Assignment task:
After reading the Allegory of the Cave and giving thought to many of the ideas Plato raises in this work, read the following passage and develop your response in accordance with the instructions. Watch either the film, "The Matrix", (1999) or "The Truman Show", (1998) or the first season of the show "Westworld" (2016) Take notes regarding the thematic similarities and imagery that appear in the film. or show when compared to the ideas and themes that Plato raises in the Allegory of the Cave. For example, who is / are the prisoners, what are the shadows, how do these "images" shape and or impact the decisions and actions of the characters? After reviewing the film answer the following questions being careful to draw comparisons and contrasts between the concepts Plato raises and the depiction of similar items in the film you have selected: Are the prisoners in the allegory of the cave ready to be released? What of the prisoners in the film you examined? Why or why not, and if not what do you believe holds them back from actually wanting to be released, or what propels them forward toward a desire to be released? Quite often the American public either desires to, or appreciates living in a state of ignorance as it relates to various political and social topics (i.e. the existence of systemic racism, immigration reform, socio-economic disparities, state voting limitations, oppression and marginalization of groups, class warfare, etc.) - is it the obligation of those who are free from the "cave" to release the other prisoners? In other words, are those who have more objective information about political problems obligated to educate the masses? Is the best way to combat social and political inequities to "free prisoners" against their will?