ANTZ Movie Review
Antz
1998 Animated Movie [Dreamworks]
Watching the movie Antz was an interesting activity. Before I have too much to say, I can say that I did find the movie to be both entertaining and enjoyable. I don’t know if I can call this movie entertainment or if would be more properly described by other adjectives. When it first came out, I commented to my wife that this movie was communicating some very deep and subtle messages that are carefully woven amidst its animated action and character interplay. Her typical response was, “You read too much into things…” It is easy to make such dismissals, as many do, but this is no guarantee that she is right or even that I am right in either of our assessments. Since the traditional view, is this movie is purely entertainment, let’s consider some other thoughts.
No story is new there are just different ways to dress them up for delivery. The appearance of the characters [as ants] in this movie is different, but this is merely the means of “dressing the story up.” This animated movie features an all-star list of big name actors, which is a real treat. The people who did the casting could not have picked better talent.
The character Z-4195 or “Z” (Woody Allen) was the perfect role for the actor. His character is a psychologically conflicted ant [not to far from true life reality for Woody] who is torn between the alleged potential of individualism and the frustration of being pushed into a role in the group dynamic of an ant colony. Azteca (Jennifer Lopez) is a light-hearted worker ant that doesn’t get caught up in all of Z’s sarcastic analysis. General Mandible (Gene Hackman), another great pick for his character’s role, is the consummate political soldier with an eye for conquering his own social structure, rather than just defending it from outside predators. Colonel Cutter (Christopher Walken) is the dutiful, “just-following-orders,” hatchet man for General Mandible’s political machine. Princess Bala (Sharon Stone) is heiress to the colony. She is bored with “court life,” hung up on herself and the dream of romance. The Queen (Anne Bancroft) is the dutiful Matron of the realm. She is sentimental and blindly trusting of “what is” and “who is” in various roles. The character Weaver (Sylvester Stallone) is the fun-loving army ant, who doesn’t discern much of anything in the issues surrounding the colony, or his role; he merely undertakes his duty with relish. Barbatus (Danny Glover) is another army ant that accepts his role; philosophically justifying it. Chip and Muffy (Dan Akyroyd & Jane Curtain) are cameoed as a couple of emo-tionally, syrupy wasps; woven into the story to add a little color comedy.
This movie is a collision of incongruous characters. Antz presents many aspects, which are true of an actual ant colony: classes of ants, the immensity of the work the colony does, and their group dynamic. However, these aspects are all seen and interpreted through the human mindsets and tendencies; i.e. anthropomorphism. While there are some regions in the real world where similar realities are common, i.e. Communist states and India with its caste system, few people in the Western world know of these sorts of experiences personally. Thus this presentation lends itself to question. Why make a presentation that is not a reality for the people to which it is presented? You’ll be able to answer this question for yourself before it’s over with.
Secondly, there is content throughout the movie that is very interesting, if we are to believe the simplistic assessment that “its just entertainment.” If it were a matter of an isolated line or depiction, we could say the instance was “artistic creativity” and leave it go. Yet, when virtually all the characters utter line after line that is consistently beating an ideological drum, can we really say, “You read too much into things”.
Many movies are somewhat allegorical, though they are not always meant to be. Then again, maybe they are meant to be allegorical but the common moviegoer never perceives them in this way because they only look at the surface–its funny…it’s entertaining… Christians in America are too ready to enjoy things as “entertainment” rather than carefully thinking about them to see if they aren’t something else altogether.
Here are just a few lines that lead to questions in my mind:
- General Mandible said, “Now you can see how dangerous individualism can be…it makes us…vulnerable.”
- Z’s therapist’s response in a therapy session. Z is self-analyzing his situation in the “super-organism.” Z states, “The whole system makes me feel insignificant,” to which his therapist confirms, “you’ve made a real breakthrough today…you are insignificant.”
- Princess Bala said, “In the palace, I guess we let the General make all the decisions.”
- General Mandible said, “There comes a time in evolution of a perfect colony, when the strong are meant to rise above the weak; now is that time. Below us right now the weaker elements of the colony are being washed away (in a flood induced by Mandible’s secret plans)
- Z stated as the end of the movie, “Average boy meets girl, boy likes girl, boy changes underlying social order, story…”
Let’s consider these lines further…
General Mandible spouting the dangers of individualism is consistent with lines that come straight from the fear-mongering ideology of the Communist state propaganda. Under Communism, people were taught not to think individually, but rather through a group-collective, which was guided by a propaganda system. Examples were made of anybody who thought or acted in any way that could be construed to be individualistic, capped with the endless, mind-numbing rhetorical pronouncements such as Mandible uses in this movie. Coincidence? Maybe.
Z’s therapist reinforces Z’s feelings of “self” within the scheme of the colony, by saying, “you are insignificant.” Since this movie is anthropomorphic, people will connect with the humanization of the story. They do not have to personally identify with the realities of “colony living” or “ant culture” or even what these may be subtilely depicting. This line bothers me because the audience will feel with Z as he struggles with his own view of things. While they feel Z’s pain, they potentially may ingest the subtlety that we are insignificant in the grand scheme of things in our own life and existence. The movie writers could have made the character of Z’s therapist say any number of positive things that would foster a better mindset… Is this coincidence? Maybe.
Princess Bala passively makes the comment that, “in the palace, I guess we let the General make all the decisions.” This is where anthropomorphism breaks down because “the queen” in a real ant colony is the leader and total chaos would occur in her absence. This line appears to buttress the other lines, which subtlety depicts an acceptance of totalitarianism. This line floats the idea that the sovereignty of a political system or realm is really just a puppet for a military group that really controls things, just like in Communist states. Is this coincidence? Could be.
General Mandible’s audacious comment, “There comes a time in evolution of a perfect colony, when the strong are meant to rise above the weak; now is that time…” This too is an anthropomorphic reach. Ants do not function as operatives of practical evolution nor do they spout the Nietzschian ravings bordering on the “power of will,” which have historically been characteristic of various totalitarian regimes in the 20th century. Is this coincidence? Maybe so.
This movie also presents the specter of starting wars just to cover up other agendas or weakening community-resolve so that takeover can be managed much easier. The “military” in this film is depicted as being the will behind the political realm, not necessarily its protector from outside forces. This too bothers me as it depicts the reality of the totalitarian systems of modern times and how they use their military. A totalitarian military is for deterrence, but more importantly, it is for keeping a group of people in line with the “state’s” ideal.
Where am I going with this stuff?
The screenwriters have gone beyond anthropomorphism as a means for an audience to identify with story that takes place between non-human characters. The statistical probability of any of these lines occurring in a single movie is highly unlikely. Any of these lines independent of one another would be innocuous anyhow. But, the combination of all of them along with a bunch of other “little stitches” of screenwriter magic; quiet frankly screams something other than “just entertainment.” Statistical improbability tells us what this movie is about. Lines, ideas, and subtleties do not occur by chance, especially when they occur in quantity. Let’s take a cue from the underlying philosophy of the Intelligent Design crowd; doesn’t the product point to a purpose and a designer? In the case of this movie, what does the inclusion of all sorts or references to totalitarian ideology say about this movie?
The fact that the movie plays to an audience of pre-teens and even young adults also reinforces in my mind that there is greater purpose in this movie than just “entertainment.” The young are the next generation of leaders and subtlety is as great a means of teaching or perhaps renditioning them over and against harsh or direct methods. A message can be “laid between the lines” as the Peter Paul & Mary once sang in their ditty, I Dig Rock Roll Music, “if I really say it, the radio won’t play it,” or in this case, the movie house won’t show it.
Conclusion:
For various reasons almost everybody denies that movies have the ability of, the power of suggestion; that is to shape the mind of a viewer or cause them to accept ideas that are not typical to them. The movie industry denies that sexual, violent material desensitizes. The reality is there is a direct increase in “creative” copycatting incidents, of things that movies depict, in real life. This denial is of course so that an industry can continue to produce the kind of material they do. On another front, the pew-warming, religious folks deny that many so-called tolerable movies, are not really saying some of the thing they really are. This denial allows the religious to maintain the appearance of being able to identify with and partake in the enjoyments this culture affords them and so that they can continue to appear “mainstream” to the non-believing world around them.
Regardless of whether the religious deny negative impacts from the movie industry, or the movie industry denies the negative impact of their own material, even the most naïve should be able see that over the decades; indeed there is huge impact on the way people think and live as a direct result of this particular media. Further, what is calling itself “the church” is just as manipulated by the content of commercials and various forms of media as non-believers are. This “church” succumbs to the power of fear, lust, greed, or keeping up of appearances, just the same as non-religious people. Thus, we can conclude that more is going on with movies than just entertainment.
The final line I mentioned earlier is also one of the final lines in this movie. The line is Z saying of this story, “It’s just your average boy-meets-girl, boy-likes-girl, boy-changes-underlying-social-order story.” This line says it all. What does changing the underlying social structures have to do with boy meets girl? Of course, the populists will say it has reference to the system of the ant colony, yet this is really allegorical. But to add to the confusion, there is nothing in the social reality of the crowd watching this movie where they can relate to Z’s problem of being stuck in a one-size-fits-all social structure. So one is still left with the question as to why this movie’s makers would make a story with dynamics that are unlike anything to which a crowd can relate. Could it be imprinting, or how about desensitization…nothing like this could happen in America, right? I have given you enough information; you can draw your own conclusions
