THE MATRIXAS A POSTMODERN FILM

HOW IS IT POSTMODERN?• THE MATRIX REFERENCE BAUDRILLARDS PHILOSOPHY

WHICH DEMONSTRATES THAT THE MOVIE IS AN ALLEGORY FOR EXPERIENCES IN A HEAVY COMMERCIALIZED, MEDIA-DRIVEN SOCIETY, ESPECIALLY IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, THIS INFLUENCE WAS BROUGHT TO THE PUBLIC’S ATTENTION THROUGH THE WRITING OF ART HISTORIANS SUCH AS GRISELDA POLLOCK AND FILM THEORIST SUCH AS HEINZ PETER SCWERFEL.

• IT MAKES MANY CONNECTIONS TO SIMULACRA AND SIMULATION IN THE EARLY SCENES , IN THE BOOK WHICH NEO HIDES HIS ILLICIT SOFTWARE.

• MORPHEUS REFERS TO THE REAL WORLD OUTSIDE THE MATRIX AS “THE DESERT OF THE REAL”, WHICH WAS DIRECTLY REFERENCED IN SALVOJ ZIZEK WORK, WELCOME TO THE DESERT OF REAL.

• THE MATRIX MAKES MANY CONNECTIONS TO SIMULACRA AND SIMULATION. IN AN EARLY SCENE, SIMULACRA AND SIMULATION IS THE BOOK IN WHICH NEO HIDES HIS ILLICIT SOFTWARE. IN THE FILM, THE CHAPTER 'ON NIHILISM' IS IN THE MIDDLE, RATHER THAN THE END OF THE BOOK.MORPHEUS ALSO REFERS TO THE REAL WORLD OUTSIDE OF THE MATRIX AS THE "DESERT OF THE REAL", WHICH WAS DIRECTLY REFERENCED IN THE SLAVOJŽIŽEK WORK, WELCOME TO THE DESERT OF THE REAL. IN THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT, MORPHEUS REFERENCED BAUDRILLARD'S BOOK SPECIFICALLY.KEANU REEVES WAS ASKED BY THE DIRECTORS TO READ THE BOOK, AS WELL AS OUT OF CONTROL AND EVOLUTION PSYCHOLOGY, BEFORE BEING CAST AS NEO.

HYPER REAL

• IT DESCRIBES A REALITY PERCEIVED BY HUMANS IS ACTUALLY THE MATRIX. IT REFERENCES THE REAL WORLD WITHIN THE FILM ITS SELF

IMMITATION

• THE MATRIX HAS OUR CONSUMPTION OF THE FILMS, THE MERCHANDISE, AND THE WORLD AND MYTH THE WACHOWSKIS SELL US, AND OUR COLLECTIVE ORGASM OVER THE EFFECTS AND PHONES, GUNS, SHADES AND LEATHER, REPRESENT OUR INTEGRATION INTO THE VIRTUALITY IT PROMOTES.

• THE MATRIX BECAME A VIRAL MEME SPREADING THROUGH AND BEING MIMETICALLY (MIMICKED I.E. COPIED) AND ABSORBED INTO MODERN CULTURE, EXTENDING OUR VIRTUALISATION.MERRIN – BAUDRILLARD AND THE MEDIA.

PASTICHE

• THE FILM REFERENCES THE CYBERPUNK AND HACKER SUBCULTURES; PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS IDEAS; AND HOMAGE TO ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND, HONG LONG ACTION CINEMA AND SPAGHETTI WESTERNS.

SIMULACRA

• WACHOWSKI BROTHERS WERE KEEN THAT EVERYONE INVOLVED UNDERSTOOD THE THEMATIC BACKGROUND OF THE MOVIE, JEAN BAUDRILLARD WAS REQUIRE TO BE READ FOR THE CAST TO UNDERSTAND.

• NEO OPENS A COPY OF HIS BOOK ENTITLED “ ON NIHLISM”