Brother, May I Have Some Platonic Meme Analysis?
A Dank Suggestion Box Special
Shoutout to Raphael for requesting this. Community input is what keeps this endeavor fun and interesting.
Today’s request:
“Please do a philosophical analysis of the 'brother may I have some oats' meme.”
As everyone knows, there’s nothing more fun than explaining a joke—so let’s begin.
The Golden Meme
On its face, this meme appears to be nothing more than a spectacular surrealist joke taken just far enough. The drama, the poetic language, and the theatrical music would have sufficed in solidifying the glory of the meme, but there’s more to it than that. Upon rewatching the video, something became apparent to me: this story is thousands of years old.
Philosophical Spelunking
If you’re already familiar with Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, feel free to skip to the next part.
One of Plato’s most famous teachings is the Allegory of the Cave. It goes like this:
There’s a cave full of prisoners. The prisoners have all been chained in place since birth, unable to turn their heads, facing a wall. Behind them are flames and puppeteers—people who hold objects in front of the fire’s glow, projecting shadow images onto the wall. The prisoners, never having seen anything else, believe the shadows cast before them true reality.
One day, a prisoner breaks free from his chains and makes his way out of the cave. Upon reaching the real world, he experiences temporary blindness from the sun but ultimately adjusts and sees true reality. Enlightened to the truth, the prisoner returns to the cave, determined to rescue the other prisoners. However, threatened by the power of the truth, the prisoners reject the returnee, and respond with hostility and scrutiny.
In summary:
The cave represents the material world, and the prisoners symbolize us.
The fire represents limited knowledge and projects shadows that stand for illusions of false reality.
Plato believed absolute reality exists beyond the physical realm.
The puppeteers, who perpetuate ideologies of illusion, are also prisoners of ignorance; their role in the cave is just different.
The journey out of the cave symbolizes the pursuit of truth, liberating those brave enough to free themselves from ignorance.
The sun in the allegory represents absolute truth or the Form of the Good, which is initially disorienting as it shatters our worldview.
Those who return to the cave are philosophers attempting to share their enlightenment with others.
The rejection philosophers face reflects humanity's attachment to preconceived notions and comfortable falsehoods.
A historical example is the execution of Socrates, an event that deeply affected Plato.
An additional note for clarity: Plato believed this world to be an illusion—a collection of imitations of true reality. He spoke of a world of forms, where perfect concepts exist. When one of those concepts gets impressed onto matter and becomes “informed,” it is an imperfect imitation of the ideal thing. So when I say the shadows on the cave wall represent false reality, I mean to say that physical reality in its entirety is to some degree false.
Plato actually hated art because of this; it’s an imitation of an imitation. However, I believe that if Plato were to appreciate any piece of art, it would be this meme—Platonic wisdom at its finest.
Explaining the Joke
The two pigs in the meme are strong representations of the archetypes of the returnee and the cave prisoner. The returnee pig, the one asking for oats, will be called Hogcrates from here on out; the prisoner pig will be Oinkytus.
The story starts out with the enlightened Hogcrates observing Oinkytus eating an abundance of oats. Hogcrates is no fool, of course, and knows this means Oinkytus will soon be eaten. It is clear to Hogcrates that bringing Oinkytus to the truth would be too large an undertaking, so he first appeals to Oinkytus’s virtue by begging for food, explaining that he is starving. Oinkytus quickly rejects this, expressing that his worth is contingent on the oats given to him. It was a combination of the wealth he amassed and the preference of the tall, skinny gods that Oinkytus was blinded by. The cave prisoner Oinkytus grasped tightly at the oatly shadows—the tall, skinny gods puppeteering the whole grain illusion.
Hogcrates, understanding the casual approach to be futile, changed his strategy: it was the truth or nothing. He starts gently, not wanting to overwhelm Oinkytus. Hogcrates speaks of his study of the tall, skinny gods and how they feed extra oats to pigs before sending them to the Shed of No Return, where horrors awaited.
The first flashes of truth rattle Oinkytus, causing him to lash out, accusing his brother of being a liar and a fool. Hogcrates pleads for Oinkytus to trade some oats for a chance of survival—only for Oinkytus to call him a despicable schemer. Hogcrates knew what he had to do.
The enlightened returnee Hogcrates recounted for his brother the time he stumbled from the cave into the sunlight, detailing his bearing witness to a gathering of humans feasting on roasted pig. Oinkytus dismisses his brother, expressing his determination to go where the humans willed to take him.
The story ends with Hogcrates giving up, promising to watch after his brother’s children. Hogcrates says this to Oinkytus: “I am sorry for you, brother. Your eyes cannot take the blinding light of the truth and you scurry back into the cave.” A strong acknowledgment of Plato’s allegory.
So What’s the Takeaway?
Oinkytus is a strong representation of our society’s attitudes towards pleasure over joy. Short-term gratification and perpetual greed have replaced wisdom and a pursuit of the Good. Don’t watch this meme like you’re watching a video—treat this meme like a mirror. Think about what you’re holding onto so tightly that you won’t let the truth in. Is it dogma? Material possessions? A constructed persona?
Let this meme be a turning point in human history, where a momentary second coming of Plato gives each of us a chance to leave the cave and step into the sun. This isn’t a meme, friends. This is an opportunity for courage and the pursuit of truth.
Laughing at memes is well and good, but taking them too seriously is where it goes from good to great.