By Isabella Martinez
Staff Writer
The new animated film by Pixar, Soul, focuses on the heavy questions most people spend their whole lives trying to answer. What is my purpose? What happens after we die? Is my life meaningless? Voiced by Jamie Foxx, Joe Gardner’s dream is to be a professional jazz musician, but he spends his days as a middle school band director instead. His dream seems to be coming true as Joe learns about an opening in the band of a jazz legend, Dorothea Williams. Nailing the audition, Joe rushes home but falls into a hole that transforms him into a soul. This leads him into his journey in the Great Beyond, the place in which souls go after they have passed.
Joe escapes the Great Beyond to simply avoid death but finds himself in the Great Before, the place in which souls are given their personalities and “sparks” before entering Earth as a newborn. In anticipation of being able to return to Earth in time for his performance with Dorothea’s band, Joe takes on the role of a mentor to the new souls. Here is when Joe meets 22 (Tina Fey), the rebellious soul guided by thousands of mentors, who never manages to find her “spark.” Joe soon discovers after his encounter with 22, that he invested his entire life concentrating on his jazz career. Realizing he never stopped to appreciate the simple things in life, like getting a haircut or eating pizza.
Soul centers around a middle school band teacher who, just before his big break as a jazz pianist, has a near-death experience. With colorful scenery and blue blobs that resemble souls, Joe Gardner eventually gets trapped in what appears to be Pixar’s version of the afterlife. The film is also set in the iconic city of New York and is entirely meant to represent the energetic lifestyles of New Yorkers. It is no secret that Pixar’s team came through with their incredible animation skills that bring out the beauty of this film. Soul, however, has stirred up some heated controversy following the release date on Christmas Day. Being the first Pixar film to feature a black protagonist, it falls into the same series of animated films in which the black main character is transformed into someone different for the majority of the film. In the long run, this leads to a further lack of representation for the Black community. On the contrary, inspiring musician and junior Ayeisha Kirkland said that “the positives speak louder than the negatives.”
“ Many may try to argue that Joe was painted as the villain, but we should not focus on the negatives.” said Kirkland.
Instead, Joe learns from his mistakes and should rather be seen as influential, inspiring, and talented.
Despite the transformation issue, the essence of black culture contributes to this particular Pixar animation’s individuality. The sophistication of jazz music and the representation of its production is accompanied by its greater cultural impact. Joe’s father introduced him to his passion, describing jazz as one of the largest contributors to culture worldwide. To this day, with its prominent figures, including Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, jazz maintains a valuable role in the music industry. A trip to a black barbershop featuring several hairstyles and the black experience in New York is also seen in the film, along with jazz. Throughout the movie, a few touches give it the main distinction from any other Pixar film that by necessity followed white, middle-class ideals. All in all, Soul was created to prove that life is worth living and that everyone has a special purpose. Giorgia Cattaneo, Truck editor, and avid music lover claims that in the sense of trying to figure out yourself, this unique movie is “emotional and relatable.” The animated story is made to be a light-hearted film with a deeper meaning behind it that may have hit close to home for some individuals.