Greek philosopher Plato’s most famous work, The Republic, commonly known as book VII, presented what came forth as “the allegory of the cave.” Plato wrote “Men live in illusion.” (Plato). “Was anything real?”(Nicol). This is a quote that directly came from The Truman Show, which was published in 1998. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, is a story that describes how prisoners would mistake appearance for reality. The Truman Show is a movie centered around a reality television show of a man that is living a so called “fake” life. If The Truman Show presents a present-day interpretation of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, then maybe there are numerous ways in which these works can be compared and contrasted.
According to Plato, the human race can speak and think without even knowing what reality truly is. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave was written centuries ago. This Allegory takes place in a cave where some prisoners have been chained up since their childhood. These prisoners are facing towards a wall and behind them, stands a big fire and people walk by with objects, which casts shadows that the prisoners see and interpret as reality. When one of the prisoners finally breaks free and discovers “reality” is something completely different then him and the other prisoners were use to, he finds it nearly impossible to tell the other prisoners. The other prisoners are so blinded by what their image of reality is and are extremely close minded. According to Plato’s Allegory, general terms or our everyday language, are simply things that we can only grasp with our mind. The Truman Show, is a movie about a man, named Truman, who is living a fake life, and this movie was written by Andrew Niccol. The place Truman lives is actually a ...
... middle of paper ...
...whereas The Truman Show was essentially a movie about a man whom lived the ideal impeccable lifestyle, he was just blinded to the real world. In conclusion, these works have many parallels and are immensely similar, yet also different.
Works Cited
Sparknotes Editors, . N.p.. Web. 16 Nov 2013. .
Wineapple, Brenda. N.p.. Web. 16 Nov 2013. .l-hawthorne’s->.
n. page. .
.
.
The Allegory of the Cave has many parallels with The Truman Show. Initially, Truman is trapped in his own “cave”; a film set or fictional island known as Seahaven. Truman’s journey or ascension into the real world and into knowledge is similar to that of Plato’s cave dweller. In this paper, I will discuss these similarities along with the very intent of both of these works whose purpose is for us to question our own reality.
There are many arguments about what will happen in the future of our world. Will there be flying cars and robots? Will it be a healthy, happy world or will it be a dark and gloomy world? In the societies of The Giver and The Truman Show, they are the “new and improved” utopias of someone else. Not everyone likes what the other person likes and in these societies the main characters have problems on their own trying to figure out what they should do. The Giver is about 12 year old boy named Jonas who lives in a strict environment and becomes the new Receiver of memory and faces the lies that has been hidden away from all the people. The Truman Show which is a movie that is about a 34-year-old man who has been watched from everybody ever since he was in his mother’s womb. Truman later realizes this and puts a stop to the whole show. Between The Giver and The Truman Show there are many similarities and differences that can be found.
Foremost, the similarities between “The Myth of the Cave” and “The Truman Show” would be that both bodies of work are showing that you have a person or people that have been put into a controlled environment from either birth or a very early age. The environments in which they are contained in for the entirety of their lives making them believe that their surrounding environments are all that they believe exists of their worlds, and they are taught that nothing outside of their world is better than what they currently are living in. Some differences between the bodies of work will be that in Plato’s writing the people are kept in a cave and they are shackled at the neck and the feet to keep them from being able to stray
One of the major differences between the film and the novel is the depiction of the delusional image of reality. However, it still manages to bring forth the dystopian image of both their Utopian societies. In The Truman Show, life is a real life play in an environment that provides comfortable lifestyle and happiness at the cost of reality. The producer of The Truman Show, Christof states, “We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented”. This message is the underlying theme in the story and as such, will foreshadow Truman’s acceptance of a delusional reality in the film. Meanwhile, in the film everyone except for Truman is acting and not living an authentic life. There is no sense of “real”; no real affinity, no secrecy, and no faith, all of which Truman is blindly unawar...
The Truman Show closely parallels Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Initially, Truman is trapped in his own 'cave'; a film set or fictional island known as Seahaven. Truman?s journey or ascension into the real world and into knowledge is similar to that of Plato?s cave dweller.
An allegory is a kind of a story in which the things that are happening are compared to something else that is similar and unstated.”The Matrix”, dated back to 1999, is a film by the Wachowski brothers that adapts a number of new and olden philosophies about the truth behind reality. However the most important part to the framework of the movie is adapted from the Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. These two films tend to reveal the truth on the ongoing question about what reality is and the question whether we are living in the real world or an illusion of the world? In the Matrix, Neo, the main character is held in a false sense of reality created by machine software while in the Plato’s Allegory of the Cave; a slave is used as the main character and is presented as being able to comprehend the reality of the cave both inside and outside.
Another way they differ is there setting .The truman show had more of an old fashion town vibe and the giver had a more futuristic black and white pale vibe.Also the truman show, in there town they had feelings and more freedom while in the community they have very strict rules and no feelings and less freedom.They can relate when it comes to some rules and they both also can't choose who they live with or get married with.It seems if both of there lives are being controlled
In Book VII of The Republic, Plato tells a story entitled "The Allegory Of The Cave." He begins the story by describing a dark underground cave where a group of people are sitting in one long row with their backs to the cave's entrance. Chained to their chairs from an early age, all the humans can see is the distant cave wall in from of them. Their view of reality is soley based upon this limited view of the cave which but is a poor copy of the real world.
The Truman Show and “The Allegory of the Cave” are both examples of what people see, is the only reality they know. In Plato's allegory, it tells a story about prisoners. They are all chained up facing a cave wall. There is a fire behind them that causes shadows. Since these people have never been outside the cave, they believe that this is their reality. The cave also doubled as a pathway. Animals and people would pass by every day. The fire projected the shadows of the people and animals onto the cave wall. The prisoners actually believed that the shadows were real. One day one of the prisoners was freed from the cave. They were able to see the world around them for what it really was. Confused and amazed the freed prisoner came back to untie
The Cave Allegory was Plato’s attempt to compare what he called “the effect of education and the lack of it on our nature”. Plato had another Greek philosopher by the name of Socrates describe a group of people who lived
Plato's Allegory of a Cave is a story about prisoners that are chained underground, who can not see anything except for shadows caste on a wall by a fire. The only thing that these prisoners can see is the shadows of people. Eventually, one of the prisoners breaks free of the chain and ventures out into the real world. In the real world the freed prisoner discovers that the shadows in the cave are created from light diverge off people. He recognizes there is a whole new world filled with light. The freed prisoner is very confused and blinded by the light so he decides to return to the cave. When the prisoner returns to the cave, he shares what he saw in the real world with the other prisoners. The remaining prisoners treat the freed prisoner like he is crazy and they tell the freed prisoner that the real world does not exist. The prisoners in the cave do not believe in the real world because the cave is all that they know exists.
The Truman Show directed by Peter Weir, is about Truman Burbank who is a simple man, living a predictable and ideal life in a world that revolves around him. He was an unwanted baby who was legally adopted by a television corporation. Ever since he was born his every move has been monitored by thousands of cameras and analyzed by an audience without his knowledge. His life is on display for millions of people around the world to watch 24 hours a day. He is the star of a reality TV show, The Truman Show. There’s just one thing, he is completely oblivious to it. Truman also believes that his friends, coworkers, strangers, and loved ones are who they say they are; however, they are just all actors hired by the creator of the TV show Christof, who uses these actors to control Truman’s life and prevent him from figuring out the dishonesty of a “real life.” As he
“The Truman Show” directed by Peter Weir is a movie depicting Truman Burbank, the main character, played by Jim Carrey who does not realize his every move from birth is being captured by hidden cameras as part of a 24/7 television show. Christof, the creator of the show, literally controls Truman’s world and mind which essentially has given him a false sense of reality. “The Truman Show” is a creation myth. “Creation myths are stories about the creation or re-creation of the cosmos, the world, the gods, and man.” (Dr. Gill, Canvas) It will now be explained how “The Truman Show” resembles a creation myth.
This is the case for both Plato’s Allegory of The Cave and The Truman Show. Both characters are kept from the real world and their thinking is influenced by their surroundings, which can trick them into believing something else. This is where the acceptance of reality comes in. The characters are brought up to believe whatever someone else makes them believe, and they are unexposed to the real world. The Truman Show and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave have more similarities than differences. The similarities are the characters and symbols, and the difference between the two is the setting. Both characters are trapped inside a “fake reality”, which of what they perceive to be real. Another similarity is the symbols that are present throughout both pieces. The symbol for Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is the chains that hold the prisoners inside the cave, and in The Truman Show its Truman’s fear of water. The one difference that sets these two stories apart is
Thus, when he saw a light fall from the sky and he heard the director’s voice on the radio, Truman began to become suspicious. He remembered Lauren, an actress who had told him that it was just a TV show and so, he went to find her. He travelled across the sea, talked to Christof and then climbed a flight of stairs in the sky, escaping into the outside world. Unbeknownst to him, Truman Burbank's whole life has been the subject of a hugely popular 24-hour-per-day television show entitled “The Truman Show” (Propagandee, 2012).