A Bug’s Life through the lens of Karl Marx
Disney’s Pixar film, A Bug’s Life, is much more than meets the eye. The film is not only an animated comedy; it holds deep sociological theory within its plot. Many of the major themes and concepts of the movie can be viewed through the lens of the famous theorist Karl Marx. Marx’s theory is famous for focusing on how society functions. In particular he concerns himself with how capitalism, the working class, and the revolutions create problems in our society. My paper will analyze how Marxian theory and concepts fit into major climactic scenes of the film. The film revolves around the protagonist Filk, a worker ant. The colony is being oppressed by a group of grasshoppers and their leader
Karl Marx was not only a theoretical thinker; he was a philosopher and economist. His theory is still relevant today as we apply it to the film, A Bug’s Life.
Marx theory describes the proletariat as the class of wage earners in a capitalistic society whose only significant value is their labor. “Now let me tell you how things are supposed to work: The sun grows the food, the ants pick the food, and the grasshoppers eat the food…” (A Bug’s Life 1998) This quote by Hopper is an example of how the grasshoppers view the colony. According to Marx, as described in his Manifesto, the proletariats live only if they can find work. The proletariats find work as long as their labor is needed. In this case, the grasshoppers need the ants in order to eat and essentially survive. “You piece of dirt! No, I'm wrong. You're lower than dirt. You're an ant!” (A Bug’s Life 1998). In this quote we see that the ants are viewed as the lowest class in the society. As Marx describes, the age and sex of the worker is not important as long as the worker produces the goods for the bourgeoisie. In Marx’ Manifesto, he also describes the proletariats as a unique class. Applying his theory, the ants are the majority in the colony and share a common miserable existence; this is what essentially brings them together to destroy the system of exploitation and start a revolution.
Marxism states the bourgeoisie are the owners and the rulers of production. He also describes the bourgeoisie as