Nepomuceno, Adrien Joshua Gandia November 9, 2017

STEM 1113 Ms. Hyacinth Angat

The animated film “Antz” highlights many sociological structures and concepts in an ant colony. It is
not only for entertainment but also it has a deeper meaning that is yet to be seen if we further understand more
about its concept. The film is about a story of an ant colony in a park. The ants in the movie possesses many
qualities which are similar or the same as humans. The ant colony in the film serves as a country or state. Every
country has their own traditions and cultures so does the ant colony. The ants in the film are working together
for the future of their colony, just like how humans all try to work themselves to reach a specific or common
goal. The ant colony represents the state which have many social classes. The population of the colony are
millions so in order to govern all the activities, administrators, leaders and kings are needed to administer all the
activities and put everything under control.

Throughout the film there are many social study themes and ideas from various philosophers like Plato.
In the animated film “Antz”, the ant colony has social classes which have a specific role in their ant colony. All
ants are well-divided into sections doing different kind of works: the workers dig the tunnel to expand their
territory and the soldiers go to the battlefield and fight the evil termites. Just like in Plato’s Ideal Society, each
human have a specific position of each class in the society. Plato also stated that the members of the society
have their respective natures and positions which clearly displayed in the film. The well-known class
distinctions of soldier, worker, military general, elite princess and queen can be easily translated into Plato’s
Ideal Society. As per the movie, there’s a system of consistent patterns of recruitments on being a soldier or
being a worker which Plato didn’t agreed to because social positions are merited and not inherited. There’s a
hierarchy among the high ranks to govern the whole ant colony in order to prevent the society to fall. The queen
of the ants which is the supreme ruler, the general of the soldiers which dictates and controls all the activities in
the colony, and a colonel which controls the army. The main protagonist in the film belongs to the worker class
which he is not sure if he truly belongs in that class. He wants to make his own decisions for his life and not
follow social orders anymore. He challenges himself by trying to move out of his ascribed status as a worker.
He wants to find his true purpose in living, so he move out of his class and began seeking “insectopia” because
for him it is the true freedom, it is the perfect place for an ant that belongs to a lower class, an ant that is
insignificant and meaningless compared to the millions of ants that lives in the colony. To satisfy his need for
individual significance and self-fulfillment despite the successful function of the worker class, he asks himself
on what’s his true purpose. The fantasy of “insectopia” parallels our own desire for happiness by attaining the
life on our own dreams. The main protagonist suddenly switched classes with his soldier friend that belongs to
an upper class in order to meet the princess in the highest class. This completely shows that a being in a lower
class doesn’t have the right to go into the higher ranks. The form of government in the colony is a dictatorship
because the general of the ants dictates all the activities. The dictator doesn’t matter the life of an individual but
he prioritizes the life of the whole colony. Meanwhile the protagonist believes that every individual is important.
An individual plays an important role in the society, and the society also has a vital role towards individuals.
Just like in the real world, people don’t just form governments for no reasons, they choose to form governments
for reasons of security and because they want order and peace. As the movie progresses the form of government
was changed from dictatorship to democratic type of government. We humans are capable to be on top of any
situation, if united. The movie shows us that without the change in society, there will be no progress and
evolution.

Just like in the movie, we are not limited on the class that we belong, if we have the will and
determination to step up for the society we may able to change it for the better. According to Plato’s Ideal
Society, the society is divided into different classes that have their respective roles but if we demand change we
need to work together, help each other to grow and prosper, and trust each other for the betterment of the
country or the colony rather.