This bigger-than-the-body white ideal has also been furthered by the principles of Christianity. “Above all, the white spirit could both master and transcend the white body, while the non-white soul was a prey to the promptings and fallibilities of the body” (Dyer 23). White people are not limited by their race because of white privilege since race is most obviously biological and of the body, this also means that white people are not contained by, or limited to, their bodies. While Happy Feet typifies non-whiteness in penguins through their language habits and physical appearances, whiteness is much more difficult to represent. This color contrast adds to the list of characteristics that inferiorize certain penguins in Happy Feet. There is one scene in particular that highlights these color differences at the penguin’s school graduation, the graduates toss some of their cleanly white feathers in the air, while Mumble’s lone grey fuzzy feather floats sadly on the wind ( Happy Feet ). Although he is technically white, Mumble is not “pure” like the emperors, who are able to distinguish themselves clearly from the “minority” penguins, like the clear-cut colors on their backs. Mumble is also thrown into the group of outcasts, in part because of his coloring, which is much less distinct than the clear, divisive lines between black and white skin of the other Emperor penguins. The Amigos are clearly meant to represent Hispanics within the penguin community they are therefore outcast from Emperor Land. The Amigos also resemble stereotypical hispanics in their appearances they are short and fat in comparison to the Emperor penguins. The Amigos all have hispanic accents and speak with slang language (“Kiss it ”, “Come on, bro”, “You’re loco, man” ( Happy Feet )). Mumble stumbles upon a group of outcast penguins named Ramon, Raul, Nestor, Lombardo, and Ronaldo who have nicknamed themselves “The Amigos”. The most obvious racializing in Happy Feet is of Hispanics. Happy Feet therefore racializes by presenting characters with non-white-esque characteristics that seem far removed from white culture. Furthermore, the differences that are brought forth relegate whiteness as a cultural norm, rather than as a race like all others, which are simply diversions from it (Dyer 1, Ilmi 219). This is largely because whites are not limited by their race– white privilege– so there theoretically are no obvious white properties to be named (Dyer 39). Aside from appearances, white identity is a complex and pervasive web that frequently evades recognition (Leonard 224).
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