Zootopia is a movie that is marketed as a children's entertainment.

The movie is
also rated PG-13, which meant that parents are advised to watch the movie with
the children. To appeal to the older audience, Disney had slipped a adult joke
cleverly by using suggestive language in their presentation of the movie.
To what extent does problematic meaning in language affects ways of knowing?
How does problematic meaning in language serve as a source of knowledge?
Based on the real life situation, the animators of Zootopia use ambiguous word
which is multiplying as comedic purpose to attract adult to watch the childrens
movie.
The ambiguous words are one of the problem meaning in language. In this
context, ambiguous can be defined by one word that has different meaning, such
as the word multiplying:
First meaning : literally the multiplying concept in mathematics.
Second meaning : refer to the act of increasing the population by reproduction.
The animators of Zootopia utilized the problems of meaning to create a joke that
can be understood by adults but slip past the children. Thus, this situation can be
derived to the statement that problems of language is used in presentations of
various platforms. There are many elements in problems of meaning of language
that can be manipulated to achieve the intended purpose. This leads to various
problems such as interpretations in the ways of knowing through language. So,
the real life situation is a great example of the utilization of problem of meaning
in language.
However, the problem of meaning of language could also be argued to act as a
source of knowledge. This is because there are hidden knowledge in the
ambiguous meanings of the words use. Then, the hidden knowledge can lead
gaining new knowledge for the knower. This is as the words used have a few
perspectives depending on the annotation and connotation. The vagueness of
the weasel word use in problem of meaning can also have an effect as the
magnitude of the word use can be interpreted differently, probing the knower to
search for the knowledge.
We intend to further explore the knowledge question by utilizing the area of
knowledge which are the Human Sciences and Arts. The ways of knowing that is
used in the Human sciences is the language in emotion and the language in
imagination:
Emotion Emotion can distorts our understanding of language, thus leading to
different reaction on words used in presentation. This can be observed where
emotionally laden language influence the behaviourism of people, or the way
they act when influenced by emotion.
Imagination - Adults tend to have more imagination as they have more
experiential knowledge. Adults have a wider and more advanced vocabulary.
They can understand the meaning of the words used in language more
effectively than children. Children much more limited and innocent imagination
compared to their older counterpart
Meanwhile in Arts, we would explore the use of language in the ways of knowing
of emotion, imagination, and perception:
Emotion The descriptive words are able to be deduce from the expressions of
feelings expressed through the art presented. This shows that arts can be used
as a medium to convey an emotional message to be interpreted.
Imagination Artist express their creative imagination by cleverly slipping a joke.
They think creatively to understand the ambiguous words and seductive image.
The act of slipping a creative art using language also include puns.
Perception - Language is used to describe the perception. As an example, the
adult may be able to have many interpretation on what they hear and see, as
they use their own perception to gain knowledge. The language conveyed can
influence us to think of the theme and message surrounding the songs.
As for conclusion, the problem of meaning can also be used to acquire new
knowledge through the level of knowledge which is:
Information: disconnected facts which have not been organized into systematic
knowledge Knowledge: understands the information related to one another to
form a meaningful whole
There different level of understandings of a subject between a child and an adult
(personal knowledge). So the adult should try to explain to a child regarding the
joke (shared knowledge).
For a conclusion, we can agree that to a great extent problematic meaning in
language can be as source of knowledge. This is as we use language not only to
describe, but also to influence, persuade and sometimes manipulate the way
people see things. Furthermore, a great deal of problem in language is
ambiguous and can affect our (WOKs) during interpretation. So, rather than
limiting of ourselves regarding to negative perspectives of the problem meaning
in language, knower can utilizes and manipulate the problem meaning in
language to be beneficial to acquire knowledge.
The example of the real life situation that this can apply the findings of this study
is such as the interpretation of bombastic words used in marketing of product.
The usage of unfamiliar words such as collagen, anti-oxidant, less sugar, all-
natural, 99.9%(weasel word) to sell their products would often attract customers
as they lack knowledge of the words used. The interpretation of sculpture in arts
also can be used as a source of knowledge.