Shin Sekai Yori (15, 21, 24, 25)
In episode 15, we can see Squealer and his species worry about becoming extinct and therefore try to exploit the queen. They knew they were smart and believed that they deserve some power, yet the queen had so much and ruled over them unfavorably. I feel like this represents governments/powers throughout history: the government exploits or neglects its citizens and, therefore, the citizens retaliate, protest, etc. at the power's expense. The citizens come together to build power and make changes to the government/power. Squealer and his species worked together, forming a union, and tried to negotiate, yet they ended up trapping her and still exploit her for the benefit of the colony. This is similar to when the newly formed government reduces the power of the leader, making them instead a public figure (kind of like the president or prime minister). Then we see things like war prisoners, enslavement, imperialism/colonialism in episode 21, which we see in history during an overthrow of rule as well. In the last episode, the Squealer talks about how change is necessary, which I do think is true, but that the sacrifices would have been worth it if they had won, which I disagree with: in the end, people lost their lives. War and violence are the problem (I can see why Squealer thought they needed to resort to it, especially when they tried to propose equal rights, but to continually hurt the Queen and other species? That does not seem very moral). In the end, it is quite a morally grey area when you consider all things, though.
I think there is also commentary on patriarchy. The Robber Fly colony thinks that the queen's only job should be childbirth, while the "smart" ones should have the power. The queens are stuck inside (domestic duties, trapped in the house) while the men (I think) are free to roam and rule. This also reminds me of Japanese history. There were queens with power an extremely long time ago in Japan, like Queen Himiko, that people at first accepted as ruler; however, men soon believed they deserved the power, labeling women that ruled as evil (people believed that Queen Himiko had magical powers that she used for evil purposes as well), resulting in men ruling Japan. Then, they use violence, blaming the Goat Moths for shooting an arrow when they used violence first. This represents the common opinion that men often resort to violence more compared to women, like starting something as small as fights or as big as war.
Now, something that I find quite disturbing is how kids ended up having a child?! Like I think they are 14? Definitely an interesting plot by the storywriter - I wonder what the idea was behind that?
I think that overall, this anime is a commentary on power, whether its a ruler, and man and woman, magical powers, or the responsibility that comes with it.
I found your perspective on the notions of power in which this anime tackles was very nuanced, especially the connections you make to Japan's history and how you tackle the gender roles that have come with that established society. In particular the discussion of power dynamics and how the government handles that said power are powerful concepts that are tackled by this show, in particular with Squealer and his evolving colony of queerats, even at the expense of the Queen Queerat as you had previously stated. The historical pull of Queen Himiko was one I would never have even thought of and it frames this work in a much more fascinating context, with this eugenics based society drawing from real feudal Japanese societies in more ways than just visual.























