#Allegory of the cave meaning how to#
#Allegory of the cave meaning series#

In the third film, Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry and the other third years, now thirteen, are permitted to leave Hogwarts for the first time and explore the even bigger world of the Wizarding village of Hogsmeade. In the process, he develops friends and learns why his parents were killed. He then enters the Wizarding World, where everybody knows his name. In Harry Potter, Harry is rescued from the small and abusive world of his Aunt and Uncle's cupboard under the stairs. Growing up and leaving the comfort of home is philosophically enlightening but, at first, overwhelming. The Cave - the world your main character inhibits - is generally relatively small and restrictive. All narrative is a growth journey, out of the darkness and into the light. The Allegory of the Cave is closely linked to Joseph Campbell's theory: Hero's Journey and Dan Harmon's Story Circle. You might wonder what utility Allegory of the Cave has in the practical work of writing your screenplay.

#Allegory of the cave meaning how to#

How to use allegory in your screenwriting If you want to incorporate some of these ideas into your screenplay or are particularly interested in meta-narrative, then it is well worth making some notes that you can refer back to later. You can read a more detailed summary of the Allegory of the Cave as part of Plato's Republic here. It is a classic work of literature well worth investigating for yourself. Where can you read the Allegory of the Cave?įollowing this link, you can read the original Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Narratives exist within a cave so that we as an audience exit when we leave the cinema or turn off our television, adjusting to the light of our own safe world, removed from the ideas presented to us in the film. The Cave story also reveals something more fundamental about narrative itself. And when we don't, we will no longer be able to step back into the darkness so easily. If we open our minds to new ideas and belief systems, we can expand our universe. Plato's Cave has at its heart internal conflict. The world is only as big as we can imagine.

The hidden message of Plato's Cave is an escape from ignorance. However, one prisoner manages to escape, and somebody drags one of the prisoners around the fire and into the real world. To the prisoners in the Cave who have lived there since early childhood, this is what they believe to be their world.

#Allegory of the cave meaning series#

A series of people they can't see project shadow puppets onto the wall in front of them. A bright fire is burning behind them, seemingly preventing them from escaping. The story is told as a dialogue between philosophers Glaucon and Socrates, narrated by Socrates.Ī group of prisoners live in a cave.

In much the same way, Orwell's Animal Farm is not really about animals but what those animals represent, so the Cave is not really about a cave. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is an allegory: a story with a hidden meaning. Here's Plato's Allegory of the Cave: explained. Learning about it can fundamentally change how you approach writing screenplays. It is one of history's most important philosophical works dating back thousands of years. Have you ever wondered how philosophy and narrative intersect? Where the difference lies between a film and reality? One way we decipher this complex message is through Plato’s Allegory of The Cave.