Plato’s Allegory Of The Cave And The Light
We believe the primary theme of Outer Range to be Plato’s allegory of the cave and the light.
Yes, we are talking about the same philosopher, Plato, that lived in Athens around 400 before Christ. The concepts explored in the cave allegory provide the central foundation for the show’s narrative. They explain many of the characters’ actions, motivations, and even the color choices in their respective wardrobes. We can’t really understand what’s going on in this show without understanding Plato’s cave, and to understand the cave, we must first understand Plato’s concept of “The Forms,” so let’s start there.
The Platonic Forms
To understand The Forms, first think of a bunny rabbit. Picture it in your mind. What makes it a bunny rabbit? Is it the long pointy ears, the furry nose, or the tell-tale hop? Now think of another rabbit, maybe of a different color, one larger or smaller than the first. They are a bit different from each other, and yet both capture the essence of what it means for something to be a rabbit. Even a drawing or painting made by a child would accomplish this.
Plato argued that somewhere in a realm beyond our senses and mortal lives there exists a perfect idea or essence of “bunny rabbit-ness”, and that all we are ever able to experience in waking life are imperfect projections or copies of that essence. Other essences exist there too:, ones for horses, cats, humans, and even ideas or principles such as love. He called these essences The Forms. The forms of ourselves exist in this realm as well. Plato argued that when we die, we simply reunite with our Form, and that we could be reborn as another person, or even an animal. He also argued that all true knowledge exists in this realm, and that Earthly knowledge is more like a process of remembering the Forms we interacted with before we were born.
Plato’s Forms are cast in our show as a collection of owls mounted above Wayne Tillerson’s mantle.
Plato’s Cave
Plato devised a thought experiment in which people are bound inside a cave in such a way that they only see one wall. Behind them, there is a burning fire, and puppets are displayed between the fire and the prisoners, casting shadows on the wall. The prisoners live their entire lives in the cave and only ever see the shadows. To them, these shadows are the only reality they will ever know.
This reality represents the earthly knowledge of the physical world. We might call this the Aristotelian Realm, as Aristotle was Plato’s primary critic, and contended that the physical world of the senses is all there is. We will refer to the realm of The Forms as the Platonic Realm. The rivalry between Plato and Aristotle is also paramount to understanding the show, and will be explored in greater detail in future articles.
The puppets represent things that exist in a higher level of reality (The Forms), and the fire is what allows us to experience the forms at all. If the prisoners were able to escape, they would first see the fire on their way to the mouth of the cave, as they proceed to the realm of the forms.
The fire/light is visible several times throughout the show. It leads Wayne to the hole in episode four, and the stampeding buffalo all run towards it as it hovers over the trees in episode eight.
Two characters tell a story about a cave and a light in the third episode of season one. Autumn tells Perry in the bar that she felt like she was feeling around in a dark room looking for a light switch. Later, the eccentric character Frank tells Sheriff Joy a story about a man shining a light into a cave and seeing a mastodon.
We believe the hole that shows up in Royal’s west pasture is the mouth of Plato’s Cave. Entering it takes you to a timeless realm of the forms. An individual that returns to the void is simply reunited with the form of their true self. This form may come back as someone else, or even an animal.
Our theory is that the Abbott Ranch, or possibly the whole county, is effectively Plato’s Cave. We also believe that Royal (who is most likely Zeus, not Cronus. More on this later.) wants to keep people inside the cave, and that Autumn/Amy is trying to lead people out. Notice how angry Royal is that the hole has reappeared, and that Autumn is driven to lead people to it.
Much more explanation to follow. Leave us a comment with your thoughts!
