Uldarico Angeles

Soc 001
February 7, 2016

Project 1: Video/DVD Analysis

The movie that I will be analyzing is The Boxtrolls. This movie is an animated picture
about a boy who was raised by Boxtrolls, or trolls that collect trash, after allegedly being
kidnapped by them. The boy, known as Eggs, must protect the trolls as an exterminator named
Archibald Snatcher wishes to eliminate each one of them to gain power in the town of
Cheesebridge. Throughout the film, it is shown that the Boxtrolls are not the vicious image that
citizens had given them, but rather are curious and gifted in engineering. At one point, Eggs
attempts to convince the leader of Cheesebridge, Lord Portley-Rind, that the Boxtrolls were
harmless and mean no harm but no actions were taken to stop the hunt. With the help of the lord's
daughter, Winnie, Eggs is able to eventually take down Snatcher and free the Boxtrolls as well as
learn the basics of how to act in society since he had a loss of early childhood socialization. The
end of the film shows the citizens of Cheesebridge and Boxtrolls living together in peace as one
whole society.
Sociologist and philosopher, Auguste Comte, would be able to spot the laws of society
within the movie with the Boxtrolls and the citizens of Cheesebridge. He would be able to see
that there are two different communities that act very different. As he goes through the film, he
would be able to see the social statics and social dynamics that are present. The social statics
or idea that a society has order maintained and are united are seen through the ways the Boxtrolls
function and live. The Boxtrolls remain underground away from human contact but have built

many gadgets and inventions that provide what is needed to live. Social dynamics or element that
cause change and shape how things would change are present in the end of the film. Once the
main antagonist Archibald Snatcher was taken down, the Boxtrolls and citizens of Cheesebridge
made a huge change in both of their societies. The change was that they formed together as one
and merged into one big community. Both sides would help one another and benefit from this
change since no side means any harm.
There are many conflicts in this film and Karl Marx would be fascinated by them. Social
conflict theory is present within the antagonist Archibald Snatcher. His motive for exterminating
the Boxtrolls is to gain power in Cheesebridge in order to control it. Social conflict theory is
shown as he kidnaps the Boxtrolls, using machines that are far more superior to the Boxtrolls'
inventions made of trash. He uses the power he has to exploit them with the goal of gaining more
power. Another thing Marx would appreciate from the film is the creative capacity showcased by
the Boxtrolls. They scavenge for trash left outside by the citizens above them and create useful
inventions that benefit them.
Emile Durkheim would see many of his ideas present in The Boxtrolls. One of
Durkheim's ideas called organic solidarity is shown. Organic solidarity is a social unity or
coherence that involves people relying on each other to function. The Boxtrolls live underground
and heavily rely on each other to live. Every Boxtroll has their own specialty and role, whether it
be gathering resources or building things. If you take one of them away, then they would struggle
and have a hard time doing what that missing person was good at doing. Archibald Snatcher had
actually did this, which caused another one of Durkheim's ideas to be presented called anomie.
Anomie is the instability when there is a breakdown of standards and values in a society. As
Archibald Snatcher took more and more Boxtrolls, their community underground began to

shrink. An anomie is present since there was a lack of the usual social standards in their group.
Not only were the Boxtrolls that were taken specialists at their roles, but they were also good
friends. This caused Eggs, as well as the remaining Boxtrolls to become devastated, feeling both
loneliness and distress.
Although every paradigm is shown in this film, I believe the one most represented in this
film would be conflict perspective/paradigm. The reason I chose this was because this is the most
important part of the story. If there was no conflict, then this movie would either not exist or
would not be the same. As said before, the main antagonist uses the power he has to eliminate the
Boxtrolls as a way to gain power in the city. Since the city is unaware of how the Boxtrolls really
are, they support him in his mission. The action of eliminating the Boxtrolls were seen in two
different ways; beneficial due to the vicious and dangerous trolls being exterminated or a
waste due to the Boxtrolls really doing no harm to the citizens of Cheesebridge.