RESISTANCE AND AUTHENTICITY IN

PIXAR FILMS
Yolanda San Román Fiol
Cultural Insights into the English-Speaking
World II
UIB 2021-22

Youth, as a space of transition between childhood and adulthood, has an inherent relationship with resistance and authenticity that young
people exert as an instrument for constructing their own identity as it should be –unique, personal and non-transferable. The protagonists of
Pixar films, most of them children or young characters due to their main target audience, often undergo a transformative process that leads
them to find themselves and define their identity. We have different examples of these coming-of-age stories that show us how resistance and
authenticity are key factors in the storyline of these cultural products.

Monsters University (2013)

Monsters University showcases a perfect framework to develop these concepts
since the narrative tells the life experience gained by the protagonists, Mike
Wazowski and Sullivan, at the university. These characters, especially Mike,
launch an act of defiance to the dean of their college in order to demonstrate
their abilities to achieve a vacancy in the School of Scaring and, therefore, their
yearning to become professional scarers. The dean is the representative of the
university which is an ideological state apparatus stating who could be a scarer
and who could certainly not. Through insubordination, Mike and Sulli
demonstrate their many qualities, but by not adhering to the rules of the
university, they have to seek and achieve their goal through other vias, thus
preserving their authenticity.

https://www.alamy.es/mike-wazowski-decano-hardscrabble-monsters-university-
2013-image152753595.html

Luca (2021)
The case study of Luca highlights the concept of family as an ideological state
apparatus that exerts its power and domination over his teenage son for the
purpose of keeping him safe from the dangers of the outside world. Luca, together
with his adventure partner, enrols in a human world ritual mimicking cultural
practices to feel part of his new community as a way of avoiding exclusion
because of his real origin. The protagonist expresses his resistance to adult
authority escaping from home and undergoing a coming-of-age experience which
would shape what his identity will be as an adult. Eventually, the character
reaches a sense of belonging combining both worlds by virtue of his resistance
and authenticity.

https://lolalambchops.com/pixar-luca-kid-friendly-parents-guide/

Brave (2016)
Last but not least, Merida is a feminine character in a medieval and traditional
patriarchal society who challenges her gender role in her society and, especially,
in her family. The character does not live up to her mother's expectations since
her aspirations are completely different. Merida longs to become an excellent
archer, rider and explorer whereas what is expected from her is an educated,
submissive princess, prepared to live overshadowed by her husband. "As a
legitimate fairy tale, the story offers a desirable solution: Merida must defeat the
beast of oppression in her mother’s mind." (Dominguez, 2015) One more time,
the family as an ideological state apparatus exerts its power in order to maintain
the established order and Brave gives an accurate picture of resistance and
authenticity from its protagonist.

https://www.themarysue.com/baby-merida//

Notwithstanding that they are three very different characters in totally

Dominguez Morante, Laura. 2015. “Pixar’s New Fairy Tale Brave: A Feminist Redefinition Of The Hero
Monomyth.” Revista de Estudios Norteamericanos 55, nº. 19: 49-66.
Greeley, Luke. 2018. "Neoliberal Exclusion and the Fantasy of Competition: What are Children Learning from
Monsters University?" Educational Studies, 54:3, 335-345
different contexts (a monster, a fish-boy and a Scottish girl), their roles
in the plot are working as competing forces against the ideological state
apparatuses that are spreading hegemonic discourses rejected through
resistance and authenticity.

Hall, Stuart, and Tony Jefferson. 2006. Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain. New
York: Routledge.