Blog 1: How might the "Allegory" help us understand media and media influence?

Most college students know the name of Plato, one of the most prolific philosopher's of our time. One of his most recognized works is "The Allegory of the Cave", an exert from his piece "The Republic". The "Allegory" describes three prisoners in a cave, chained at the feet, arms, and head so that they cannot see anything other than what's in front of them. Since they have been here since birth, they don't know anything other what's presented to them in the form of shadows in front of a fire. To summarize Plato's message, he is commentating on the differences between people who take sensory knowledge (what they see) as truth and people who dig deeper to really see the truth. But how does Plato's allegory help us understand media and it's influence in our modern society?

There are a plethora of correlations that can be made between "The Allegory" and our modern media influence. Much like the three prisoners in the cave, a lot of Americans do not experience the country or the world outside of their sensory environment. Whether they be on the political spectrum of left or right, a lot of people seem to be trapped in a cave with a tunnel view of the world. How does this relate to media's influence and "The Allegory"? Well, a majority of these people get their information through modern media. This includes (but not limited to); news networks, television shows, podcasts, movies, newspaper, and magazines. Their worldview is presented to them through whatever ideology they associate themselves with. They can never leave from their proverbial cave and be left to interpret the world in whatever way they seem fit through their media intake, which influences them.

 

A very crude interpretation of Plato's cave by yours truly 

    

In the"Allegory",  prisoners play a game where they try and guess what the shadows are. They praise whoever guesses correctly, but reject and threaten the prisoner who escapes and tells them the truth of what is going on. The escaped prisoner is supposed to represent the philosopher. When you attempt to challenge the mainstream media through critical thinking, some people may be turned off and react in a hostile manner. Growing up in a conservative Christian home, I've noticed my family members fall victim to media manipulation and how it cements their fundamentalist view on the world. The most agitating thing is knowing that they have no real world experience with different people and cultures, yet they have ingrained notions about the world due to their Fox News media influence. To some of them, Donald Trump is a man of god and the leader we all need. They are stuck in the cave, and reject anything I, or anyone else who poses opposing ideas, say to try and tell them the truth. But then again, I may be stuck in my own cave, thinking that I have the answers to the shadows presented to me.

Intro Blog

My name is Adrian Tejeda. I am 24 years old and I am from Ventura, California. I transferred to CSUCI from VC and am a Communications major. I'm not sure what else to include in my intro blog, but this is the creation of my blog.