Author: Kira Reed, Clinical Social Worker

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

Humans instinctively seek connection and belonging because acceptance by the majority means survival. However, as society evolved acceptance became conditional and being different was often rejected due to fear of the unknown. Throughout history, we can see examples of the rejection and destruction due to differences in skills, class, religion, race, ethnicity, and more. As far back as Ancient Greece and Rome, people that expressed different opinions were viewed as “crazy” or rejected by society. But without people straying from the norm we would never have become the society we are today. 

Self determination refers to the motivation behind our actions and behaviors. This is made up of three core characteristics: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. These characteristics are essential for creating motivation and encouraging personal growth. We can experience intrinsic motivation which refers to doing something because you enjoy it; alternatively there is extrinsic motivation where you seek external reward or try to avoid punishment. 

One of my personal favorite movies, “the Wild Robot”demonstrates how survival becomes an extrinsic motivator. This 2024 animated film directed by Chris Sanders and written by Peter Brown, tells the story of an orphaned gosling raised by a robot programmed to complete day to day tasks. The entire story highlights the base instinct for survival but then expands into themes that help us survive such as found family, overcoming adversity, and turning weakness into strength. 

Robots are characteristically un-human; they are written without feelings and meant to serve a functional purpose within the world. However, robots are useful teaching tools in media because they provide a blank canvas for learning human concepts such as love and nuance. Our main character, Roz, is a robot that ends up on a remote island inhabited by forest animals. Roz is outcasted in the beginning for being a robot and scares the animals by unintentionally causing destruction to the land. Roz then becomes the adoptive parent to a gosling whose family did not survive the destruction. There are a lot of challenges with overcoming nature and nurture while Roz helps Brightbill, the gosling, prepare for migration.  Roz demonstrates the power of self determination by re-writing her code to allow her to learn love and empathy to take care of Brightbill. Throughout the story Roz navigates challenges of parenthood as she is forced to take on new roles with no clear answer. Roz’s character can speak to new parents and people navigating new roles in life and highlights that there is no one “right” way to parent. 

Brightbill is the gosling saved by Roz and is initially ostracized by other geese due to his “unnatural” upbringing and is viewed as a “thing” by others. In the beginning of the movie Brightbills chances of survival are low due to being a runt and the loss of his family. Thanks to Roz, Brightbill is able to grow up and is content with his robotic mannerisms until he meets members of his species and he begins to question his identity. Like many, belonging and connection are core values that improve chances of survival; and so, there are often expectations to fit in and be accepted by others. The movie highlights the importance of Brightbill learning the natural instincts of geese for his survival but despite his efforts to fit in, he is bullied by other geese for his differences. Through the support of Roz and friends, Brightbill undergoes several empowering scenes where he overcomes his physical limitations; one scene in particular shows Brightbill learning to fly despite his size difference and finding strength through his limitations. 

Self determination doesn’t mean you have to be the hero, but it does highlight the importance of autonomy. We cannot choose the life we are born into but we can choose the person we become.