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The Pixar short that tackles office 'bro' culture

Hot-button issues like workplace misogyny and a lack of diversity aren’t often explored by family-friendly Pixar. But this month, it released a nine-minute short that does just that.

Called Purl, it was released on 4 February and has already amassed six million views on YouTube. It’s the story of a walking, talking ball of yarn called Purl. She’s carnation pink, bubbly and eager to kick off her new desk job at the firm B.R.O. Capital.

But after her colleagues – all male – negatively react to her, she shapes herself (figuratively and literally) to be more like the hyper-masculine workers around her so she can fit in.

Pixar story artist Kristen Lester, who wrote and directed the short, says the film is inspired by her own experiences in the animation industry. Starting out, she was often the only woman in the room, and felt like she had to morph into “one of the guys”.

“I didn’t want to risk being rejected, and so I would change to eliminate that risk,” she says.

The film satirises “bro culture” – a term often linked to fields like tech, finance and video games which have drawn criticism for fostering macho office environments that can exclude and demean women.

Purl’s colleagues are stereotypical “bros”. They make loud, vulgar jokes, they constantly talk about hitting the gym, and rowdily leave en masse at 17:00 for all-you-can-eat wings happy hour. When Purl gleefully bounces into the office, they’re dumbstruck and speechless, with no idea how to relate to her. Almost immediately, they start ignoring her in meetings, and ditch her when it’s time for after-work hangouts.

It’s an example of tribalism, which can be damaging to both individual workers and the companies that employ them ­– when people are in an environment where everyone looks, sounds, acts and thinks the same, it can create an echo chamber and cyclical system that only includes and rewards the same kinds of people over and over. (All the photos on the “employee of the month” wall at B.R.O. are of white men sporting the same grin.) Study after study has shown that more diverse teams are more innovative, more successful and make better decisions than homogenous teams do.

Eventually, Purl reinvents herself as a two-dimensional, defeminised caricature in a suit. She copies their behaviour to the point where she becomes one of them. She swears, she’s aggressive in meetings – and she’s instantly accepted. (In a montage later with the boys, she throws up strings of green yarn-vomit after a heavy session at the pub.)

Between the cursing and the on-screen regurgitating, Purl isn’t typical Pixar fare. But that’s exactly what Pixar has aimed to do: Purl is one of six short films in an experimental series called “SparkShorts”. The company gave a handful of employees of varied backgrounds six months and limited funds to make their own films based on their personal stories, allowing for more latitude and edginess.

Why depict women as balls of yarn?

“We can change into whatever we want in order to negotiate a situation where we feel uncomfortable,” Lester says. “This idea of shape-shifting and ‘knitting new personas’ was something I thought could be a cool metaphor.” At her early jobs, Lester says she had to do little things, like self-edit her conversations around her male colleagues, to fit in. One example was avoiding referencing films that she feared were viewed as “too girly”.

“I didn’t want to be associated with those things because I felt it emphasised that I was different,” she says. “So, I would choose to reference movies that I knew my male coworkers had watched and liked. It got my point across, but it wasn’t the movie that I had personally connected to.”

Some time after Purl’s transformation, a new cheerfully earnest hire joins B.R.O. – a yellow yarn ball named Lacy. The bro contingent instantly crushes her own spirit and excludes her. But when Purl sees Lacy going through what she did, she drops the act and welcomes Lacy into the fold, setting an example for the others.

But the short isn’t just about casual gender discrimination in the workplace – it’s about general inclusion.

In the film’s happy ending, the office is filled with dozens of brightly-coloured yarn balls working joyfully alongside the now-enlightened men. But there’s a visual difference in the men, too: they’re more racially diverse. That was no coincidence, Lester says.

“I wanted to portray the world as it could be. A world where people – and yarn balls – of all different shapes and sizes could work together to make something great.”

Since the film’s release, many people have contacted Lester with their own version of Purl’s story. “Some of their stories are funny, some of them sad, but they are all stories of people relating to the struggles of [Purl].”

She hopes people keep telling their personal stories, especially through film.

“Being able to understand and empathise with a point of view not our own opens up new possibilities for us as a culture,” she says. “Movies have the power to create empathy for other points of view we may not have considered.”

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Bryan Lufkin is BBC Capital's features writer. Follow him on Twitter @bryan_lufkin.

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Empire star Jussie Smollett 'staged hoax attack over salary'

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Media captionChicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson: "Smollett dragged city's reputation through mud"

US actor Jussie Smollett staged a fake attack on himself because he was "dissatisfied with his salary", Chicago police say.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a news conference that he "took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career".

Mr Smollett is charged with filing a false police report after he said he was the victim of a homophobic attack.

Police say he also had sent a racist letter to himself at a Fox studio.

The 36-year-old star of the TV series Empire is suspected of paying two brothers to stage the attack. They are both co-operating with the investigation, police say.

On Wednesday his lawyers said they would "mount an aggressive defence".

What do police say?

In a scathing news conference on Thursday, Supt Johnson accused the actor of committing a crime "to further his own profile".

He said Mr Smollett had betrayed the city of Chicago, and said "this publicity stunt was a scar that Chicago didn't earn and certainly didn't deserve".

The "hoax", he said, "received national attention for weeks," and may deter future hate crime victims from coming forward for fear that their allegations may be met with scepticism.

He called upon the actor "to apologise to this city that he smeared".

Image copyright CBS Image caption Mr Smollett turned himself in to police on Thursday

"Celebrities, news commentators, and even presidential candidates weighed in on something that was choreographed by an actor," he said, with palpable anger as he spoke.

"I'm left hanging my head and asking why," he said, describing Mr Smollett's actions as a "slap in the face" to Chicagoans.

How did the case unfold?

Suspicion over the actor's allegations started to grow after police said they could not find any video footage of the alleged incident from over 50 surveillance cameras they reviewed. There were also no witnesses.

But investigators managed to track and identify two men who appeared on video footage near where the actor said he had been attacked through a ride-sharing app.

The men - Ola and Abel Osundairo - had left the US following the alleged attack and were held for nearly 48 hours after they returned last week.

They were released without charges after providing information that "shifted the trajectory of the investigation", police said.

One of the brothers is Mr Smollett's personal trainer and both have worked as extras on Empire, a hit Fox show that depicts the lives of a music mogul and his family in Chicago.

Image copyright Chicago Police Image caption CCTV image released earlier by Chicago police

Police say they have a cheque that Mr Smollett signed and that he had agreed to pay $3,500 (£2,700) for the brothers' participation.

Supt Johnson said that he had told at least one of the brothers that he was "dissatisfied" with his salary from Fox.

He added that Mr Smollett first "attempted to gain attention by sending a false letter that relied on racial, homophobic and political language" to Fox studios.

Police had confirmed in early February that a letter containing a white powder - later identified as aspirin - was included in the threatening letter that authorities now believe was now sent by the actor himself.

On Wednesday, CBS Chicago obtained footage which appeared to show two people buying materials, including ski masks, that had allegedly been worn by the actor's attackers.

Mr Smollett turned himself in early on Thursday and is in custody of Chicago police.

He will appear before a judge for a bond hearing later on Thursday.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Rallies were held after Mr Smollett first announced the alleged "attack" What does Smollett say happened?

The actor, who is gay, said he had gone out to buy food late at night in downtown Chicago when two white men hurled racial and homophobic insults at him.

They allegedly punched the actor, poured a chemical substance over him and put a rope around his neck.

Police said on Thursday that some minor scrapes on his face were probably self-inflicted.

"I'm left hanging my head and asking why. Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations?" said Supt Johnson.

"How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile?"

Mr Smollett also claimed the men had told him "this is Maga country", apparently referring to President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.

The president tweeted his condemnation after the police news conference, slamming Mr Smollett's "racist and dangerous comments".

The actor said he had been "forever changed" by the alleged incident.

An outpouring of support followed, including from Oscar winner Viola Davis and supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Venezuela crisis: Maduro to close border with Brazil

Image copyright AFP Image caption US aid is waiting to be collected across the border in Colombia

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has announced he is closing the border with Brazil on Thursday night as a row over foreign humanitarian aid continues.

The embattled leftist leader went on TV to say that he was also considering shutting the border with Colombia to stop the opposition bringing in relief.

He denies any crisis and calls the aid delivery plans a US-orchestrated show.

Opposition leader Juan Guaidó is leading a convoy to the Colombian border from the capital Caracas.

Mr Guaidó declared himself interim leader during anti-government protests last month and is recognised by dozens of foreign states.

Buses forming his convoy set off from the city on Thursday to cheering crowds.

Mr Guaidó and his allies hope to collect food and medicine in defiance of President Maduro.

The Venezuelan military has so far managed to block shipments of US aid from coming across the border with Colombia.

Despite denying there is any humanitarian crisis, Mr Maduro announced this week that 300 tonnes of aid would be shipped to Venezuela from its ally Russia.

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More than three million Venezuelans have fled in recent years as the country grapples with hyperinflation and shortages of essentials like food and medicine, the UN says.

Mr Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, has been criticised at home and abroad for his handling of the economy.

Why Brazil?

Flanked by Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez and other top military commanders, Mr Maduro announced that the border with Brazil would be closed "completely and absolutely" from 20:00 (23:00 GMT) until further notice.

The president also added: "I don't want to take any decision of this type but I am evaluating it, a total closure of the border with Colombia."

He says the delivery of aid is part of a US-led attempt to depose his government and seize Venezuela's oil reserves.

The right-wing Brazilian government of President Jair Bolsonaro is among those that recognise Mr Guaidó as Venezuela's legitimate leader, pending elections.

Presidential spokesman Gen Otávio Régo Barros said on Tuesday that, in co-ordination with the US, food and medicine would be available in the border town of Pacaraima to be collected by "the government of acting President Juan Guaidó in Venezuelan trucks driven by Venezuelans".

"Brazil is taking part in this important international initiative to support the Guaidó government and the Venezuelan people," he said.

Mr Guaidó has said 600,000 volunteers have already signed up to help carry aid into the country on Saturday.

Venezuela earlier closed its sea and air border with Curacao, a Dutch Caribbean island off Venezuela's north coast which is planning to host US aid.

Where is the convoy going?

It is expected to travel some 800-900km (500-560 miles) to the Colombian border where aid is being stockpiled at two points.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Cars could be seen leaving the home of Mr Guaidó in Caracas

"Confirmed - it's rolling," a spokesman for Mr Guaidó's convoy told AFP news agency on Thursday after he left Caracas by car.

Earlier in the day, other vehicles in the convoy were blocked for several hours before being allowed to proceed, AFP says.

"We know that the regime is going to put all obstacles to prevent us from reaching the border, but nothing is stopping us, we are going to continue," opposition MP Yanet Fermin told the news agency.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Allies of Mr Guaidó waved from a bus as they left Caracas

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government announced it would deliver 20,600 of its own food boxes to the Colombian border area.