THE MATRIX

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, USAR

THE MATRIX
(1999)
⚬ DIRECTED BY: THE WACHOWSKIS
⚬ CYBERPUNK ACTION FILM
⚬ SET IN A DYSTOPIAN FUTURE WHERE
HUMANITY IS UNKNOWINGLY TRAPPED
WITHIN A SIMULATED REALITY CRAFTED BY
INTELLIGENT MACHINES
⚬ FOLLOWS NEO, PROPHESIED TO BE 'THE
ONE' WHO CAN DEFEAT THEM.
⚬ BLENDS PHILOSOPHY, TECHNOLOGY, AND
LITERATURE
⚬ EXPLORES THEMES OF REALITY, CONTROL,
FREE WILL, AND IDENTITY.
 PLOT: NAVIGATING A SIMULATED
REALITY

NEO'S JOURNEY THE CONFLICT

NEO, A HACKER SELLING ILLEGAL SOFTWARE, RECEIVES CRYPTIC MESSAGES: "FOLLOW THE PLOT REVOLVES AROUND THE CONFLICT BETWEEN HUMANS FREED FROM THE
THE WHITE RABBIT." HE ENCOUNTERS TRINITY IN A CLUB AND IS CONTACTED BY MATRIX AND THE AGENTS, POWERFUL PROGRAMS TASKED WITH MAINTAINING
MORPHEUS, WHO REVEALS THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MATRIX. HE LEARNS THAT YEARS
ORDER WITHIN THE SIMULATION. TRINITY AND NEO WORK TOGETHER,
AGO, HUMANS CREATED AI BUT LOST CONTROL. DESPERATE, HUMANS BLOCKED OUT THE
CHALLENGING THE AGENTS AT EVERY TURN. THE FILM MASTERFULLY WEAVES
SUN TO STOP THE SOLAR-POWERED ROBOTS, BUT THE MACHINES ADAPTED AND BEGAN
HARVESTING HUMANS FOR BIOELECTRIC ENERGY. THE MATRIX IS THEIR PRISON, A
ACTION SEQUENCES WITH PHILOSOPHICAL DIALOGUES, POSING QUESTIONS ABOUT
COMPUTER-GENERATED DREAM WORLD DESIGNED TO KEEP HUMANS DOCILE. WHAT IS REAL AND WHAT IS MERELY PERCEIVED.
THEMES
PHILOSOPHICAL PILLARS: CHOICE & FREEDOM

EXISTENTIALISM DETERMINISM VS. FREE WILL

INSPIRED BY EXISTENTIALIST PHILOSOPHERS LIKE JEAN- AGENT SMITH, AS A MACHINE, EMBODIES DETERMINISM—THE
PAUL SARTRE AND FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, THE MATRIX BELIEF THAT EVERYTHING IS PREORDAINED. MEANWHILE,
EXPLORES THAT HUMANS DEFINE THEMSELVES THROUGH NEO EMBODIES FREE WILL—THE ABILITY TO MAKE CHOICES
CHOICES AND ACTIONS. NEO IS NOT SPECIAL UNTIL HE INDEPENDENT OF PRIOR CAUSES. THE FILM SUGGESTS THAT
CHOOSES TO ACT, TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS REALITY IS OFTEN MEANINGLESS, BUT HUMANS CREATE
DESTINY. THE RED PILL VS. BLUE PILL CHOICE REFLECTS MEANING THROUGH THEIR ACTIONS, THOUGH TRUE FREEDOM
THE CONCEPT OF RADICAL FREEDOM: AWARENESS AND IS TERRIFYING BECAUSE IT COMES WITH RESPONSIBILITY.
RESPONSIBILITY (RED PILL) VS. COMFORT AND IGNORANCE
(BLUE PILL).
FREE WILL VS. DETERMINATION

FATALISM ILLUSION OF CHOICE REALITY

THE MATRIX CREATES THE
WAS NEO ALWAYS DESTINED TO BE NEO CHOOSES THE RED PILL—REAL
ILLUSION OF A FREE WORLD.
'THE ONE', OR DOES HE TRULY LIFE—AND LEARNS THAT FREE WILL
MODERN SYSTEMS—CAPITALISM,
HAVE FREE WILL? THIS QUESTION ISN’T PRETTY. THE REAL WORLD
MEDIA, AND POLITICS—SHAPE
ALIGNS WITH NIETZSCHE’S IDEA IS A MESS, DANGEROUS AND
PEOPLE’S CHOICES WITHOUT THEM
OF “ETERNAL RECURRENCE”, DESTITUTE. PLEASURE EXISTS
REALIZING IT. THE CHOICE
SUGGESTING THAT PEOPLE MAY ALMOST ENTIRELY IN THE WORLD
BETWEEN FATE AND FREE WILL
REPEAT THE SAME CHOICES OF THE MATRIX, WHERE IT’S
ASKS: IS OUR FATE PRE-
ENDLESSLY, MUCH LIKE THE ACTUALLY ONLY A COMPUTER
CONSTRUCTED, OR CAN HUMANS
MATRIX BEING REBOOTED. CONSTRUCT.
CHANGE THEIR FATE, TAKE
INDIVIDUAL ACTION, AND MAKE
MISTAKES?
 KNOWLEDGE AND IGNORANCE
PLATO’S ALLEGORY OF
THE ORACLE
• WHEN SOCRATES VISITED THE ORACLE, HE
THE CAVE
CLAIMED THAT HE KNEW NOTHING, AND THE
ORACLE REPLIED THAT HE WAS THE WISEST • THE RED PILL/BLUE PILL CHOICE MIRRORS PLATO’S ALLEGORY
MAN ON EARTH. OF THE CAVE. PRISONERS CHAINED INSIDE A DARK CAVE
• BY CLAIMING TO KNOW NOTHING, SOCRATES
MISTAKE SHADOWS ON THE WALL FOR REALITY BECAUSE THEY
TRULY WAS THE WISEST BECAUSE ALL OTHERS
WERE UNDER THE FALSE IMPRESSION THAT HAVE NEVER SEEN THE OUTSIDE WORLD. WHEN ONE ESCAPES
THEY KNEW MORE THAN THEY ACTUALLY KNEW. AND SEES THE REAL WORLD, HE STRUGGLES TO CONVINCE THE
• THE PHRASE “KNOW THYSELF” WAS INSCRIBED OTHERS OF THE TRUTH. THE MATRIX IS THE CAVE, KEEPING
ON THE WALLS OF THE ORACLE’S TEMPLE, PEOPLE IN INTELLECTUAL DARKNESS. TRUE FREEDOM COMES
SUGGESTING THAT TRUE WISDOM LIES IN
THROUGH QUESTIONING REALITY.
RECOGNIZING ONE’S OWN IGNORANCE.
• NEO, LIKE SOCRATES, IS WILLING TO ADMIT
TO HIS OWN IGNORANCE, AND THE ORACLE IN
THE MATRIX FILMS MAINTAINS HER
CONFIDENCE IN HIM AND HIS ABILITIES
DESPITE HIS OFTEN VISIBLE CONFUSION AND
DOUBT.
TRUTH VS. ILLUSION
NATURE OF REALITY
1
THE MATRIX EXPLORES THE DIVIDE BETWEEN TRUTH AND ILLUSION, A
CONCEPT MIRRORED IN THE IMMERSIVE VR EXPERIENCES BEING
DEVELOPED TODAY. THE FILM DELVES INTO QUESTIONS ABOUT DIGITAL
ADDICTION, ESCAPISM, AND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN REAL AND
VIRTUAL EXPERIENCES, ACTING AS A POSTMODERN TEXT THAT
CHALLENGES THE IDEA OF OBJECTIVE REALITY.

HYPERREALITY
2
THE MATRIX PRESENTS A SIMULATED WORLD INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM
REALITY, ALIGNING WITH JEAN BAUDRILLARD'S THEORY OF
HYPERREALITY. THE CHARACTERS LIVE IN A WORLD THAT IS NOT MERELY
A COPY BUT A REPLACEMENT OF REALITY, RESONATING WITH
BAUDRILLARD’S IDEA THAT MODERN SOCIETY EXISTS IN A REALM OF
SIGNS AND SYMBOLS DEVOID OF TRUE MEANING.
 NEO AS THE
MESSIAH
• "THE ONE":
⚬ DESTINED TO LIBERATE HUMANITY FROM THE
MATRIX
⚬ CHOSEN SAVIOR.
⚬ "NEO" IS AN ANAGRAM OF "ONE"
• SACRIFICE AND RESURRECTION:
⚬ IN "THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS," HE GIVES HIS
LIFE TO ACHIEVE PEACE BETWEEN HUMANS AND
MACHINES.
⚬ HIS "RESURRECTION" IN THE FIRST FILM, AND
THE OVER COMING OF DEATH IN THE THIRD,
STRENGTHENS THE MESSIANIC PARALLELS.
• LIBERATION FROM ILLUSION:
⚬ NEO'S ROLE IS NOT JUST ABOUT PHYSICAL
SALVATION, BUT ALSO ABOUT REVEALING THE
TRUTH AND FREEING MINDS FROM THE ILLUSION
OF THE MATRIX.
⚬ ALIGNS WITH GNOSTIC THEMES OF SEEKING
ENLIGHTENMENT AND ESCAPING A FALSE
REALITY.
• THE WAY THAT HIS POWERS INCREASE, AND HIS
EVENTUAL CHOICE TO GIVE HIMSELF TO END THE
WAR, ALL POINT TO A MESSIANIC ARCHETYPE.
 ALIENATION- TECHNOLOGY CAN SEPARATE PEOPLE FROM EACH OTHER

TECHNOLOGY • NEO’S QUEST FOR ANSWERS ALIENATED HIM FROM OTHERS

OVERCOMING LIMITATIONS OF THE FLESH- TECHNOLOGY CAN SERVE AS AN

AND ITS EXTENSION OF THE SELF

• NEO’S SUPERHERO LIKE QUALITIES

IMPACTS PROMISE OF A BETTER PLACE/HUMANITY

• MATRIX AS THE PERFECT REALITY
MEANS OF OVERCOMING DEATH
• AGENT SMITH
• NEO– CHOOSING TO BELIEVE IT A SIMULATION LEADS HIM TO OVERCOME
DEATH IN THE MATRIX
TOOL OF MASS SURVEILLANCE
• AGENTS EVERYWHERE
• ONE OF THE MOST TERRIFYING ASPECTS OF THE FILM IS HOW MUNDANE IT
MAKES AI’S MENACE APPEAR. – AGENTS SEEM NO DIFFERENT THAN NEO’S
COWORKERS
TOOL OF LIBERATION
• POWER OF KNOWLEDGE, AWARENESS, AND RESISTANCE IN A WORLD WHERE
TECHNOLOGY CAN BE OPPRESSIVE
 TECHNOLOGICAL TERRORS: CONTROL AND
INTERDEPENDENCE
TECHNOLOGY STRIPS HUMANITY SHAPES REALITY INTERDEPENDENCE BETWEEN
OF THEIR AUTONOMY THE MATRIX IS A FULLY IMMERSIVE HUMANS AND AI
VR, MAKING PEOPLE BELIEVE THEY
"THE MATRIX" WARNS HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN "THE MATRIX" EXPLORES THE BLURRING
ARE LIVING NORMAL LIVES WHILE LINES BETWEEN HUMANS AND MACHINES,
ERODE IDENTITY BY STRIPPING AWAY FREE
IMPRISONED. DIGITAL SPACES, SUCH CHALLENGING TRADITIONAL BINARIES.
WILL. FORCED SIMULATION, LIKE TODAY'S
AS SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE HUMANS, CONFINED TO THE MATRIX,
ALGORITHM-DRIVEN CONTROL, MANIPULATES
METAVERSE, ARE BECOMING EXHIBIT A ROBOTIC PASSIVITY, WHILE
BEHAVIOR AND DICTATES PERCEPTION. ARE
ALTERNATIVE REALITIES WHERE AGENTS DISPLAY SURPRISING ADAPTABILITY
WE IN CONTROL, OR PASSIVE CONSUMERS?
PEOPLE SPEND INCREASING AMOUNTS AND EVEN HUMAN-LIKE EGO. THE FILM
SOCIAL MEDIA AND TARGETED ADS
OF TIME. IS THE DIGITAL WORLD FORESHADOWS MODERN ANXIETIES ABOUT AI,
HIGHLIGHT THIS, AS TECHNOLOGY, NOW
OVERTAKING THE REAL ONE? NOT BY HIGHLIGHTING STARK DIFFERENCES,
ESSENTIAL, RISKS SHAPING OUR VERY
SELVES. BUT BY REVEALING UNSETTLING
SIMILARITIES. THIS MIRRORS REAL-WORLD
CONCERNS ABOUT THE INCREASINGLY
INDISTINGUISHABLE NATURE OF VIRTUAL
AND REAL EXPERIENCES.
IMPACT
QUESTION REALITY
THE MATRIX ENCOURAGES US TO EXAMINE THE NATURE OF OUR PERCEIVED
REALITY. THE FILM ASKS: IS WHAT WE EXPERIENCE TRULY REAL, OR ARE
WE LIVING IN A CONSTRUCT OF OUR OWN MAKING?

EMBRACE CHOICE
THE FILM EMPHASIZES THE POWER OF CHOICE, EVEN IN SEEMINGLY
PREDETERMINED CIRCUMSTANCES. IT PROMOTES THE IDEA THAT HUMANS CAN
DEFINE THEMSELVES THROUGH THEIR ACTIONS AND DECISIONS.

BEWARE TECHNOCRACY
THE MATRIX SERVES AS A CAUTIONARY TALE ABOUT THE DANGERS OF
UNCHECKED TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT. IT PROMPTS CONSIDERATION OF
ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES TO DEVELOP AND USE TECHNOLOGY MINDFULLY.
 FILMMAKING AND STYLE
REINVENTED CGI AS "BULLET TIME"
SCI-FI HEROES: STORYTELLING: INNOVATION:
SHIFTED FROM MACHO INTEGRATED CGI INTRODUCED A
STEREOTYPES TO SEAMLESSLY, GROUNDBREAKING
COMPLEX, REVOLUTIONIZING VISUAL EFFECT,
INTELLECTUAL VISUAL EFFECTS AND CHANGING ACTION
PROTAGONISTS (NEO, IMMERSIVE CINEMA FOREVER.
TRINITY). ENVIRONMENTS.
TRANSFORMED AI THOUGHT
SUPERHERO PROVOCATION:
ACTION:
EXPLORED AI
PIONEERED "WIRE-FU" SENTIENCE, PAVING
THE WAY FOR FILMS
AND STYLIZED ACTION,
LIKE "EX MACHINA"
INFLUENCING MODERN
AND "HER."
SUPERHERO FILMS.
 CRITICISM

"THE MATRIX," A FILM CRITIQUING TECHNOLOGICAL OVER-

RELIANCE, IRONICALLY PIONEERED CGI-DRIVEN NARRATIVES,
SPARKING A CINEMATIC REVOLUTION. THIS EXEMPLIFIES
BAUDRILLARD'S CRITIQUE: THE FILM, WHILE DECRYING
TECHNOLOGY'S CONTROL, FETISHIZES IT THROUGH SPECTACULAR
VISUAL EFFECTS, SHOWCASING THE VERY THING IT AIMS TO
CONDEMN.
THANK YOU