Antz Materialism

Marx explains that society needs to be understood by studying real, existing human beings. We think about individuals historically to gain an understanding of reality. Physical survival is the key component; moreover, individuals need to survive to create history in which Marx studied to create explanations. Social production is a fundamental part of Marx’s theory of historical materialism. He asserts that individuals need to organize themselves and create some sort of order to survive. In Antz, they organize themselves by their profession, whether it is worker, soldier, or royalty. Social production also depends on an individual’s physical environment. The third foundation of historical materialism is the geographic environment and human needs.

Marx asserts that the economy is the most essential and important part of society, as everything is created and shaped around it. Economy is all about human survival and comes before everything else, including the superstructure. Economic organization is the main survival goal in which each society needs to strive towards. The elite personnel that control the economic base therefore control the superstructure. Our culture is entirely created by these economic elites. Eventually, when the workers realize the importance of their work to the economy, the capitalist society will then crumble (Misina 2015). This is evident in Antz when Z says, “The authorities don’t want us to know about it, but we don’t have to work on the tunnel anymore. It’s the workers who control the means of production”(Darnell and Johnson 1998). Without a solid base, society cannot function properly. At the end of the movie, Weaver held the entire colony on his shoulders to save them from being washed away (Darnell and Johnson 1998). This can be understood as a metaphor asserting that the base of society keeps every other aspect running smoothly. It is important to note that in the preface of A Critique of Political Economy, Marx failed to sate a clear difference between a commodities exchange value and use value (McIntosh 1997). This distinction is the basis for how we determine value and is an essential part of the social economic

The superstructure is essentially the culture and politics of society. The superstructure is built on the basis of the economic foundation. In Antz, it is shown that all of the workers and soldiers spend their free time together, however the elite members of the monarchy do not associate with the others. For example, when the workers begin to dance in a specifically choreographed fashion, at the same time and in the same way, Princess Bala decides to sneak in and dance with them. When the general finds out about this, he is extremely angry that Bala associated herself with the proletariat (Darnell and Johnson 1998). Marx argues that the economic base, which would include the workers, creates the social and political foundations of societal norms. Therefore, it is inappropriate for the elite to interact with the workers based on their economic stance within society (Misina 2015). That is an example of how the superstructure is influenced by the base. In the preface of A Critique of Political Economy, Marx argues that it is society that determines our consciousness. He states, “It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness”(McIntosh 1997:66). This relates back to Marx’s assertion that the superstructure, which is distinguished by the base, creates whom an individual consciously is. This is idea is reiterated in the German Ideology.