The cartwheels represent how Japanese society works as a circular routine, which discourages individualism. Henceforth, all of the women and the babies look and behave the same. This is the final result of the indoctrination process.
The women's clapping acts as a symbol for the hive mind mentality which exists in today's society. Even though the women may have different opinions on how to behave when the child performs a cartwheel, society forces these women to act in an idealistic manner to appease Japanese men.
Furthermore, as the story progresses we observe how the baby, who was previously dropped by its mother, matures in its prepubescent life, it can be seen mimicking the actions of the child.
This illustrates how the influence of the preceding generations impacts the lives of the babies, who are effectively engineered to become working slaves for the capitalist society, with no means of opposition.
There are plenty of symbols and metaphors which are still being identified in this work of art.
However, due to the intricate subtleties of the animation, it has become an arduous challenge in deciphering the true meaning of this masterpiece, but we hope that one day all of humanity will be able to experience it in its true interpretation.
