The Allegory of the Cave

Is ignorance bliss? Plato seems to argue against ignorance in his writings, but with a cautionary tone. Two relatively recent movies entertain Plato's allegory, concerning acceptance of a comfortable illusion versus the knowledge of a disturbing truth.

The Wachowski Brother's The Matrix is loaded with references to Plato's juxtaposing themes. Whether or not Ancient Greek philosophy was the primary inspiration was put to rest by Matrix producer Joel Silver. After Larry and Andy Wachowski screened the Japanese anime film Ghost in the Shell for Silver, they told him they wanted to make that film with live actors[1,2].
Ironic to their message of anti-materialism, both have spawned a mini-industry of sequels and spin-offs.

Variations of The Cave:

• Simulacra and Simulation by the French Philosopher Jean Baudrillard. In the movie, the book is used as a hiding place for Keanu Reeves' illegal disks .
  
• Psychoanalyst and theorist Bracha L. Ettinger's "Matrix" notebooks from the 1980s and her Matrixial theory from the 1990s. The image at the beginning of this post is one of her paintings.

What does it mean?

The cave is the world.

The chains are our imagination

The shadows represent our knowledge.

Individual education can save you; each of us has the ability to think beyond the limits.

Think for yourself; question authority.



References

1. ^ Joel Silver, interviewed in "Scrolls to Screen: A Brief History of Anime" featurette on The Animatrix DVD.
2. ^ Joel Silver, interviewed in "Making The Matrix" featurette on The Matrix DVD.