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A Bugs Life

In: Social Issues

Submitted By lauwhite3
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In the film, Hopper says, ‘it’s not about the food, it’s about keeping those ants in line’. How might Marx’s theory of class help us to explain the relationship between the grasshoppers and the ants as depicted in the film?

Species being is a philosophical concept by Karl Marx. Our species being refers to our human nature, which is to work, and it relates to labour. Our society is brought up to produce goods so that we can meet our material needs. However, this may not be a good thing since productive labour today is all about capitalism, the rich exploiting the poor. We are hired by the boss who pays us in return for our labour. The work of Marx also focuses on inequality of social classes. The structure of life chances can either be advantaged or disadvantaged, depending on a number of different factors, for example biology/genes, the distribution of wealth and the distribution of resources i.e. education.
This essay will argue the differences between the two classes, the Bourgeoisie (the grasshoppers) and the Proletariat (the ants).
According to Marx, society is centred on an economic substructure made up of a base and a superstructure. The base is the economic situation, where the substructure is made up on many institutions such as the government, family, religion, education and culture. The film, A Bugs Life, is an animated film which itself is a perfect example of how our society works. It portrays a relationship between the grasshoppers and the ants in a way that demonstrates capitalism. The grasshoppers, presented as capitalists, agree that they will provide the worker ants safety in return for food.

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