Where the Wild Things Are: A Review
“Let the wild rumpus start!”
This was Max’s first order when he was hailed king of the
island where his boat took him, an island where the wild things are.
Such setting was born from a child's imagination but behind furry characters and boundless adventures is actually a reflection of social reality. This entry will look at the film through the lenses of post-Marxist, post-colonial, and post-structuralist ideas which together will hopefully give a holistic view of our society.
The film, Where The Wild Things Are, follows the adventure of a boy who ran away from
home, sailed the sea on his own, got giant animals to believe he has powers and
eventually became king of these animals. The animals believed Max could change
the way things were in the island and make them happy. But a realization will
soon hit that nothing and no one can please everyone.
POST-MARXISM
Unlike the traditional Marxism, which puts emphasis on social class as a factor resulting to oppression, the poststructuralist Marxism, or post-Marxism, is a theory which unravels more than economic factors. It views other, if not all, types of social inequalities - may it be gender, race, etc.
Some scenes featuring the individualities of each character in the movie reflect what is happening in the society right now. For instance, the scene where Max arrived at the island and met the 'wild things' for the first time. When they were about to eat Max, the boy shouted, "Be still!" which everybody did. Max then told stories - such as that he is the king of the place where he came from, and that he made the heads of his enemies explode using his power - thereby convincing them that he really is a king and eventually proclaimed him as their new king. 'Ordinary' people, or those in the lower class in the society, are being easily swayed and deceived by words of those who are in the upper class. They easily become minions of those who have and in power, following every word they say.
The movie also showed how people use other people due to their differences in terms of physical appearance, intellect, etc. The scene where Carol uses Douglas to destroy things by throwing him around exemplifies this.
POST-COLONIALISM
Instead of looking at
post-colonialism from the term “after colonialism,” we must see that post-colonialism
actually recognizes that there are still realities from colonialism that are
evident today despite decolonization. We can look at post-colonialism as having “the
promise, the possibility, and the continuing necessity of change, while also recognizing
that important challenges and changes have already been achieved,” (McLeod
2000, 33). Hence, post-colonialism entails historical continuity as well as
change.
Moreover, postcolonialism houses
the idea of migrancy which involves a guest and a host where the guest travels
or ‘migrates’ to the place of the host. In migrancy, there is a possibility of actual
inclusion and integration. Huggan (2008, 44) says “it harbours the potential to
transform a historical record of exclusion and discrimination into a utopian
aesthetic which suggests that ‘it is the figurative possibility in language itself
that makes the future possible.”
To concretize this, we can look at
the situation in Where The Wild Things Are where we can consider Max to be the guest,
and the giant animals (and their island) are the host. While figuring out what
Max is and discussing what to do with him, one of the animals said that they
eat up those who do not belong to their group, those who are not like them.
This ‘you are different from us’ perspective poses exclusion. However, through
some kind of negotiation between each other and with Max, they settled with
keeping him alive, and even considered him their king.
Language and communication made
such change possible without completely eradicating the animals’ culture prior
to Max’s arrival. Moreover, we can see that the animals drew away from the ‘us
only’ view by integrating Max to their group--a post-colonialist idea resisting the dominant essentialist view of colonialism.
POST-STRUCTURALISM
Post-structuralism deviates from the
rigidness of structuralism as it looks at texts and meanings as complexly
interrelated. There is no one absolute structure, no single truth, to a certain
phenomena, experience, or idea. Hence, post-structuralism opens avenues of
alternative views through resistance of established values.
In the film, the social system in
the island as well as the island itself have concepts that can be considered
post-structuralist. The film shows how Max rejected (although maybe unconciously,
considering he is a kid) the metanarrative or master narrative the society has
of the world.
What makes it a post-structuralist society
is how it shows an altered view of the social environment that we are very much
familiar with. In the island, there is no concept of appropriate dressing, no
established daily routine, what can be considered a government is the single
person whom they appointed as king, laws are nonexistent, no houses, no family,
no social differentiation, no class distinction.
These aforementioned concepts often
breed struggle and discrimination and post-structuralism has the power to resist
these unfavorable circumstances. However, the film shows that a total lax in
these social concepts does not entirely eradicate the chances of discontent of
individuals in the society. In the end, the story resorted to a compromise on
Max's part to somehow restore peace among the animals.
CONCLUSION
The book where the film was adopted from became a hit for children. The movie is actually good, to be honest, but we think that it is not for children anymore. The creators of the film may not intend to manifest the problems in the society at present in the movie, but unfortunately, they did. This is where communication practitioners enter. They should look into these problems and how to change or eradicate them as mass media is a very powerful tool for communication which can help shape one's concept of reality.
SOURCES:
Huggan, Graham. 2008. Interdisciplinary
Measures Literature and the Future of Postcolonial Studies. Liverpool: Liverpool
University Press
McLeod, John. 2000. Beginning
Postcolonialism. UK: Manchester University Press
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