Sociology Sundays: Marxism and Toy Story

Let it be known that I am a huge fan of Pixar, in fact, as I write this I am sitting in some Finding Nemo PJs and I have to say, the Toy Story trilogy is very much my favourite group of movies that exist, but there are some very interesting moments in it that I think Karl Marx might have a problem with. And being the loser that I am I will be combining two things I love, Marxism and Toy Story and telling you what Marx might say about this childhood classic.


The first thing we need to do is work out how the class system works within Andy's room. Whilst Andy and humans in general would be the obvious choice for ruling class it's also interesting to look at the dynamic between the toys so I will be splitting this into two sections. The Toys and The Humans.

THE TOYS

Firstly we should look at the main character, Woody, Woody is in a position of power, he runs Andy's room, and it all seems to be going well. From what we can tell, Woody runs the room because he is Andy's favourite. This is almost like the "god given right" Kings and Queens were bestowed in order to run a country. At first glance we would assume Marx would label this a bad thing, like he does with god given rights etc. however, I don't believe that it is as simple as that.

Whilst it is entirely possible to consider Woody a "Kingly" figure and Andy the "god-like" figure, the fact that it is okay for the rest of the toys, who all seem equal in their ranking after Woody, it could be looked at as a near-communist society with one person in power. This is, obviously, something Karl Marx would be close to liking.

If we also take into consideration that Buzz finds his way to the top very quickly and all the other toys migrate to like him we could argue that it is the choice of the "lower class" and, therefore, it is more of a chosen leader, rather than assigned. Woody is no more likely to be in charge than, say, Mr Potato Head, or Hamm, it is all to do with how the other toys perceive Woody.

Woody has also, it is assumed, been around longer than the other toys, which makes him more experienced, now whilst I am not 100% sure on Marx's opinion of electing the smartest person to lead a group, I know that Gramsci, is definitely all for "counter-hegemonic blocs" which means a group of in the know "working class" people using their smarts to overrule the oppressive 1%.

However, the only time where is it 100% clear who the oppressive toy is, is in the third movie with Lotso. He is a dictator with a group that do all the work for him in oppressing all the toys who step out of line, using devices such as CCTV, Prison and even torture (the sandbox). This is, personally, one of the best aspects of Toy Story 3 and, of course we get the brilliant line from "Marxist Barbie"...

THE HUMANS

As I mentioned before, within Andy's Room the Toys appear to be happy to be ruled over by Andy, he is like a God to them, someone they look up to and rely on, even after he has thrown out a lot of the toys. Heck Woody loses the his love interest, Bo Peep all because Andy grew too old for her, but Woody looks up to Andy in a way that this doesn't deter him at all. This is something Marx hated. He hated religion, he called it "the opium of the people" because it was and is something that some people blindly follow even if they don't agree with everything they are doing. It is something, according to Marx, that wealthy people created to keep the poor subdued. Lenin called it "spiritual gin" and this seems to be the case for Woody and his friends. They all follow Andy or Bonnie (presumably) no matter what. Heck, Jessie was cast aside by Emily and even she eventually gave into another human.

What Woody does with Sid is a perfect example of a revolution from the "underclass" the toys all group together to prevent another injustice being done aka the killing of one of their kind. This, to me, is amazing, it is exactly what Marx wants from all the working class people in the world and it is exactly what I want to see in my favourite movie series of all time. 

Thanks Pixar for introducing adult themes into kids movies, they have influenced me so much in my interest in politics and other issues like pollution, bravery, and feminism. (See Wall.E, Monsters Inc, and Brave)

So yeah, there are a few thoughts I had about Toy Story, this was fun for me, I basically got to combine two of my favourite things.

I haven't decided on a topic for next week so let me know what you would like to see and I will give it a go.

Until next time,

Stephanie

Confidence Series: Skincare

It took me a long time to realise that caring for my skin would make me feel completely different about myself. I have combination skin in that it can get very oily around my T-Zone and it can also get very dry around my eyebrows and beside my nostrils. Growing up I was lucky that the combination cancelled each other out very well and I suffered from little to no skin problems at all.

When I finished going through puberty my skin started to get more spots. I had, naively assumed that my skin would not get bad because I was through puberty. I was wrong, and I didn't help it by getting the ugliest full fringe I could possibly get. What this meant was I began getting a lot more spots due to the speed with which my fringe got greasy and by the sheer oil build up on my face.

I began to combat it with the clean and clear exfoliating scrub, but it didn't really work well because I could not be bothered to do it every night along with everything else and when I was busy I forgot and my skin went to shit again, but I bring good news... I have found ones that do not require rinsing which means I can just get some cotton wool pads and wipe my face clean without leaving my bed. And if I'm running late I can take the items with me... Of course, that's if I don't want to do makeup before I leave.

My treatment now consists of using: Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water to remove make-up; Clean and Clear deep cleansing lotion; Clean and Clear blackhead clearing cleanser; and Nivea Toner. I genuinely felt a difference after one treatment. (This isn't sponsored by the way, but if any of these companies want to hit me up I am not opposed to it)

Moisturising is also something I don't have the time for and... confession time, I don't currently use a moisturiser, although it is next on my list of things to introduce to my daily routine.

So tip number one: Find a skin care treatment that suits your schedule and your needs. (Toner is a must have in my opinion, it makes your pores smaller and less prone to blackheads)

This has made me feel better about not wearing makeup and actually it has made me feel better at wearing make-up which was a surprise to me, but the make-up looks better on skin with smaller pores and smoother skin.

That is the perfect segway onto the next topic: makeup. As I have discussed before, makeup is just something fun for me to do when I have half an hour to spare in the morning or for if I want to look extra hot for a night out. And like I have discussed previously, I used to feel like I had to wear make-up and I used to think the only way to feel good about myself was to wear make-up.

It was quite easy for me to get comfortable not wearing make-up. What I chose to do to help me feel more confident in my skin and with my face was to not wear it for a weekend when I knew I wasn't going anywhere. And I mean I stayed at home all weekend, I only went out to the shops once and I felt okay about what I had done, then I went a whole week without make-up and that meant going to school. (If you are more attached to make-up than I am then try lessening the amount you wear for a few days until you feel ready, this is all about you feeling comfortable) Soon I found myself enjoying having more sleep and not worrying about look 100% all the time. It's stressful, and most people didn't notice, or they at least didn't say anything. I received a few "you look tired" comments, but soon no one said anything and I felt great.

Now I wear make-up more again because I enjoy the process of putting it on and I enjoy trying out new products. The only other thing I can suggest in terms of make-up is to not use make-up wipes to remove it because they can increase oil build up or decrease moisture. (Of course they are still better than nothing so use them if nothing else is on hand) And also, just have fun, make-up hasn't always been a thing and I'm sure there will come a time where it is less expected of women to always wear it.

Tip two is: Have fun with make-up and take care in removing it!

The final thing I want to discuss with you in terms of skincare is to remember that it's your skin and no one else can really have any power over it other than you and if you have a few spots or imperfections, just rock them, most people get face spots and most people understand that sometimes you need to let them be free from make-up.

Of course I can't comment on birthmarks as I wasn't born with any significant one's on my face, but I would love to hear any other tips you guys have, and any products you think I should try out!

To get more comfortable with my skin I did that stereotypical thing of looking in a mirror and identifying parts of my skin that looked good. Like the little freckles I have over my shoulders. I also recommend being naked with yourself. I know that might seem taboo to talk about on a blog that I know my friends and family read, but I feel it's important to be as confident as you can about aspects of your own body and one way to do that is to be naked (As it was intended *ding*)

Tip three, therefore, is: Love yourself and the skin you're in and embrace parts of yourself you find difficult to live with!

That's all for now, next week's installment of the Confidence Series will be about the face in general and how to feel good about your overall face area.

Until next time,

Stephanie