The Smurfs and Communism

[DallasCowboys]

Every year I go on a cruise and a few weeks prior to my vacation I have the tradition of watching old cartoons I used to watch as a kid. The only channel to watch any old cartoons is boomerang, they have a great collection from the Powerpuff girls, which I'll admit was a favorite of my childhood, to Tom and Jerry. Yesterday while doing some drawings I had the Smurfs going on in the background. After about two episodes it hit me, the Smurfs is nothing but communist propaganda. First, every individual works for the better of society. In the episode I was watching Papa Smurf needed some mushrooms, so the whole community stopped on his orders to go look for them because these mushrooms helped the community. Second, any time they harvest food it is taken and distributed evenly to the community. Thirdly, going back to papa smurf, he has a huge white beard and wears all red, maybe he is supposed to represent Santa but to me it just adds up that he is supposed to be like Marx. Another thing is the names and clothing of the smurfs. None of them have actual names, they are simply labeled by there use to the community. They also all wear the same clothes making them almost impossible to tell apart. They also can't switch jobs or move up in society. Before I get to the last piece of evidence keep in mind the Smurfs never trade and they have no money system. Lastly comes Gargamel, who the creators of the show were trying to make represent capitalism. However, he is a complete misrepresentation of capitalism. The creators of the show believe capitalists will do anything to make money including murdering smurfs to make them gold which of course is inaccurate. Maybe I am just tired and losing my mind, anyway please let me know what you guys and gals think? I am pretty close to giving up on TV all together after learning this.

Thanks,

David C.

[dldelancey]

I think sometimes a cartoon is just a cartoon. (Although you aren't the first to have made this observation about the Smurfs.)

[SoAMadDeathWish]

http://www.cracked.com/article_19673_6-insane-but-convincing-theories-childrens-pop-culture_p2.html

[syrakusos]

Interesting. I did not know the backstory and I did not know that Gargamel created Smurfette. (I never heard of Sassette.)

The Smurfs are Europeans. You cannot expect to much from them.

[DallasCowboys]

Thanks for the list I totally disagree with the Donald Duck one but still interesting. I agree Dldelancey sometimes a cartoon is a cartoon but I also think cartoons are a great way to promote propaganda, just look at Captain Planet which is full of propaganda.

[Jules Troy]

http://youtu.be/ET6p9AcN4L8

Lol, my bad.

[syrakusos]

Anyone who cares can dig into the history and context of SCROOGE MCDUCK. He dominated the "Duck Tales" yarns. Before Uncle Scrooge came along, Donald was pretty much on his own, pestered by the chipmunks and otherwise failng to live a quiet life in a bothersome world. Uncle Scrooge started off much meaner, but Carl Barks found out about the culture of Glaswegian capitalism. In the span of a few stories, Scrooge become something like "Adam Smith's Davy Crockett." He made his first fortune - and suffered heartbreak and loss - during the Klondike gold rush. in the "Duck Tales" of today as in the comic books, etc., when the boys get into trouble in some remote village, Uncle Scrooge uses good communication skills to talk their way out, often offering value for value for his own profit.

[dldelancey]

Thanks for the list I totally disagree with the Donald Duck one but still interesting. I agree Dldelancey sometimes a cartoon is a cartoon but I also think cartoons are a great way to promote propaganda, just look at Captain Planet which is full of propaganda.

We don't disagree. There's lots of propaganda in the original Looney Tunes, as well. That doesn't mean that you can't carry on enjoying something that entertains you, though, when the entertainment is enjoyed in such a harmless context. If the Smurfs were part of some larger indoctrination project by your parents, for instance, that would be bad. What you described in your original post... not so much. Although now that you see that undertone, you probably can't un-see it.

For me, as a parent trying to raise an Objectivish child, things like this are teaching opportunities.

[Selene]

For me, as a parent trying to raise an Objectivish child, things like this are teaching opportunities.

Yep, and, it works.

[BaalChatzaf]

For me, as a parent trying to raise an Objectivish child, things like this are teaching opportunities.

Yep, and, it works.

I can see and hear it now: Look at those disgusting little altruists!!! They are as ugly as they are stupid

Ba'al Chatzaf

[dldelancey]

For me, as a parent trying to raise an Objectivish child, things like this are teaching opportunities.

Yep, and, it works.

I can see and hear it now: Look at those disgusting little altruists!!! They are as ugly as they are stupid

Ba'al Chatzaf

LOL! My son never enjoyed the Smurfs, but if he had it probably would have sounded more like, "You are more than what you do. You can't take care of other people until after you've taken care of yourself. It's okay to do work for other people if they are offering you something in exchange." Now that I think about it, maybe that's why he never enjoyed the Smurfs. He may have known that they would come with a side of lecture.