Us could almost be viewed as an alternative version of the allegory. Namely, what if the prisoner returned to the cave and all of the other prisoners wanted to follow him out? They saw other people living normal lives, making them angry. The tethered hold hands in the sun, leaving destruction in their wake. It's a somewhat pessimistic view of the cave allegory, but what if there were a story that looked on it more positively.
Enter The Lego Movie. Emmet discovers they were just being played with by a boy and his dad. The idea that there is something out there beyond our understanding is often framed as horrific. Movies like Us and The Matrix portray a group of people being subdued against their will while a dark truth remains hidden to most.
It can open whole new worlds and allow us to see existence from a different perspective. Emmet starts the movie with the belief he is the Special.
This is the prisoner who can only see shadows. The prisoner believes this is real. By the end, Emmet recognizes that everyone is the Special. His beliefs have been replaced by knowledge. Truman Burbank lives in a false reality where people film his life to be broadcast into millions of households. While The Truman Show is one of the most direct adaptations of the "Allegory of the Cave," many films, knowingly or not, utilize this idea. A character begins in a state of ignorance.
They must traverse out of this state into a field of knowledge. So for you screenwriters, consider this allegory of Plato's cave another tool in your belt you can call in when you need some help figuring out what your characters should do next.
Why do they want to escape their state of ignorance? There is a fire behind them, and between these prisoners and the fire, there is a low wall.
Rather like a shadow puppet play, objects are carried before the fire, from behind the low wall, casting shadows on the wall of the cave for the prisoners to see. Those carrying the objects may be talking, or making noises, or they may be silent. What might the prisoners make of these shadows, of the noises, when they can never turn their heads to see the objects or what is behind them?
Socrates and Glaucon agree that the prisoners would believe the shadows are making the sounds they hear. They imagine the prisoners playing games that include naming and identifying the shadows as objects — such as a book, for instance — when its corresponding shadow flickers against the cave wall. After suggesting that these prisoners are much like us — like all human beings — the narrative continues.
Socrates tells of one prisoner being unshackled and released, turning to see the low wall, the objects that cast the shadows, the source of the noises as well as the fire. This first stage of freedom is further enhanced as the former prisoner leaves the cave they must be forced, as they do not wish to leave that which they know , initially painfully blinded by the bright light of the sun. The liberated one stumbles around, looking firstly only at reflections of things, such as in the water, then at the flowers and trees themselves, and, eventually, at the sun.
They would feel as though they now have an even better understanding of the world. Yet, if this same person returned to the dimly lit cave, they would struggle to see what they previously took for granted as all that existed. They may no longer be any good at the game of guessing what the shadows were — because they are only pale imitations of actual objects in the world.
The other prisoners may pity them, thinking they have lost rather than gained knowledge. If this free individual tried to tell the other prisoners of what they had seen, would they be believed? Could they ever return to be like the others? The Allegory of the Cave. Plato realizes that the general run of humankind can think, and speak, etc.
In the allegory, Plato likens people untutored in the Theory of Forms to prisoners chained in a cave, unable to turn their heads. Plato claimed that knowledge gained through the senses is no more than opinion and that, in order to have real knowledge, we must gain it through philosophical reasoning.
Imagine a cave, in which there are three prisoners. They get free by being intellectual in their thoughts, when they want to understand the outside world, what the light is and how to get out of the cave. Plato is demonstrating that this master does not actually know any truth, and suggesting that it is ridiculous to admire someone like this. The Escape The escaped prisoner represents the Philosopher, who seeks knowledge outside of the cave and outside of the senses.
The Sun represents philosophical truth and knowledge His intellectual journey represents a philosophers journey when finding truth and wisdom The Return The other prisoners reaction to the escapee returning represents that people are scared of knowing philosophical truths and do not trust philosophers.
I before E except after C. It is weird. Lol Reply. OMG lol Reply. My mind is blown Reply. I like that! Could it be possible the cave is a metaphor for our daily lives some caves are nicer than others Reply. Pingback: Perception and Deception tyronewaitforitmagpantay. The Gininus Plato!! So true, we can only trust the one beyond our senses.
Outside of time and space. Do you mean GOD Reply. Love it!!! Yes this is the way I see it, it represents many different things, but ultimately knowledge. Wow its clear describes Reply. Ur an idiot, it says they were born there and never knew anything else Reply. George shut up! You sound just like the prisoners. Do You Really Want to Know? Perspectives: 30 Days to Life. Very insightful.
Thanks Reply. Pingback: Ancient Greek Philosophers - Top 5! Pingback: Soul Memo 2 Soul Memos. The self the witnesses the seas of human time,,,what does that mean Reply. Pingback: The Study of Philosophy - Philosophyzer. Pingback: Platos Theory of Forms. Pingback: The Myth of the Cave Analysis. Pingback: Aristotle's Four Causes. Pingback: Voltaire. I dont get what this book is suppposed to be about Reply. The truth will set you free … Reply.
Great post! Have nice day!
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