Neoliberal Exclusion and the Fantasy of Competition: What Are Children Learning from 'Monsters University?'

Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

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Neoliberalism; Competition; Fantasy; Fiction; Popular Culture; Didacticism; Films; Friendship; Social Values; Gender Issues; Academic Aspiration; Social Mobility; Adolescent Literature; Childrens Literature; Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education

10.1080/00131946.2017.1417858

0013-1946

The Disney/Pixar film, "Monsters University" (2013) was a tremendous financial success. As a film written entirely about college students and their quest for social and economic attainment, but marketed primarily to children and adolescents, its messages about the purpose of college and the college experience deserve close examination given its widespread popularity. Theorists have argued that popular fiction (Tompkins, 1986), especially film (Giroux, 1996, 2008; Gregory, 2007; Peterson, 2009), is a powerful vehicle for creating, reflecting, and reinforcing social values and norms. This article examines the film closely to challenge the many explicit and implicit stereotypes it portrays regarding meritocracy, elitism, and gender and reflects on the role of friendship in a neoliberal society.

As Provided

53

2018

EJ1177715