Sharon Tam Introduction to Philosophy Philosophy Paper #1 10/14/10 Since the time we are born, the media has

always been a powerful influence that has shaped the way we think and act. It has always dictated what is acceptable in society and has ordered what skills, awards and qualities constitute success. For example, cosmetic and diet advertisements peddle products that promise consumers a way to become a fresh faced and thin representations of societal beauty. This type of media dominance is symbolically represented in Platos Republic, in which Plato describes the allegory of the cave. More specifically, through a comparison with modern day media, Platos allegory symbolizes how individuals in our society are brainwashed into believing that they must adhere to a strict definition of success and that their reality is complete. Plato begins the allegory by describing a dark cave in which inhabitants have been chained into immobilization since birth. These cave dwellers are shrouded in darkness and are forced to stare at a stone wall onto which shadows of statues are cast upon. The statues are carried along a raised path by people who walk behind a large fire which casts the shadows upon the wall. These people talk as they bring selective statues over the raised path and through the shadow images, form a reality for the prisoners. As Plato describes, If the prisoners were able to talk with each other about these shadows, wouldnt they believe that they were discussing reality (Plato 258)? These inhabitants notion of reality is essentially formed by the voices of the people who bring the statues and are formed by the shadows that the statues cast.

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The media dictates how individuals should think and act in order to achieve societal definition of success. Similar to the modern television, the stone wall is a similar form of media that oppresses the cave inhabitants by dictating how they should think and act in order to reach their societal definition of success. For instance, the ability to see and remember the shadows quickly is seen as a trait that confers success. As Plato explains, lets suppose that the prisoners were in habit of conferring honors and awards on those who are the quickest in seeing, remembering and predicting the appearance of the shadows, in saying which came first and which came later and which appear together (Plato 259). In order to receive honors for this game, the inhabitants must pay close attention to the shadow sequences that show up on the wall and make sure their eyes are adjusted solely for darkness. The game that the inhabitants play ranks the inhabitants and provides a meaningless classification of success in the cave society. Were they to expose themselves to sunlight or divert their attention to anything else, they wouldnt be equipped enough to achieve success in shadow memorization competitions. As Plato supports, the inhabitants would have the mindset that if they were to expose themselves to a different environment It might take some time before [their] eyes adjusted, so if the prisoner[s] were holding a contest and [they] had to compete with them in measuring shadows while [their] eyesight was still weak, wouldnt [they] look stupid (Plato 260)? The prisoners would be in danger of losing rank and be deemed as unsuccessful in by their society. As a result, any inking of dissimilar thoughts about alternative realities and values is heavily resisted against and the voluntary prisoners live their lives based on what they see on the stone wall. Dissimilar viewpoints and thoughts pervade this cave world through individuals who have been freed from their chains, explored their cave surrounds and eventually escaped to the

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sunlight world above. These individuals have experienced a world that contradicts what they were taught in the cave culture. They have seen not only the fire and physical statues but also the actual items that the statues are modeled after. Their conception of reality has changed to the point where, people who learn to think this way are unwilling to be caught in everyday human affairs (Plato 260). They have begun to understand that their previous knowledge from the cave was flawed and incomplete. Those enlightened few would begin to reject their societys conception of success. As Plato questions, do you think he would seek such honors or envy those who won them? Or wouldnt he say with Homer that its better to be the poor servant of a poor master and endure anything, rather than think as they do and exist in their condition (Plato 259)? The enlightened individual no longer cares for the propaganda that the media feeds to society and threatens to disrupt the entire dynamic of the cave. However, this ambivalence towards achieving cave society success will eventually turn into concern for his fellow cave inhabitance. As an enlightened individual, remembers where he used to be, and what passes for wisdom in the cave among his companionshe would feel sorry for them and be happy about the change that has taken place in himself (Plato 259). As a result he will try to expose the higher truth about the world to his fellow peers and will be met with great resistance. When he returns to the cave his eyes will not be adjusted to the darkness and the voluntary prisoners would say that he went out of the cave and then re turned without his eyes, so it is foolish to even consider such a risk (Plato 260). The cave inhabitants would be against losing a quality that would help them achieve success in their society. In fact, Plato even mentions that If someone were caught trying to release the other prisoners and lead them up to the light, that person would probably be killed (Plato 260). Displaying how much, or rather how scared those inhabitants are of realizing that their conception of reality is incomplete and facing

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the truth that everything they have achieved is meaningless. As Plato supports, If a prisoner is force to look at the light, wont the pain in his eyes cause him to take refuge in the shadows, which hare easier to recognize than what is now shown to him (Plato 258). The pain of possibly losing meaning and certainty about their lives is a deep rooted fear within all inhabitants. People fear the unknown because it causes them to question what else is fake or not complete in their lives; it causes them to question their entire existence. It devalues the success that they have worked towards by societys definition and exposes that their lives may be incomplete. Those who are trying to enlighten their peers would be met with suspicion and would possibly be forced into law courts, or anywhere else, to dispute about the images of justice, or even the shadows of images of justice and meet the expectations of those who have never seen justice itself (Plato 261). However, only by learning to accept alternative views and knowledge can they achieve true success and fulfillment through enlightenment. They can realize how meaningless societal indication of success is and work towards bringing other people towards the same conclusions. Only then can society truly break free of the shackles that the media forces upon us and discover their own truths. Analogous to our modern society, advertisements on television and magazines now in days push limited views of success. We are, symbolically, the prisoners that are shackled to the medias viewpoints and societys conception of success. People become engrossed in this superficial world that the media portrays and end up never actually understanding their own truths. They only represent the public opinions of society and never venture to supplement their fragmented knowledge and blindly follow a path thats laid out for them instead of establishing their own. Until society realizes that they cannot truly be fulfilled by following the limitations

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that the media imposes, they will never achieve true success and discover personal truth. Ultimately, our society will never progress and become a republic worthy of good.

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Works Cited Plato, Platos Republic. Trans. Benjamin Jowett; rev. Albert A. Anderson. Millis, MA: Agora Publications, Inc.,2001. Print.