The LEGO Movie is Practically Communist

New York Magazine ^ | 2/7 | Bilge Ebiri

[Viennacon]

Is there a transgendering Lego man?

[gov_bean_ counter]

Beep,beep

Zip-tang...

[Alex Murphy]

(Remember, the movie’s villain is named Business.)

Only when a Democrat is in office. When a Republican is in office, they're named Government.

[martin_fierro]

Ooooh, a movie about plastic cubes. Where can I find tickets. < |:/~

[AppyPappy]

If it was Communist, they’d be building gulags.

[CivilWarBrewing]

I noticed in the Lego movie preview there's a jab "or have a 'Tea Party' with your parents", implying they're old, conservative, no fun and out-dated.

DO.. NOT.. SEE.. Don't Go See Lego!

[apillar]

Remember, the movie’s villain is named Business. Last time I checked Lego Inc. wasn't a non-profit....

[colorado tanker]

Didn’t this guy see the trailer? This movie isn’t worth watching, much less writing a column about it.

[Coffee... Black... No Sugar]

Kids will go (and be taken) to this movie if for none other than because the bricks are shiny and the film is new. The submerged idology may not even register on the surface. Our author is very adult-smart (and I agree with him as an adult), but a well trained young person KNOWS better than to bite so hard.

A good parent will put on The Incredibles after dinner, though.

[cld51860]

Exactly. Quite hypocritical. One of the largest toy exporters in the world. Have you SEEN the price of some of thier sets, in one of the MANY outlets around the country???

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

OTOH, Lego Batman makes a snarky comment about Ben Affleck. :)

[Telepathic Intruder]

All Legos are inherently transgendered. With insies on one side and outsies on the other.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

I'm waiting for the Eggo movie:

Leggo of my Eggo!

[Dr. Sivana]

Have you SEEN the price of some of their sets, in one of the MANY outlets around the country???

And yet, they are one of the few companies that don't make much in Red China, and their products are well made. We provide our children with Playmobil, which has some of its own problems with the politically correct stuff. Noentheless, I suspect the movie makers just can't help themselves.

I don't think (despite Lord Business) the "You can be anything you want tyo be" is straight Commie, but just undeveloped secular humanist. This stuff isn't just in kids' movies either. Anyone remember Mudd's Women in Star Trek?

[wbill]

Or, it could just be a kid's movie about little pieces of plastic.

Geez, the author of this piece thinks waaaaaaaay too much.

[MHGinTN]

For some reason Mrs. Mudd sticks in my memory ... maybe ‘cause I’m twice divorced?

[TexasFreeper2009]

lego’s are about 10 cents for each piece, and have been for a long time. The sets you are referring to just have A LOT of pieces.

[Lurking Libertarian]

If you think you know where the story goes from here, that’s because narratives of empowerment have become practically the norm in American culture. We believe that children need encouragement in order to become their best selves, and our movies and stories often reflect that. But have we taken it too far? In an eloquent article in the Atlantic last year, Luke Epplin criticized children’s films for what he termed the “magic-feather syndrome” — so named for the feather that Dumbo once thought could make him fly. (Of course, the feather wasn’t magic at all; the real feather was Inside Him All Along™, or rather inside his giant, flapping ears.) Epplin writes: It's probably no coincidence that the supremacy of the magic-feather syndrome in children's movies overlaps with the so-called ‘cult of self-esteem.’ The restless protagonists of these films never have to wake up to the reality that crop-dusters simply can't fly faster than sleek racing aircraft. Instead, it's the naysaying authority figures who need to be enlightened about the importance of never giving up on your dreams, no matter how irrational, improbable, or disruptive to the larger community.

The small, seemingly insignificant person who goes on to perform heroic deeds is not something new dreamed up by the self-esteem movement; it's as old as children's literature ("The Little Tailor"), if not as old as literature itself (David and Goliath).

[Dr. Sivana]

cld51860 complained about the cost, I didn’t.

I can also tell you the specialty sets (e.g. Star Wars), cost a lot more than 10 cents a piece.