date: 11:24 am  Thu Feb 13, 1997       number : 229 of 231
from: Geekboy                          He said: "Blub likes media."
to  : All                              refer #: None
subj: smurf communism.                 replies: None
stat: Sent                             origin : 13 Feb 97  10:42:51

Posted: Tue, Oct 29, 1996

     Smurfs and Communism

     By Brad Stein

          Has anyone ever really considered Smurf politics? If
          you have, you would realize that the Smurfs are
          communists. The dictator is of course Papa Smurf, who
          has a Marxist-like beard, a red hat and most
          importantly incredible magical powers.

          The Smurfs live in a hidden mushroom villiage. The
          villiage is so hidden that everyone who finds it,
          forgets it's location immediatly! Smurfs have
          designated jobs according to their assignment from Papa
          smurf. Some Smurfs work on the farm, while another
          cooks, more pick smurfberries, etc. The Smurfs do not
          have a currency because "The Man" (papa smurf) has it
          worked out that everyone is taken care of and receives
          an equal share. Although Papa smurf is a communist
          leader, he is a positive role model for the smurfs that
          need direction. He cares for all smurfs equally and has
          no interest in expanding his power. Papa smurfs main
          interest is protecting his preciously entertaining
          villiage.

          Their is almost no free thought in Smurf Villiage,
          aside from that of Brainy Smurf who is the designated
          inventor. Not all smurfs have names, all others are
          just smurf. This unit-like title is repressing freedom
          and the fact that they all look exactly the same makes
          the little blue guys even more uniform. They all live
          in remarkably similar mushroom quarters with
          decorations limited to pictures of mushrooms and Papa
          Smurf. The fact that there is only one female expresses
          the obvious repression of women.

          In Smurf Villiage it seems there is one small exception
          to everything. All smurfs are cheerful except Grouchy
          Smurf, None of the Smurfs are artistic except Painter
          Smurf. In every trade there is a single smurf that
          excells. This serves as a model for communism because
          every smurf does his part in the cycle to complete the

          circuit. The villiage runs extremely smoothly except
          for a single conflict in every episode. There is no
          religion in smurf villiage, but all smurfs have morals
          and good values aquired through lessons learned from
          other smurf's mistakes.

          Gargamel and his trusty cat Azriel are the smurfs
          eternal enemies. They are life size, yet the smurfs
          stand only three apples high. This signifies that the
          enemy is much larger but still cannot defeat Papa
          Smurf's miniature magic.

          The smurfs expanded the imagination of children all
          over the world for many years. By being a nuetral color
          like blue they did not exhibit prejudice in any way.
          Smurfs paved the way for cartoons like Snorks and a
          market of Smurf coloring books and figurines. The smurf
          dynasty existed right in the middle of the cold war.
          It's awkward thinking that one of America's favorite
          saturday-morning cartoons was a blunt expression of
          successful communism. The same policy that our
          government fought for twenty years.

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     About the Author:

     Brad Stein can be reached via email at
     bstein@lab.housing.fsu.edu.