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 Hopper. The grasshoppers claim they will provide protection as long as the ants provide the food supply. When the ants cannot supply the food for the grasshoppers, Hopper demands the ants to produce twice as much food as they did before. As a result, the ants will not have enough food to store up for themselves. Filk then travels to recruit warrior bugs to help the ants fight off the grasshoppers. According to Marx, this would free the colony from the constant oppression of the grasshoppers.
The major themes of the movie follow Marxian theory. The first relates to Hopper and how the grasshoppers abuse their power and exploit the ant colony. The grasshoppers expect food knowing that the ants cannot produce enough food for themselves and the grasshoppers to consume. In another scene, the lead grasshopper, Hopper, becomes livid when one of his soldiers suggests ignoring one ant who stood up to his command. In the end the Ants decide to stand up for themselves and recruit extra warriors to fight against the grasshoppers. Karl Marx’s theory is related to each one of these scenes. The first relates to his theory of class-consciousness. The