Although Plato lived 2,300 years ago, his ideas about poetry and knowledge are still very relevant today, not only to today's literature, but to the way in which human nature functions. "The point is that a young person can't tell when something is allegorical and when it isn't, and any idea admitted by a person of that age tends to become almost ineradicable and permanent," Plato argues. "All things considered, then, that is why a very great deal of importance should be placed upon ensuring that the first stories they hear are best adapted for their moral improvement." In today's world, when violence has become a major theme of TV shows, movies (like this [VERY VIOLENT] clip from American Psycho), video games, and even music, Plato's argument certainly still holds some ground. Does early exposure to violent videogames like Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty help to program kids to be violent people? Should the violence we watch for entertainment value be held accountable for killing sprees and other acts of violence? Plato's view on this subject plays a major role in the Nature vs. Nurture debate, even if he isn't given his due credit. Futhermore, his argument can be supported by cases of domestic violence. According to the Domestic Violence Roundtable, children who experience domestic violence are more likely to develop abusive and violent tendencies; boys who witness their fathers abusing their mothers are likely to grow up and abuse their wives and children too-- as children, they learned from their fathers that abuse is a simple way to get what they want and to resolve issues. Clearly, Plato's idea about a youngster's learning/environment is something that is important to consider even in today's world, and the question is still being raised: should violence and other indecent acts (sex between unmarried persons or teenagers, thefts, etc.) be allowed to be portrayed in the media? What are these portrayals' long lasting effects on the world?
Plato also theorizes that writing will cause people's minds to be foggy. "Trust in writing will make them remember things by relying on marks made by others, from outside themselves, not on their own inner resources, and so writing will make things they have learnt disappear from their minds." While this can be read on a much deeper intellectual level, when I first read this passage, my thoughts immediately jumped to movies and books. In 2012, when movies have become a staple to weekend leisure and a way to escape, it's often hard to keep a clear, realistic head. For instance, while girls, like myself, KNOW that romance isn't always the I-waited-for-seven-years-and-now-I-have-you Notebook story, or the perfect damsel in distress scenario in which the handsome prince sweeps us off our feet and carries us off to a better life, we keep telling ourselves, "It happened for Noah and Allie, maybe it can happen for me too..." While being an idealist isn't necessarily all bad, it certainly leads to quite a bit of disappointment. We let books, magazines, and movies generate this picture in our heads that Mr. Right will be our Romeo, when he will most likely be just as flawed as everybody else; we expect Bradley Cooper and end up getting Rob Schneider. There aren't enough Abercrombie & Fitch models for all of us. So, the fact that Billy broke Sally's heart in 9th grade, and again in 10th, and yet again in 11th and 12th won't matter when Billy shows up in Sally's yard throwing pebbles at her window, because people in movies mess up all the time, habitually, and end up being the much sought after "One." The media causes us to not only think about, but BELIEVE with the utmost strength, that what is written is reality. Plato's argument was relevant in his time, sure, but, in my opinion, its relevance has only intensified with the widening of availability of media.
This clip from the movie (500) Days of Summer is a perfect example of this. Tom, a (literally) hopeless romantic who was influenced at a young age by The Graduate and sad British pop songs, is in love with Summer, a girl who doesn't believe in love or relationships. Obviously, Tom's let his dreams of perfection make him fly so high in the clouds that reality completely crushes him.
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