ERIC Number: EJ1177715
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1946
EISSN: N/A
Neoliberal Exclusion and the Fantasy of Competition: What Are Children Learning from "Monsters University?"
Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v54 n3 p335-345 2018
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.
Descriptors: 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
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A