tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/the-matrix-61549/articlesThe Matrix – The Conversation2024-03-06T13:34:46Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229532024-03-06T13:34:46Z2024-03-06T13:34:46ZReeling religion: From anime and sci-fi to rom-coms, films are full of faith in unexpected places<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579737/original/file-20240304-26-ehe5mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2305%2C1156&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Seeing the light − at the movies.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/people-in-the-cinema-auditorium-with-empty-white-royalty-free-image/1494642262?phrase=%22movie+theater%22&adppopup=true">igoriss/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In some movies, religion hits viewers over the head – including films that take home the industry’s biggest prizes. No one could miss religion’s importance in “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">The Exorcist</a>” or “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070239/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Jesus Christ Superstar</a>,” both nominated for Oscars 50 years ago. Martin Scorsese, whose “Killers of the Flower Moon” is up for 10 at the 2024 Academy Awards, is working on a new project <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2024-01-08/martin-scorsese-killers-of-the-flower-moon-new-jesus-film">on the life of Jesus</a>. </p>
<p>Anyone can find a religious meaning <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119485/">in “Kundun</a>,” Scorsese’s epic about the Dalai Lama’s youth, or “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067093/">Fiddler on the Roof</a>,” the story of life in a Russian Jewish shtetl at the turn of the 20th century. Cinematic Christ figures <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Companion-to-Religion-and-Film/Lyden/p/book/9780415601870">are a dime a dozen</a>.</p>
<p>But for <a href="https://people.cal.msu.edu/stowed/">scholars of religion and popular culture</a> like myself, movies that engage religion less directly are often more intriguing. </p>
<h2>Free from illusion</h2>
<p>Take the hugely influential science fiction franchise “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/find/?q=the%20matrix&ref_=nv_sr_sm">The Matrix</a>.” Depicting characters caught in a diabolical computer simulation, held prisoner to AI, the film feels particularly timely in 2024.</p>
<p>Seeing past illusions to a deeper cosmic reality, as the film’s protagonists must do, is of course a theme of many faiths. “The Matrix” is peppered with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1163/9781904710165_017">many other allusions to religion</a> and mythology. Main character Neo, referred to as “the One,” is killed and resurrected. A hacker even tells him, “You’re my savior, man, my own personal Jesus Christ.” One central character is named Trinity. Another is called Morpheus, after the Greek god of dreams.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579329/original/file-20240302-30-et24uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with short hair and a blue shirt touches the chin of a reclining man whose eyes are closed and whose head is almost touching a computer screen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579329/original/file-20240302-30-et24uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579329/original/file-20240302-30-et24uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579329/original/file-20240302-30-et24uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579329/original/file-20240302-30-et24uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579329/original/file-20240302-30-et24uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579329/original/file-20240302-30-et24uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579329/original/file-20240302-30-et24uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves as Trinity and Neo in ‘The Matrix.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/carrie-anne-moss-and-keanu-reeves-in-the-matrix-news-photo/590691556?adppopup=true">Ronald Siemoneit/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>More specifically, religion scholars see explicit <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/american-gnosis-9780197653210?cc=gb&lang=en&">themes of Gnosticism</a>, a <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-tiny-minority-of-iraqis-follows-an-ancient-gnostic-religion-and-theres-a-chance-they-could-be-your-neighbors-too-160838">variant of Christianity</a> that flourished during the faith’s first few centuries. A central focus of Gnostic texts is attaining liberation from worldly illusion through direct inner knowledge of truth. Its teachings include stark dualism – light vs. dark, mind vs. body, good vs. evil – and belief in a hidden God operating in a hostile cosmos, both of which have analogues in “The Matrix.”</p>
<p><a href="https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol5/iss2/4/">Buddhist themes</a> are also unmistakable. The film begins with Neo waking up, both literally and figuratively, as he discovers the truth: Machines have trapped humanity in pods to harvest their energy. The world in which humans believe they are living is actually “the matrix,” an illusory world created to distract them.</p>
<p>“Buddha” means “<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/buda/hd_buda.htm">awakened one</a>,” and many viewers <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26975089?seq=1">have drawn comparisons</a> between Keanu Reeves’ character’s journey and Buddhism. Once <a href="https://library.scotch.wa.edu.au/ld.php?content_id=45331773">awakened to reality</a>, Neo is no longer bound to the illusions of ignorance and desire. Just as importantly, he must help other humans awaken and escape the cycle of suffering.</p>
<h2>Spirits on screen</h2>
<p>Even apart from specific allusions like these, cinema shares something important with religion. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/our-faculty/directory/faculty-detail/s-brent-plate">S. B. Rodriguez-Plate</a>, a religion scholar at Hamilton College, argues that <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-do-moviegoers-become-pilgrims-81016">films can function something like religions</a> in the lives of their audiences, “playing God” by <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Religion_and_Film/PeQvDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0">creating imaginary worlds</a> – worlds that may make viewers see their real lives in a different light.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579328/original/file-20240302-20-gruasj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three children stare up at a large, very colorful structure that looks like a coral reef with clay characters on it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579328/original/file-20240302-20-gruasj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579328/original/file-20240302-20-gruasj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579328/original/file-20240302-20-gruasj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579328/original/file-20240302-20-gruasj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579328/original/file-20240302-20-gruasj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579328/original/file-20240302-20-gruasj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579328/original/file-20240302-20-gruasj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Visitors gaze at a clay model of Hayao Miyazaki’s film ‘Ponyo’ at an exhibition in Tokyo in 2008.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/visitors-gaze-at-clay-model-of-the-animation-movie-ponyo-on-news-photo/81959495?adppopup=true">Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>That power is nowhere more evident than in animated films, which create vivid realms that live action can only dream of. In films like “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245429/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Spirited Away</a>” and “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347149/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Howl’s Moving Castle</a>,” legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Miyazaki_and_the_Hero_s_Journey/GUhpEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0">creates his own mythic worlds</a> populated with fanciful “<a href="https://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/yokai-fantastic-creatures-of-japanese-folklore#sthash.ghWYL1Ap.DkhdklQi.dpbs">yōkai</a>”: creatures that are inspired by Japanese legends but not quite Shinto or Buddhist.</p>
<p>Many of Miyazaki’s films also include spirits that inhabit inanimate objects, which he associates with Japanese tradition. “In my grandparents’ time … it was believed that spirits (kami) existed everywhere – in trees, rivers, insects, wells, anything,” <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Drawing_on_Tradition/gB_HDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0">he once said</a>. “My own religion, if you can call it that, has no practice, no Bible, no saints, only a desire to keep certain places and my own self as pure and holy as possible.”</p>
<p>“<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119698/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Princess Mononoke</a>,” Miyazaki’s 1997 film set in medieval Japan, tells the story of a young prince drawn into an epic struggle between forest gods and humans who exploit natural resources. It’s a challenge religions have often ignored but are increasingly trying to engage: how to live responsibly in the natural world. </p>
<p>While the movie has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoZpCmcnM_s">an environmental message</a>, it avoids oversimplifying the struggle to “good nature” besieged by “bad humans.” San, a human girl who leads an army of wolves, tries to kill the prince, while Iron Town provides support for lepers and outcasts, even as it degrades the environment.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A.O. Scott reviews ‘Princess Mononoke,’ which highlights environmental themes.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Birth and rebirth – and groundhogs</h2>
<p>What about comedy, though? Can a religious film be funny? Could a romantic comedy have religious overtones? </p>
<p>Each February, many Americans <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-groundhogs-emerge-on-february-2-if-its-not-to-predict-the-weather-36376">celebrate Groundhog Day</a>, waiting to see if the famous Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow. But for some, Feb. 2 is a day to celebrate “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Groundhog Day</a>” – the film about the moral evolution of an arrogant Pittsburgh weatherman sent to report on the groundhog but forced to <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-each-pandemic-day-feels-the-same-phil-the-weatherman-in-groundhog-day-can-offer-a-lesson-in-embracing-life-mindfully-153605">live the same day over and over again</a> until he gets it right.</p>
<p>Given “Groundhog Day’s” cult-classic status, it evidently speaks to followers of many religions and none. But it’s hard to think of a film that better <a href="https://tricycle.org/article/groundhog-day/">captures the concept of samsara</a>: the Sanskrit term for the tedious human condition, with its endless cycles of birth and rebirth. Helping people find release from samsara is central to both Hinduism and Buddhism. Phil, the weatherman stuck reliving Feb. 2 over and over, is caught on such a treadmill. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579327/original/file-20240302-24-2pk6ne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A dark-haired main in a blue shirt and dark tie runs through a snowy street with his arms outstretched." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579327/original/file-20240302-24-2pk6ne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579327/original/file-20240302-24-2pk6ne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579327/original/file-20240302-24-2pk6ne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579327/original/file-20240302-24-2pk6ne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579327/original/file-20240302-24-2pk6ne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579327/original/file-20240302-24-2pk6ne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579327/original/file-20240302-24-2pk6ne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Bill Murray, once again frozen in time on Feb. 2.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bill-murray-runs-through-the-snow-in-a-scene-from-the-film-news-photo/163063811?adppopup=true">Columbia Pictures/Archive Photos/Moviepix via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Only by gradually transforming himself into a more virtuous person – performing acts of merit among the people of Punxsutawney – does he finally escape from the nightmare of recurring Groundhog Days.</p>
<p>Director Harold Ramis was brought up Jewish but <a href="https://www.lionsroar.com/harold-ramis-profile-by-perry-garfinkel/">became a Buddhist</a> who carried a laminated card, “<a href="https://red40entertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/THE-5-MINUTE-BUDDHIST.pdf">The 5 Minute Buddhist</a>”: a kind of cheat sheet of core ideas of Buddhism. So it’s not surprising to find them in his movie.</p>
<p>One is “pratītyasamutpāda,” another Sanskrit term: the idea that everything in the cosmos <a href="https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780195393521/obo-9780195393521-0027.xml">is linked by causal chains</a>. All causes and effects are connected; nothing stands wholly apart on its own. By the end of “Groundhog Day,” the prideful Phil has fully connected with people in the quaint Pennsylvania village – and won his love, Rita – having learned how his own well-being depends on the well-being of everyone around him. </p>
<h2>Close to awe</h2>
<p>There’s one more way to think about religion in film. Apart from specific spiritual themes, a powerful movie can offer an almost religious experience. </p>
<p>Nathaniel Dorsky, an experimental filmmaker <a href="https://open.bu.edu/handle/2144/34777">influenced by Buddhism</a>, writes of <a href="https://nathanieldorsky.net/dv">cinema as a devotional experience</a>. The act of sitting in darkness, watching an illuminated world flicker by, Dorsky says, may be as close to approaching the transcendent as many of us will come – getting a glimpse of something beyond our normal range of experience.</p>
<p>Of course, all these films can be enjoyed fully without reading them on this religious level. Some movie fans would object that these interpretations spoil the fun, and they may have a point. But part of the excitement of studying religion in popular culture is to be aware of its many permutations, hidden in plain view.</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to correct the name of religion scholar S. B. Rodriguez-Plate.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222953/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David W. Stowe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Plenty of movies have explicitly religious themes, but some of the most interesting examples of faith or transcendence on screen are much more subtle.David W. Stowe, Professor of Religious Studies, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2155522023-10-18T16:02:44Z2023-10-18T16:02:44ZDo we live in a computer simulation like in The Matrix? My proposed new law of physics backs up the idea<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554498/original/file-20231018-15-te83tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=107%2C71%2C3880%2C2532&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hand-opening-space-discovering-digital-binary-1331226596">canbedone/Shuttestock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The simulated universe theory implies that our universe, with all its galaxies, planets and life forms, is a meticulously programmed computer simulation. In this scenario, the physical laws governing our reality are simply algorithms. The experiences we have are generated by the computational processes of an immensely advanced system. </p>
<p>While inherently speculative, the simulated universe theory has gained attention from scientists and philosophers due to its intriguing implications. The idea has made its mark in popular culture, across movies, TV shows and books – including the 1999 film <a href="https://www.warnerbros.co.uk/movies/matrix">The Matrix</a>. </p>
<p>The earliest records of the concept that reality is an illusion are from ancient Greece. There, the question “What is the nature of our reality?”, posed by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Plato">Plato</a> (427 BC) and others, gave birth to <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/idealism/">idealism</a>. Idealist ancient thinkers such as Plato considered mind and spirit as the abiding reality. Matter, they argued, was just a manifestation or illusion. </p>
<p>Fast forward to modern times, and idealism has morphed into a new philosophy. This is the idea that both the material world and consciousness are part of a simulated reality. This is simply a modern extension of idealism, driven by recent technological advancements in computing and digital technologies. In both cases, the true nature of reality transcends the physical. </p>
<p>Within the scientific community, the concept of a simulated universe has sparked both fascination and scepticism. Some scientists suggest that if our reality is a simulation, there may be glitches or patterns within the fabric of the universe that betray its simulated nature.</p>
<p>However, the search for such anomalies remains a challenge. Our understanding of the laws of physics is still evolving. Ultimately, we lack a definitive framework to distinguish between simulated and non-simulated reality.</p>
<h2>A new law of physics</h2>
<p>If our physical reality is a simulated construct, rather than an objective world that exists independently of the observer, then how could we scientifically prove this? In <a href="https://aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/5.0087175">a 2022 study</a>, I proposed a possible experiment, but it remains untested today. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554518/original/file-20231018-21-s6p9pp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Raphael's The School of Athens, depicting Plato (left) pointing upwards, in reference to his belief in the higher forms." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554518/original/file-20231018-21-s6p9pp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554518/original/file-20231018-21-s6p9pp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554518/original/file-20231018-21-s6p9pp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554518/original/file-20231018-21-s6p9pp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554518/original/file-20231018-21-s6p9pp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554518/original/file-20231018-21-s6p9pp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554518/original/file-20231018-21-s6p9pp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Plato (left) pointing upwards, in reference to his belief in the higher forms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">wikipedia</span></span>
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<p>However, there is hope. Information theory is the mathematical study of the quantification, storage and communication of information. Originally <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-claude-shannons-information-theory-invented-the-future-20201222/">developed by mathematician Claude Shannon</a>, it has become increasingly popular in physics and is used a growing range of research areas. </p>
<p>In my recent research, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0173278">published in AIP Advances</a>, I used information theory to propose a new law of physics, which I call the second law of infodynamics. And importantly, it appears to support the simulated universe theory.</p>
<p>At the heart of the second law of infodynamics is the concept of entropy – a measure of disorder, which always rises over time in an isolated system. When a hot cup of coffee is left on the table, after a while it will achieve equilibrium, having the same temperature with the environment. The entropy of the system is at maximum at this point, and its energy is minimum.</p>
<p>The second law of infodynamics states that the “information entropy” (the average amount of information conveyed by an event), must remain constant or decrease over time – up to a minimum value at equilibrium. </p>
<p>So it is in total opposition to the second law of thermodynamics (that heat always flows spontaneously from hot to cold regions of matter while entorpy rises). For a cooling cup of coffee, it means that the spread of probabilities of locating a molecule in the liquid is reduced. That’s because the spread of energies available is reduced when there’s thermal equilibrium. So information entropy always goes down over time as entropy goes up.</p>
<p>My study indicates that the second law of infodynamics appears to be a cosmological necessity. It is universally applicable with immense scientific ramifications. We know the universe is expanding without the loss or gain of heat, which requires the total entropy of the universe to be constant. However we also know from thermodynamics that entropy is always rising. I argue this shows that there must be another entropy – information entropy – to balance the increase.</p>
<p>My law <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0100358">can confirm</a> how genetic information behaves. But it also indicates that genetic mutations are at the most fundamental level not just random events, as <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/natural-selection/#:%7E:text=Darwin%20did%20not%20know%20that,genetic%20variation%20within%20a%20population.">Darwin’s theory suggests</a>. Instead, genetic mutations take place according to the second law of infodynamics, in such a way that the genome’s information entropy is always minimised. The law can also explain phenomena in atomic physics and the time evolution of digital data. </p>
<p>Most interestingly, this new law explains one of the great mysteries of nature. Why does symmetry rather than asymmetry dominate the universe? My study demonstrates mathematically that high symmetry states are the preferred choice because such states correspond to the lowest information entropy. And, as dictated by the second law of infodynamics, that’s what a system will naturally strive for.</p>
<p>I believe this discovery has massive implications for genetic research, evolutionary biology, genetic therapies, physics, mathematics and cosmology, to name a few. </p>
<h2>Simulation theory</h2>
<p>The main consequence of the second law of infodynamics is the minimisation of the information content associated with any event or process in the universe. This in turn means an optimisation of the information content, or the most effective data compression.</p>
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<p>Since the second law of infodynamics is a cosmological necessity, and appears to apply everywhere in the same way, it could be concluded that this indicates that the entire universe appears to be a simulated construct or a giant computer. </p>
<p>A super complex universe like ours, if it were a simulation, would require a built-in data optimisation and compression in order to reduce the computational power and the data storage requirements to run the simulation. This is exactly what we are observing all around us, including in digital data, biological systems, mathematical symmetries and the entire universe. </p>
<p>Further studies are necessary before we can definitely state that the second law of infodynamics is as fundamental as the second law of thermodynamics. The same is true for the simulated universe hypothesis.</p>
<p>But if they both hold up to scrutiny, this is perhaps the first time scientific evidence supporting this theory has been produced – as explored <a href="https://ipipublishing.org/index.php/ipil/RR">in my recent book</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215552/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melvin M. Vopson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If the average amount of information conveyed by an event is always decreasing, it could mean we live in a computer program.Melvin M. Vopson, Associate Professor of Physics, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1749352022-01-14T14:44:09Z2022-01-14T14:44:09ZThe Matrix: how conspiracy theorists hijacked the ‘red pill’ philosophy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440861/original/file-20220114-19-18wivp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=116%2C80%2C5874%2C3269&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Matrix is among the most influential science fiction films of all time. Nearly 20 years since the third film in the series premiered, a fourth chapter, The Matrix Resurrections, was released in December to great excitement. </p>
<p>But one of The Matrix’s most enduring cultural contributions has been to conspiracy theories. Motifs from the film have been adopted by online groups to reinforce their messages, which are often <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1057610X.2020.1751459">hateful and violent</a>. Incels, or involuntary celibates, are particularly engaged with Matrix-style “philosophy”. A <a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-the-warped-world-of-incel-extremists-166142">mass shooter in the UK</a>, for example, was found, after his death, to have been using Matrix imagery in online discussion forums before committing his crimes. </p>
<p>The problem is so widespread that the new Matrix film is being taken by some as a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/12/23/matrix-resurrections-review-red-pill-america-526038">rejection</a> of the trend. Ahead of the film’s release, two of its <a href="https://www.screengeek.net/2021/12/23/the-matrix-resurrections-red-pill-political-right/">writers described themselves</a> as approaching the movie with the intent of reclaiming the “red pill” trope from its hijackers. </p>
<h2>Red pill, blue pill</h2>
<p>The idea of the red pill is a key example. In the original Matrix, the protagonist is invited to choose between a red and blue pill. The red reveals the world for what it truly is; an artificial construct of machines which have enslaved humanity. The blue allows the protagonist to remain in a comfortable delusion; spared from facing the horrors beyond. This cultural motif is now a cornerstone of conspiratorial thinking.</p>
<p>Red pill conspiracy theories follow the same basic logic. A nefarious enemy is working behind the scenes, having concealed their harmful activities from the population. By “taking the red pill” believers “wake up” to this truth.</p>
<p>It is perhaps ironic that in the film the red pill reveals reality for what it truly is while in conspiracy theories it allows adherents to construct their own reality – one which tends to reinforce and rationalise their own preconceptions.</p>
<p>To demonstrate, take the online <a href="https://www.hsaj.org/articles/16835">“manosphere”</a>, a loosely affiliated network of misogynistic groups united by a shared red pill conspiracy theory. They see feminism as having corrupted socio-political institutions and established a society structured to the advantage of women and the detriment of men. Feminism, or the myth of female oppression, is a means to trick men into accepting exploitation and ceding ever more power. In “taking the red pill” manosphere adherents believe they are awake to this inequitable world order. They see themselves as a resistance movement against it.</p>
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<img alt="A hand holding a red pill and another hand holding a blue pill against a black backround." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440864/original/file-20220114-19-aywiya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440864/original/file-20220114-19-aywiya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440864/original/file-20220114-19-aywiya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440864/original/file-20220114-19-aywiya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440864/original/file-20220114-19-aywiya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440864/original/file-20220114-19-aywiya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440864/original/file-20220114-19-aywiya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The choice between the red pill and blue pill is a central theme to many conspiracy theories.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>The danger of red pill narratives is the type of thinking it imparts. Within these narratives “truth” is presupposed rather than tested. Facts must conform to this truth to be legitimate, and all contrary evidence is dismissed. Inevitably such communities become insular, seeing the outside world as brainwashed and themselves as uniquely virtuous for having the strength of character to face reality.</p>
<p>Red pill narratives naturally encourage echo chambers, which are an ideal environment for radicalisation. Shared narratives can quickly diverge from reality when left unchallenged. Eventually the positions and beliefs of the community only make sense in the worlds which adherents have constructed for themselves.</p>
<h2>Recycling old tropes</h2>
<p>There are many other examples beyond incel culture, and they should strike a foreboding chord. In worlds corrupted by unseen forces, radical action is easily justified. Conspiracy theories paved the way for last year’s attack on the US Capitol, and continue to inflame tensions a year on. The idea of being duped by the mainstream is evident in much anti-vax thinking. In the often competing worlds of conspiracy theorists, drinking urine or injecting bleach are variously presented as the real cures for COVID-19 rather than the vaccines developed by governments in a bid to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s42738-021-00073-2">control their populations</a>.</p>
<p>But is The Matrix to blame for modern conspiratorial thinking? No. Narratives of malevolent hands pulling strings behind the scenes are far older, and deeply tied to antisemitism. In early-1900s conspiracy theories, which would later fuel the the rise of Nazism, it was claimed a cabal of Jewish elders were <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nationalities-papers/article/imagined-communities-and-imaginary-plots-nationalisms-conspiracies-and-pandemics-in-the-longue-duree/B65A91B904E8B607EBC37FEF5085C96B">infiltrating and corrupting social</a> institutions in a plot for global dominion. Central to Nazi ideology was the theory of “Jewish-Bolshevism”, which held Jews invented communism as a means of world conquest. Hitler even believed the British people would become his staunch allies if only they destroyed the “Judaic forces” controlling them. Echoes of contemporary red pill narratives underpinned all these beliefs; for this type of thinking long predates the specific motif.</p>
<p>It would be more accurate to say The Matrix has popularised a superficially similar metaphor. It simplified, if not standardised, the way in which these theories could be communicated to modern audiences. These days, conspiracy theorists can simply point to The Matrix as a framework rather than explain their worldview in their own words. The red pill is essentially a way of saying “it’s just like The Matrix,” but the real enemy is [x]. This is of course an unintended consequence. But after 20 years, the genie is probably not going back in the bottle.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174935/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlie Tye receives funding from the Morrell Centre for Legal and Political Philosophy. </span></em></p>The image of the red and blue pills is central to the movie’s narrative but has been co-opted by hate groups who want adherents to think only they know the ‘truth’.Charlie Tye, PHD Candidate, York Law School, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1748132022-01-13T11:45:20Z2022-01-13T11:45:20ZCrypto countries: Nigeria and El Salvador’s opposing journeys into digital currencies – podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440633/original/file-20220113-23-s6t8er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=139%2C106%2C5324%2C3522&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Banking on bitcoin: El Salvador announced plans to build a Bitcoin City in November 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Rodrigo Sura/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We dive into the world of crypto and digital currencies and take a close look at two countries approaching them in very different ways in this episode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a>. And if the latest Matrix film has left you wondering whether we are really living in a simulation, we talk to a philosopher on the long history of that idea. </p>
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<p>Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and its most populous country. El Salvador is a small republic in central America. But despite their many differences, they have two economic problems in common. First, a large proportion of their populations don’t have access to bank accounts. Second, their economies rely heavily on remittances, money sent back by people living abroad. But the money transfer companies that facilitate these cash flows can be slow and costly. </p>
<p>In 2021, both countries turned to the fast-moving world of digital currencies in an effort to tackle these, and other problems. But they’ve taken very different routes. </p>
<p>Nigeria banned <a href="https://qz.com/africa/1970446/nigerias-central-bank-takes-aim-at-cryptocurrency-again/">bank trading of cryptocurrencies</a> in February and then launched its own central bank digital currency, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/10/25/nigeria-becomes-first-african-nation-to-roll-out-digital-money">the eNaira</a>, in October. Nigeria was only the second country in the world to launch a central bank digital currency, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-20/the-bahamas-central-banker-explains-why-its-sand-dollar-led-the-way">after The Bahamas</a>. More may soon follow suit, including China, which in January expanded the pilot of its <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/04/china-launches-digital-currency-app-to-expand-usage.html">digital yuan</a> to more areas, including the major cities Shanghai and Beijing. </p>
<p>Nigeria’s decision to launch its own digital currency came as a surprise to many, says Iwa Salami, reader and associate professor in law at the University of East London in the UK and an expert on digital currencies. Initially, eNaira wallets are only available for people with bank accounts, but the plan is to extend access to anyone with a phone number in the future. </p>
<p>One of the questions, Salami says, is whether Nigeria will be able to “fully achieve financial inclusion in the way that it’s been promoted.” There are a number of risks involved, she says, including to financial stability if those with eNaira wallets start using them as a deposit account. “Therefore, rather than using commercial banks, people actually use eNaira wallets to store their savings, which then means that the relevance of banks becomes redundant,” she says.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-digital-currency-what-the-enaira-is-for-and-why-its-not-perfect-171323">Nigeria's digital currency: what the eNaira is for and why it's not perfect</a>
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<p>While Nigeria opted to create its own central bank digital currency, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt a cryptocurrency as legal tender. The US dollar has been El Salvador’s currency since 2001, when it abandoned its currency, the colón. But in September 2021, El Salvador <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/07/el-salvador-bitcoin-experiment-nayib-bukele">added bitcoin</a> to its list of official currencies. </p>
<p>Erica Pimentel, an assistant professor at the Smith school of business at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, says there were geopolitical reasons for the decision, as well as an aim to increase financial inclusion and speed up remittances. “We see El Salvador standing up and saying we don’t want the dollar anymore, we want to be masters of our own domain,” she says. </p>
<p>In November, the government of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced plans <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-59368483">for a Bitcoin City</a>. Pimentel says it’s “a city built from scratch, whose economy is centred on bitcoin mining and is powered by a volcano.” She talks us through the risks involved with El Salvador’s embrace of bitcoin, and says other countries will be closely watching what happens.</p>
<p>From virtual currency, we turn to virtual brains, and the question of whether or not we’re living in a simulation, a little like that in The Matrix. Benjamin Curtis, senior lecturer in philosophy and ethics at Nottingham Trent University in the UK, explains the long history of this idea. He tracks versions of this question posed by ancient Greek philosophers, to René Descartes in the 17th century and how it evolved with the modern computing era. Curtis says when The Matrix film first came out in 1999 it “certainly introduced these ideas to a much wider audience”. (At 30m20)</p>
<p>And finally, Rob Reddick, COVID-19 editor at The Conversation in the UK, picks out some recent coverage of the wave of omicron cases sweeping the world. (At 42m10)</p>
<p>This episode of The Conversation Weekly was produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can find us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/?hl=en">theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also sign up to The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter?utm_campaign=PodcastTCWeekly&utm_content=newsletter&utm_source=podcast">free daily email here</a>. </p>
<p>A transcript of this episode <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-el-salvador-and-nigeria-are-taking-different-approaches-to-digital-currencies-plus-are-we-living-in-a-simulation-the-conversation-weekly-podcast-transcript-174807">is available here.</a> </p>
<p>Newsclips in this episode are from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC1eFaFR3Zg">Channels Television</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3qAr-T-k-g">TVC News Nigeria</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r72qNehD7M4">CBS News</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8nFfz_a-Fk">DW News</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OUaP2JPh9w">CNBC Television</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFS8c4Rpjj4">WION</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-V-hmSpBEc&t=64s">CNA</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV8z5AlIdHg">France24 English</a>. </p>
<p><em>You can listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a>, or find out how else to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">listen here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174813/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iwa Salami and Erica Pimentel do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointments.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Curtis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Plus, a philosopher explains the history of the idea that we might all be living in a simulation. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.Gemma Ware, Editor and Co-Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationDaniel Merino, Assistant Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1709602021-12-30T19:15:34Z2021-12-30T19:15:34ZIs The Matrix a trans film? Revisiting the Wachowskis through a trans lens<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437399/original/file-20211214-17-1jwkeo1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1%2C1198%2C671&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With Lana Wachowski’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ix7TUGVYIo">The Matrix Resurrections</a> about to hit theatres, we’re going to see a lot of criticism interpreting siblings Lana and Lilly Wachowskis’ body of films through a trans lens. I’m really looking forward to it: it’s a great opportunity for trans critics, and there are so few Hollywood movies – or pop culture in general – with openly trans creators for us to talk about. </p>
<p>Lilly Wachowski, quoted in the excellent Cael M. Keegan text <a href="https://caelkeegan.com/lana-and-lilly-wachowski-sensing-transgender/">The Wachowskis: Sensing Transgender</a>, once said: “There’s a critical eye being cast back on Lana’s and my work through the lens of our transness, and this is a cool thing, because it’s an excellent reminder that art is never static.”</p>
<p>The Matrix, being the Wachowskis’ most popular film, is ripe for a trans reading. <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/what-the-matrix-can-teach-us-about-gender.html">Vulture critic Andrea Long Chu</a> summarises it as: “Neo has dysphoria. The Matrix is the gender binary. The agents are transphobia. You get it.”</p>
<p>I would also caution the risk of the Wachowskis’ art becoming “static” as trans art. Identity politics, celebrity culture and the ritualisation of “coming out” all influence our understanding of the Wachowskis and their work. </p>
<p>It would be easy to interpret the Wachowskis’ canon as innately trans, but in doing so, we might be relying too heavily on <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/auteur-theory">auteur theory in film</a>.</p>
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<span class="caption">The Matrix Resurrections, the long-awaited next chapter in the groundbreaking franchise, continues a sci-fi narrative often read as a trans analogy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Murray Close/ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc</span></span>
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<h2>The director is king</h2>
<p>Auteur theory was originally coined by <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-truffaut-essays-that-clear-up-misguided-notions-of-auteurism">filmmaker-critic François Truffaut</a> in 1954: he championed original films by directors with unique stylistic signatures. The theory has been contentious but popular in the English-speaking world since <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/andrew-sarris-and-the-a-word">Andrew Sarris</a> adapted the idea for Hollywood in the 1960s, proposing (if tongue-in-cheek) the idea that “the director is king.” </p>
<p>Auteur theory mythologises the director as the singular visionary behind a film. While recognising filmmakers’ signatures can be rewarding, a solid film shouldn’t be contingent on it.</p>
<p>Auteur theory overemphasises a storyteller’s personal life in their public work. When we talk about authentic representation in pop culture, and the historic under-representation of marginalised storytellers, it’s tempting to conflate them as one issue.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-matrix-20-years-on-how-a-sci-fi-film-tackled-big-philosophical-questions-114007">The Matrix 20 years on: how a sci-fi film tackled big philosophical questions</a>
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<h2>Trans people and trans stories</h2>
<p>On a surface level, it makes sense trans people should tell trans stories, but this quickly becomes an argument that <em>only</em> trans people can tell <em>only</em> trans stories. This is especially troubling with trans identities. Not every trans person comes out before they start sharing their work. </p>
<p>It’s overwhelmingly likely that in Hollywood’s history, plenty of filmmakers were trans: we just didn’t know it. This logic deeply affected the Wachowskis’ first feature, 1996’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115736/">Bound</a>: Keegan notes that the film was overlooked as iconic lesbian cinema at the time. The Wachowskis’ success in Hollywood cannot be extricated from their staying in the closet: Lana came out in 2010, between directing her sixth film (Speed Racer) and the seventh (Cloud Atlas). Lilly came out in 2016, after threats from the Daily Mail to <a href="https://www.windycitytimes.com/lgbt/Second-Wachowski-filmmaker-sibling-comes-out-as-trans-/54509.html">out her regardless</a>.</p>
<p>We have to ask: if the Wachowskis had never come out (especially in Lilly’s case, since she was outed against her will) would these films still <em>feel</em> trans? Would their narratives still resonate with the many fans who’ve come out as trans since seeing The Matrix? I think so: it’s not a coincidence so many trans fans identify with narratives about discovering your true self and fighting to free others from the constrictions of normative life. </p>
<p>Could a wildly ambitious and delightfully girlish box-office bomb like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1617661/">Jupiter Ascending</a> have been made without the unique career trajectory of the Wachowskis? Yes, it’s rewarding to retroactively analyse their work as trans – Keegan identifies revisitation as a part of trans meaning-making – but it would be disappointing to stop at two directors’ finite catalogue of films. </p>
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<span class="caption">The Wachowski film Jupiter Ascending is considered a box office flop.</span>
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<p>This is an opportunity to look at the limits of auteur theory, and how much we should rely on directors’ personal lives to shape the way we interpret media.</p>
<p>Auteur theory risks omitting interesting narratives about gender from directors – and other filmmakers – who aren’t out of the closet, or who simply tell insightful stories without having the personal experience of being trans. We need not uncover a trans crew member behind Guillermo del Toro’s movies to find his metaphors of love and monstrosity resonate powerfully with our own trans experiences – we might just as well watch Alien or Hackers and say “oh, that’s gender.” </p>
<p>At the endpoint of this argument that “only trans creators can tell trans stories” is a very dangerous myth that trans people are innately deceptive if we stay in the closet for safety, privacy, or simply as a preference. We must be allowed to assume anyone can tell an interesting story about gender, whether they’re cis or trans; a director or the key grip.</p>
<h2>Looking beyond gender</h2>
<p>If we can embrace the idea trans narratives can be made by anyone, we should also embrace the idea trans creators can make narratives about anything. The obsession with what we know about the Wachowskis’ personal lives can overshadow other analyses. </p>
<p>There are troubling racial and colonial themes at work in films like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371111/">Cloud Atlas</a> that are overlooked through a (white) trans framework, and a fascinating British/Anglican context to <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/">V for Vendetta</a> that vanishes with original writer Alan Moore’s <a href="https://www.cbr.com/alan-moore-movies-adaptations/">disavowal of all film adaptations of his comics</a>. While trans analysis is interesting, and there’s plenty to say, it can mean overlooking other narratives and problems in the Wachowskis’ work.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437414/original/file-20211214-27-t87lvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437414/original/file-20211214-27-t87lvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437414/original/file-20211214-27-t87lvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437414/original/file-20211214-27-t87lvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437414/original/file-20211214-27-t87lvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437414/original/file-20211214-27-t87lvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437414/original/file-20211214-27-t87lvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437414/original/file-20211214-27-t87lvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">V for Vendetta is a 2005 dystopian political superhero action film directed by James McTeigue from a screenplay by the Wachowskis. It is based on the 1988 DC Comics limited series of the same name by Alan Moore and David Lloyd.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
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<p>The transness in the Wachowskis’ work isn’t nearly so simple as “the red pill is oestrogen.” If we can look past the fad of films-as-ciphers, there’s bigger ways of thinking about gender that don’t require a PhD in Baudrillard. </p>
<p>The Matrix proposes that your self-image is separate from your physical body; that everyone raised in an oppressive system will violently defend that system unless they’re ready to rip themselves free of it; that we all fall on our first jump, but with love and belief from others we can become ourselves; that our duty is to free others after that and to break the entire system so it cannot be rebuilt. </p>
<p>Yes, gender is one of those systems, but films like Cloud Atlas and Jupiter Ascending are more concerned with the exploitation of proletariat bodies to feed a surface of luxury: these themes have more to say about capitalism than a reading that treats gender subtext like crossword clues. </p>
<h2>Encrypted autobiographies</h2>
<p>The Wachowskis have always strongly branded their films and supplementary material: this, and their distinctive signature themes, make them a great choice for auteur theory. </p>
<p>In highlighting invisible labour in the text, we’re invited to consider the kind of labour that went into making the text. Over-dependence on auteur theory can obscure the creative teamwork it takes to make a film. </p>
<p>Treating their works as encrypted autobiographies risks ignoring the kind of paradigms they seek to destroy, and the potential for all storytellers to challenge systems they’re not publicly oppressed by.</p>
<p>I am sure there will be many fascinating, nuanced, trans-led analyses of The Matrix Resurrections. What I’m hoping for is analysis of The Matrix Resurrections as more than a Wachowski film, as more than a trans film, and for more trans analysis of all films.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170960/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naja Later does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It would be easy to interpret the Wachowskis’ films as innately trans, but in doing so, we might be relying too heavily on auteur theory.Naja Later, Academic Tutor in Media and Communications, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1504182020-11-19T13:41:49Z2020-11-19T13:41:49ZFive film ‘failures’ you should give a second chance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370316/original/file-20201119-23-1180uve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C26%2C1564%2C1147&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cinema poster for Zardoz (1984), starring Sean Connery.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zardoz#/media/File:Original_movie_poster_for_the_film_Zardoz.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s a long list of famously bad movies that are mocked and derided for getting it completely wrong. Films that fail to meet expectations so spectacularly that they found themselves the punchline to a cynical joke about Hollywood’s shameless banality. But sometimes, we rush to judgement. </p>
<p>Critics and audiences latch onto bad buzz and gleefully join the feeding frenzy that leaves an unconventional movie’s reputation in tatters. The fact that these films bucked a trend, defied industry logic, or simply confounded audiences’ expectations at the time makes them fascinating historical aberrations. As a former film reviewer and magazine editor and now lecturer in film I know, in some cases, famous movie flops can turn out to be innovative, challenging, and deeply satisfying experiences when approached with an open mind. </p>
<p>Here are five to watch this lockdown:</p>
<h2>1. The Matrix Reloaded (2002)</h2>
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<p>While the Wachowski sisters’ groundbreaking first Matrix movie is by now an <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/03/the-matrix-movie-wachowskis-20th-anniversary/586084/">established modern classic</a>, the sequels are only mentioned with hushed breath and raised eyebrows. Released to enormous hype alongside a barrage of Matrix spin-offs, the second film <a href="https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-matrix-reloaded-premiere-wachowskis">smashed box office records</a> in its opening weekend. But both the film’s reputation and its audience numbers <a href="https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Matrix-Reloaded-The#tab=summary">dropped off precipitously</a>. </p>
<p>In the film’s opening moments it delivered similarly impressive visual effects. However, things took a turn as Reloaded moved away from the first film’s linear action-movie narrative to tell a sprawling tale of revolutionary uprising. This departure paired with the abrupt cliffhanger ending left many viewers frustrated and bewildered. </p>
<p>But freed from those expectations, Reloaded can be enjoyed not only for its truly jaw-dropping action sequences but also for shifting the franchise’s focus from the traditional <a href="https://qz.com/1436608/this-classic-formula-can-show-you-how-to-live-more-heroically/">hero’s journey</a> to a focus on collective rebellion. And the fact that this rebellion is spearheaded by one of the most diverse casts ever assembled in an action blockbuster feels more urgent and meaningful now than ever.</p>
<h2>2. Zardoz (1974)</h2>
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<p>When <a href="https://theconversation.com/sean-connery-bond-james-bond-but-so-much-more-149238">Sean Connery passed away</a> recently, many fans couldn’t resist paying homage by sharing photos of his famously ridiculous “red diaper” costume from the movie Zardoz. Director John Boorman’s legendary flop certainly seems laughable in its wilful combination of intellectually ambitious science fiction and patently ridiculous silliness. This bewildering juxtaposition makes it a hard film to parse. It attempts to present a clownish philosophy that challenges us to take it seriously. </p>
<p>Set in a remote dystopian future, the film follows Connery as a barbarian tribe member who penetrates a matriarchal elite ruling his world from behind the scenes.
Zardoz uses this narrative as a framework from which familiar gender roles are contrasted, often in a rather ridiculously exaggerated form. </p>
<p>But it’s precisely this tongue-in-cheek sensibility that makes this such a fascinating and provocative experiment. Where today’s movie franchises are either <a href="https://www.tor.com/2018/07/06/why-so-serious-the-dark-knight/">deadly serious</a> or <a href="https://www.tor.com/2017/11/03/thor-ragnarok-is-the-fun-funny-marvel-movie-weve-been-waiting-for/">frivolous fun</a>, Zardoz illustrates how silliness can go hand in hand with serious ruminations about gender roles, violence, and toxic masculinity.</p>
<h2>3. Popeye (1980)</h2>
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<p>After the phenomenal success of comic book movies like <a href="https://www.studioremarkable.com/reviews/the-star-wars-phenomenon/3377/">Star Wars (1977)</a> and <a href="https://www.tor.com/2017/03/17/a-piece-of-iconic-americana-superman-1978/">Superman (1978)</a>, Hollywood studios frantically scrambled to put together similar high-concept blockbusters. </p>
<p>Paramount owned the rights to iconic comic strip character Popeye, and legendary producer and dealmaker Robert Evans assembled a package that combined the talents of director Robert Altman, TV star Robin Williams (in his first movie role), pop star Harry Nilsson, and renowned comics writer Jules Feiffer.</p>
<p>Working on a massive set constructed in a gorgeous bay on Malta, the production went <a href="https://www.wbur.org/artery/2015/07/30/robert-altmans-popeye">massively over budget</a>. And, far away from studio executives’ watchful eyes, the drug-fueled parties amongst the cast and crew soon became <a href="https://screenmayhem.com/another-look-jeremy-carr-on-robert-altmans-popeye/">the stuff of legend</a>. While the film <a href="https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Popeye-(1980)#tab=summary">made good money</a> at the time, its troubled production cast a long shadow over its critical reputation, and the film is often included in lists of <a href="https://purpleclover.littlethings.com/entertainment/7436-20-worst-movie-musicals/item/robin-williams-popeye/">Hollywood’s worst movies</a>. But the film is an almost magical foray into an idiosyncratic, totally self-contained comic book world.</p>
<h2>4. Next (2007)</h2>
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<p>Some movies provide such unintentional campy delights that they fall into the “so bad it’s good” category. And then some delights are so spectacularly stupid, so willfully misconceived, so outrageously misjudged, that they transcend even this category. Next is one of those rare miracles that feels like it was made by aliens who made a valiant attempt to create a human movie.</p>
<p>The indefatigable Nicolas Cage stars as a man who can see exactly two minutes into the future, an ability that comes in handy making bets at casinos. This skill also makes him the target of FBI agents trying to stop a looming terrorist attack. Everything about the movie is so spectacularly wrong, from its nonsensical (and unexplained) central premise to its tastelessly stalkerish romance to its twist ending that simply defies description. Next demonstrates that a movie that does everything wrong, can still be extraordinarily entertaining.</p>
<h2>5. Starship Troopers (1997)</h2>
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<p>Having followed a string of Hollywood hits with the notorious flop <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/showgirls-elizabeth-berkley-paul-verhoeven-you-dont-nomi-documentary-a9407086.html">Showgirls</a>, Dutch director Paul Verhoeven’s next project reunited him with <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093870/">RoboCop</a> screenwriter <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/robocop-screenwriter-ed-neumeier-science-fiction-30th-anniversary-643502">Ed Neumeier</a> for an adaptation of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/aug/29/space-opera-new-guardians-of-the-galaxy-ancillary-justice">Robert A. Heinlein’s</a> militaristic space opera. <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/starship-troopers-1997">Critics</a> at the time praised the impressive visual effects but criticised what they saw as a fascist undercurrent tainting the heroes’ triumph.</p>
<p>But this, of course, was precisely the film’s satirical point: Verhoeven directed an exciting action-adventure filled with literal star wars that plays like a propaganda film for a future America that has gone full fascist. The discomfort many people feel in watching Starship Troopers is the slow realisation that Americans love to cheer on their heroes – not in spite of the fact that they have bought into a fascist agenda, but because of it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150418/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan Hassler-Forest does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You might have the impression they’re bad but give them another try and you might be surprised.Dan Hassler-Forest, Assistant professor in media studies, Utrecht UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1140072019-03-27T18:42:04Z2019-03-27T18:42:04ZThe Matrix 20 years on: how a sci-fi film tackled big philosophical questions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265723/original/file-20190325-36279-4c3u3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1599%2C967&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Matrix was a box office hit, but it also explored some of western philosophy's most interesting themes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/mediaviewer/rm1677073664">HD Wallpapers Desktop/Warner Bros</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Incredible as it may seem, the end of March marks 20 years since the release of the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/">first film</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix_(franchise)">Matrix franchise</a> directed by The Wachowski siblings. This “cyberpunk” sci-fi movie was a box office hit with its dystopian futuristic vision, distinctive fashion sense, and slick, innovative action sequences. But it was also a catalyst for popular discussion around some very big philosophical themes. </p>
<p>The film centres on a computer hacker, “Neo” (played by Keanu Reeves), who learns that his whole life has been lived within an elaborate, simulated reality. This computer-generated dream world was designed by an artificial intelligence of human creation, which industrially farms human bodies for energy while distracting them via a relatively pleasant parallel reality called the “matrix”.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real?’</span></figcaption>
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<p>This scenario recalls one of western philosophy’s most enduring thought experiments. In a famous passage from Plato’s <a href="https://www.iep.utm.edu/republic/">Republic</a> (ca 380 BCE), Plato has us imagine the human condition as being like a group of prisoners who have lived their lives underground and shackled, so that their experience of reality is limited to shadows projected onto their cave wall. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-movie-scenes-the-matrix-and-bullet-time-105734">The great movie scenes: The Matrix and bullet-time</a>
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<p>A freed prisoner, Plato suggests, would be startled to discover the truth about reality, and blinded by the brilliance of the sun. Should he return below, his companions would have no means to understand what he has experienced and surely think him mad. Leaving the captivity of ignorance is difficult. </p>
<p>In The Matrix, Neo is freed by rebel leader Morpheus (ironically, the name of the Greek God of sleep) by being awoken to real life for the first time. But unlike Plato’s prisoner, who discovers the “higher” reality beyond his cave, the world that awaits Neo is both desolate and horrifying. </p>
<h2>Our fallible senses</h2>
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<span class="caption">The Matrix recalls several philosophical thought experiments.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/mediaviewer/rm525547776">Warner Bros</a></span>
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<p>The Matrix also trades on more recent philosophical questions famously posed by the 17th century Frenchman <a href="https://www.iep.utm.edu/descarte/">René Descartes</a>, concerning our inability to be certain about the evidence of our senses, and our capacity to know anything definite about the world as it really is. </p>
<p>Descartes even noted the difficulty of being certain that human experience is not the result of either a dream or a malevolent systematic deception. </p>
<p>The latter scenario was updated in philosopher Hilary Putnam’s 1981 “<a href="https://www.iep.utm.edu/brainvat/">brain in a vat</a>” thought experiment, which imagines a scientist electrically manipulating a brain to induce sensations of normal life.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-you-know-youre-not-living-in-a-computer-simulation-60704">How do you know you're not living in a computer simulation?</a>
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<p>So ultimately, then, what is reality? The late 20th century French thinker Jean Baudrillard, whose <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulacra_and_Simulation">book</a> appears briefly (with an ironic touch) early in the film, wrote extensively on the ways in which contemporary mass society generates sophisticated imitations of reality that become so realistic they are mistaken for reality itself (like mistaking the map for the landscape, or the portrait for the person). </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265731/original/file-20190325-36270-1hfob8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265731/original/file-20190325-36270-1hfob8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265731/original/file-20190325-36270-1hfob8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265731/original/file-20190325-36270-1hfob8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265731/original/file-20190325-36270-1hfob8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265731/original/file-20190325-36270-1hfob8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265731/original/file-20190325-36270-1hfob8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265731/original/file-20190325-36270-1hfob8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving in The Matrix.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/mediaviewer/rm3229122816">Warner Bros</a></span>
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<p>Of course, there is no need for a matrix-like AI conspiracy to achieve this. We see it now, perhaps even more intensely than 20 years ago, in the dominance of “reality TV” and curated identities of social media.</p>
<p>In some respects, the film appears to be reaching for a view close to that of the 18th century German philosopher, <a href="https://www.iep.utm.edu/kantmeta/">Immanuel Kant</a>, who insisted that our senses do not simply copy the world; rather, reality conforms to the terms of our perception. We only ever experience the world as it is available through the partial spectrum of our senses. </p>
<h2>The ethics of freedom</h2>
<p>Ultimately, the Matrix trilogy proclaims that free individuals can change the future. But how should that freedom be exercised? </p>
<p>This dilemma is unfolded in the first film’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Pill">increasingly notorious</a> red/blue pill scene, which raises the <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-belief/">ethics of belief</a>. Neo’s choice is to embrace either the “really real” (as exemplified by the red pill he is offered by Morpheus) or to return to his more normal “reality” (via the blue one). </p>
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<p>This quandary was captured in a 1974 thought experiment by American philosopher, Robert Nozick. Given an “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09515089.2017.1406600">experience machine</a>” capable of providing whatever experiences we desire, in a way indistinguishable from “real” ones, should we stubbornly prefer the truth of reality? Or can we feel free to reside within comfortable illusion? </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-virtual-reality-cannot-match-the-real-thing-92035">Why virtual reality cannot match the real thing</a>
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</em>
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<p>In The Matrix we see the rebels resolutely rejecting the comforts of the matrix, preferring grim reality. But we also see the rebel traitor Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) desperately seeking reinsertion into pleasant simulated reality. “Ignorance is bliss,” he affirms. </p>
<p>The film’s chief villain, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), darkly notes that unlike other mammals, (western) humanity insatiably consumes natural resources. The matrix, he suggests, is a “cure” for this human “contagion”. </p>
<p>We have heard much about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/careful-how-you-treat-todays-ai-it-might-take-revenge-in-the-future-112611">potential perils of AI</a>, but perhaps there is something in Agent Smith’s accusation. In raising this tension, The Matrix still strikes a nerve – especially after 20 further years of insatiable consumption.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114007/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Colledge does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cult film The Matrix was released 20 years ago this month. From Plato to Baudrillard, the film explored philosophical dilemmas we are still wrestling with today.Richard Colledge, Senior Lecturer & Head of School of Philosophy, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1057342018-11-04T19:21:08Z2018-11-04T19:21:08ZThe great movie scenes: The Matrix and bullet-time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242395/original/file-20181026-71029-1gm2yks.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C17%2C2973%2C1464&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Still from 'The Matrix', 1999</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>What makes a film a classic? In this video series, film scholar Bruce Isaacs looks at a classic film and analyses its brilliance.</em></p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Matrix, 1999.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Most films represent the world as we know and perceive it. Even when portraying alien worlds or super heroes, there are certain rules of perception that films adhere to. Which is why, when I first experienced bullet-time during the opening scene of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/">The Matrix</a>, I had to turn to my partner and ask: “what was that?”.</p>
<p>Bullet-time broke the common rules of perception as I knew it. How can a film freeze-frame and move during the still image, where the entire visual frame rotates on an axis? It was stunning, bold and new. And it has become one of the most influential special effects in the history of cinema.</p>
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<p><em><strong>See also:</strong></em> <br></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-movie-scenes-hitchcocks-vertigo-63320">Hitchcock’s Vertigo</a>
<br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-movie-scenes-antonionis-the-passenger-65395">Antonioni’s The Passenger</a>
<br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-movie-scenes-eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-74166">Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind</a>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-movie-scenes-steven-spielbergs-jaws-79043">Steven Spielberg’s Jaws</a>
<br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-movie-scenes-hitchcocks-psycho-and-the-power-of-jarring-music-97325">Hitchcock’s Psycho</a>
<br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-movie-scenes-the-godfather-98173">The Godfather</a>
<br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-movie-scenes-stanley-kubricks-2001-a-space-odyssey-100170">Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey</a>
<br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-movie-scenes-sofia-coppolas-marie-antoinette-101893">Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette</a>
<br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-movie-scenes-darren-aronofskys-requiem-for-a-dream-103916">Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105734/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Isaacs does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When it was released in 1999, The Matrix introduced a new type of image: bullet-time. Bruce Isaacs explains why it has become one of the most influential special effects in the history of cinema.Bruce Isaacs, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.