The Smurfs and communism
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According to various observers there are many parallels between communist ideology and practices, and the economic and political system in The Smurfs, a popular comic book and animated series originally created by Belgian cartoonist Peyo. While some strongly support this theory, others see it as an ad nauseam overanalysis of something primarly aimed at children.
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[edit] History of the meme
The Smurf communism meme dates to at least 1992, as a soc.politics usenet post notes an essay on the subject circulating on the Internet.[1] An earlier variation occurs in the 1991 movie Slacker, in which there is a discussion about the Smurfs both as a totalitarian colony, or as getting kids used to seeing blue people, so they'll accept Krishna.
[edit] Appearance
[edit] Papa and Brainy
The theories usually begin by citing what seem to be uncanny aspects of Smurf characters' appearances. Papa Smurf has a wide beard, which some feel looks like Karl Marx's. He also wears red slacks and a red cap, displaying the stereotypical color of Communism throughout the world. Despite the society's communal nature, Papa Smurf does have the ultimate authority, often overruling Brainy Smurf when he oversteps his boundaries. In several episodes when Papa Smurf is not present, the Smurf Village's utopian system destabilizes entirely.
Brainy Smurf, like Leon Trotsky, has round spectacles. There the similarities more or less end, although some see parallels in their position in society. Like Trotsky who felt his intellectual theories of Communist society were superior, he attempts to seize power in several episodes when Papa Smurf is away. Some argue that Brainy was alone in his willingness to question the ideals of 'Smurfism'. This is not supported by the comics, where he definitely does not question the ideals of Smurfism, as he considers himself the strongest supporter or even the disciple of Papa. The rebellion as seen in the King Smurf story is not initiated by Brainy but by an unnamed Smurf. In the original comic history of King Smurf, Brainy Smurf is even on the side of protest against the auto-proclaimed King, considering it as contrary with traditional Smurf organization and Papa Smurf's authority. Nonetheless, Brainy's ideas and remarks at times get him into trouble from Papa Smurf and his peers. He is often isolated, ridiculed or even physically ejected from the village for his never ending rants and condescencion.
[edit] Clothing
The Smurfs wear standard clothing (with the notable exception of Papa Smurf): a simple white Phrygian cap and white slacks. Each Smurf has minor accessories that differentiate them from each other. This systematic uniform is argued by some as a representation of the largely uniform style of attire dominant in several early periods of the Soviet Union and The People's Republic of China, including the "Mao suit". The Phrygian cap is also a symbol of freedom and equality, notably in the Roman Saturnalia festival and in iconography of the French Revolution. On the other hand, standard clothing is common in many isolated communities (such as Amish), and is also common in representation of other mystical creatures like dwarfs and gnomes.
[edit] Analogy of capitalist forces
Even though the evil wizard Gargamel and his loyal feline worker, Azrael, are argued to represent an analogy of the forces of capitalism, it would be more correct to say that they represent reactionary forces. In fact Gargamel desires to capture the Smurfs in order to turn them into gold through a magical process of boiling. His greed drives him to great lengths in what is said to be a parallel of the Cold War and its extreme struggle. The capitalistic forces want to devour socialism, as the West wanted to do to the USSR and its allies according to Cold War propaganda. Gargamel can be seen as a pure capitalist (from a socialist perspective); he wishes to turn everything into a commodity -- including the individuals of a living society.
Gargamel forces Azrael, his ginger cat, to do almost all of the laborious and dangerous activities in his various plots to catch the Smurfs. Azrael can be seen as the lumpen-proletariat, being exploited by Gargamel, the reaction. Azrael is uncomplaining, or, since he has no voice (i.e. class-consciousness), is metaphorically unable to complain. He cannot negotiate his wage--he eats whatever he is given by his master. But according to this vision, the Smurfs should seek to convince Azrael to ally with the Smurfs, and to revolt against his master, which they never do.
Gargamel could be seen as the physical stereotype for capitalism: a man, totally consumed by greed. Some have noted classic Anti-Semitic stereotypes in Gargamel's appearance: a large hook nose and a bald pate, except for the dark bushy hair sprouting over his ears. This could allude to Communism's demonization of rich Jewish antagonists in Russia and the Soviet Union. A particularly strong message on this analogy is conveyed in the story of the creation of Smurfette. Intitially, it is Gargamel who creates Smurfette - a duplicitous creature with short, black hair and a larger nose - as a ploy to capture the Smurfs. When Smurfette is later transformed into a "good" Smurf, this transformation is highlighted by Smurfette becoming a blonde with long hair and a much smaller nose which could be considered Aryan traits. The problem with this idea is Aryanism is an ideology proned by Nazism, not by communism or marxism, so there is no reason why communists Smurfs would transform the Smurfette into a blonde aryan. It should also be noted that, in today's Western conception of classical beauty, the "ideal" female is blonde and would not have a big nose.
[edit] Economics
The Smurfs live in an egalitarian utopia. Each smurf has a particular skill and each performs tasks for the benefit of the community. There is no system of monetary exchange or even barter in the Smurf village. The village can be seen as a planned economy, under the leadership of Papa Smurf, and to some extent, Brainy Smurf. But the Smurf society can also be seen as an anarchist economy where everyone produces goods and services according to its skills, without planification, and where harmony emerges from the complementarity and good will of all Smurfs, with Papa Smurf being only in charge of organizing some important works that necessitates the collaboration of all Smurfs, for example large infrastructure works, or security activities. In that case it is more close to a primitive community economy, than a society inspired by communism and planification.
The food in the Smurf Village was stored away in mushrooms the minute it was harvested and then equally distributed to all the Smurfs throughout the year. No one "farmer smurf" sold his crop to one smurf or another. It was understood that the crop was for the entire Smurf population, not for the sale or profit of one Smurf alone - an example of collective farming.
In the Smurf Comics, Finance Smurf introduced a short-lived system of monetary exchange, based upon the gold standard. He introduces the system after he is exposed to capitalism by trekking to a town in order to retrieve some medicine. He is portrayed as being logically short sighted; the system he introduces leads to corruption, poverty, malnutrition, and general discontent. In addition, the monetary system increased the danger to the village, as Gargamel wished and tried to seize the Smurfs' stockpile of coinage. However, this absence of money seems more close to the traditional economy of a primitive society than to a communist one, where, even if money sometimes disappears or is less important, some form of exchange value artifacts (food tickets,...) still exist for many goods and services.
[edit] Culture
Each member of the community is a Smurf, and each has Smurf as a suffix to their own name; this can be seen as analogous to the use of "comrade." The Smurfs have a tendency to use the word 'smurf' as a prefix or suffix to many sentences. This could be seen as an identity to create a strong group identity or a way to eliminate influences from other cultures. This is similar to what was practiced under Soviet Russia.
With the exception of Smurfette, the Smurfs are completely male. Smurfette herself was created by Gargamel using magic in one episode - she was sent in as an evil force to corrupt and infiltrate the other Smurfs. Upon reaching the village, Smurfette had stiff black hair. Using a spell, Papa Smurf broke Gargamel's hold on Smurfette and she became one with the Smurfs--only now she had blond hair. The Smurfs sometimes do treat Smurfette as an object of attraction, but the majority of the time they grant her respect and place her at an equal level. The society must struggle to prevent the potential decadence created by the female allure. Soviet communism also battled the conflicts between the ideological proclamation of women's rights and the potential downsides to a Western-style sexual liberation. On the other hand, feminist commentators have sometimes decried Smurfette's peculiarly idle and image-obsessed presentation on the show.
Smurf society was almost completely male and there was almost no population growth. Like most children's shows of the time, sex and reproduction was something that was simply not discussed. Some views of history claim records show the most successful communes are ones that stay small in population. This is aimed to conserve resources, reduce social conflict, and maintain a high standard of life on an egalitarian scale. But in history, communist societies have rarely decided to promote a zero population growth. On the contrary, communist states have usually promoted a natality policy that was aimed at providing labour force for economic development and demographic power for international politics. Smurfs only found problems with each other due to individual character faults: Brainy's aloofness and condescending attitude, Vanity's obssession with his own appearance, etc.
Smurfs are very open to each other's differences. Yet with these differences, there are few cases of taunting at others' expense due to difference in lifestyle. This reinforces the ideals of acceptance in some visions of utopian societies. But the value of the individual and the acknowledgment of the rights of individuals to be different is not something that has much to do with communism.
A true Marxist is an atheist. There is no mention of God in Smurf comics, and there is no Priest Smurf. There are only forces of nature and physics, and these are represented metaphorically by the characters of Mother Nature, Father Time, and through man-made creations such as Clockwork Smurf. These animistic beliefs are contradictory with the communist analogy, as marxism and communism were not only promoting atheism but also a society based on rational thinking and organization, freed from obscurantism and magical thought. But in a way, magic as practised by Papa, Gargamel, Balthazar and others, can be seen as simply another tool that occurs in nature and has physical properties that can be tapped into with the right know-how. The main form of magic involved in these stories is alchemy, which can indeed be considered as a form of scientific investigation for the control of natural forces.
[edit] Criticism and difficulties
Marxism is traditionally based on class struggle. It also involves a dialectic of previous systems ending through their own internal contradictions. There is no evidence the Smurfs had a previous system or that it ever had classes. Hence, unlike historical Communist states like the USSR, there is no evidence that the Smurfs formed out of a revolution or an evolution from a previous system.
The Smurf Village could also be argued to be actively anti-revolutionary or static in nature. Unlike Stalinism or Maoism, large scale societal change is usually discouraged. Handy Smurf occasionally tried to introduce elements of industrialization, but these were usually rejected. Most Communist regimes strongly encouraged industrialization as in China's attempted Great Leap Forward or Stalin's Electrification.
Papa Smurf could also lack the authority or punitive capability of most historical Communist leaders. There are no real police or prisons in Smurf village. Judging by the reaction to King Smurf the Smurfs could be argued to reject any authoritarian or totalitarian systems. In the cartoon series Brainy declares himself King Smurf.[1] On the other hand, his disapproval of authoritarian rule does not argue against some form of libertarian socialism or Smurf society representing Communist evolution in its final ideal form.
While the Smurfs' rituals and holidays may not fit Western notions of theology, they do have similarities with animistic religion. As in animism there are spirits of nature and forces that must be placated or reverenced. For example, we see the "dance of a 100 Smurfs" which must be done to avoid potential misfortune. Of course, the Smurf universe is one in which magical forces are known to exist, and in this context it is possible that rituals such as the dance do, in fact, ward off bad luck.
A final difficulty is that the Smurfs seem uninterested in exporting their ideals to other peoples. Despite disdain for living under a monarchy, the Smurfs, in fact, have cordial relations with several feudalistic nobles. In fact the Smurfs were introduced in a Medieval series as helpers for a knight named Johan and his squire. These feudalistic characters are not judged as reactionaries as would be consistent with most Communist theories. Instead the Smurfs are generally friendly to them and are uninterested in fomenting any revolt of the peasant or working classes.
[edit] Other circumstantial (or coincidental) points
- Communism fell in Russia around the time that The Smurfs were lost from TV syndication and comic publication.
- Some websites have argued that "Smurf" is an acronym for "Socialist Men Under Red Father" or "Soviet Men Under Red Father" as a further argument to strengthen Smurf Communistic theory. This theory is an apocryphal backronym, as the word Smurf originally was a translation of "Schtroumpf", an invented French nonsense word comparable to the English "whatchamacallit."
[edit] Early precursors communism in parodies of smurfs
[edit] Castle Smurfenstein
One of the first player video game modifications used the Smurfs idyllic society as a threat to American culture. Castle Smurfenstein was a remake of the original Castle Wolfenstein which dated back to 1983. The Nazis in the game were replaced by Smurfs who instead of speaking German spoke a parody of Canadian English.
The premise of this version was that Smurfs through their cartoons were trying to pacify American children into non-violence, telling them "We Love You" through the strains of a PC speaker while simultaneously shooting at them in a bid to take over.
Although not Communism per se, the roots of these ideas had been around for several years.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Socio-Political Smurfs
- The Smurfs were Communists
- "Sister" on the Sidelines: "The Smurfs" and the Antifeminist Backlash on Saturday Morning (primarily discussing the anti-feminist depiction of Smurfette, but also making some novel observations about the "socialist utopia" of the Smurfs)
- http://www.evl.uic.edu/aej/smurf.html
