THE SMURFS THE COMMUNIST REGIME

A SHORT HISTORY The very first Smurf was drawn in 1958 by Pierre Culliford. The Smurfs made their first appearance in the comic 'Johan and Pirlouit' as extras, but they became so popular they gained their own spotlight In 1982, the Smurfs moved to Los Angeles were they would star in over 150 episodes.

CHARACTERS Smoogle Clockwork Smurf Tracker Smurf Wild Smurf Papa Smurf the Red Father Vanity Smurf Grandpa Smurf Jokey Smurf Nanny Smurf Lazy Smurf Smurfette Smoogle Handy Smurf Poet Smurf Clockwork Smurf Brainy Smurf Grouchy Smurf Tracker Smurf Clumsy Smurf Baker Smurf Wild Smurf Reporter Smurf Greedy Smurf And so on and so on and so on… Tailor Smurf Snappy Smurf Farmer Smurf Slouchy Smurf Dreamy Smurf Puppy Harmony Smurf Nat Smurfling Painter Smurf Baby Smurf Hefty Smurf

The Red Father Papa Smurf is the dictator of a small peaceful community His claims that he is 564 years old He protects the village from the evil Gargamel (symbolically- the greedy capitalists/ the Jew) and his cat Azrael ( or the oppressed proletariat)

Brainy Smurf He is the village smarty who’s never afraid to criticize the faults of others(like Mr. Barefoot) to his fellow Smurfs, even though it usually results in him being exiled out of the village or whacked in the head with a mallet

Lazy Smurf He is a smurf who likes to sleep, which at times, can cause problems with the community His laziness can be good or bad in a number of episodes, where in one episode, his echoed snores scared off an animal about to attack another smurf

Reporter Smurf He likes to write heart-wrenching articles in their little newspaper. He is not one of the regulars that appear on the show, but an extra- with a small role with comedic purpose

SYMBOLIC MEANING There have been some critics to say that the Smurfs were a representation of communist society- given their lack of currency, the fact that nobody posses personal items; it is shared within the community. Even the farmer Smurf doesn’t sell his crops- he distributes them throughout village. The whole clan is dependent on the decision of one Smurf- Papa Smurf- or should I say Tsar Smurf. Nobody holds a specific social class(except for Papa Smurf, everyone is equal in social status. Sounding a bit Familiar?

REFERENCES http://www.iamlost.com/features/smurfs/commies.shtml http://bluebuddies.com/help/smurf_names_and_list_of_the_smurfs.htm http://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/features/smurfs/history1/