

The father wants to find his son.

The bugs unite to fight a common foe.

The rats want to accept their weird sibling.

The robots want to save the Earth and fall in love.

The old man takes a fatherly interest in a boy yearning for a father figure.

Yep

[Lord_Stewie]

Originally Posted by mikejet

Makes sense.

The toys want to stick together.

The father wants to find his son.

The bugs unite to fight a common foe.

The rats want to accept their weird sibling.

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

The robots want to save the Earth and fall in love.

The old man takes a fatherly interest in a boy yearning for a father figure.

Yep

Couldn't have said it better.

Plus its the orientation they are aiming for. In other words they are appealing to a certain group in general ------>Family Oriented.

[Lord_Stewie]

Originally Posted by Q!

Bah!
Just because many of their animations are family oriented doesn't necessarily mean they're Conservative, it's just big bucks
Also, Wall*E should disprove that...

lol.

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by Lord_Stewie

Couldn't have said it better.

Plus its the orientation they are aiming for. In other words they are appealing to a certain group in general ------>Family Oriented.

My only issue with the last film is that it is so damn heartbreaking in the beginning. My wife cried, then cried in the first 5 minutes!!!

[SpaceDog]

Yeah... no.

[Lord_Stewie]

Originally Posted by mikejet

My only issue with the last film is that it is so damn heartbreaking in the beginning. My wife cried, then cried in the first 5 minutes!!!

Haven't seen it yet because the GF wants to watch it with me. My little Brother told me how sad the beginning was. I thought wow, thats a first for Pixar.

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by Lord_Stewie

Haven't seen it yet because the GF wants to watch it with me. My little Brother told me how sad the beginning was. I thought wow, thats a first for Pixar.

Seriously it's like a rollercoaster. You think "Awwww....nice....OMG*CRYING*...awwwwww...OMG*CRYI NG*...."

[Lord_Stewie]

Originally Posted by mikejet

Seriously it's like a rollercoaster. You think "Awwww....nice....OMG*CRYING*...awwwwww...OMG*CRYI NG*...."

lol, better have Kleenix handy for the GF.

[jono_0101]

Originally Posted by Lord_Stewie

Haven't seen it yet because the GF wants to watch it with me. My little Brother told me how sad the beginning was. I thought wow, thats a first for Pixar.

it is a really emotional story, but the dog cracks me up and helps keep it from getting to be too much

but i agree with the others that its more family oriented tham socially conservative, even though those two instersect pretty often

[Porkchop Express]

Originally Posted by mikejet

Seriously it's like a rollercoaster. You think "Awwww....nice....OMG*CRYING*...awwwwww...OMG*CRYI NG*...."

My wife cried three times during the movie.

[My_Two_Cents]

Why is any of this surprising? Pixar movies are targeted to the 'Family', and statistics show that families (in general) overwhelmingly support conservative values. It's only natural that the movies have a theme that will appeal to those values, else their target audience will not pay to see the film.

I can assure you that a Pixar film about a single-parent raccoon struggling to raise her gender-confused pup while hiding from her abusive possum ex would NOT do well at the box office.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Why is any of this surprising? Pixar movies are targeted to the 'Family', and statistics show that families (in general) overwhelmingly support conservative values. It's only natural that the movies have a theme that will appeal to those values, else their target audience will not pay to see the film.

I can assure you that a Pixar film about a single-parent raccoon struggling to raise her gender-confused pup while hiding from her abusive ex would NOT do well at the box office.

Wasnt she from a mixed marriage? I'd see it.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Wasnt she from a mixed marriage? I'd see it.

LOL. Fixed it!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

LOL. Fixed it!

I hope its in 3D.

[toef]

I don't necessarily agree about The Incredibles, and regardless that's only one movie that Pixar made.

The National Review's list of top conservative movies is pretty funny, if you read through it. Some seem like they're only there because the NL is trying to claim them for the conservative side. A few make sense though.

1. The Lives of Others (2007)
2. The Incredibles (2004)
3. Metropolitan (1990)
4. Forrest Gump (1994)
5. 300 (2007)
6. Groundhog Day (1993)
7. The Pursuit of Happyness (2007)
8. Juno (2007)
9. Blast from the Past (1999)
10. Ghostbusters (1984)
11. The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003)
12. The Dark Knight (2008)
13. Braveheart (1995)
14. A Simple Plan (1998)
15. Red Dawn (1984)
16. Master and Commander (2003)
17. The Chronicles of Narnia: Lion/Witch/Wardrobe (2005)
18. The Edge (1997)
19. We Were Soldiers (2002)
20. Gattaca (1997)
21. Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
22. Brazil (1985)
23. United 93 (2006)
24. Team America: World Police (2004)
25. Gran Torino (2008)

And why is Blast from the Past so high on the list, let alone even on it?

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by mikejet

My only issue with the last film is that it is so damn heartbreaking in the beginning. My wife cried, then cried in the first 5 minutes!!!

The part that got me too is later on when he's looking at his wife adventure book and he turn the last page. Hard very hard. My wife asked me if I was crying, I said "no way I just got sweaty eyes"