I found these articles – any Matrixist should read them:
One by William Merrin: The Matrix and Jean Baudrillard
William Merrin is an Associate Professor in Media Studies at Swansea University
Another by James Rovira: Baudrillard, The Matrix Trilogy, and the future of Religion
James Rovira is a writer and commentator.
I have shamelessly borrowed from the above. My worlds, so single quotes:
On the surface, as Merrin states, we have 'state-of-the-art camera-effects with all the blockbuster action movie clichés: the lone figure against the system, assassins in smart suits, a mysterious but influential figure, a femme fatale; a martial arts/military hardware mix of designer violence; all in very cool noir shades: black clothes, black shades, black leather; and a good old fashioned love story.'
Layered on that we have overt religious symbols and philosophical ideas.
But Matrixism, either as 'religion' or 'philosophy' seems to have missed the point, and swallowed the film's blue pill.
"The Matrix Trilogy derives its aesthetic in part from the sociological theory of Jean Baudrillard, whose Simulacra and Simulation makes its appearance in The Matrix as Thomas Anderson (Neo) opens it to a chapter entitled "On Nihilism"... "
Rivera picks up that Neo opens the book at the halfway point, but the page revealed is the title of the final chapter, "On Nihilism", which is not in the middle of the book, so it would appear that "the directors deliberately placed this chapter in the shot to direct viewers to a specific referential point for the film, a placement which may also establish the central trope of the first film, computer technology as nihilism."
"... the films can be described as deliberate attempts to validate Baudrillard’s theory, creating an effectively generic sign system to represent the process of enlightenment, one so effectively generic that any and every connection – from Christ to Gödel to Buddhism – is relevant, whether or not it directly informs the films or is even known to the directors."
James Rovira – emphasis mine.
The book sequence begins at 1:50 (nice touch that his room number is 101).
The age-old philosophical problems in a world of virtual reality technologies: "It's Plato's Cave, captain, but not as we know it." Now, the shadows are more real than the real.
One by William Merrin: The Matrix and Jean Baudrillard
William Merrin is an Associate Professor in Media Studies at Swansea University
Another by James Rovira: Baudrillard, The Matrix Trilogy, and the future of Religion
James Rovira is a writer and commentator.
I have shamelessly borrowed from the above. My worlds, so single quotes:
On the surface, as Merrin states, we have 'state-of-the-art camera-effects with all the blockbuster action movie clichés: the lone figure against the system, assassins in smart suits, a mysterious but influential figure, a femme fatale; a martial arts/military hardware mix of designer violence; all in very cool noir shades: black clothes, black shades, black leather; and a good old fashioned love story.'
Layered on that we have overt religious symbols and philosophical ideas.
But Matrixism, either as 'religion' or 'philosophy' seems to have missed the point, and swallowed the film's blue pill.
"The Matrix Trilogy derives its aesthetic in part from the sociological theory of Jean Baudrillard, whose Simulacra and Simulation makes its appearance in The Matrix as Thomas Anderson (Neo) opens it to a chapter entitled "On Nihilism"... "
Rivera picks up that Neo opens the book at the halfway point, but the page revealed is the title of the final chapter, "On Nihilism", which is not in the middle of the book, so it would appear that "the directors deliberately placed this chapter in the shot to direct viewers to a specific referential point for the film, a placement which may also establish the central trope of the first film, computer technology as nihilism."
"... the films can be described as deliberate attempts to validate Baudrillard’s theory, creating an effectively generic sign system to represent the process of enlightenment, one so effectively generic that any and every connection – from Christ to Gödel to Buddhism – is relevant, whether or not it directly informs the films or is even known to the directors."
James Rovira – emphasis mine.
The book sequence begins at 1:50 (nice touch that his room number is 101).
The age-old philosophical problems in a world of virtual reality technologies: "It's Plato's Cave, captain, but not as we know it." Now, the shadows are more real than the real.
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