The Twelve Tasks of Asterix is a film directed by R. Goscinny, A. Uderzo, H. Gruel, and P. Watrin. Produced by Studio Idèfix with G. Dargaud, it is the third film in the series featuring the famous characters created by A. Uderzo. Besides having entertained millions of children and adults, it can also become a subject of sociological analysis.
Plot and themes
The story is set in ancient Rome, led by Julius Caesar, who, having fallen on hard times fighting a Gaulish village, begins to believe that they, thanks to a special potion prepared by the druid Panoramix, are truly invincible. So, to remedy this embarrassing situation for the Roman Empire, he decides to subject Asterix and Obelix, inhabitants of the small Gaulish village, to twelve arduous trials, reminiscent of the much more famous labors Hercules underwent in the well-known legend of ancient Greece.
The goal of the Asterix test
Specifically, the lens of sociology focuses on the eighth task the two protagonists must undertake, called "The House That Makes You Mad – Passport A-38 ." The objective of the task is to obtain Passport A-38 , a document that actually serves no purpose other than demonstrating one's ability to navigate the vast world of bureaucracy. Obtaining it demonstrates the correct functioning of the bureaucratic system, even though, in reality, the film shows that the real situation is exactly the opposite.
The palace of bureaucracy through which Asterix and Obelix venture is full of contradictions . It is depicted as a vast and meticulously organized place with floors, stairways, corridors, rooms, and counters, where a large number of employees work with very specific and specialized roles and tasks. To paraphrase the historicity of bureaucracy, the authors represent the palace and those who work there in different ways. Some characters are depicted in typical Roman-era clothing, while others wear twentieth-century attire, as if to indicate the historical and social path that bureaucracy has taken. The palace itself features some older and some more modern elements.
Bureaucracy for sociology
Max Weber, in his 1922 text "Economy and Society: Economics, Social Orders and Powers," defines the administrative apparatus as bureaucratic, typical for the exercise of legal power, that is, based on compliance with legal norms and rules, sometimes very rigid, whose origins are inextricably linked to the gradual development of society. The modern concept of bureaucracy arose around the 16th century when sovereigns, unable to directly manage all the territories in their possession, decided to entrust them to third-party officials, who were directly responsible to them.
What are, on a sociological level, the main characteristics of bureaucracy?
- Specialization of staff tasks and roles which in practice translates into specific skills that belong to each office or institution;
- the resulting hierarchical division of staff and the different levels of economic remuneration received by them;
- impersonal communications (both external and internal) that are written, recorded and archived;
- individual subjectivity reduced to a minimum;
- strict compliance with procedures.
Merton and Asterix: Passport A-38
Some authors have since delved into the potential dysfunctions of the bureaucratic apparatus. One such scholar was Robert Merton, who, in his 1959 text "Theory and Social Function ," analyzed the phenomenon of bureaucracy, arguing that it could lead to the "transposition of goals." With this term, Merton refers to the bureaucrat's tendency to adhere too diligently to certain rules, forgetting the real objectives, thus risking blocking the entire process.
At the end of “The House That Makes People Mad – Pass A-38” , after having almost gone mad due to his inability to obtain the desired document, Asterix develops a new strategy: to ask for “Pass A-39 ” (which does not exist). This throws the bureaucrats into confusion as they question the origin of this document, effectively creating a general uproar that mobilizes the entire palace in search of a solution, generating the chaos that allows Asterix and Obelix to obtain Pass A-38 from the prefect.
This last frame makes us reflect on another dysfunctional aspect of bureaucracy, namely the behavior of the bureaucrat , bound by the rules and procedures to be followed, risks not grasping the need to adapt to social change and consequently finding himself incapable of acting should unmet problems arise.
Often, the personal quest for the "A-38 pass" that every individual in society encounters obstacles created by the bureaucratic system itself, generating frustration and anger among users. Possible political solutions to the complexity of bureaucracy converge toward the progressive reduction of bureaucracy within society, wherever possible. This does not change the fact that the process of reducing bureaucracy itself often creates new bureaucracy. The solution? Create an "A-39 pass."
Andrea Zampieri
Bibliography
- Weber M.; “Economy and Society: The Economy, Social Orders and Powers,” Piccola Biblioteca Donzelli, Rome, 2019.
- Merton RK; “Theory and Social Function,” Il Mulino, Bologna, 2000.
