Hi everyone, welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
We're now on part 3 of my collaboration with St. John's United Methodist Church, helping to examine and find Scriptural messages in movies that they will be screening for the church. For this entry, I will be returning to last year's Disney gem of 'Zootopia.'
I know, I've talked about this movie a couple times already on this blog, between my full- length review of it shortly after it premiered and including its heroine Judy Hopps on my '10 Favorite Movie Characters of 2016' list (Feel free to check out either of those on this blog if you want). However, for the sake of continuing this awesome collaboration with St. John's and spreading the message for those who haven't seen those entries yet, I'll talk about it one more time.
'Zootopia' is a great entry in the Disney library, centering around a young rabbit named Judy Hopps who desires to move to the large city of Zootopia and become a police officer. However, nobody takes her seriously compared to the larger and more intimidating animals on the force, and she is put on meter maid duty. Eventually, she finds herself tackling a major case involving an otter who is one of several predatory animals that have recently gone missing. While investigating this, Judy allies herself with a fox con artist named Nick Wilde, who is one of her leads in the case. Eventually, they learn it is much deeper than a simple missing otter, and it is a case in which the fates of everyone in Zootopia can hang in the balance.
As the devotional flier I wrote for the church screening shows, one message taken from 'Zootopia' involves changing the way we look at others as a result of becoming followers of Jesus, as shown in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. Judy comes to realize that she too needs to change the way she looks at things and at other creatures. Also, Psalm 105:1-11's call to remember the Lord and all He's done and seek Him always can be seen as similar to Judy remembering the great principles Zootopia was first founded on and tirelessly pursuing justice and what's right in everything she does.
Once again, though, I think more Scriptural messages can be found in 'Zootopia' than just those, so I'll be discussing them here.
The main message of 'Zootopia' deals with the subject of tolerance, animals needing to overcome their petty differences (In the case of the movie, mainly between "Predator" animals and "Prey" animals). Over the course of the film, Judy discovers both how subtle and how destructive prejudice and hate can be, and the different forms it can take. She sees that she must confront it, starting with overcoming her own inner prejudices, in order to return Zootopia to the place of inclusion and togetherness it was meant to be. Tolerance for others is most definitely a Christian virtue. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25- 37 to show the importance of being a good, compassionate neighbor to those who are different from you. Even just the fact that He told such a story with a Samaritan hero to a group of Jews (Who had been taught to hate Samaritans) further demonstrated His point about compassion overcoming prejudice. Acts 10 has the apostle Peter sharing what he learned about tolerance to a group of listeners. In verse 28, it says "He said to them: You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean." Then, in verses 34 and 35, it goes on to say "Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right."
I think another very important message to 'Zootopia' deals with Judy demonstrating the Biblical virtue of perseverance. In Judy's goal of becoming a police officer, she hits one obstacle after another, from seemingly insurmountable challenges in her Police Academy training to fellow officers and superiors who underestimate her due to the fact that she's a rabbit, and so on. Nevertheless, she refuses to stop or even slow down amidst these obstacles. She keeps going and perseveres. In much the same way, we as Christians face obstacles and challenges in our lives and our walks with Jesus every day. We must keep going, however, persevering in our faith and remaining true to our Lord and Savior. Galatians 6:9 says "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." 2 Thessalonians 3:13 drives this home further by saying "And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good." Lastly, James 1:12 observes "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him."
So, 'Zootopia helps to teach us that by looking past each other's differences to see that God loves us all, and remaining patient and persevering even when tested, we will be truly doing what the Lord calls of us. At the end of the day, we are all God's creatures.
That wraps up this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Come back next week when I conclude this series. Until then, God bless you all!
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