Level 16 focuses heavily on the oppression of young girls in an authoritarian setting, which some viewers may see as an allegory for misogynistic societies. Characterization largely revolves around gender and victimhood, but the main characters are given enough development to maintain narrative drama. The social critique, however, occasionally overshadows organic character growth.

Traditional institutions (family, trust in authority, older women as caretakers) are depicted as sources of danger or deception. While religion isn't a focus, traditional gender roles and the idea of innocence are thoroughly interrogated and subverted, which could be seen as undermining cultural foundations.

Virtually all authority figures are portrayed as corrupt or predatory, and dissenters are cast as heroic. The film presents a single worldview: authority equals oppression. There is little room for complexity or sympathetic alternative perspectives, which makes the ideological climate feel quite one-sided.