Pomme :
I’ve been reading through the comments and wanted to offer a slightly different perspective. A lot of people are saying that Judy's fear of predators, especially Nick, is valid because she was bullied by a fox as a kid, and that her discrimination is equal to what predators experience. I think it’s more complicated than that.
Judy absolutely faced discrimination, people dismissed her because she was a small bunny, not considered strong enough for police work. But the prejudice against her was about physicality and societal expectations around her species being “too cute” or harmless. She proved them wrong and carved out her place through determination and competence. That’s important and valid.
But what Nick, and predators more broadly, face is systemic and rooted in fear. Predators in Zootopia are treated as inherently dangerous, biologically untrustworthy, and are even surveilled, segregated, and institutionalized when they show any signs of aggression. Nick was muzzled as a child, not for doing anything wrong, but because of what he might do. That’s trauma too, and it's not individual, it's cultural, collective, and deeply embedded.
Judy flinching when Nick gets close (in that key scene) is a trauma response, sure; but it also plays directly into the same stereotypes that have historically marginalized predators in their society. It hurts Nick, not just personally, but because it confirms what the world already thinks about him. Judy gets to grow from her mistake, which is great, but Nick never had the luxury of making one.
So I’m not trying to pit traumas against each other. Both matter. But I do think it’s worth recognizing that the stakes of the discrimination they face aren’t the same. Judy had to prove herself in a role; Nick and other predators are feared as a group, punished for existing. That’s not just prejudice, that’s systemic oppression.
2025-07-31 16:31:20