The Allegory of The Allegory

The following is a scene from the movie, "The Matrix:"

Morpheus: I imagine that right now you're feeling a bit like Alice. Tumbling down the rabbit hole?
Neo: You could say that.
Morpheus: I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he's expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?
Neo: No.
Morpheus: Why not?
Neo: 'Cause I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.
Morpheus: I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. Like a splinter in your mind -- driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Neo: The Matrix?
Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is?
(Neo nods his head.)
Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere, it is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, or when go to church or when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison for your mind. (long pause, sighs) Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back.
(In his left hand, Morpheus shows a blue pill.)
Morpheus: You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. (a red pill is shown in his other hand) You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. (Long pause; Neo begins to reach for the red pill) Remember -- all I am offering is the truth, nothing more.
(Neo takes the red pill and swallows it with a glass of water)

"The Matrix," written by Andy and Larry Wachowski, is an allegory of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave." In the Allegory of the Cave, the prisoners are trapped in a cave, chained up, and are shown images projected onto a wall that they believe to be "true." Not until these prisoners are freed from the cave do they know what reality actually is and adjust their previous beliefs. In this movie, the majority of the world is trapped in a similar cave of what they are told to be true. In this scene, Morpheus is offering to take Neo out of the cave and show him the real truth.

It's interesting because you would think that someone born into psychological bondage, as Morpheus calls it, would prefer to be freed and see what reality is. However, if a false image of truth is all a person has ever known, unleashing someone into the real truth could be a frightening experience. You may not be ready for what you may encounter, and the truth may cause pain and grief. As later mentioned in the movie, "the Matrix was originally created to keep everyone happy." Perhaps a lot of us do not want to know the real truth because we'd rather have someone or something lie to us to keep us happy as opposed to be willing to reconstruct every belief you've ever had about anything.

In retrospect, when I first saw this movie when I was ten, I didn't understand the underlying implications of what's real and what isn't. However, now I can look back this movie and understand that it is an allegory. It now makes sense why Neo is called "The One," because he is the only one who is being freed from the cave.