Smashing Smurf Communism?
Posted by Moonage on 11 Oct 2005 | Tagged as: Conspiracy Theories, Humor, International Politics
After making my UNICEF Smurf post, I was introduced to a much deeper aspect of the Smurf controversy. First, some background. This is long, but interesting. From Wikipedia:
Smurf communism refers to the collection of theories of the supposed political system of the popular comic book and animated series, The Smurfs, created by Belgian cartoonist Peyo. According to supporters of these ideas, there are many parallels between communist ideology/practices and the way that these fictional characters lived together. These comparison theories are based on watching the animated series, and not any comments by Peyo, or others involved in production of the series.
Papa Smurf has a beard, which some feel looks like Karl Marx, who is considered the father of socialistic thinking. He is the red father to other villagers, due to his crimson slacks and cap. While there was no revolution, and he was not a leader of a revolution like Vladimir Lenin, he does have the final say in matters, often overruling Brainy Smurf when he oversteps his boundries. In several episodes when Papa Smurf is not present, the Smurf Village’s utopian system destablizes with the lack of his leadership. Papa Smurf is the embodiment of the egalitarian spirit; he alone is influential enough to keep the utopian ideal in check. Papa Smurf suceeds where real-life communist leaders have failed; he keeps the system stabilized and free of corruption.
Brainy Smurf, like Leon Trotsky has round spectacles. Trotsky, who many felt was the more intelligent (and less brutal) idealogue than Stalin, as Brainy Smurf, seizes power in several episodes when Papa Smurf is away. A high ranking official under Lenin, Trotsky was later exiled for being a traitor because his ideas clashed with Stalin’s; many consider Trotsky’s ideas on economic and social reform to be more practical than those of Stalin and the Soviet leadership. Brainy also thought too much for his own good. He was alone in his willingness to question the ideals of Smurfism, his own ideas at times getting him into trouble from Papa Smurf and his peers. He is often isolated, ridiculed or even ejected from the commune of the village for his ideas.
The Smurfs wear standard clothing (with the notable exception of Papa Smurf): a simple white cap and white slacks. Each smurf has minor accessories that differentiate them from each other. This systematic uniform can be seen by some as a representation of a Mao suit from The People’s Republic of China. This is a representation of equality.
The evil wizard Gargamel, and his loyal feline worker, Azrael can be seen as the forces of capitalism. Gargamel desires the Smurfs in order to turn them into gold through a process of boiling. His greed drives him to great lengths in parallel of the Cold War and it’s propagandic style. The capitalistic forces want to devour socialism, as the West wanted to do to the USSR and its satellites during the Cold War through its tactic of encirclement. Gargamel can be seen as a pure capitalist; he wishes to turn everything into a commodity - including people. As the ultimate supercapitalist, he is more concerned with his own wealth than with equality and fairness. Like any Adam Smith style capitalist, it is his ‘natural’ state to yearn for as much wealth as possible.
Gargamel forces Azrael, his ginger cat, to do almost all of the laborious and/or dangerous activities in his various plots to catch the Smurfs. Azrael can be seen as the proletariat, being exploited by Gargamel, the bourgeoisie. Azrael is uncomplaining, or, since he has no voice (i.e. trade unions), is metaphorically unable to complain. He cannot negotiate his wage - he eats whatever he is given by his master. One could say Azrael sustains on starvation wages.
Gargamel can be seen as the physical stereotype for capitalism: a man, totally consumed by greed.
The Smurfs live in an egalitarian utopia. Each smurf has a particular skill and each perform tasks to the benefit of the community. There is no system of monetary exchange or even barter in the Smurf village. The village is under a planned economy, under the leadership of Papa Smurf, and to some extent, Brainy Smurf.
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.
Each member of the community is a Smurf, and each has Smurf as a suffix to their own name; this can be seen as analagous 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 a form of propaganda, 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. Smurfette’s introduction serves to reinforce the egalitarian idea. The Smurfs sometimes do treat Smurfette as an object of attraction, but the majority of the time they hold a respect and place of her that is on the equal ground of the males; Smurfette did not encounter a glass ceiling in Smurf Village.
Smurfs are very open to each other’s differences. Yet with these difference, there are not any cases of taunting at their expense, due to difference in lifestyle. This reinforces the ideals of acceptance in communism and utopian socities.
The Smurf society was composed of almost all males and there was almost no population growth. Like most children’s shows of the time, sex and reproduction was something was simply not discussed. Some views of history claim records show the most sucessful communes are ones that stay small in population. This is to conserve resources, reduce social conflict, and maintain a high standard of life on an egalitarian scale. Smurfs only found problems with each other due to individual character faults: Brainy’s aloofness and condescending attitude, Vanity’s obssession with his own apperance, and so on.
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. Of course, there is also magic, as practised by Papa, Gargomel, Balthazar and others, but it is simply another tool, something that occurs in nature, that has physical properties and can be tapped into, with the right know-how. It is not, as many religions are, a way of understanding the universe in a supernatural context.
- 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 likely apocryphal, as the word Smurf originally came from "Schtroumpf", an invented Flemish word comparable to the English "watchmacallit."
Got all that? OK. Now, think about this: The Belgian UNICEF video shows vintage WWII bombs dropping from the air on the communist Smurfs. The message here obviously from the good people at UNICEF is that if you adopt communism, you will die violent deaths. In order to keep it appropriate for UNICEF, they stick that benign message at the end. UNICEF really needs to stay away from political rhetoric. I’m still appalled.
More blogs on Smurfs, Smurf communism, communist Smurfs, UNICEF, Peyo
No Comments »
