When audiences first watched Planet of the Apes in 1968, many were struck by its shocking ending. But equally provocative was the society of apes itself—gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans arranged in a rigid hierarchy that looked uncomfortably familiar. Half a century later, the rebooted trilogy (Rise, Dawn, War) revisited this world, reshaping the apes into complex individuals rather than castes.
If you look closely, the world of the apes has an uncanny resemblance to the Indian caste system: each ape species is assigned a social role, with mobility limited and ideology used to justify hierarchy. Let’s unpack this comparison.
🦍 Gorillas: The Warriors and Enforcers
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In Ape Society: Gorillas serve as the soldiers, hunters, and enforcers. They embody brute strength, unquestioning loyalty, and, often, aggression.
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In Caste Terms: Their role parallels the Kshatriyas, the warrior and ruling class in traditional Hindu society. Just as Kshatriyas defended kingdoms and enforced order, gorillas maintained the dominance of apes through force.
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Modern Reboot: Koba and Buck reveal the gorillas’ complexity—bravery shaped by trauma, loyalty shaped by experience.
🐒 Chimpanzees: The Thinkers and Innovators
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In Ape Society: Chimpanzees are scientists, intellectuals, and, in Caesar’s case, revolutionary leaders. In the original films, Cornelius and Zira pursue knowledge despite political resistance.
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In Caste Terms: They resemble the Brahmins, traditionally the priestly and scholarly class. Curious, bookish, and often reformist, chimpanzees challenge entrenched dogma, just as reformist Brahmins sometimes pushed against orthodoxy.
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Modern Reboot: Caesar becomes a moral and political leader—a Brahmin who takes on the role of king.
🦧 Orangutans: The Guardians of Tradition
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In Ape Society: Orangutans serve as politicians, judges, and religious authorities. Dr. Zaius, both scientist and “Defender of the Faith,” embodies the fusion of knowledge and orthodoxy.
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In Caste Terms: They echo the Brahmins as religious gatekeepers or even the political elites who uphold orthodoxy to preserve their authority. Where chimpanzees seek discovery, orangutans impose dogma.
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Modern Reboot: Maurice breaks from this mold, becoming Caesar’s gentle, thoughtful advisor—more a guru than an enforcer of doctrine.
👥 Humans: The Silent Shudras
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In Ape Society: In the original films, humans are mute, primitive, and treated as slaves—denied voice and dignity. They resemble the Shudras and Dalits of caste society: relegated to labor, stripped of agency, often dehumanized by those above them.
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In the Reboot: The tables turn—humans begin as rulers but decline after the Simian Flu. Their fall raises the uncomfortable reminder that power is fragile and cyclical.
🪞 What the Apes Teach Us About Caste
Both versions of Planet of the Apes use animals to hold up a mirror to humanity. The original series depicts a rigid caste-like society where your biology fixes your destiny—gorillas fight, chimps think, orangutans rule. The reboot softens this rigidity, showing individuals breaking free of their species’ “assigned” roles, but the tension between tradition and reform, power and subjugation, remains.
The comparison to India’s caste system isn’t accidental:
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Hereditary roles: Both caste and ape society lock groups into professions.
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Religious justification: Orangutans use faith and science to uphold inequality, just as caste hierarchies were justified through scripture.
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Resistance from within: Just as reformers challenged caste boundaries, chimps like Caesar and Zira challenge orangutan orthodoxy.
🌍 Why It Still Resonates
The Planet of the Apes franchise endures because it’s not just about apes—it’s about us. By showing a world where apes replicate human caste divisions, it asks us to confront our own hierarchies. Are our social roles truly natural, or are they systems we construct to maintain power? And, more importantly, can we imagine a world where such barriers dissolve?
Caesar’s journey suggests that even in a world built on caste, individuals can rise above biology and tradition. The challenge is whether we humans can do the same.
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