Wherein My Tendency To Over-Analyse Reaches Its Zenith

Right, so, anyone remember Fraggle Rock?

Sure you do.

What you probably don't remember is that it was Marxist propaganda.

I'm serious. Fraggle Rock was The Communist Manifesto with Muppets. Let's start with the Gorgs, who consider themselves the "King and Queen of the universe" despite not having any subjects. This represents the inevitable irrelevance of the Aristocracy and their self-appointed titles. Producing nothing of value of their own, they simply complain about the Fraggles stealing their radishes (clearly here radishes=money).

Under the Gorgs (quite literally) live the Fraggles, who are clearly the Bourgeoisie by any other name. They spend their time cavorting around the caverns, handing out radishes to the Doozers under the condition that they continue to serve them. Capricious and indecisive, the worst of these scabs upon society is their leader Gobo. Not only does he fail to see the plight of the Doozers, but he regularly reads postcards from his Uncle Matt who continually feeds him misinformation about the workings of alternative systems of governance, referring to those that have shaken off the shackles of aristocratic authoritarianism as "silly creatures".

Finally you have the Doozers, who symbolise the Proletariat. They spend all day thanklessly creating complex structures (out of radishes, naturally) that the Fraggles constantly destroy and consume without a second thought. Sure, they claim that they're happy with their lot, but that's just so Gobo doesn't lock them up in some proto-gulag that they had to build themselves. The poor green bastards are so down-trodden that they don't even get to be the heroes of a series about Marxism, which is pretty damn perverted when you think about it (and clearly I've thought about it a lot).

Somewhere, under those adorable hard hats and behind the button noses, the Doozers are planning revolution.

You can carry the metaphor further, since I'm sure we can all agree that I haven't taken it far enough yet. Who else could Marjory the Trash Heap represent, with all her wisdom and predictive powers, but Lenin. Her heckling rats, of course, stand for Stalin, simply waiting for the right moment to undo Lenin and his grandiose plans.

Finally, we have "Doc" the inventor (clearly a metaphor for God himself) and his workshop, (which is Heaven) in which lives Sprocket, who represents Marx himself. Shaggy dog = shaggy beard.

Someone call HUAC!

In conclusion, then, this is conclusive proof that Henson was attempting to twist the minds of children into joining the American Communist Party. Well, that, or eat a few more radishes.

Next week: how The Clangers is marred by a disturbing undercurrent of radical Zionism.