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| The Sandlot |
The Sandlot: one of the greatest movies of our time and coincidentally a great example of Plato's allegory of the cave. Many of us remember watching the movie when we were young: the story of a group of rag-tag boys playing baseball in an empty lot and competing with a rival group of stuck up adolescents, always with some small fear of the dog that lived behind the outfield fence. 'The Beast', as it was known, was a legend not seen but known for eating baseballs hit over the fence. None of the boys were ever brave enough to jump the fence and confront the menacing creature or its cranky owner.
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| The Beast |
The boys KNEW that the dog was a beast, a destroyer of baseballs, maybe even men. To the boys, jumping the outfield fence to retrieve a ball meant a short life and a terrible death. This was a fact. It was the reality of playing baseball on the sand lot. The boys, as it turns out, had a lot in common with Plato's prisoners. Their heads were metaphorically bound facing the cave wall. In the boys' case, the shadows were the legend of The Beast- the stories of a demonic dog which were passed down from one boy to the next and the images which these stories conjured. The shadows were also the sounds the boys heard: the dog's harsh bark, its growl, the seemingly harsh environment of the yard in which it lived.
Then came the day that Rodriguez decided to climb the fence and face The Beast in order to retrieve yet another lost ball:
This moment is Plato's freeing of the prisoner. Rodriguez climbs out of the cave (or is forced out), and after a long chase scene he sees the people on the road. The beast which the boys had feared for so long was really just a friendly pet.
Had Rodriguez been alone when he found out the dog's true nature, the other boys may not have believed him. Just as when Plato's prisoner returns to the cave, Rodriguez's friends would have criticized and mocked him for what he told them, believing that the shadows (The Beast) were reality. However, in the case of the sandlot, all of the prisoners were able to escape the cave and see the truth.
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| "Seeing the Truth" |
The sandlot is an example of our human inclination to accept our initial perceptions as reality and refuse any disagreement with this "reality". Like Plato's prisoners, it is often difficult for us to accept that the things we believe to be "truth" are just illusions. Sometimes, we only recognize reality if we are forced to-if we are forced to leave the cave, see the sun, and see the figures on the road. The lesson that this scene from The Sandlot teaches us, to seek the truth and not fall for contortions of reality, is one which Plato would be proud of and is part of what makes The Sandlot such a great film.
**EDITED FOR FORMATTING
First off, this is a fantastic post. I grew up loving this movie and constantly argue that it is one of the all-time greats of our generation, especially for guys. I recall trying to mimic the boys in The Sandlot playing baseball with my neighborhood friends, and pretending we are just like Benny, Squints, Smalls, and the rest of the gang.
ReplyDeleteBack to the matter of this post's connection to Plato's Allegory of the Cave, I think this is a prime example of the prisoner's sudden realization of the true world. I think this example only differs from Plato's allegory is that all the "prisoners" are exposed to the outside realm of the cave instead of just one. Although this seems like a minor detail, I think this marks a huge contrast in the stories' parallels. I believe that one of the main aspects of Plato's "cave" is that the prisoner who experienced the outside world has to be ridiculed by his peers in the cave for his ludicrous explanations. By doing this, Plato portrays a scene in which those who "know" are not believed which he shows is prevalent in the world.
This was a great post and I'm glad someone made this comparison.
thanks!
DeleteThis is a really good post and something I never even connected. The Sandlot is a classic and I would never think to connect it to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. When you mentioned that if Rodriguez was alone when he jumped over the fence, his friends might not have believed him that the "fierce and mighty dog" was just a friendly pet, it really made me believe that there was a connection between the cave and sandlot. The only thing that I questioned was that Rodriguez would have been able to use words and describe what he saw, unlike the prisoner in the cave because they had never seen the outside world before. But there was still a possibility that Rodriguez's friends still might not have believed him that the dog was not as ferocious as they thought. This post really made me think that Plato's Allegory of the Cave can be connected to many more things than I thought.
ReplyDeleteYou win my vote for best comparison topic to Plato's allegory. The Sandlot is a classic that I still know all the words to. I love that somebody made this connection, and very much appreciate the post. But, on to more important matters. The Sandlot definitely parallels with the allegory. Numerous times the kids thought about what was behind that fence, but they would never go for fear of the beast. While the prisoners were stationary in the allegory, if they knew of the outside world, they would surely be curious, otherwise, why would the unbound prisoner have left? Assuming the prisoners knew of the outside world, and feared it, they would have stories like Squints about how terrible the outside world would be. I would say that, if one took a little bit of liberty with the allegory of the cave, and filled in some missing information, there would be some very strong parallels between the sandlot and the cave. But, back to what is visibly there. The confrontation with the beast is the focus. Before the confrontation the guys were filled with fear of the beast, fueled by the sounds, stories, and literal shadows of it. During the confrontation this fear remained present, because they had not yet crossed over and seen what was really there. Finally, Benny had to make a move. He jumped the fence, or left the cave rather, and encountered the beast face to face. He found that the dog was just a normal dog, and friendly at that. He also found out that the dogs owner was just as friendly. By taking that step, and leaving the cave, all was revealed, and the guys could move on. Furthermore, the guys met a retired baseball player who actually played with Babe Ruth. They talked to him every week after the jumping of the fence, and gained actual knowledge that way. The Sandlot is a surprisingly perfect comparison to the cave. Good job with this post, it was awesome!
ReplyDeleteI wrote about the allegory of the cave and The Matrix Trilogy for one of my post, so I am always interested in other people's interpretations of the allegory. Additionally, I love The Sandlot, like it was fundamental to the quality of my childhood, that much love. I was curious at first how you would relate Plato to Rodriguez but you were more than able to provide a compelling argument.
ReplyDeleteAll of the boys lived in fear of that dog and once someone hit it over the fence, the game was over for the day. Their inability to deal with the Beast is a testament to the affirmation of ideas in a group. A group of people are more likely to hold a belief true when they all believe it. When one person questions this idea, they are chastised and/or ostracized. Perceptions are hard to change, particularly when these perceptions are held in a majority.
I loved your post. I think you maybe could have added another wrinkle though with the inclusion of Smalls in your post. He represents the new comer to the group, and his antics are a constant source of humor for the other boys. He is unaware of the conventions of the Sandlot and as such he is forced to hit the ground running. Still though, quality post.