Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Three Video Comparison


               Is an Allegory presented by Plato in his book "The Republic", in order to compare "the effect of education and the lack of it on our nature". After watching these three videos, I concluded that each one represents Plato's "Allegory Of the Cave" in a different way:
ü  Physically, depending in the way each cave is arranged and described.
ü  Mentally, according to the message each one wanted to transmit.
               First of all, in Video 1, the cave has a form of  a normal room (flat and symmetric walls)  and the only way to get out, is using the stairs that are located just below the fire where is the puppeteer. However, according to Video 2 and 3, the cave has the form of a real cave (rough, with half oval shape, etc.); furthermore, there are no stairs, instead there is a ramp which is located next to the fire, and not below as in Video 1.
               Then, at the end of Video 1, there is a message that says: "It is the task of the enlightened not only to ascend to learning and to see the good, but welling to descend to those prisoners and to share their troubles and their honors, whether they are worth having or not". I consider this the best explanation of Plato's Allegory of the Cave; however it's not mentioned, but we can infer the same from Video 2 and 3. moreover, video 2, makes a comparison between Plato's Allegory and TV (nowadays). Puppeteers resemble to MMC (Mass Media Communication, specifically TV) because both of them shape and mold our minds into thinking a certain way, and believing nothing else than what we are told.
               I consider Video 2 as the hardest to understand because it requires a lot of imagination from the viewer, as there is not an actual image of the cave (there are just photos that kind of represent the same). For example, when they are explaining you how shadows are projected into the wall, it appeared a picture of three children who were watching TV.   
               Finally, I would definitely use Video 1 because it's an animation (which is actually more interactive); moreover, you can see what is happening in the cave, as you follow the conversation. However, even that the other two videos are really well done, I would prefer to use an animation as I already mentioned, instead of images that represent what Plato said in his book "The Republic".  

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