Friday Funny: The Totalitarian Utopianism of Smurfs

Buéno also draws connections between the Smurfs and the Nazis. Others have previously found connections between the Smurfs and Marxists.

"[B]ehind the bright blue veneer of a perfect society, totalitarianism, racism and misogyny infect Smurf culture, suggests Antoine Buéno, a researcher and lecturer at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. His new 177-page work, "The Little Blue Book," has exploded like a big blue bomb among Smurf-lovers with claims that their ideal world is a twisted construct where stereotypes and prejudice run rampant. Buéno's critical analysis of the comic book society has sparked an outcry among nostalgic Smurf fans, who say the scholar is "ruining the dreams" of devotees.

Their society is "an archetype of a totalitarian utopia," containing characteristics of Stalinism and Nazism, according to Buéno. Even grandfatherly Papa Smurf, the clan's trusted leader, can't escape suspicion. His white beard inspires comparisons to Josef Stalin or Karl Marx. His tendency to dress in red clothing (other Smurfs wear white) doesn't help his case, either. "