Subliminal Message in Latest Smurfs Movie?

August 18, 2011 Subliminal Message in Latest Smurfs Movie?

With the recent release of the silver-screen version of the Smurfs, much has been made about the alleged symbolism of the cute little blue creatures. Is the Smurf Village really designed to be analogous to a totalitarian socialist utopia? Is Pappa Smurf really supposed to represent Karl Marx? According to Antoine Buéno, a lecturer at the Paris’s prestigious Sciences Po academy, the beloved cartoon and comic series is pregnant with nefarious meaning. In Buéno’s recently-published book, Le Petit Livre Bleu (The Little Blue Book, Hors Collection: 2011), Buéno lays out the case that The Smurfs is racially-tinged, anti-Semitic, and gives succor to dictatorship.

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While Buéno concedes Smurfs creator Peyo, the nom de plume of Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, may not have intentionally attached such meaning, the parallels are unmistakable. The Smurf Village features no private property and is led by the authoritarian Pappa Smurf, whose red outfit gives him a Stalin-like aura. The only female in the story-line is Smurfette, who has classically Aryan features. This is in stark contrast to arch-enemy Gargamel, who, with a hooked nose, Jewish-sounding name, and fixation on gold, fits many Nazi-era caricatures of Jews. Further, episodes featuring the Black Smurfs, caused by a black fly sting, saw the color changed to purple after protests of racial overtones.

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Australian author Mark Schmidt, who first published an analysis of The Smurfs shortly after leaving university in 1998, sees the cartoon as an unequivocal metaphor for socialism, with each Smurf character playing a proverbial role. In his 2008 work, The Secrets of Pop Culture, he argues that enemy Gargamel is designed to embody the evils of capitalism. His pliant cat, Azrael, is seen as part of the oppressed proletariat toiling listlessly under the greedy capitalist. Meanwhile, the Smurfs are paragons for socialist ideals, sharing goods such as smurfberries throughout the village. The white-bearded Pappa is to represent intellectual lodestar Karl Marx, while Brainy Smurf, with his cerebral look, books, and glasses, is thought to be a little blue Leon Trotsky. Others have argued that the Smurfs are either gay or sexist, as the village is overwhelmingly male.

the above photo is searched from google, the copyright belongs to its author.

However, the recently-released movie does much to dispel many of the aforementioned accusations. The story-line is quintessentially-capitalist. As the 2011 Smurfs arrive in New York City, they meet an advertising executive played by Neil Patrick Harris, they encourage him to both have more fun and be more productive at his job, which is for a profit-maximizing enterprise. Further, the Smurfs are all quite dynamic in 2011, going outside of their stereotyped character traits and belying an individualism not typically associated with socialist utopias.

Such controversy has served to generate considerable buzz surrounding the movie and has brought people who are not typically aficionados of children’s movies into the discussion. While the alleged symbolism of the Smurfs will likely generate controversy for some time to come, the cute little blue humanoids do have quite a bit to offer for children. Thierry Culliford, the son of founder Peyo, points out that his father sought to convey important morals to children through each episode, with themes such as honesty, sharing, and loyalty. As the successful movie and hot products can attest to, such discussion has been met with considerable commercial success. Regardless of one’s persuasion, the new movie should offer something of interest for the whole family.

Tags: Smurfs, Entertainment, Advertising, Products

August 22, 2011 10 steps teach you how to book cheap ticket for the Smurfs

Sources

“Are the Smurfs Really Commies?” Movieguide: The Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment 11 August 2011

http://www.movieguide.org/articles/main/are-the-smurfs-really-commies/Page-1.html

Chung Ah-young “Smurfs: Metaphor for Socialism?” Korea Times 5 September 2008

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2011/03/142_30610.html

Flood, Allison “Smurfs Accused of Anti-Semitism and Racism,” The Guardian 6 June 2011

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061001121301AAgCHKL

“Professor Says Smurfs Cartoons Have Fascist and Racist Themes.” Newsytype.com 3 June 2011

http://www.newsytype.com/7176-smurfs-fascist-racist/

“The Smurfs Are Racist, Anti-Semites, Antoine Buéno Suggests In ‘Le Petit Livre Bleu’” Huffington Post 3 June 2011

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/03/the-smurfs-are-racist-ant_n_870758.html

Tags: Karl Marx, racism, soft seat, the smurfs

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