A Bug's Life

Posted by Kristin Hawkinson on Wednesday, January 25, 2017 Under: Cirque Italia

For those who don't know, when I was seven years old, I spent about three weeks in a children’s hospital after a gun accident incapacitated me. Seventeen years later, the hospital stay itself is but a distant memory—except one of the parts that I distinctly remember from that time is watching the Disney Pixar movie “A Bug’s Life” nearly every single day. The once-traumatizing “flashbulb memory” of the accident is psychologically associated with that movie. Recently, I came to the realization that my life now kind of resembles that of the film’s little ant protagonist, Flik.

In the movie, Flik is a bit of a misfit; always innovating new ways to improve the quality of life of his fellow ants, only to be scoffed at for not following the traditional procedures (especially when his ideas accidentally backfire). Oppressive grasshoppers get away with taking more than their fair share of the land’s resources by intimidating the ants to pick the food and threatening to retaliate if they don’t conform. Flik is determined to stand up for his community and help fight against the grasshoppers’ establishment, and he voluntarily leaves the colony in search of warriors to join his cause despite how dangerous the outside world is. While he is out on his journey, he stumbles into a group of circus bugs, mistaking them for “warriors.” When he later finds out the truth, he desperately tries to convince them to stay and fight for his cause anyway, afraid he will let his colony down once again.

Sound familiar yet? It might be a stretch concerning all the other plot details, but the coincidence is an interesting one to me.

“Why am I working in a circus?” I ask myself this in a fit of existential despair at least once a day. I know these people aren’t here for the same reasons I am. They don’t care about the ugliness of corporations or the state of the environment—perhaps not nearly as much as I do anyway. They’re passionate about performing, creating, and entertaining. Last night, I lay on the hood of my car talking to a circus friend and asked that very question... why? He casually replied with, “Why not?” and followed up with, “You help people to take two hours out of their day to not have to think about their stressful jobs or personal lives. You get people to see and appreciate the bizarre things humans can do.” I can see his point, but sometimes that’s just not enough for me.

At the end of A Bug’s Life, Flik’s energy, determination, and drive to bring others together to fight for social justice pays off. Hopper, the lead grasshopper, realizes that his success depends on the control of the lower class of bugs. “You let one ant stand up to us, then they ALL might stand up!” The grasshoppers are soon faced with uproar from the ants and destruction follows. “Let this be a lesson to all you ants! Ideas are very dangerous things! You are mindless, soil-shoving losers, put on this earth to serve us!” declares Hopper. Flik replies, “You're wrong, Hopper. Ants are not meant to serve grasshoppers. I've seen these ants do great things, and year after year they somehow manage to pick food for themselves and you. So who is the weaker species? Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's you who need us! We're a lot stronger than you say we are... And you know it, don't you?”

I know that I am just one ant. I also have a lot of growing to do, a lot of seeds to plant. This circus is just one step towards a much greater movement. As I continue to educate myself, build a tribe of passionate people, and talk with worker ants all around the country, I know that my efforts will pay off in due time. It’s been incredibly difficult for me to accept that social change is not immediate, and I’m very lucky to have dear friends and family to remind me not to always take life so seriously.