In the movie The Matrix we may see many similarities between the society that is the Matrix and that of our own society. Though this movie is an extreme exaggeration of our situation it nonetheless lets us see how we endure these same problems of being “plugged in” every day and how we are fighting those who seem to have control over our lives. However, the question still remains, are we getting anywhere? And if so, is it safe for all of us to unplug at once? Could we handle it? In The Matrix, computer technology finally developed to the point of producing artificial intelligence; a thinking, willing, self- etermined computer.
It continued to learn and grow, gaining control over human society incrementally to the point of almost total control. Human revolt took the form of a mass cataclysm, nuclear in nature, intended to block sunlight from the surface of the earth and shut down the solar-powered computer. The computer then started to breed humans for use as a power source. They were born, grew, and died within gel- filled pods, fed nutrients intravenously while their body heat and electro-chemical impulses were tapped to power the computer.
To keep people alive as long as possible, the computer created a program alled “The Matrix,” a virtual reality world serving as an exact duplicate of late 20th century earth. Humans in the pods were plugged directly into the computer network through implants at the base of their skulls. Individuals within the matrix perceived themselves as living out a normal life somewhere on 20th century earth, while in reality their lives were spent within a pod. This situation can be directly applied to our lives today.
All you would need to do is simply replace the robots with all those who are in our government and exercise power amongst our society. Then we ould change the nuclear war to racism and terrorism towards each other. And the program is not the Matrix, but “values” which are instilled in us by society to tell us what we should want, do and be. This is how we become “plugged in. ” Instead of rejecting the program and attempting to discover where these ideals came from, we simply accept them and move on with our lives.
This is what keeps the system working, the fact that the system feeds off of our ignorance to the obvious, being that we are the worker bees who continue to work at the expense of our independence and ourselves and at the benefit of the ueen bee. This is the exact nature of the matrix. In the film, twentieth century earth is gone. The real world is a nuclear wasteland; cities are charred and empty and life on earth is only possible beneath the surface. But an exact copy exists in the form of a computer program. People are living life in simulacra, a copy that is its own reality.
Exploring this type of pseudo-reality is the next step for modern science fiction. Early science fiction projected the pioneer impulse onto outer space; just a quick survey of science fiction from Buck Rogers to Star Trek reveals that older forms of science fiction were othing more than pioneers fighting Indians to conquer new territory — nothing is changed but the clothing and the weaponry. While our planet still carried with it some element of mystery, so long as there was a frontier, the human imagination could project this frontier to outer space. The frontier is gone, and with it the older forms of science fiction.
The very world of the matrix was a “model of simulation” given the feeling of the real, done so for the sake of maintaining control and reducing human beings to “coppertops,” energy sources feeding the ystem upon which they are dependent for their survival. This is the world in which we live. We work to earn money, spending the money in grocery and clothing stores, paying our mortgages, living as model citizens (just as Neo was pressured to do) for the sake of our survival. We take money from the system and feed it back into the system, like cattle fertilizing the ground upon which they graze.
The film assumed that reducing a human being to a “coppertop” was an intolerable, dehumanizing condition. “Neo,” the new man, the Christ-like figure (who died and returned to life, had iraculous powers within the matrix and was betrayed by the Judas figure Cipher) was “the One” destined to take control of the matrix and end it, freeing humanity from its servile condition. Morpheus (the god of the dream world in Greek mythology) played a John the Baptist figure, serving as a herald declaring the arrival of Neo, most importantly to Neo himself.
Within the film the central opposition was between truth and comfort; Cipher chose to betray his friends in order to be reinserted into the matrix and live an enjoyable life with no memory of his past betrayals. However false his reality, he preferred it to the harsh “real world” outside the matrix. Morpheus, Neo, and those who believed in them chose reality at any cost and fought the matrix at any point possible. These are the decisions we must face in our real world environment. Recognizing that we’re enslaved by a system is the first step.
The next step involves a willingness to sacrifice safety for freedom. This encouragement of terrorism explains the violence permeating the film. Just as those who are violent in the film are fighting for what they believe in (though it may be violent) those in the real world oday are often fighting for what they believe in and fighting against this “matrix” society. But, does the film point to a solution? At the end, Neo has realized his identity and power within the matrix and has, we are led to believe, ended the program.
Within the world of the film literally millions of people are in pods, unaware of their true condition and not ready for the real world as it is. What would happen to these millions should the system suddenly shut down? The world is not capable of feeding this many people all at once, much less are the people themselves ready to be awakened. Should Morpheus and Neo shut down the program and condemn millions to death? Is such an insurrection justified in the service of humanity? Especially when the only alternative is to allow the system to run as it is, and this too is unacceptable.
What needs to happen in the world of the film is that the mind of the system needs to be controlled by human beings again? It needs to be stopped from breeding more human beings, and those in pods need to be awakened as they are able. Those unable to adapt could be allowed to live out their lives to their virtual reality end. When hey die, they won’t be replaced. Within a generation the computer could be shut down. The difference between the movie and real life is that human beings already control the matrix within which we are caught.
However, the same problems exist with the difficult task of unplugging each person. What options do we have? Is it even possible to make everyone see that the ideal and stereotypes that have been instilled in them have been through society as a whole and are based on no truth? When Neo finally realized his power to control the matrix, he plunged himself into an Agent and exploded him from within. Terrorism fails because it attacks the system from the outside and endangers those caught within it. To effectively fight the matrix that we are caught in now we must fight it from the inside.
This means to stop stereotypes and racism where they start. This can mean a lot of things such as educating as many people as possible and also educating our children that we are all equals. Not only is insurrection in service of humanity morally unacceptable, it is doomed to failure. When people feel threatened, by and large they are willing to sacrifice freedom for safety. We tolerate martial law in wartime. Our only hope is that the realization of the individual within the system means the lobotomization of the system.
We may remain within a matrix, but knowingly, aware of our power to control it and refusing to be controlled. This shows that we can control the matrix by simply not allowing ourselves to be vulnerable to the media and other social factors. By striking back and refusing to watch news programs which are geared towards violence and stereotypical views we can show our position. If each of us would take a couple seconds to think over the stereotypes we have against ther then we would see how ridiculous they are.
Lastly, we must attack the system from the inside. We must do this by not passing bills in Congress that are meant to separate us. And of course each of us must realize and face the fact that we are caught in a never ending sociological cycle. Though we may change the direction of the cycle it is never ending and while each one of us works there is someone who is benefiting. Once we realize all of these things and do a small part to help we can overtake the “ideals” and “values” that society has forced us to consider “norms”.
