A common theme is shared between Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” and the film The Matrix. Both show examples of humans living their lives with a veil of illusions pulled over their eyes – altering the way they perceive the world. They differ, however, in the way the real world actually is when that veil is lifted. In “Allegory,” once adjusted, the truth is that there is a big, beautiful world out there – a drastic change from the small, dark cave in which shadows were once thought to be everything in the world. A drastic change is shown in The Matrix as well, but on the opposite side of the spectrum. The real world is one of darkness and ruins, one where humans are kept as slaves. This is nothing like the world of 1999 that they came from. From experience and from observations, I find that The Matrix’s process of seeking truth is more accurate.
An example of such a process is shown in Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King.” In this play, a man is foretold by prophecy that he will come to kill his father and marry his mother. Hearing this prophecy, the man – Oedipus, runs away to another land to escape this fate. In doing so, he sets forth a chain of events that lead him to be king of this new land, even marrying the queen. Eventually, he comes to learn that his happy life as a king, with a wife and two children, is about to be shattered as he searches for the truth. He finds out that the man he killed on the way to this land was actually the king of the land – and also his father. He also learns that the queen – the woman that he’s married to and had two children with is actually his mother. As a result of this, all preconceptions of his life have been ruined. He could have continued living in ignorance, thinking that he was living a happy life as a king with two beautiful children – but his curiosity in the truth led him to a life of guilt, regret and despair.
Throughout history, there have been many examples of humans living in an illusion before realizing a harsh truth. One such example is the belief of geocentricity – the idea that our world is in the middle of the universe and that everything revolved around us. This belief came about when people used to stare into the skies. From their static point of view, it did indeed seem that everything in the skies - the stars, the sun and the moon, were moving around our world. A big catalyst for this belief was the Bible. In it, we were told that God first created our world, and then subsequently created everything around it. If that was the case, how could we not be in the center of the universe? It was not until science had advanced and we had the ability to study space did we learn that there are many, many other planets and stars around us. We are not even the center of our galaxy, let alone the universe. This comes as a harsh reality, as even though we once thought we were the most important thing in the universe, we are just a speck of dust in the vast universe.
This process is not only shown through texts and in history, but in our experiences as well. A belief that I think many people had when they were younger was that growing up would be a great thing. They wanted to be just like their idols or parents – which were almost like a superhero figure to them. They got to do more things, go to more places, and had much more freedom. The reality was, adults also had a lot more responsibilities. It was up to them to manage their own lives – to have a job, make money, and to keep track of that money. They have less free time and more stress. In fact, I think many adults wished they could be a kid again.
Time and again, we come across examples in which a veil of lies is revealed to be a harsh reality, whether through texts, in history, or even in our own experiences. This can be explained with two phrases. First, “we see what we want to see.” Sometimes, we come up with explanations for things we don’t understand. These explanations are usually either the most simplest explanation, or one that satisfies us the most. The second reason is that “ignorance is bliss.” What we don’t know can’t hurt us, and sometimes we even subconsciously disregard the truth so we can continue living in a world of bliss.
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