Antz Summary

Marx explains that the third type of alienation is self-alienation. This explores the alienated relationship between the worker and himself. As a producer, the worker is directed how to perform each task is has no freedom of choice (Misina 2015). “It alienates from man his own body, nature exterior to him, and his intellectual being, his human essence”(McIntosh 1997:20). Marx argues that workers must follow orders and aren’t given the opportunity to innovate and use their own ideas. This is connected to the idea that human beings are defined by creativity, and without it, they are alienated from themselves as workers (McIntosh). Antz provides a variety of representations of self-alienation. The workers and soldiers are told how to do their

He has a clear place in each of the sections of the metatheoretical spectrum. Ontologically, I would classify Marx as a realist. He explains that, the world is not just a product of our mind it is real and existing. The structures that are built create social reality. It is prevalent in the movie Antz because the ants are constantly reminded that what they are building and creating is for the good of the colony. From an epistemology view, Marx would be an interpretivist. In the context of Antz, he would argue that their society can only be understood using theories and foundations of sociology, moreover the natural sciences cannot explain it. Marx tends to lean towards a voluntarist view rather than determinist. This is because he still asserts that people are free to do make their own choices and their action is not determined by societies structure. Antz makes this obvious at the end of the movie when Z says, “We rebuilt the colony. It’s even better than before… I finally feel like I found my place. You know what, it’s right back where I started but the difference is, this time, I chose it.”(Darnell and Johnson 1998). Z claims that he finally chose to rebuild the colony and was not forced. From an explanation assumption, Marx would be classified as nomothetic. He believes that sociology can explain social phenomenon by studying generalities that can be applied to the entire western world. In Antz, this is also displayed at the end of the movie when Z decides to rebuild the colony because needed to but chose to do so. It shows that all societies need people to work together for it to succeed (Misina 2015). Analyzing the movie Antz through a Marxist perspective provided a clear understanding of how historical materialism, capitalism, and alienation play an essential role in all