Curate, connect, and discover
I genuinely love what you've written like the points you are making are so good and so well worded. The way the male race cars like McQueen have fake headlights reminds me of how actors in superhero movies train. The bodies of the actors are there not for function but for appearance. I think about Chris Pratt, for example, and how his body changed from before Guardians of the Galaxy and after. Before, Pratt was heavier and very visibly not in shape. His body was presented as a joke and not something to be ogled at, something that was not masculine. Pratt changed for the movie, losing weight and becoming very muscular. This change in body changed the public's perception of him, taking him from softy and loveable guy to hot(and then to gross). Muscularity is tied to masculinity as it indicates strength and capability, two traits stereotypically tied to men. The body that Pratt built was for a movie, for his appearance, not for function, and the body was used for appearance. Pratt did not have to use his body like the public that supports his career does but like his fellow rich actor peers. Headlights are a functional feature, so having good, functional headlights would likely be seen as a masculine feature. For a car that is so focused on press and his physical presentation, it would make sense for McQueen to have the appearance of headlights.
I also absolutely love your take on female headlights and how women are encouraged to cover them up. Career women cover up because they need to in a male-dominated world. Flo needs all the respect she can get as a female small business owner in a dying town, and Kori needs as much respect as she can get as a woman working in a male-dominated and oriented industry. If Flo and Kori can get more respect from their male peers by covering up stigmatized feminine traits, then they will. Sally, oppositely, is free from these pressures as she's left behind her career days and she does not have to cover up. The way they are necessary bodily features of these cars means nothing to the broader society, and the only escape that can be granted is by leaving it. The unfortunate downside is that Cars is a movie made by men in 2006, and the patriarchy will impact these cars no matter where they go.
overall i love your analysis it is like the perfect elaboration of what I was trying to say but I just got way to in my own head
I just wrote a 3-4 ish page essay on Pixar cars and their headlights/tits what do I do with this