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Pixar’s New Short Film Focuses On The Hardships Of Females Trying To Fit In A Male-Dominated Workplace
Pixar just released the first animated short in its new SparkShorts program and who better to get the ball rolling than – well a ball of yarn. The earnest 8-minute animated film follows a ball of yarn named ‘Purl’ at her new very male-dominated job and tackles the issue of gender equality in the workplace. Tackling this topical theme comes at the right time for the studio, who suffered from their own #MeToo scandal with former CCO John Lasseter was recently fired due to sexual harassment and accusations of misconduct.
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The film was created by writer and director Kristen Lester, who said the film is based on her own experiences working in animation. “My first job, I was like the only woman in the room, and so in order to do the thing that I loved, I sort of became one of the guys. And then I came to Pixar, and I started to work on teams with women for the first time, and that actually made me realize how much of the female aspect of myself I had sort of buried and left behind.”
Purl is faced with similar challenges as Lester when she begins a new job at B.R.O. Capital “a fast-paced, high energy, male-centric start-up.”
The film’s description reads: “Things start to unravel as she tries to fit in with this close-knit group. Purl must ask herself how far is she willing to go to get the acceptance she yearns for and in the end is it worth it?”
Pixar’s SparkShorts project objective is to highlight the studio’s up-and-coming animation artists. “The SparkShorts program is designed to discover new storytellers, explore new storytelling techniques, and experiment with new production workflows. These films are unlike anything we’ve ever done at Pixar, providing an opportunity to unlock the potential of individual artists and their inventive filmmaking approaches on a smaller scale than our normal fare.”
In addition to allowing animators a chance to produce their own projects, the short is also a promotion piece for Disney+, Disney’s new streaming device that will aim to compete with Netflix. More SparkShots are scheduled to be released in 2019.
Watch the full short ‘Purl’ here
Women in the comments found the theme of the short very relatable
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What do you think ?
Marnee DeRider 7 years ago
Note: At my workplace, I'm a Principal software developer, and there are three software architects on our floor who are women. The VP of technology is a woman and has made huge strides in modernizing and streamlining our systems. I noticed a tiny bit of prejudice from men towards female developers over the two decades, but only from a couple of people, and definitely not blatant. Guy who does production support (of one of the most complicated systems in the world spanning centers in almost every country) said of a female new-hire that she's probably the smartest person on the whole team. I'm sure some workplaces are toxic, and it depends a lot on the industry, but I work with great guys.
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Kjorn 7 years ago (edited)
yeah… like all womans are good and all mens are bad. womans a able to be b****y too. why Don't just say people in corporate environnement can be horrible people? Competitive environnement can make horrible people, regardless of sex or race
Parmeisan 7 years ago
That's why it's not about men vs women. It's about accepting people's differences. e.g. At the end, many of the men who were there before were wearing things other than the black suit. I assume they always wanted to, but were afraid to be different.
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TJler 7 years ago
This s**t is so embarrassing. No Pixar's trying to get all politically correct just to make a buck.People need to get over the fact that the only place in which white males have privilege over females or blacks is on social media.
Ed Souza 7 years ago
This is just ridiculous. I'm a male and I too have dealt with trying to fit-in a office environment. Oh yeah, most of my bosses throughout my career have been WAAMENN.
Nubmaeme 7 years ago
I actually found this little film silly and fanciful, but then, I guess I see things differently than most women. Yarn walked in rather timidly, with eyes down, and immediately started adding frills to her desk. To me, those actions were screaming "I'm nobody. I'm unimportant. Don't take me seriously." Eyes up and looking forward, plus a confident - but not arrogant - demeanor go a long way in helping to gain acceptance.
Daniel (ShadowDrakken) 7 years ago
Cute animation, but doesn't it come off as rather tone deaf?
Hollie Newton 7 years ago
I think what we need is a video about women "acting like men" and vice versa basically saying if a woman wants to wear unflattering clothes and get dirty then it's acceptable and if a man wants to have good nails and be clean cut then again acceptable
Parmeisan 7 years ago
That's kind of what this is.... at the end it shows everyone just being themselves, men in different-coloured shirts and stuff. It's just about accepting people's differences.
Load More Replies...
Arietis 7 years ago
What they really need are encyclopedias so they understand what propagnda actually is.
Load More Replies...
Violet brown 5 years ago
Isn't ironic that the first comment is 'so glad to work with all women' I wonder how she would treat the one man who comes to work there?? hint: not well
Marnee DeRider 7 years ago
I watched just a little bit of it. I can't relate. I am a software developer. Nobody wears suits. The thing about drinks later or whatever, it is one of our architects at work (who happens to be a woman) who gets people together after work (except not me, for some reason). Sometimes you 're not invited because you're new, they think you don't want to for some reason, or they don't like you. I suppose I must be in the third category, but it's not because I'm a woman. Not saying that there might not be workplaces where most people are men in suits who talk about going out after work (so far, I see nothing wrong), but I can't relate, and it's already stereotypical. Not watching the rest.
Marnee DeRider 7 years ago
"Pixar’s New Short Film Focuses On The Hardships Of Females"...Females of which species? Don't we normally call female humans "women"? How often do you hear someone say, "I saw a male walking down the street"? But we use the word "female" as a noun to mean women. Female just means born with chromosomes that make the creature have female genetalia. Are we reduced to identify women by their genitals. It's like saying , ""Pixar’s New Short Film Focuses On The Hardships Of Creatures With Boobs and Vaginas". Stop it, please, everyone.
thepotatogirl 7 years ago
I can't believe they made a sex joke and said "a*s" in a kids' short... oh boy here come the downvotes
Marnee DeRider 7 years ago
Note: At my workplace, I'm a Principal software developer, and there are three software architects on our floor who are women. The VP of technology is a woman and has made huge strides in modernizing and streamlining our systems. I noticed a tiny bit of prejudice from men towards female developers over the two decades, but only from a couple of people, and definitely not blatant. Guy who does production support (of one of the most complicated systems in the world spanning centers in almost every country) said of a female new-hire that she's probably the smartest person on the whole team. I'm sure some workplaces are toxic, and it depends a lot on the industry, but I work with great guys.
Load More Replies... Kjorn 7 years ago (edited)
yeah… like all womans are good and all mens are bad. womans a able to be b****y too. why Don't just say people in corporate environnement can be horrible people? Competitive environnement can make horrible people, regardless of sex or race
Parmeisan 7 years ago
That's why it's not about men vs women. It's about accepting people's differences. e.g. At the end, many of the men who were there before were wearing things other than the black suit. I assume they always wanted to, but were afraid to be different.
Load More Replies... TJler 7 years ago
This s**t is so embarrassing. No Pixar's trying to get all politically correct just to make a buck.People need to get over the fact that the only place in which white males have privilege over females or blacks is on social media.
Ed Souza 7 years ago
This is just ridiculous. I'm a male and I too have dealt with trying to fit-in a office environment. Oh yeah, most of my bosses throughout my career have been WAAMENN.
Nubmaeme 7 years ago
I actually found this little film silly and fanciful, but then, I guess I see things differently than most women. Yarn walked in rather timidly, with eyes down, and immediately started adding frills to her desk. To me, those actions were screaming "I'm nobody. I'm unimportant. Don't take me seriously." Eyes up and looking forward, plus a confident - but not arrogant - demeanor go a long way in helping to gain acceptance.
Daniel (ShadowDrakken) 7 years ago
Cute animation, but doesn't it come off as rather tone deaf?
Hollie Newton 7 years ago
I think what we need is a video about women "acting like men" and vice versa basically saying if a woman wants to wear unflattering clothes and get dirty then it's acceptable and if a man wants to have good nails and be clean cut then again acceptable
Parmeisan 7 years ago
That's kind of what this is.... at the end it shows everyone just being themselves, men in different-coloured shirts and stuff. It's just about accepting people's differences.
Load More Replies... Arietis 7 years ago
What they really need are encyclopedias so they understand what propagnda actually is.
Load More Replies... Violet brown 5 years ago
Isn't ironic that the first comment is 'so glad to work with all women' I wonder how she would treat the one man who comes to work there?? hint: not well
Marnee DeRider 7 years ago
I watched just a little bit of it. I can't relate. I am a software developer. Nobody wears suits. The thing about drinks later or whatever, it is one of our architects at work (who happens to be a woman) who gets people together after work (except not me, for some reason). Sometimes you 're not invited because you're new, they think you don't want to for some reason, or they don't like you. I suppose I must be in the third category, but it's not because I'm a woman. Not saying that there might not be workplaces where most people are men in suits who talk about going out after work (so far, I see nothing wrong), but I can't relate, and it's already stereotypical. Not watching the rest.
Marnee DeRider 7 years ago
"Pixar’s New Short Film Focuses On The Hardships Of Females"...Females of which species? Don't we normally call female humans "women"? How often do you hear someone say, "I saw a male walking down the street"? But we use the word "female" as a noun to mean women. Female just means born with chromosomes that make the creature have female genetalia. Are we reduced to identify women by their genitals. It's like saying , ""Pixar’s New Short Film Focuses On The Hardships Of Creatures With Boobs and Vaginas". Stop it, please, everyone.
thepotatogirl 7 years ago
I can't believe they made a sex joke and said "a*s" in a kids' short... oh boy here come the downvotes
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