Monsters, Inc.

Monsters, Inc.

Pixar Animation Studios

Released: 2001

Director: Pete Docter

Starring: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, and Steve Buscemi

Composer: Paul Newman

Rating: G

Grade: 3/5

This is my first Pixar post! Are you excited? Cause I definitely am. They are so good at telling beautiful stories that hit you right in the feels. But are they good at telling queer stories? I’m on the fence. But Monsters, Inc. might convince you otherwise.

We’ve got this world full of monsters that live inside your closet who scare children so they can power their world through screams. Basic premise. Pretty economic idea. But it’s got some cool queer stuff going on.

Stay with me through this one.

I want to propose an allegory.

So we’ve got this world of monsters established as our norm. The humans and the human world are not normative, aka representing a queer presence as a sort of alternate/separate universe. The monsters are terrified of humans and anything to do with them. Even a sock is a huge contaminant.

I want to look at the first time we see the monsters’ fear in action. The big orange monster dude (I can’t remember his name, does he even have a name?) comes out of his door, feeling good, when suddenly his sidekick/manager dude sees that a human sock is stuck to his back. CODE 2319! CODE 2319! The CDC (Child Detection Agency) rushes in, shaves off all his orange fur, and leaves him in a plastic dog collar, completely nude and humiliated in front of all his colleagues.

Can I get some privacy...maybe?

I want to read this as an allegory for the beginning of the gay rights movement.  It’s not a perfect allegory, but whatever. Let’s just pretend, shall we?

We are in an arcane (thank glob) world where homosexuality (humans) are terrifying. Even coming into contact with one is highly dangerous. Let’s call that wide spread homophobia. When word gets out that Boo, a tiny human, has come into the monster world, she causes a panic/riot in the restaurant scene where Mike Wazowski is trying to have a nice dinner with his girlfriend, hello heterosexuality. This riot reminds me of Stonewall. This is the first huge collision between normative culture and queer culture, shaking up hierarchies and perceptions, leading (eventually) to the civil rights movement we know today.

'Sup guys?

The relationship between Boo and Sully shows this evolution. Because he has gotten to know a human personally, he sees that humans are not dangerous and he comes to care deeply for one adorable tiny human.

To go back to the moment between the big orange dude and the CDC, I’m reminded of the humiliating punishments LGBTQ people were subjected to by governments (and still are, hello Russia, and a bunch of other countries). Think anti-sodomy laws, and forced castration. It’s some humiliating and terrifying stuff.

But let’s think of happier things. Even in the face of adversity and horrible conditions throughout queer history, we have to move forward with positivity and a hope for the future. At least that’s how I keep going. Also I do fun things like queering kids’ movies.

Anyway…

The exciting thing about this allegory is that it totally makes fun of homophobia and that arcane society. It completely turns normativity on its head. In our world, humans are the normative and monsters, aliens, the things of a child’s imagination, are queer, they are outside of societal constructs because they are of the imagination. In Monsters, Inc, monsters are the normative and a tiny little girl causes a HUGE commotion. That’s just so absurd. Tiny little girls pose absolutely no threat to anyone ever. That’s why the premise is brilliant. It’s also pretty radical. If we equate Boo with this queerness, then the film is saying that a queer person is just as innocuous and non-threatening as a tiny little girl. And no one in their right mind, no matter how conservative they are, can be scared of a little girl. Unless she’s the girl from The Ring. She’s pretty scary. She even has to dress up as a monster to pass! The movie shows us a world where our normative is treated as a kind of queerness. That’s pretty cool.

Also, there’s the whole thing about screams and how they power the monster world which then turns into laughter powering the monster world and actually being more effective than screams. I’m gonna pull the queer shame versus queer pride card again. We can talk about how despite the oppression of queer populations , society was still functional, but when queer pride started coming around and queer voices began contributing to popular discourses, culture began to expand. Although there is still a long way to go, this parallel shows that the productivity of non-oppressive culture is beneficial not only for queers, but for society as a whole.

How’s that queer interpretation for ya?

MVQ:  Boo. She fights homophobia with cuteness. That’s definitely the best way to do it.

OTP: Boo <3 Sully, but in a father/daughter kinda way, ew get your mind out of the gutter

Favorite moment: The final moment when the final piece of Boo’s door goes in and Sully’s face just lights up with pure joy. I die everytime.