Pixar’s Cars and Strategies for Success – A Relation
There are many things that can be found within the movie Cars by Pixar that relate to the Strategies for Success course I am currently taking. Of the multitude of characters, there are two specifically that I would like to focus on, namely Doc Hudson and Lightning McQueen, which are the two main race car characters within the movie. Lightning McQueen employs constant self talk, usually positive, during most of the movie, especially right before the two big races. The irony of this is that it usually becomes a bit too positive at times and makes McQueen seem very egocentric in those cases. He also holds some scotomas over the residents of Radiator Springs once he meets them. At one point he screams that he is stuck in “hillbilly hell” and doesn’t treat the residents as his equals and uses sarcasm and other negative talk to drill this point home. As the movie progresses though, he realizes his error and grows to like the residents of Radiator Springs, even going out of his way to help them as much as he can in the end. When it comes to the Doc Hudson character, which is very similar to McQueen and reminds me of the “old guard same as the new guard” thematic approach, he doesn’t take him seriously until he is put into his place by Doc and then later finds out Doc’s hidden past. Once this occurs, McQueen goes out of his way to encourage Doc to drop some of his own scotomas and to get him to want to succeed in life again and have a positive outlook.
Doc Hudson has some similarities to McQueen in that he employs self talk to himself when he is alone and it is usually positive. His scotomas though are that he is a failure, washed up, an old has-been because of what had happened to him in his last race, and he doesn’t think he can go back to that lifestyle ever again. McQueen is the one that helps bring him out of this hole and shines a light on his future. It’s Doc who teaches McQueen how to turn better in dirt and not lose control, which helps McQueen later in the last race. It’s also solely Doc that sends him back to the world of racing, mostly out of jealousy I think and that he thinks Radiator Springs is better off without him. Not soon afterward he realizes his mistake and makes it up to McQueen by showing up at the last race and encouraging him as much as he can so he can win. McQueen doesn’t win, but thanks to his interaction with Doc he does become a better “person” and ends up winning in the end regardless.
In conclusion, the almost symbiotic nature of the two characters Doc Hudson and Lightning McQueen are relevant to the Strategies for Success class I am taking this quarter because they both symbolize, both in singularity and duplicity, what it is we all can achieve if we just stay positive with ourselves and others. This includes employing positive self talk, dropping some of our scotomas we have of life and other people, and interacting more positively with others for the benefit of all involved. I’ve seen this movie several times and each time I learn something new from it, taking this course and trying to relate it to the movie has as well taught me some new things about it and myself, which I am very grateful for.
