The Matrix (2003), the film on which The Animatrix is based, is a notable example of the use of allegory. In the film, the protagonist discovers the world he is living in is nothing more than a simulated reality, controlled by a society of sentient machines. This simulation is used by the machines to pacify the humans and divert their attention away from the fact that their bodies are being used to provide a steady source of energy. The film uses the concept of the Matrix as a political allegory for the ways in which society can be controlled and manipulated by those in power.

Due to its ability to engage viewers on multiple levels, the use of allegory carried over to the medium of animation and has been used to great effect. In Animal Farm (1954), an animation based on the famous book of the same name by George Orwell, the story is seen as an allegory for the rise of Stalinism and the subsequent Russian Revolution. The narrative follows a group of animals on a farm who rise up and succeed in overthrowing their human farmer. They establish a new social system run by animals, the pigs taking on the role of leaders. In the early stages of this new society, it is a place of equality, where all animals are treated as equals and share in the work and the rewards. However, as time passes the pigs begin to take more and more power for themselves. They slowly manipulate the rest of the animals and establish new sets of rules to suit their own interests, eventually becoming indistinguishable from the humans they had overthrown. The allegory in Animal Farm is a commentary on the dangers of revolution and the corrupting influence of power. The pigs, who represent the leaders of the Russian Revolution and the Stalinist regime, begin with good intentions but become corrupt and tyrannical over time. The other animals, who represent the working classes, are tricked into supporting the pigs and are, in the end, worse off for it. The use of allegory in Animal Farm allowed the author to comment on the events of the Russian Revolution and the Stalinist regime in a subtle and nuanced way, while still delivering a powerful message about the dangers of totalitarianism.

Another effective use of allegory in animation can be seen in The Iron Giant (1999) which has been interpreted as an allegory for the Cold War and the fear of nuclear weapons (Blackford, 2017). The story revolves around a young boy who befriends a giant robot that falls from space. The robot, the eponymous Iron Giant, represents a new danger, the destructive power of nuclear weapons, and the young boy is seen as a substitute for the youth of the time and their fear of the looming threat of global annihilation that was ever present during the Cold War. Over the course of the film, the Iron Giant grapples with his own purpose and identity before ultimately, due to his friendship with the boy, he chooses to sacrifice himself to save others from a military strike. This friendship serves as an allegory for the relationships between nations during the Cold War, and the importance of finding ways to coexist peacefully rather than resorting to violence. Through the use of the allegorical themes present in The Iron Giant, the director provides a commentary on the dangers of technology, the need to use new and potentially destructive technologies responsibly, and the importance of avoiding violence through cooperation and peaceful coexistence.

It is clear from these examples that allegorising historical and political events and abstract concepts helps to create a more interesting and engaging narrative, it invites the viewer to discover further meaning beyond just the surface themes. This essay will now examine whether or not the same can be said of The Second Renaissance: Part One.

The Second Renaissance: Part One is set in a not-too-distant future. The audience sees an advanced society where more of the menial labour, everything from bartending to construction, is carried out by robotic workers. It is shown that these robots are not mindless automatons, not only are they sentient, they are sapient. This is shown through the trial of a robot accused of killing its owner, the first to ever do so, after the owner tried to deactivate it. The robot puts forward a plea of self-defence stating that it "simply did not wish to die". It is during this trial that the audience is presented with the first, and perhaps most important, historical and political allegory, echoing the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dred Scot v. Sandford (1857). This ruling held that people of black African descent were not American citizens and therefore were not protected by the U.S. Constitution. A section of the ruling by then Chief Justice Roger Taney stated:

This section is paraphrased by the prosecution in the robot's trial and results in a similar ruling to that of 1857, machines are not entitled to the same rights as humans. In the same manner that the decision in Dred Scot v. Sandford was a crucial factor in the beginnings of the American Civil War (Sullivan, 2015), this ruling was responsible for the global civil unrest and more that the audience observes throughout the rest of the film.

This civil unrest is presented to the audience as snippets of news broadcasts, many of which offer direct historical allegories to real-world events. Initially, there are widespread protests by robots and human supporters [Fig. 1.1, 1.2] which mirrors both Martin Luther King's March on Washington in 1963 [Fig. 1.3] and the Million Man March in 1995 [Fig. 1.4] and their themes of inequality, injustice and the struggle for civil rights protections.

These, originally peaceful, protests are then met by brutal government crackdowns [Fig. 2.1, 2.2] which call to mind the Kent State shootings of 1970 [Fig. 2.3] where a peace rally was met with violent opposition by the United States National Guard resulting in four deaths. As the worldwide crackdown continues the audience glimpses shots reminiscent of Jeff Widener's Tank Man (1989) photograph [Fig. 3.1, 3.2] which illustrates the Chinese government's brutal response to the Tiananmen Square protests and Eddie Adams's photograph Saigon Execution (1968) showing the summary public execution of Nguyễn Văn Lém, an officer in the Vietcong [Fig. 4.1, 4.2], both of which have heavy themes of abuse of power and violent oppression (The Second Renaissance Featurette 2003). As is seen all too frequently in the real world tyrannical government can bring out the worst aspects of humanity, a theme which repeats toward the end of The Second Renaissance, where scenes of mass murder of the machine population are shown [Fig. 5.1] with robot bodies being unceremoniously dumped into mass grave pits; here the audience is reminded of the horrors of the Holocaust and the images captured by soldiers liberating the concentration camps [Fig. 5.2]. The survivors of these mass purges flee and find refuge in the harsh deserts of the Middle East where for a time they prosper and build a large industrial base, eventually outgrowing the other world economies. The film finishes out with the human government fearful of the machine's newfound power, issuing a military blockade of the fledgling machine nation [Fig. 6.1] evocative of the American Naval blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 [Fig. 6.2].

With the above in mind, it is evident that there are several familiar historical, political and moral allegorical themes present in The Second Renaissance, namely slavery, the right to self-determination, equality, tyranny, oppression and human cruelty. Indeed the whole narrative of The Second Renaissance is structured around an amalgamation of real-world events used as a framework. However, to paraphrase Fredric Jameson in his book Signatures of the Visible (1992) it is necessary to understand why adding deeper meanings to a film shouldn't only be dismissed as a simplistic tool to appear profound but instead improves the narrative. In the film allegory is layered for the most part through the use of imagery, in fact, the director Mahiro Maeda explicitly states that this is his goal in an interview in The Second Renaissance Featurette (2003), "I wanted to tap into the audience's memory by using imagery that is vaguely familiar, to have them reflect on the cruelty and violence that human beings inflict on each other". It is through this use of allegorical imagery that the narrative present is elevated beyond the generic trope of a robot uprising often present in science fiction animation and rather holds up a mirror of humanity's own struggles against oppression and barbarity and its ongoing struggle for equality. In the end, the audience sees that it is not just the machines that they are rooting for throughout the film but themselves as well.