Plato's Republic

           In Plato's Republic, Plato manifests his belief of truth and morality, a state of absolute reality. Therefore, Plato makes a crucial point of his disapproval in "imitation" and "mimesis." Plato exhorts his desire and hope for a Utopian society through his writing as he seeks his ideal Utopia to be ruled by a select few--a select few being, philosophers and teachers. Plato gives an example of such philosopher kings in the Allegory of the Cave, as he refers philosopher kings to be the characters who manually choose to escape the cave and experience the reality of life to its fullest degree. Philosopher kings are, therefore, more experienced and capable of leading a society having seen and lived by the truth of reality rather than an imitation. However, in the end, philosophers are but humans who have limitations in attaining knowledge and answers. Who are the teachers of such magnificent philosophers? Where then do the teachers fit in Plato's Utopian society? One of the greatest fallacies in Plato's ideal society is his ignorance to the fact that there is no limit to how much a human can learn. Every generation offers a new idea and thought-provoking insight to the world in which we live in. Hence, how can a selected group of philosopher kings grasp teachings that are beyond their time? Who selects the "selected few?" Has Plato mistaken philosopher kings as gods?

          These excerpts from the movie AntZ (1998) directed by Eric Darnell offer a glimpse of Plato's perspective on a Utopian society. The first clip reveals the epitome of Plato's fear:

Insectopia is what was thought to be an imagined place, where a government or hierarchy of any sort is nonexistent. The characters, Z and Princess Bala experience a world of absolute freedom that allow not only the characters but also the audience's imagination to flourish within its perimeters. Examples such as the use of a powder donut to represent a snow mountain, and a worm racing through a rotting apple as an insect-size roller coaster, ignite the imagination. This process allows the audience to experience child-like pleasures, which is exactly what Plato feared. Such a society and state-of-mind defeats the purpose of Plato's principle of specialization, where every being is born with a purpose in their lives. The principle of specialization separates society into three classes: the class of producers, the class of warriors, and the class of rulers. This concept is seen in the following clip: 

Darnell portrays the exact manifestation of Plato's ideal world through ants that are born with a purpose set for them on the day they are born. In Plato's society, every being has a place where they belong without being given a choice. Anything beyond its perimeters is discouraged just as the ant that was taken away for speaking about a "better place," Insectopia. Perhaps Darnell studied Plato and his philosophy before directing AntZ. 

Perhaps.