2013-09-12
Explanation
This long-form comic is an elaborate retelling and extension of Plato'''s Allegory of the Cave. The opening panels set up the classic scenario: a professor-like figure explains that prisoners are chained in a cave, seeing only shadows cast on a wall by figures passing before a fire. This is Plato'''s famous metaphor for how people mistake appearances for reality. The philosopher then describes how one prisoner is freed, sees the fire, and eventually exits the cave to see the real world and the sun itself -- representing the philosopher'''s journey toward true knowledge.
The comic then takes a humorous modern twist. After the freed prisoner sees the sunlight and grasps the true nature of reality, the narrative shifts to show him returning to the cave and... turning it into a movie theater or entertainment venue. Rather than enlightening the other prisoners about the nature of reality, the freed prisoner commercializes his knowledge. The final panels appear to show the freed philosopher using his understanding of light and shadows to put on a better show for the cave-dwellers, essentially becoming an entertainer rather than a liberator.
The votey panel shows a bearded man (presumably one of the cave dwellers) saying "I'''ve never hated beards so much in my life," which serves as a humorous reaction to the pretentiousness of the whole philosophical exercise. The comic satirizes how knowledge and enlightenment, rather than being used to free people from ignorance, often get co-opted for commercial or entertainment purposes -- a very modern critique wrapped in ancient Greek philosophy.