8/3/2019 Antz(Film Review)

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Antz: A View on a Perceived Utopian World

Being one of the smallest living things to walk on Earth, it is a wonder that somebody

made a movie out of the lives of ants. An insect walking on six legs, considered as part of

the social strata of the order Hymenoptera, ants lead a life wherein insignificance and

vital roles are played based on what kind of social status one was born in. On a much

larger scale, this kind of social biases had existed on the kind of community that we are

currently traversing in. Say, the Indian subcontinent had laid the foundation for social

hierarchy with their Caste system, the African countries also conduct another kind of

hierarchy called the apartheid wherein millions of Africans had sacrificed lives to

emancipate the future generation of Africans from discrimination.

A children's movie with an adult theme suited for the public. Generally, the movie gave

an idea and a perception as to the kind of social circle that one is in when not given the

chance to prove himself along the way. Antz is a story of individuality and making your

own name on a time where your world is run by the privileged.

As the story progress, Z, the protagonist, born as a worker ant, met the beautiful Princess

Bala and fell in love. Consumed with boredom as to the kind of monotonous routine that

he has, he switched with a soldier ant and he experienced the termite war where he

fortunately and solely survived. Being the hero, he was praised and was allowed to meet

the queen where he finds himself incidentally taking the princess away.

The two headed for Insectopia, a land outside of their safe colony. There they had their

adventure and met other insects. The storyline is great but it mainly talks about how one

simple ant could help and rescue an entire colony.

I guess, it would be expected of me to say that my favorite character is Princess Bala. Not

that, I don't admire Z and his daring move to be different but it's just that I find the act of

the Princess, the sheltered one and the one with a crucial role in the colony, as brave.

She takes on the challenge with Z.

Everyone has his/her own status and the roles that go with it, the challenge would be for

us to go out of our comfort zone and take on the world and experience greater things.

Utopia or a perfect world is a term subject to different perceptions. The ant colony and

how they lead their lives could be perfect for them but if we tackle out lives as humans

the way they do then things would be as different. we think, they don't, we act against

things that inhibit our path towards freedom, they don't. Racism, discrimination,

segregation and the likes don't fit well with the kind of rationality that we sentient beings

have.