Allegory of the Cave Essay 7

on television. Plato's theory is relevant here, as he states that someone who has only seen shadows will be unable to perceive reality when presented with it. The shadows that the television casts deceive and manipulate viewers into believing falsehoods.

The protagonist discovered that the world is an illusion, as everything considered true was a ploy. Plato's analogy of marionette players and their screen, used to describe the media, remains relevant today: "like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets" (Plato 1). The comparison between prisoners in a cave and news channels shows how news reports manipulate their audience like marionette players. Reporters are portrayed as puppeteers presenting fabricated stories to viewers on the television screen - synonymous with the one used by marionette players.

The media's ability to deceive and ignore is exemplified in the news story of the water and canoe. We rely on them for information about the world, but it's unfair that we blindly trust without knowing the truth. Those who use media to deceive know they cause harm but continue lying, perverting, and vilifying for personal gain. As Swinton (1) stated: "The journalist's business is to destroy the truth; to lie outright; to pervert; to vilify; [...] sell his country and his race for his daily bread." These journalists prioritize financial gain over truth.

The media industry's aim is to control us and make us believe falsehoods in order to gain reliability. Our susceptibility to manipulation by the media's sophisticated technology makes it dangerous to trust our senses: "the prison house is the world of sight" (Plato 2). The "world of sight"

includes everything we see and can interpret, making it easy for the media to convince us of things untrue yet seemingly real. Our eyes become a prison, perceiving the lies shown to us by the media.

Plato's concepts go beyond reality and cover various aspects of it. He questions the validity of what we perceive in our everyday lives by stating that "how could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads" (Plato 1). These shadows symbolize the lies spread by the media, which are difficult to avoid due to their widespread influence. As we succumb to their persuasion, humanity's vulnerability becomes more evident, putting our survival at risk. The media exploits our greed and desire for material possessions through advertisements, exacerbating their ability to manipulate us. Our inability to resist their power demonstrates how all-encompassing it is: "the 'media' seems to be invisible, anonymous, everywhere and all-powerful—saturating us, and, at the same time, completely beyond us" (Esdale 1).

The media, although ahead of us, has a crucial role in shaping our future. The impact of realizing that our beliefs about global events were false can be profound. Plato's quote, "will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now shown to him" (Plato 1), captures how we initially react to deception and lies. Instead of accepting newly revealed truths, we tend to believe in what we previously accepted as reality. As Plato observed, "When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called

realities" (Plato 1). Although this light represents truth, our manipulated eyes cannot comprehend it. These insights by Plato remain relevant across many aspects of human experience today.

The role of media cannot be underestimated as it has the ability to shape our perceptions and beliefs. Even if we fail to distinguish reality from fiction, media can still persuade and manipulate us through various mediums such as television. This influence of media is increasingly impacting human life. It is important for us to question and speak up against it, lest the power behind the lens takes over. (Source: Esdale, Logan)

The article "Living Under Media Influence" by Mark Finkelstein was published on June 15, 2000 and can be found at http://epc.buffalo.edu/ezines/rust/1/lumi.html.According to a report by John Swinton on NewsBusters, 'Today' has been charged with arranging a video performance and has ironically fallen into their own trap. The article was released on October 14th, 2005 and can be found at http://newsbusters.org/node/2199.The article titled "Media Blacks Out the Facts or 'We are intellectual prostitutes'" was published in Heall in 1995 and can be found at http://www.heall.com/medicalfreedom/mediablackout.The HTML tag is open and has not been closed.