Physical Impossibilities in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
May 23, 2011
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My Little Pony, video | 
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Ex Situ: The Hidden Message in Pixar’s Films
May 23, 2011What if I told you they were preparing us for the future? What if I told you Pixar’s films will affect how we define the rights of millions, perhaps billions, in the coming century? Only by analyzing the collection as a whole can we see the subliminal concept being drilled into our collective mind. I have uncovered the skeleton key deciphering the hidden message contained within the Pixar canon. Let’s unlock it.
The Hidden Message in Pixar’s Films
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5 Comments | A Bug's Life, Cars, ex situ, Monsters Inc., morality, philosophy, Ratatouille, Robin Hood, Tarzan, The Incredibles, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, The Rescuers, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Up, WALL-E | Tagged: Pixar | Permalink
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Advice for Young Girls from The Little Mermaid
May 23, 2011
Leave a Comment » | stereotypes, the female gender, The Little Mermaid, video | Permalink
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Ex Situ: The Sociology of The Smurfs
May 23, 2011The Smurfs had a clear identification of their given roles, whether inherited or assigned. I specify that distinction because aside from the roles of profession (such as Poet, Actor, Handy, or Farmer) there were also roles of disposition. I find this very fascinating, as these Smurfs (such as Lazy, Dreamy, Greedy, and Grumpy) seemed to offer nothing substantial to their society as a whole, yet were just as necessary.
Psychology of Cartoons – Part 2: Sociology of The Smurfs
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1 Comment | diagnosis, ex situ, politics, Smurfs | Permalink
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The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator for Ponies
May 23, 2011
24 Comments | ex situ, My Little Pony, psych | Tagged: Friendship is Magic | Permalink
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Ex Situ: The Psychology of Scooby-Doo
February 14, 2011Informative post from the GeekDad blog entitled “Psychology of Cartoons Part 1: Scooby-Doo.” Lots of good diagnosis (Scooby himself apparenly has Dissociative Identity Disorder). This is pretty much paradigmatic cartoon overanalyzing here, folks.
Psychology of Cartoons Part 1: Scooby-Doo
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4 Comments | diagnosis, ex situ, psych, Scooby-Doo | Permalink
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As Above, So Below: Symbolism in Osmosis Jones
December 13, 2010
-Contributed by Connor S.
Osmosis Jones is a story about a widower who is the midst of a personal dilemma, represented by the animated story in his body. Each character in the story is a different part of Frank’s subconscious:
- Osmosis Jones is the representation of Frank’s desire to get better for the sake of his daughter, Shane. Osmosis Jones is Frank’s love for his daughter, who is willing to do anything in order to make his daughter feel better.
- Drix is an external motivator, appearing to represent the guilt he feels at disappointing his daughter. This is why Drix and Osmosis form such a potent team and why Drix was willing to work with Osmosis in the first place. Shane recognizes that her father loves her, just that he doesn’t know how to show it.
- Thrax is the fact that his daughter will stop loving him if he keeps his current laconic habits. To Frank, this equates to death. If he loses his daughter’s love he will lose all traces of the person he was and be forever changed. Due to the fact that the subconscious dilemma is occurring in his body, this turns into actual death for him. Both Thrax and Drix are invaders in Frank’s body and both appear at around the same time. They represent both options that are open to Frank concerning his daughter. He can either change and regain her love, or he can stay the same and lose her love forever.
- Mayor Phlegmming is the laconic habits of Frank, keeping him in the current mood. He doesn’t want the lifestyle and mood to change and is corrupt enough to try to keep anything from happening. For Frank, it is easy to keep going in the same rut he’s been in without trying to change. He knows that if Frank changes he will be out of a job and will have to work hard to make up for what he’s done, as shown in the ending by him performing public service for the betterment of Frank. The political campaign is a joke about JFK, showing the Mayor’s fear of being replaced. It is a small joke about how the Mayor is willing to do anything to keep his power, even ignoring other personalities that were previously considered important.
- Leah is his grief over his wife’s death. Her bond with Osmosis Jones shows Frank dealing with his grief in an effort to love his daughter.
- The news broadcasters are what dilutes this for Frank. They are purposefully imperfect as they keep all raw thought from flooding Frank’s mind. Why else would a news station be making broadcasts on what is happening in the police department and pointing out such insignificant citizens such as Osmosis Jones.
- The people of Frank are Frank himself. He is watching the news and only gets the general base emotions. He panics, follows the Mayor’s thoughts, whoever the Mayor is. The office of Mayor is closer to who Frank is than the people of Frank. Frank follows the Mayor’s mentality rather than the other way around.
Symbolism and Sequence of Events:
- Eating the soiled egg, disappointing his daughter / Allowing Thrax into his system.
- Chicken wing festival over school hike, disappointing his daughter, losing daughter’s love / Mayor Phlegmming trying to maintain the status quo and keep his office.
- Science fair flashback shows his grief for his wife’s death and pukes over Mrs. Boyd, his daughter’s teacher / Osmosis Jones falling from grace and making mistakes over and over again that keep him and Frank from moving on.
- Asking Mrs. Boyd, Shane’s teacher, to lift restraining order / Confronting inner demons for daughter’s sake. This is actually initially successful, but outside forces keep it from happening. It’s kind of difficult to say “outside forces” when Frank’s pimple pops all over Mrs. Boyd’s lips, but the outside force that prevents him is actually Mrs. Boyd herself.
- Decision to go to the chicken wing festival instead of school hike / Thrax killing Frank.
- Daughter crying over her father, last chance to change and become a better father / Osmosis Jones returning to Frank a hero.
2 Comments | death, Osmosis Jones, villains | Tagged: Drix, Frank, semi-permeable membrane, soiled egg, Thrax | Permalink
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