The Matrix

The 1999 film “The Matrix” is postmodern in a number of different ways. It refers to Braudrillard’s philosophy to demonstrate the movie as an allegory for contemporary experience in a heavily commercialised and media driven society. It is shown through the ‘Matrix’ viral spreading through the popular culture. Matrix was the allegory built in the issue of reality Proving that metaphysics have become one of the fantastic literature’s branches, the SF fiction became very interested in the hypothesis of a false reality. Matrix is just one of the many films that tackles the issue. The interesting aspect is that the film connects the reality issue with artificial intelligence and the postmodern ideas



At the beginning of the film Neo opens a book which he takes a disk from has the title Simulacra and Simulation (1981), which is an intertexual reference, a seminal cultural/philosophical text written by Baudrillard. . The phrase 'desert of the real', spoken by the film's philosophical commentator Morpheus, is a direct quote from the work.



There is strong use of CGI which creates the sense of irony of realism. Such as the sequence ‘bullet time’.



The interactivity and immersion of the film represents computer games, which also represents our relationship with technology. The Matrix is a science fiction film showing a dystopian view of the future by exploring Neo’s relationship with a machine. A few ‘chosen’ individuals wake up to realisation that the human race is being controlled by a network of machines and their existence is virtual. This masks reality. Not only is the subject matter postmodern in theme, but the style of film-making employed by the Wachowski directors is self-referential, which means that its resemblance to video games, other films and graphic novels, rather than to 'reality’, is deliberate, as is the use of 'bullet time' where things become extreme slow motion and being able to control fate and reality as a hyperreal filmic approach.



Matrix doesn’t stop at discussing the issue of reality or that of the relations between Artificial Intelligence and the people who have created it and are in danger of becoming its slaves.



The matrix is primarily a science fiction but it Is a genetic hybrid, it is a bricolage of a host of art forms, genres and influences. It also blends with action films, technophobic science fiction films and Hong Kong Kung-fu movies.



During the film there is also a lot of ‘hacking’ of conmputers which references the cyberpunk and hacker subcultures.



How is Matrix Post Modern?



The matrix is post modern in many different ways. Firstly the narrative structure is about the show of a dystopian view of the future by exploring Neo’s relationship with a machine and the human race is being controlled by a network of machines and their existence is virtual, masking reality. The theme is post modern because it distrusts the idea of the ‘regular world’. It also looks at the relationship between humans and technology, and in the film there is a lot of ‘hacking’ which references the cyber punks. The relationship between human and technology also looks at Baudrillards philosophy and the matrix is an allegory of the lives we are living and how it is heavily commercialised in a media driven society.



The sequence ‘Bullet time’ which has a strong use of CGI shows things becoming really slow and Neo is given the ability to stop things that in reality would be inevitable, shows the irony and is hyperreal. Bricolage is also evident as it resembles a video game as there is text on the screen as the ‘baddies’ become on screen and information is being given to the protagonist. This is also referential to the director Wachowski’s other graphic novels.



There is also a genetic hybrid as it features a blend of technophobic science fiction, through its extensive use of machinery and futuristic devises. Such as the machines that plug into the individual heads and space ships that seem to be fighting off gigantic metallic virus shaped robotics. This is also referential as biological viruses are also shaped with a pointy head and several sprouting legs. Hong Kong Kung Fu movies are also featured a lot in the film which is most evident in the training sequences when the walls become traditional Chinese bamboo walls and it is the story of master and the person who is learning. There are a lot of combat and traditional sequences used.



There is also direct intertexuality towards Baudrillards book ‘Simulacra and Simulation (1981)’ which is a cultural and philosophical text. This is shown near the beginning of the film where Neo opens a metal and ancient looking book which happens to be the Simulacra and Simulation, where he takes a disk out. There is a second referencing to the book when Morpheus describes the burned Chicago as, ‘'desert of the real”. Morpheus shows Neo what Chicago actually looks like, burned and destroyed, and tells him that he has been "living inside Baudrillard's vision, inside the map, not the territory". This refers to Baudrillard's theory that "the territory no longer precedes the map, nor survives it. Henceforth, it is the map that precedes the territory - precession of simulacra - it is the map that engenders the territory". In other words, the real no longer exists because everything becomes simulated.