The Annoying Propaganda in Pixar's Up

We do (very) occasional movie nights with mainstream movies where I make popcorn, and we make a big thing of it. Most recently we watched Pixar's Up. It was a really fun movie, but it still had a lot of what I would call sneaky, subversive, messages. Here is a list of just the most blatant stuff I noticed--

-Men are the beta's, women are the alpha's

-Little girls don't like to play with dolls, they are actually just like little boys--dreaming of being pirates and whatnot

-It's normal for a couple to not have children

-The proper dream for a human being is based on consumption (the consumption of specific adventures) and not the production of specific things (like children, a home, a moral personality, a good community, a business)

-Old people are just like teenagers, still dreaming of those things they want to consume rather than enjoying their families and contributing to their communities and being, well, old, wise members of society.

-The characters in this movie watch TV in the movie, and it is portrayed as a good thing

-Businessmen are depicted as evil, almost faceless, white men wearing suits (is there any movie with a good business man?)

-It is more important to side with a bird than it is to side with a fellow human being when they have competing goals (animal and human goals hold the same value)

-There are no heroes. Should you meet your childhood hero, he will turn out to be evil.

None of these messages would be a problem if it was just this movie, just this once, just part of this particular story, but I see all of the above as trends, as the "reality" programmed into children in almost all movies and television these days. (Do they send out a memo? I don't know why!! But since Anders is an actor, I see these messages again and again, especially the beta male one. There are almost no parts for little boys that act like little boys anymore.)

Some of the above may not be issues for you, and like I said, I still enjoyed the movie, but I wanted to point out the subversive messages that are in ONE innocent, fun, well-made, kids movie.

Most kids watch 4-6 hours of TV a day. I watch zero hours of kids television every day, but I do read quite a few scripts that come through for Anders's auditions. The messages in kids shows today haven't changed much (except with regard to gender norms) since I was a kid. They are: 

-Adults are stupid. You should not listen to them

-Parents are always wrong. Kids are always right. Don't do what your parents advise.

-Siblings are horrible and annoying and you should be mean to them.

-Rude behavior is funny.

-Consume! Consume! Consume!

-Vegetables are gross. Pizza and burgers are good.