There are many different ways to express an opinion or getting the point across to your audience. Two of the most notable channels are through pieces of literature or film. Many brilliant philosophers have long foreshadowed some of the issues we face in our modern-day society in ancient literature. A few of these old pieces of literature could even date back way before our times, some twenty-five hundred years ago. One of the most prominent among them all is Plato. He is an ancient Greek Philosopher who made fame for his masterpiece of literature, The Republic. Within that literature, there is a story excerpt called The Allegory of the Cave. It perfectly illustrated the importance of preserving a critical mindset and developing a personal perception of the world around us rather than solidifying the opinions of others. He also noted a few critical mistakes to avoid for people in positions of power, along with some ideal ways of governance. Coincidentally, the movie Matrix also depicted many similar elements and aspects from The Allegory of the Cave literature. The difference, however, is that the movie provided some unique, stunning, and breathtaking visuals. With that said, let’s take a brief analysis of one of these similarities and the critical lesson it entails.

The most apparent and fundamental similarity is their advocacy for people to step out of their comfort zone. For example, The Allegory of the Cave story starts with a few chained prisoners staring at a reflective light on a stone wall. The glows on that wall were emitted from a light source behind the wall to which they were chained. The prisoners were then showed a shadow of an item from the real world. Once they get accustomed to what they have seen, a random prisoner gets released from their restrictions. Upon being released and setting foot in the world outside the cave, this prisoner was stunned. He notices that everything in this world has some resemblance to those of the shadows inside the cave; the only difference is that it feels lively and no longer surreal.

On the flip side, at the start of the movie in Matrix, Morpheus confronts the protagonist character, Neo, and gives him two choices to either take the red or blue pill. The red pill will allow him to see the reality that he did not know existed, or the blue pill, which will enable him to continue living in his fabricated and illusionary reality. Upon swallowing the red pill, Neo suddenly notices that the subconscious world he is most familiar with is nothing but a matrix. The human population inside of this matrix were merely pawns within this massive computer program. When comparing it to The Allegory of the Cave analogy, the blue pill signifies the prisoners inside the cave staring at the reflected shadows. At the same time, the red pill represents the prisoner who had the freedom to travel outside the cave to look at and experience reality in person.

Both of these two fictional arts placed a robust emphasis and focus on explaining the benefits of being able to adapt and experience the world around you, and often away from one’s comfort zones. Some may question the necessity for people to step outside of their comfort zones. Either due to fears of accepting something that contradicts your subconscious facts or the unwillingness to change the existing ways of life. After all, most of us have heard one of these similar phrases at least once in our lifetime, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and we know it all too well. However, it is crucial to understand and digest the significance of this analogy because it has a solid correlation to our daily lives.

An excellent example of how this relates to modern society is the recent troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The United State’s effort to convert Afghanistan into a modern-day secular state has failed, just like the British and the Russians. The theocratic style of governance from the Taliban has never ended, and sadly, it may never will. However, there is no need to be pessimistic regarding this situation because the U.S. successfully sowed the seeds in the next generation of Afghanistani people. Over the past twenty years of the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, more Afghani people have had the chance to receive their higher education for the first time. As the mass population becomes ever more educated (USAID Education: Afghanistan), the theocratic rulers such as the Taliban will find it difficult to hold on to their powers without making necessary compromises.

In this situation, the Afghani people who enjoyed and praised the Taliban’s theocracy were the people inside the cave and the group of people who took the blue pill. This group of people does not want to step outside their comfort zone or change the status quo. Nor accepting an ideology opposite to what they’ve shown to believe all of these times. An ideology and a style of governance that has lifted many nations out of poverty into prosperity. In contrast, some of the more educated Afghani people are considered the group of prisoners that had the chance to step outside of the cave to experienced and embraced the modern-day secular and capitalist society. This group of people is also considered the few who chose to step outside their comfort zone and take the red pill. Although, it is still an uphill battle for most of these enlightened Afghanistani people. They will continue to face challenges and oppositions trying to convince their neighbors, brothers, and sisters to join them in the foreseeable future.

Another excellent example of how this analogy correlates to our modern society is the ever-growing nationalism in China and its citizen’s overall hostility towards the United States. To maintain its tight grip on power, the Chinese government has to bar its citizens from accessing western media content. They also have complete and total control over the media’s narratives to ensure nothing negative regarding the party or its leadership gets reported (The Guardian Editors China launches hotline to report ‘ILLEGAL’ comments about Communist party). In doing so, the Chinese government will have ultimate control of its citizens’ minds and fundamentally brainwash them into believing only the information the state allows them to consume. Thus, compared to The Allegory of the Cave, the Chinese citizens are more like the prisoners inside the cave. And the Chinese government is the one behind the emitting shadows feeding the prisoners with the clouds of reality but not the truth itself. In comparison to the movie Matrix, the Chinese state media’s propaganda is the blue pill. Instead of Morpheus giving Neo the choices of the two options, Morpheus forcefully had Neo swallow the blue pill.            

Now that we understand how these two pieces of fictional art relate to our modern society. It is also imperative to understand the benefits of stepping outside our comfort zones, even if it means going against our subconscious beliefs. Because ultimately, when a person looks beneath the surface and digs deeper into a subject, they are more likely to make a more informed decision. It is always a good idea to gather all relevant information on the topic from multiple sources before making a final judgment, rather than believing in one narrative from a single authority. After all, there may be an incentive or vested interest that we are not unaware of for us not to learn the truth.

Works Cited

USAID. “Education: Afghanistan.” U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, 19 Aug. 2021, http://www.usaid.gov/afghanistan/education.

“China Launches Hotline to Report ‘ILLEGAL’ Comments about Communist Party.” Edited by The Guardian Editors, The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 Apr. 2021, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/12/china-launches-hotline-to-report-comments-about-communist-party.