Plato presents us with a thought experiment in which a group of people live in a cave and are chained down and can only stare at a wall on which shadows appear. But when one is freed, he learns the truth that shadows are cast by statues of people and animals held in front of a fire. The Matrix also presents us with a similar idea; once the characters know that the Matrix is not real, most of them are unwilling to go back to their normal lives.