Topic > Power and Courage in the Life of an Insect, a film by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton

On average, children begin to have long-term conscious memory around 14-18 months. At this age, the media and adults in their daily lives easily influence them. The movie A Bug's Life is full of hidden messages that may be too complex for young people, but it teaches a valuable lesson that can be appreciated later in life. A Bug's Life introduces an organized colony of ants struggling to defend themselves from violent and intimidating grasshoppers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the film, themes such as power and courage are recurring and can be compared to the state of the United States right now. With the recent election of President-elect Donald J. Trump, many people are afraid of what the future may hold. The Southern Poverty Law Center counted more than 700 cases of harassment and intimidation from Nov. 9, the day after the election, to Nov. 16. This number is extremely alarming not only because of the short time frame in which these incidents occurred, but also because they are happening. Trump supporters feel invincible because they make minorities and those around them feel small. Just like in the movie, when the grasshoppers intimidate the ants. Hopper, the leader of the grasshoppers, says one of the most important lines in this film. In this scene, his brother questions the decision he made about taking the rest of the food from the ants. He replies to the entire group: “Let one ant rise against us, then they might all rise. Those little ants out there are outnumbering us a hundred to one, and if they ever figure it out, our way of life out there will end. It's not about food, it's about keeping those ants in line." Having courage and defending yourself from those who cause harm is one of the most courageous and selfless acts to commit. It took an ant to make a difference and end the story between those in power and those without power. A Bug's Life is a classic childhood favorite with a fun plot and a profound message. Flik, ​​the protagonist of the film, is a creative ant whose ideas and creations always lead to disaster for his colony. His most recent setback occurs early in the film, when we are first introduced to Flik. His latest invention, called the Harvester, broke down all the food that was supposed to be used to repay Hopper. When the grasshoppers arrive and realize there is no food, they become angry and confront the terrified ants below. He bullied Princess Atta and threatened to harm Princess Dot. This prompted Flik to attempt to stand up to Hopper and ask him to leave Princess Dot alone. Stunned by this reaction, Hopper asks the ants to produce double the amount of food they usually prepare for the next time they return. If they didn't do so before the last leaf fell, Hopper assured that there would be serious consequences. Subsequently, the queen, Princess Atta and the rest of the council tried to decide a punishment for Flik's incident. They debated whether to dig the tunnel or send him to a mental health hospital. Ultimately, they decide to send him on a journey to find someone to help them fight the locusts. During his search, he comes across a band of insects who he believes could help him save the colony. When he returns with the helpers, he and the warriors are highly celebrated with a feast and a display of young ants. During the presentation, the warriors realize the real reason why Flik wanted them to come to the Islandof the ants and later shared with Flik that they are not the warriors everyone perceives them to be. They reveal to Flik that they are circus bugs and assumed that Flik was a talent scout. About to leave, Flik begs them to stay while he devises a plan to get rid of the grasshoppers without looking like a failure to the colony. He finally decides to create a bird out of leaves to scare Hopper, who seems to have a serious fear of birds. When the idea was proposed to the warriors, the council, and the rest of the colony, everyone was eager to begin making this vision a reality. They completely stopped collecting food for the grasshoppers and worked daily to supplement the bird. Once the bird was completed and placed in a tree for later use, another celebratory feast took place. Unfortunately, before Flik had a chance to see his plan put into action, he was kicked out of the colony because they discovered that the warriors were not who they said they were and feared that Flik's bird wouldn't work. In their haste to gather food before the grasshoppers arrived, they find themselves too short and begin to panic about the grasshoppers' return. When they arrive, as expected, they are not satisfied and scatter the food everywhere. As Hopper takes over and causes chaos, Princess Dot sets out to find Flik to help save the colony. When he arrives, and with the help of his friends, they manage to distract the grasshoppers long enough for Flik, ​​Princess Dot and her friends to reach the bird waiting above them. They fought and unfortunately a fire destroyed the bird before the ants could scare away the grasshoppers. When Flik had to face Hopper, he was no longer as afraid as before. Thumper threw Flik around and beat him while Hopper attempted to make an example of him to the other ants. As Hopper spoke, Flik gained the strength, after being beaten, to tell Hopper that the ants were much stronger than he believed. . It made Hopper realize that he knew their strengths and had seen them do wonderful things. This courage inspired the rest of the ants to stand by what was said and they began to chase the grasshoppers away from their island. As the other grasshoppers fled the island, Hopper made one last attempt to kill Flik before being eaten by a real bird. Watching A Bug's Life and considering the state of American politics at this time, many similarities were noted. The first similarity is between the impacts of leaders. In the movie, Hopper influenced everything the other grasshoppers did. From when they laughed, when they flew and even when they harassed the ants. He inflicted fear on them with just a look and they fed off every word he said. He and President-elect Trump's method of gaining followers are similar. During the presidential race, President-elect Trump said almost anything to his followers and they all supported him. He got them so excited about immigration laws that they took everything he said literally. Both followers remained faithful regardless of the circumstances. The second aspect of the film that is similar to the current state of America is the followers of these individuals. All the grasshoppers in the movie are not the smartest. For example, Hopper's brother Molt is the reason the ants know Hopper's fear of birds. While Hopper is attempting to show his dominance over the ants, Molt lashes out at the moment Hopper was almost eaten by a bird. If Hopper had more control over his followers, perhaps he wouldn't have been eaten by a bird in the end. President-elect Trump's followers are..