While watching Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" last Sunday, I couldn't help but thinking of Marxist ideology. All throughout the film, tenants of socialism burst through the screen.
First of all, there's that evil red queen, offing everyone's head. She, the opressor, represents the hegemony. Her court, just a step below her, effectively represents the bourgeoisie. The hatter and his ilk are the oppressed proletariat; it is at the expense of the proletariat the that the queen and the court maintain their status. These were the more obvious Marxist renderings within the film, but there were more interesting and subtle Marxist moments, as well.
Take for example the hatter--"mad," is he, now that he cannot work. In a discussion with Alice, he mourns for the days when he was a hatter to the white queen, and Alice agrees that it is too bad he cannot "hat." And then, when the red queen orders him to make her hats (notably, while he is still in chains), the hatter, with a lofty look in his eye, sighs and opines that it is good to be back at his trade. Herein, the Marxist notion of the laborer having his worth determined by his labor is reified. This is so true that the hatter is mad, and hence of no "value," when separated from his trade.
Fortunately for the hatter, he and the rest of the proletariat, as well as the bourgeoisie court and army, come to consciousness by the end of the film. When Alice, who comes to her own consciousness when returning to England, slays the enemy and consequentally robs the red queen of her crown, the proletariat no longer falls at the feet of the red queen. This is an imperfect Marxist model, though, because now they are just under the power of a different queen. The movie makes it feel like a coming-to-consciousness as soldiers throw their speers to the ground and deny the red queen any power, but are the really consious? I argue no, as, undoubtedly, were the credits not to roll, they would just continue to labor, only under a "nice" hegemony instead.
First of all, there's that evil red queen, offing everyone's head. She, the opressor, represents the hegemony. Her court, just a step below her, effectively represents the bourgeoisie. The hatter and his ilk are the oppressed proletariat; it is at the expense of the proletariat the that the queen and the court maintain their status. These were the more obvious Marxist renderings within the film, but there were more interesting and subtle Marxist moments, as well.
Take for example the hatter--"mad," is he, now that he cannot work. In a discussion with Alice, he mourns for the days when he was a hatter to the white queen, and Alice agrees that it is too bad he cannot "hat." And then, when the red queen orders him to make her hats (notably, while he is still in chains), the hatter, with a lofty look in his eye, sighs and opines that it is good to be back at his trade. Herein, the Marxist notion of the laborer having his worth determined by his labor is reified. This is so true that the hatter is mad, and hence of no "value," when separated from his trade.
Fortunately for the hatter, he and the rest of the proletariat, as well as the bourgeoisie court and army, come to consciousness by the end of the film. When Alice, who comes to her own consciousness when returning to England, slays the enemy and consequentally robs the red queen of her crown, the proletariat no longer falls at the feet of the red queen. This is an imperfect Marxist model, though, because now they are just under the power of a different queen. The movie makes it feel like a coming-to-consciousness as soldiers throw their speers to the ground and deny the red queen any power, but are the really consious? I argue no, as, undoubtedly, were the credits not to roll, they would just continue to labor, only under a "nice" hegemony instead.
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