For my Text Review I have chosen the very popular film Horton Hears a Who. The film is based off of the book of the same name by Dr. Seuss. In the movie, the main protagonist Horton finds a flower with a speck. With his large ears he can hear the very small people of who-ville, but nobody else can seem to hear them. Horton must protect the flower as some say there cant possibly be any people living on it. Many people try to destroy the small flower as Horton goes on a long journey to place the flower where nobody can touch it. By the end of the movie, the flower is saved when the Who’s cry out and somebody other than Horton can finally hear them. The movie ends with the other animals apologizing to Horton and everybody accepts that the Whos are people too.
The movie as well as the book both have the same lesson of equality. This can be related to the self-Other construct. All of the animals believe that since they cannot see the Whos, and that they are different, that they are less than them. They use their own concept of their own existence to define the existence of the Whos. This is challenged by Horton, who speaks for equality, when he says, “A person’s a person no matter how small.” The whos can also be considered subalterns. As they are very small they have absolutely no way to better themselves or voice that they are there. Without the aide of Horton they would have been wiped out. They eventually gain a small voice, thanks to Horton, and this saves them from burning in a pot of oil. Overall, while this is technically a children’s story, it can still teach us as adults. All people matter and deserve respect and opportunity. I think it’s great that kids have this story to teach them that from a young age. Its interesting that such a simple story can contain elements that relate to our social theories.
