Richard Donner’s The Goonies is a cult classic that tells the story of the Goonies, a group of kids living in the “Goon Docks” area of Astoria, Oregon, who attempt to prevent the foreclosure and destruction of their homes by finding the hidden treasure of the legendary One Eye Willie. As the main plot involves trying to stop the wealthy country club from overtaking the smaller suburban area, Marxist themes were clearly written into the story. One example of Marxist themes present within Goonies is the rejection of hegemony found within its main cast, and how this rejection supports an inflected oppositional reading.
Hegemony is defined by Sellnow as “the privileging of a dominant groups ideology over that of other groups” (117). In the case of 1980’s America, the dominant groups that hegemony largely privileged were those who were white, able-bodied, and upper class. Some members of the Goonies fit into these classifications, especially with lead character Brand (played by Josh Brolin). But some examples of rejecting the hegemony are present in other characters. For example, all of the characters come are middle to lower-middle class in terms of socioeconomic status, and are fighting against the richer upper class that seeks to take away their home and build a golf course in it’s place. Data (played by Ke Huy Quan) is not white, and Chunk (played by Jeff Cohen) is overweight, and Mikey (played by Sean Austin) is asthmatic and requires the use of an inhaler, all of which push against elements of the 1980’s hegemony.
But nowhere is this rejection of hegemony better exemplified than by the character of Sloth (played by John Matuszak). Sloth clearly comes from an economically disenfranchised family who have been forced to commit crime and live out of an abandoned restaurant in order to survive. Sloth is also physically deformed, most likely a result from his mother dropping him when he was young, and is presented as having some learning disabilities, acting like a small child despite his age and immense size. Despite these disabilities and deformities, Sloth plays an integral role in saving the Goonies at the end of the movie, being the one who stops the Fratelli Family from hurting the Goonies and holds the rock to let them escape. At the end of the film, Chunk adopts Sloth into his family out of love. These various elements that go against the hegemony clearly demonstrate an inflected oppositional reading of the film, supporting the idea that The Goonies has Marxist themes in it.
What other examples of rejecting hegemony are present within Goonies? Are there other Marxist themes present in Richard Donner’s cult classic film?
I loved the Goonies growing up and reading this brought back memories of looking possible treasure maps in my grandfather's hardware store or going on adventures with friends.
ReplyDeleteA clear Marxist criticism that goes with the theme about class. While the film takes a predictable them of higher class being the bad guys and the middle/lower class being good, I think it can go a little deeper.
You also have those in the lower class putting down others. Mouth puts down Rosalita by mistranslating instruction to her given to him by Mrs. Walsh. You have the Fratelli's treatment of Sloth. Would chaining up a person who is severally disabled physically and mentally challenged be acceptable today?
You also have Brand who being the stereotypical older brother who is more athletic and physically bigger than his asthmatic brother. There seem to be circles of Marxist themes throughout the movie.
The 80s produced some great movies. Goonies is one of my favorites.
'Goonies' is a really good example of rejecting the hegemony. We do still see the desire to attain the ideals of the upper class however when they find the map where they believe they will find treasure, in hopes of saving their home from the wealthier population. We see the Marxist themes as they are trying to leave their lower financial status, to a more respectable, higher-class status. Not only that, but the eclectic group represents various societal statuses (i.e. a smart Chinese American named Data, a lovable chubby kid nicknamed Chunk, a cheerleader, etc.). The film does try to push the hegemony boundaries with ethnic, gender, and classist separation from the upper-class ideals. This makes me want to re-watch 'Goonies' now through the lens of hegemony and Marxism.
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