History Main / PlatonicCave

* The term ''woke'' originally referred to this, using the metaphor of "waking up" to see the world the way it truly is to describe gaining the full-awareness regarding the social injustices present in the world. "Woke" is an African-American variant of "woken" and was coined in its present use in the 2010s by activists trying to promote awareness of police brutality against Black people and other injustice toward the African-American community. Over time the term expanded to also include awareness of other issues such as sexism and transphobia. However, the term now is mainly used ironically by conservatives.

* Robert Heinlein's short story "They" has the protagonist catching on to the fact he's in a cave when someone running the world messes up and it's raining outside one window and sunny outside another. They send in a psychologist to try to convince him that he's schizophrenic.

* ''VideoGame/TheCave'' is themed after the concept, a GeniusLoci EldritchLocation people quest through to retrieve an object of their deepest desire. The place is more of an EphanicPrison version of this trope, with some MindScrew elements, as it's shown that the player characters getting what they want inevitably leads to horrible outcomes in the outer world, which is why it's also implied they are not allowed to leave. The good endings imply that the journey through the Cave gives them enough CharacterDevelopment to make positive changes in their lives [[WantsVersusNeeds that they need, rather than the quick fixes they think they want]].

* ''Film/DarkCity'': The cave is an alien spaceship/laboratory made up to look like an American city ca. the 1930s.

* The Matrix, of ''Film/TheMatrix''. The "cave" is a giant computer program.

* In the ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' novel ''A Thousand Sons'', [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Thousand Sons]] primarch Magnus the Red retells the story in an effort to convince the Emperor that he should allow continued exploration into sorcery. [[spoiler:He fails, and although his legion is censured for its use, they continue to use it with disastrous results.]] In this case the Emperor is trying his damnedest to keep the cave in place, since he knows what's lurking outside the cave is utterly horrific. [[spoiler: And Magnus has long since made a bargain with one of those horrors, which is precisely what shoots his case in the foot.]] And to complete the symbolism, the fate of the Thousand Sons and Magnus is foreshadowed when Ahriman points out Magnus didn't tell the story correctly: [[spoiler: in this universe's version of the tale, the other men killed the man who escaped when he returned and told them about the light.]]

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' -- The cave is the world created by the magical book.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'':
** The Plant setting in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. The level is blatantly patterned on the workings of ''Metal Gear Solid'', though the player is likely to dismiss it. We later learn the game is a FalseFlagOperation devised by Raiden's handlers to emulate the [=MGS1=] crisis: a nuclear threat, soldiers in revolt, two [=VIPs=] to rescue, a scientist who knows about Metal Gear's weak point, and various traps which are copy & pasted from the previous game. As a metaphor, the entire plant is just camouflage which crumbles away when Raiden discovers it.

* Rin, the main heroine of ''Anime/{{Shelter|2016}}'', spends the rest of her days in a room where she can change her surroundings with a drawing tablet. However, in reality [[spoiler:her brain is hooked up to a simulator while her motionless physical body is trapped in a spaceship after a world-ending event.]]

* The term ''woke'' originally referred to this, using the metaphor of "waking up" to see the world the way it truly is to describe gaining the full-awareness regarding the social injustices present in the world. "Woke" is an African-American variant of "woken" and was coined in its present use in the 2010s by activists trying to promote awareness of police brutality against Black people and other injustice toward the African-American community. Over time the term expanded to also include awareness of other issues such as sexism and transphobia. However, the term now is mainly used ironically by conservatives to describe people who have delusions of social awareness, such as people who are against racism yet hold very racist beliefs.

* The term ''woke'' originally referred to this, using the metaphor of "waking up" to see the world the way it truly is to describe gaining the full-awareness regarding the social injustices present in the world. "Woke" is an African-American variant of "woken" and was coined in its present use in the 2010s by activists trying to promote awareness of police brutality against Black people and other injustice toward the African-American community. Over time the term expanded to also include awareness of other issues such as sexism and transphobia. However, the term now is mainly used ironically to describe people who have delusions of social awareness, such as people who are against racism yet hold very racist beliefs.

* ''Film/ElTopo'' takes a very literal interpretation of this trope. [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs Psychedelically]].

* ''Film/TheIsland'': The clones get freed at the end, coming out of the underground facility into the sun.