The 1999 film, The Matrix was heavily influenced by the teachings of Plato, as echoes of his theory can be seen throughout various scenes and themes within the film.
The Matrix is a computerised programme which fools our senses into believing that what our senses tell us is reality.
Morpheus tells Neo that the Matrix is a 'prison for the mind.' This is similar to Plato's claims that the ordinary, unenlightened person is trapped within their own sensory perceptions of reality. Like the people in the Matrix, Plato thought that our minds crave knowledge of the real world, but is forced to experience the poor imitation of the real world that we experience through our senses.
Most people in the Matrix are happy with their ordinary lives. However, some have realised there is more to the world than their senses tell them. Neo, Morpheus and Trinity represent Plato's philosophers, who have chosen to leave the world of lies to pursue the truth. They now return to the Matrix, in the hopes of freeing other people from the lie, which is exactly what the liberated prisoner does when he returns to the cave in Plato's Allegory.
Plato recognised that the 'illusory' world of the senses is very attractive and comfortable and that not all people want to leave it. In The Matrix, Cypher betrays his friends so he may be returned to the Matrix as he cannot bear the truth. This is similar to the resistance of the prisoners towards the philosopher's experiences of the outside world.

	Created by Summer Pearce over 8 years ago

AS - Level (Year 1) Philosophy (1) Ancient Greek Influences on the Philosophy of Religion) Slide Set on Plato, created by Summer Pearce on 18/03/2016.