Kristen Dolle
Eric Saranovitz
Intro to Media Criticism
Intro to Media Criticism
June 24, 2005
Monsters, Inc. or America, Inc.?
The Conservative Agenda in a Disney Hit
The Conservative Agenda in a Disney Hit
Before mainly aligned with liberalism and truth, the American media exploded into a conservative, invasive, exploitative force at the end of the Clinton Administration. In releasing every detail involving the president’s sex scandal and impeachment trial, the media pushed the country to define its morals and set a precedent for getting the “facts” like never before. The continuation of this approach consistently targeted failures of American culture like the Woodstock ’99 riots, the overall economic recession and the Florida voting debacle that supposedly defeated Democrat Al Gore in the 2000 election. The media’s frenzies left the American public with little to be proud of and fostered feelings of degradation and embarrassment. Again, when extremists attacked the World Trade Center in 2001, the media provided more than full coverage; however, this time, fearing backlash, the media halted to public sentiments and latched onto a conservative agenda marketing the ideas of capitalist righteousness and American wholesomeness.
In addition to the news media, culture companies like Disney also strove to convince society to believe in conservative, capitalist ideas with a slew of technologically advanced children’s movies. Films like Toy Story, and Monsters, Inc. were the pioneers of a genre including Shrek, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. All of these movies have been blockbuster hits, receiving praise from all sections of the political and economic spectrums. Although these films definitely have a rightist meaning, in a way, they encapsulate American culture by allowing society to experience the answers to questions asked by any concerned citizen. How do we overcome downfall? How does society function best? These common issues arise in the computer-animated Disney/Pixar films. As one of the most popular and ideologically driven stories, Monsters, Inc. provides an uplifting fantasy of a utopian society based on the fusion of Baptist morals with dominant capitalist culture.
Monsters, Inc. depicts the struggle of a company, Monsters, Inc., attempting to maintain its strength in powering the city, Monstropolis, with screams, as well as, the moral unity of two male monsters’ friendship. Havoc ensues when a little girl, Boo, literally tots into the city and the life of Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan (Sully), the leading scare team of Monsters, Inc. As the Child Detection Agency searches for Boo in the factory, Mike continually tries to rid him and Sully of the kid so that they may return to normalcy and beat the all-time scare record, while Sully transforms into the conscientious caretaker of Boo. He strives to protect the girl from Mr. Waternoose, the president of the company, and Randal, Sully’s rival, who together have created a dangerous “scream extractor” to end the scream shortage at any expense. In their escapade, Sully and Mike get banished to the human world, return, rescue Boo and beat Mr. Waternoose and Randal. The duo then remembers that laughter is more powerful than screams and convinces the company to adopt comedy instead of terror to harvest energy, thus saving the city from the energy crisis.
Although set in Monstropolis, the social horizon the Monsters, Inc. is the United States, its struggle with capitalist failures, and the beginning of the conservative comeback. The discursive field is the “goodness” of the monsters and the relationships between Mike and Sully and Sully and Boo, as the importance of capitalism and morals is proven through the triumph of the utopian ending. Finally, the figural action in the film involves the decisions and actions of the monsters. The creatures of Monsters, Inc. are split into two groups: “good,” including Mike, Sully and the rest of the worker monsters, and “bad,” with Mr. Waternoose, Randal and Fungus, Randal’s assistant. While the “good” monsters work together to save the company, symbolizing the reviving of capitalism, the “bad” fight, scheme and end up destroying their own lives by being eradicated from the system. Ultimately, this film is a struggle between “good” and “bad,” those who can continue and improve capitalism while upholding morals, and those who destroy the system through lack of “right” values and deception.
To further confidence in capitalism, Monsters, Inc. constructs a class hierarchy which reproduces capitalist ideology and restores faith in the mobility of the system. Interestingly, the characters in Monsters, Inc. are all workers, existing as the proletariat. Male monsters work as the scare teams, females tackle the administrative office work, and even Mr. Waternoose, the president, has to answer to a board of directors in response to the decline in production. While all of the monsters work to overcome the scream shortage, their version of economic downturn, the means by which they do so and who succeeds establishes rightist, capitalist morals and indicates the true message of the movie. While the “good” Mike and Sully work diligently to bolster production by beating the all-time scare record, or rather becoming the most proficient laborers, the “bad” Mr. Waternoose and Randal strive to become the ultimate capitalists by manipulating the system with their scream extractor, and sacrificing their morals as they kidnap children to use in their machine.
Of course, in this situation, the winners are the proletariat monsters who remained working for and inside the system without rebellion, those who Mike describes as “average joes just trying to do their work.” Although no one actually advances in the system (Sully, who discovered the new comedy concept, only becomes managerial), they all seem to have better positions overall. With this outcome, Monsters,Inc. suggests that those who submit gain in capitalism. In other words, if one remains in agreement with the system, they will receive the mobility that they earn, even though that freedom is just to continue working hard for a higher force. In addition, despite seeming like corrupt individuals, Randal and Mr. Waternoose’s true function is to prove that rebellion against capitalism and the abandonment of morals destroy the American way of life.
Allowing the film to be so believable and lovable despite such a limiting message, the fantasy element of Monsters, Inc. enables the audience to voyeuristically experience the monsters’ capitalist struggle without any consequences. In attracting the viewers, the seemingly utopian society that exists at the end of the movie prevails because it combined efficient production and the enjoyment of morality into one dominant culture. This outcome manipulates people into identifying with the benefits of conservatism and capitalism and convinces them that the best way to live is with the fusion of these two ideals. There is, however, a failing of the conservative agenda in the movie, as an overwhelmingly queer component arises. Mainly displayed through gender bending and the relationship between Mike and Sully, this unconscious element provides a curious outcome to this utopian world.
Although the monsters in this film represent Americans and their values, they present a contrast to the understood normal as they confuse gender roles throughout the story. In Monstropolis, there is no concrete American female or male identity as both sexes act basically the same, like workers trying to do their best for the company. It is merely their names, slight variations in voice decibels, and the wearing of lipstick in this movie that semi-distinguish any sort of division. The only other feature differentiating gender is the presence or absence of sexual body parts; the females have breasts and wear some kind of clothing to cover them, whereas the men have no genitalia and are predominantly naked. Basically lacking gender, the factory of Monsters, Inc. becomes like a queer mothers’ club. Caring for each other in a girl friends kind of way, the monsters, both men and women, all constantly cry, work, and share together. As the heroes of Monsters, Inc., Mike and Sully not only save the company, but also fully demonstrate its queer qualities through themselves and their relationship.
Mike, Sully and their union exist as the main queer mechanism in Monsters, Inc.. Exhibiting both male and female qualities, the two characters seem to create an entirely alternative gender and lifestyle together. Although Mike loves his sports car and is romantic with his girlfriend, his main concern is his best friend, Sully, and the health of their life together. On a date with his love, Celia, Mike attempts to woo her by flattering her beauty; however, in doing so, Sully appears in the window of the restaurant and ruins his train of thought. Mike’s line changes from a focus on Celia to Sully, as he says, “Do you know who I think the most beautiful monster in all of Monstropolis is? Sully!” Although Mike claims that this is a mistake, the fact that he immediately leaves with Sully abandoning Celia to fend for herself in the “child-attacks” chaos proves his true personal allegiance to his partner, Sully.
Also, when a problem between the two arises, Mike takes on the role of caring, but catty girlfriend as he constantly articulates his feelings and frustrations about their relationship to Sully. In trying to apologize for abandoning him during their banishment, Mike becomes annoyed with Sully when he feels he is not listening. Mike totally demonstrates his character as he continues, “Sully, I am bearing my soul here; the least you could do is pay attention.” Though comical, Mike’s attitude with Sully is quite indicative of the queer configurations in the film.
As Mike’s counterpart and the male hero, Sully’s American gender role is indistinguishable as he accepts motherly responsibility for Boo, but is a huge monster with horns and the voice of John Goodman. Throughout their adventure, Sully takes Boo to the bathroom, puts her to sleep and always carries and cradles her. His feminine-likeness becomes even more apparent as he allows his conscience and morals to guide him in making decisions about Boo’s well-being. Whenever Mike hastily tries to rid them of the girl, Sully always refuses to comply. In demonstrating both male and female qualities, Sully abandons any form of gender consciousness distorting American, Baptist morals.
The couple dynamic between Mike and Sully also clashes with these established values. Mike and Sully live together in a house and spend every moment with each other. Their relationship could be totally platonic; however, when sully adopts Boo, a baby, without Mike’s approval, their relationship becomes that of a struggling couple. When in banishment in the Himalayas, Mike and Sully meet the Abominable Snowman, another banished monster, who suggests that exile will not be so bad for them because they are with their best friend. To this, Mike, feeling betrayed by Sully with the baby, responds, “He’s not my friend, that big jerk ruined my life with that stupid kid.” Despite their struggle, Mike reconciles with Sully as he confesses that he does care about the child and that he could never abandon his “best friend.” Mike and Sully accept Boo’s role in their union, protect her and return her to her parents as they believe “it is the right thing to do.” As “good,” efficient care takers, Mike and Sully prove that same sex couples are positive, proficient parents and unions.
Despite the liberal, queer failing in an important aspect of the film, over all Monsters, Inc. is an overwhelming reinforcement of conservative, capitalist ideology as the ironically common make-believe characters and events respond to American concerns of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Economically, Monsters, Inc. demonstrates that the solution to fiscal downturn is simply better capitalism and harder work, proven through the company’s switch to comedy. Although this idea is portrayed as humanitarian, really, it is all capitalist. With this new business approach, Mike fills his daily quota in one act, production skyrockets and Sully discovers that laughter is ten times more powerful than scream. Yes, Sully and Mike save the company and capitalism, but only by making its means of production more efficient through the progression of a new idea and new technology. The proletariat’s victory in bettering their way of life through improving their production and efficiency articulates Disney’s belief that the best system of capitalism also empowers good laborers, even though nothing systematically changes in the film.
In a moral sense, Disney implies that the best way to live one’s life is through a moral system of protecting children and following truth. Though these ideas are not necessarily conservative, when interpreted conservatively, they foster the irrationality of pro-life militarism and extremist egotism. Whereas the moral Mike and Sully save Boo from a dangerous, fatal experience, conservative moral citizens transform this action into the abolition of choice and free speech, or the demolition of true democracy. In following truth, conservatives believe that their way of life, including racism, sexism and corporatism, is the most truthful and moral way, which should be implemented in every aspect of society.
Although Monsters, Inc. is ultimately a means of conservative propaganda, it is not enough to attack the film or its production company. Instead we need to examine American culture and stop looking to the media to provide our only answers. Americans need to “get the facts” themselves, so that they can realize the errors of conservatism and work towards a more progressive society. In the words of Monsters, Inc., American culture needs to have its “simulation terminated” and begin working together, like the proletariat that we are, to create more beneficial, fair solutions to impending problems and actually improve the quality of life.
