Allegory Of The Cave And The Truman Show

Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and Peter Weir’s The Truman Show deal with the idea of virtual reality and orchestrated living. If we were to look at the structure of the lives of the prisoners in Plato’s cave allegory versus that of Truman Burbank’s, it would appear like Truman is much freer than the prisoners. The prisoners live in a cave where the only natural light is the sunlight that enters the cave at the beginning of the long passageway. However, the light that reaches the prisoners is from a fire that is behind them and they cannot reach the sunlight because they are bound to their seats. A wall in front of them displays shadows that are created by their captors carrying objects in front of the fire. The prisoners think that the shadows

Most prominently, he uses the cave allegory for the premise of the movie. Christof, the director of the show within the movie, argues that the show is not fake, it is controlled. The lives the prisoners live can also be viewed similarly, since the shadows are technically real, yet completely controlled. The producers actively try to make sure he can’t leave the island, so while he isn’t physically bound to anything, it is still extremely hard for him to leave. Even the sun is fake on the island, just like the prisoners being kept from the sun. When Truman is faced with the decision to exit the island, he makes the decision to leave. In contrast, Plato believes that the prisoners must be forcibly dragged out of the cave so that they could become accustomed to looking at the real objects. Christof thinks that “Truman prefers his cell” and that “we accept the reality of the world with which we are presented,” but Truman proves him wrong. The movie also relates to the Judeo-Christian origin story, as Cristof’s role in Truman’s life is similar to that of God. Cristof is the creator of everything in Truman’s life, and Truman’s life is his creation. The dome, which separates the island from the rest of the world, is an object that is referenced in Genesis. The Capitalist consumer culture is brought up frequently in the movie. Truman buys two magazines every day and his wife randomly buys things and describes them in depth because Truman’s life itself must contain commercials so that the show can make money. Truman’s love life is tragic because his wife is just an actor that doesn’t even love him. He is forbidden from being with the woman he really likes because she is not who the show has chosen for him. These patterns all tie into the theme of the illusion of choice that Truman has. The things and people in his life have all been chosen for him by the