The Allegory

What are the "shadows" Plato would tell us we cannot trust as truth? Give several examples of these "shadows" we encounter.

The shadows that Plato refers to are really nothing more than illusions. Today so many of our illusions are presented by the media whether that be in commercials, magazines, websites, and television. One illusion that we see in our lives so much is the illusion of peoples appearance. I mean, when is the last time you saw an ad for a product and there wasn't a beautiful person with a perfect complexion and perfect body selling it to you? They may look this way in the ad but in real life these people in the pictures are altered all the time. Someones nose is too big? No worries they can shrink that. Someone had a breakout the day of a photo shoot? Just erase it. The media is constantly distorting the reality of what people look like and it sets a standard in society that can never be met because it is all just an illusion that has been created by the media.

Link to an online source that portrays a shadow. What makes it a "shadow"? What is the truth? How do "shadows" impact society? What danger do we face in trusting these "shadows"?

http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/real_world_brooklyn/series.jhtml
This link above will take you to the MTV "reality" show The Real World Brooklyn. This show may be a "reality" TV show, but how much of it can we really take as reality? The people on this show had gone through tons of auditions to get on the show. The producers of this show want to get ratings and views so they want to make it as interesting as possible. But is that really reality anymore? So these people are put through auditions and are picked according to which personalities will clash the most because the more conflict the more interesting the show. So these people are purposely put against each other and expected to fight and argue. Some of the arguments and drama are staged. The entire show is just an illusion as to what life is like but there is no real truth to The Real World!

Shadows impact society in many ways but one that is very apparent is the way teenagers view themselves. Being a teenager is a stressful (and lets not lie awkward) time of our lives. And with the media presenting these images of models who are flawless just make teens look at themselves and wish they could be something besides what they really are. Trusting illusions like that is a dangerous thing. Many teens who do believe the "shadows" that the media present end up with self-esteem issues that could result in eating disorders and just self hate. Trusting these "shadows" is not good. It only makes us strive for an unreachable goal.