In Plato's Allegory of the Cave, prisoners are chained so that they can only gaze directly forward, towards a cave wall. Behind them puppeteers parade all sorts of objects in front of a great fire which casts shadows of these objects against the wall. Since the prisoners have been confined since childhood these shadows are all they know of reality. If a prisoner were to be freed and shown the exit to the cave he would experience a world of light, colour, and truth, though it would be painful and perplexing. After becoming accustomed to the upper world he might return and attempt to compete with the shadow-gazers, but his eyes not yet adjusted to the darkness, he would fail and seem ridiculous. The allegory serves to illustrate that enlightenment that can be achieved by seeking absolute truth.
(While "The Cave" occurs within the context of The Republic, which outlines Plato's plan for the most just society possible, we elected to, instead, interpret the allegory in the context of this class: the study of media, with "media" standing for 'the electronic media conglomerate'.)
It is tempting to relate 'the media' to the role of the puppeteers who use vision and sound to deceive the populace. This however cannot be the case since who is the more deluded, a hermit who lives without any form of media and knows nothing of the many discoveries and events happening across the planet (the non-prisoner) or someone who is connected to the internet, watches TV and/or listens to the radio (the prisoner)? It is true that the media can be deceiving, often manipulated to support one's agenda, like the puppeteers casting their shadows, but it can also serve as an extension of the senses, allowing knowledge from across the globe to reach the individual. We therefore conclude that the enlightened human must remain skeptical and take an analytical stance towards all things, especially the often deceptive media, which should be questioned and debated. The prisoner in the cave is now the passive consumer soaking in front of their TV set, where as he who has chosen to ascend into the light is the active consumer, breaking down what he absorbs analytically. In a way, the media today, faster and more far-reaching than ever before, has strengthened our chains yet given us a key.
We are left with the question: is it necessary or desirable for a society to have its general populace kept deceived yet content so that it can be controlled (Brave New World)?
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