The Lego Movie is A Critique of 21st Century Capitalism, Obsessive Materialism, Government Infringement, and the Road to Enlightenment Masked by Colorful Bricks of Childhood
Capitalism breeds innovation…is that how the saying goes? If capitalism can promote innovation, and only non-capitalist institutions play a role in organizing the innovation process, but society is made up of individuals brainwashed by popular media, and innovation is only possible if individuals can innovate within their positions... Does capitalism really work? Is this endless cycle of sterility bound to cause a rebellion? These complex issues have managed to fit into the 2014 children’s movie, The Lego Movie. While the film is bedecked with animated plastic bricks, celebrity voices, and a unicorn-kitty: it’s an utter critique of capitalism. In reality, The Lego Movie displays how capitalism affects individuals across generations, our essential human needs, and how a role of power can provide a false sense of security.
Our protagonist Emmett, feels more like a representation of a mindless member of society rather than the main character. He has no defining physical features and must follow a set of instructions to do what society requires of him. He finds comfort in this conformist regiment. His favorite show is a show with the same obnoxious punchline, and his favorite song is one that has a repetitive, conformist subliminal message: “Everything is awesome.” These representations of Emmett’s favorite media point out that in today’s world, it’s acceptable for a repetitive song to reach number one on the charts just because “it’s catchy.” Emmett’s world feels a bit futuristic compared to ours, and the movie explores the sad reality that humans are bound to become more simple-minded as we evolve. We will eventually all be content hearing the same joke and the same lyric over and over and over again.
Although we may not realize it, American media is strictly censored to foster and promote certain nationalistic ideals. While these decisions to censor media are often made to protect citizens and safeguard individual privacy, censorship ultimately suppresses the First Amendment. The Lego Movie heavily explores the idea of what government-approved media is with the song “Everything is Awesome” and the television show Honey, Where Are My Pants?
The song and movie are made by the Octan Corporation, which is owned by President Business, the president of the company and the world. As Emmett goes to watch his morning TV, he watches President Business give a speech. Business says to follow the instructions, or else you will be put to sleep. He says the punishment so quickly it’s hard to catch because right after, he announces loudly that Taco Tuesday is next week. Everyone who follows the rules will be rewarded with a taco and his love on Taco Tuesday.
Emmett responds to this announcement with a smile; all he gets from the speech is that Taco Tuesday is soon. He proceeds to watch the show Honey, Where are my Pants? and laughs at the punchline. Emmett lives in a society where he doesn’t have to think for himself. He can look right past the message President Business announced just to laugh at the same joke he hears every day. President Business veils his potential disciplinary action with a huge, flashy commercial event. What is evident to the viewer is that Emmett lives in a world where he doesn’t need to cogitate independently, and corporations rule all.
While watching the opening of this film may seem totally different compared to the America we live in today if you think about it, the parallels are uncanny. Our top TV shows and movies often have predictable tropes and characters, and it’s not a coincidence that all popular music is beginning to sound the same. The television show and song are metaphors for how American society finds comfort in homogeny. No matter where you travel in the U.S., you can go to Starbucks, Cheesecake Factory, etc, and your experience will be identical whether you are in Florida or South Dakota. Sadly, society praises this idea of sameness to this extent, where people find solace in not having to step outside their comfort zones. Soon enough, everywhere in America will be a copy of a copy of a copy.
The Lego Movie is literally about Legos, where you can either follow the exact directions or build creatively. These two options create two opposing parties in the Lego Movie universe. President Business believes he can control the citizens of Bricksburg by rewarding their obedience with commercial and material goods, but the Master Builders of the movie rebel against this. The Master Builders live in secret and are fighting to preserve the world from President Business’ plans to use the Kragle on everyone. The Kragle would freeze everyone in their place to create the illusion of perfection and prevent creativity. The leader of the Master Builders is Vitruvius, a wizard who claims that one day, a person will find the Piece of Resistance and save the universe. “One day, a talented lass or fellow, a special one with a yellow face, will make the Piece of Resistance found from its hidden refuge underground. And with a noble army at the helm, This Master Builder will thwart the Kragle, save the realm, and be the greatest, most interesting, most important person of all time. All this is true because it rhymes.”
The actual conflict of the movie comes from the fact that Emmett, the most regular person in the world, discovers the Piece of Resistance and must learn to become a Master Builder. At his construction site job, he meets a Master Builder, WildStyle. While distracted by her, he falls down a hole, discovering the piece of resistance. He touches it, experiences visions, and wakes up with it attached to his back permanently. He wakes up in the custody of the police, where he learns President Business’ true intentions with Taco Tuesday; he is planning to unleash the Kragle. Emmett realizes that Business wants world domination and controls the citizens through surveillance systems, TV shows, music, and everything else Emmett consumes. Emmett must go through training to become a Master Builder with the guidance of the other Master Builders.
Emmett learns how to think for himself and follow his instincts instead of instructions. He and the other Master Builders devise a plan to take down President Business, and during this plan, the Master Builders are captured. Vitruvius reveals that he made up the prophecy but explains that because Emmett believed in himself, he was able to accomplish so much. Emmett flings himself off of a building in an act of self-sacristy, and this is where the movie truly takes a turn.
Emmett is suddenly in the human world. He is in a basement filled with Lego structures. We see Will Ferrell, who voiced President Business, yelling at his son for messing with the organization of his Legos. He explains how it’s bad to interchange pieces from different sets and that the world must stay organized. The father represents order, and the son is chaos. The father is angry by the changes made to the Lego world and pulls out krazy glue, which looks identical to the Kragle. Emmett, who is still a figurine, flings himself off the table to catch their attention and stop using the Kragle. The son picks Emmett off the floor and puts him back in the Lego world, where he confronts President Business. The father looks at the son’s creations and realizes his creativity is beautiful. In the Lego world, businesses have decided not to use Kragel. The son is still plastic, still malleable like a Lego. He is still open to learning and adapting to new ideas, while his older father has hardened and is stuck in his ways. At this point in the film, we realize that Lord Business and Emmett are metaphors for the father and the son; hence the real world.
By showing a father obsessed with material items, the end of the movie is taken back to the beginning, where we meet Emmett, who is easily satisfied by the material items in his life. Both the father and Emmett have deep insecurities. The father worries about everything needing to be absolutely perfect, and Emmett worries about being too ordinary; these insecurities are different but complement each other. The Kragel is a way for the father to make sense of a world that doesn’t make sense. Both the father and Emmett want an explanation for the unexplainable. By putting those fears on the back burner, they become obsessed with trivial things to mask their apathy at fixing their problems. Throughout the movie, they learn that physical possessions do not bring happiness. Emmett learns this through his builder training, and the father learns this when he realizes how wonderful his son’s creativity is.
A children’s movie addressing themes similar to The Truman Show, Fight Club, The Wolf of Wall Street, Sorry to Bother You, and American Psycho may sound strange, but it’s not impossible after dissecting all the moving parts of The Lego Movie. This movie asks the audience to consider the direction that our world is going and not to accept things that are considered the norm.