Is Moana a Communist?
Find out for yourself
Photo Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios
The 2016 Disney movie “Moana” is the center-piece of Ryan DeMotte’s writing.
We all know and love the 2016 Disney film “Moana” right? The adventurous female lead, the lovable chicken, the unrelenting verses of “You’re Welcome” stuck in your head, and the beautiful animation all gave “Moana” a place in our hearts as a modern-classic princess movie. For most at the theatre, it brought laughs and tears and sucked us into its great story and fun tone, but for others, it was a sure sign of the Communists coming back to take over capitalist America through explicit biblical references and communist propaganda. I sat down with the author of a piece outlining all of these themes and their prevalence in “Moana”. Ryan DeMotte, a freshman, has this to say about his writing.
The author, Ryan DeMotte, a freshman, beams as his revolutionary writing sweeps the student body.
Q: Your piece starts right at the beginning of the movie. Did you go into the theatre wanting to write this, or were you inspired during your screening?
A: I just went to see the movie with my family, but as I was watching it I realized the vast connections to communism. I was really struck by the way they all shared everything and the other comparisons to the key principles of Marxism. Seeing that at the very beginning led me to take notes for the rest of the movie.
Q: What is the most important takeaway from your writing?
A: People should know that they can always question things and search for a deeper meaning and that not everything is as it seems. Basically, my piece tells people to not be sheep and to not listen to whatever “The Man” tells you all the time.
Q: Are you yourself a Communist as you claim “Moana” is?
A: That is funny, but no, not particularly. I am more of a socialist myself. However, I do support several of the core ideas of Marxism. I am very glad to have been born now and not twenty years earlier during McCarthyism, as I probably would have been persecuted for my beliefs.
Q: What significance does your writing have in our school, and why should people find it important enough to read?
A: People need to know the truth, and they should know that they have every right in the world to find the truth for themselves. That is the important part of my piece, not that Moana, her father, and Maui are strong Marxists.
So maybe you don’t have to agree with all of his observations about the Communist connections in “Moana”, but his intentions are clear. It is about thinking for yourself and questioning authority, which I think is an important message for us all to hear, even if it comes from a high school student arguing that a Disney princess is a Marxist.
Read the passage by Ryan DeMotte below:
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