Plato's Allegory of the Cave — A Storyteller's Guide to Using Allegory

[Music] there have been many stories about characters discovering that reality isn't real at all this isn't real what is real but where did this idea come from hello someone there for that we have to go back over 2000 years to the famed philosopher plato why is this story still so captivating and what can we learn from it [Music] this is what is plato's allegory of the cave make sure you subscribe and enable notifications for more videos on literary techniques such as irony satire and foreshadowing now on to ancient greece how's it going the allegory of the cave is a selection from a larger work called the republic written about 375 bce by the greek philosopher plato it remains a seminal piece of writing with profound philosophical questions about the nature of human perception to illustrate these ideas plato uses an allegory which is a form of storytelling that uses symbolism to represent larger or complex ideas so what happens in plato's allegory of the cave it begins with a group of prisoners who have lived their entire lives in a cave they are chained to a wall unable to turn their heads so all they see is a wall onto which shadows are projected above and behind them is a fire that other men use to cast these shadows they hold up statues and figures of animals occasionally making noises like a puppet show in silhouette because this is all the prisoners have known the shadows are their perceived reality one of these prisoners is set free and turns to see the fire behind them the prisoner is told that the shadows were merely an illusion the brightness of the fire hurts his eyes as he struggles to perceive this new reality the prisoner is then dragged fully out of the cave and into the glaring sunlight once the prisoner's eyes have adjusted however he will slowly realize that this reality is far more real than the one he knew before instead of the mere shadow of a tree he sees an actual tree the prisoner then returns to share this enlightenment with his fellow prisoners but as he re-enters the cave he's effectively blind once again for his eyes are no longer accustomed to the darkness seeing his blindness his fellow prisoners assume that he has completely lost his mind they mock him by leaving the cave in the first place and vow to kill him if he tries to make them do the same there ends the story so what are we meant to take away from this allegory let's look at the various meanings and interpretations [Music] just like the matrix plato's allegory of the cave deals with big questions the quest for enlightenment remember all i'm offering is the truth nothing more the nature of reality how do you define real if you're talking about what you can feel what you can smell what you can taste and see then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain and overcoming those who would keep us in the dark as long as the matrix exists the human race will never be free in the cave allegory plato describes the journey from ignorance to enlightenment much like the process thomas anderson endures to become neo why am i sir you've never used them before as plato describes the journey upwards is the ascent of the soul into the intellectual world those who seek and attain this enlightenment would understand greater truths about our existence there is no spoon then you'll see that it is not the spoon that bends it is only yourself the knowledge neo attains becomes a great weapon against the machines plato argues that in order to create a utopian society we should be ruled by those who have seen the light rather than those who choose to see only the shadows i choose the matrix the matrix isn't real i disagree trinity i think the matrix can be more real than this world after he learns the truth neo reluctantly becomes this leader the one who will free the rest of us but where the matrix diverts from plato is in the ending those who neo liberates treat him as a savior not as a threat neil please i have a son jacob aboard the noses please watch over him i'll try but as an allegory that uses symbolism the meaning of those symbols is subjective in most interpretations the prisoners represent us the average person but who are the shadow makers and puppeteers in the matrix these are the machines and their representative agent smith but they might represent any authority or power structure listen to me there's no more truth out there than there is in the world i created for you they could be politicians whose aim is to keep us passive and ignorant there's 100 certainty of impact call it 70 and let's just let's move on but it's not even close to 70 you cannot go around saying to people that there's a hundred percent chance that they're gonna die they could be the media showing us images that we build our realities around [Music] they could be religious figures interpreting the divine for us our spirits live on in the whole of time exists in many vessels through time this is the vessel you're existing in now they could even be our parents imposing their own beliefs on us before we form them for ourselves that's my little scholar today honor student tomorrow u.n secretary general the ancestors would be so proud we're still studying the allegory of the cave because the questions plato asks are still relevant and for storytellers we get a perfect example of an allegory that can be interpreted in many ways let's look a little closer at what writers can take from plato's allegory [Music] whether you're working in theater film fiction or even video games there is a lot of inspiration for storytellers to find in plato's allegory all these people here are players we live in the real world you only exist here it's why you can never leave free city on a structural level the allegory of the cave is a concise illustration of a three-act structure following the imprisonment in act 1 the departure from the cave in act 2 and the eventual return in act 3 our protagonist is also given a complete character arc as they experience an event that changes their life and how they see the world but the most valuable lesson is how plato uses allegory to express rather complicated ideas with a simple plot and meaningful imagery just as the shadow of a tree merely suggests a real tree allegories use symbolic characters residents in tembisa rioted for the third consecutive night in an attempt to remove all the aliens from their township plots these are people you're about to no no no they're fly bitten savages that live in a tree [Music] an imagery to represent other things remember this as the last day of the republic films like the truman show room and us all take direct inspiration from plato's allegory of the cave but other films also use allegory as a vehicle for their own underlying messages advertising has us chasing cars and clothes working jobs we hate so we can buy we don't need snowpiercer uses the idea of train cars to represent the segregation and inequality between socio-economic classes curtis everyone has their pre-ordained position and everyone is in their place except you that's what people in the best place say to people in the worst place zootopia is an exploration of prejudice and stereotyping i mean it's not like a bunny could go savage right but a fox could huh nick stop it you're not like them oh there's a them now the lobster is a satiric commentary on conformity and social norms congratulations the course of your relationship will be monitored closely by our staff and by me personally if you encounter any problems any tensions any arguing that you cannot resolve yourselves you will be assigned children that usually helps a lot allegory is a powerful tool that storytellers have been using for millennia now it's your turn if you're brainstorming a plot with complex ideas or challenging subject matter go back and read plato's allegory of the cave and you might just see the light at the end of the tunnel make sure you subscribe and enable notifications to stay in the loop for more filmmaking videos see you in the next one everything you have seen is an illusion is this real why do you live in a cave [Music]

Channel: StudioBinder

Views: 270,910

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Id: xOULKUK07kU

Length: 10min 10sec (610 seconds)

Published: Mon May 16 2022