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Harry Potter with Guns
kauff writes "Slate has recently released a somewhat-inspired article
about what the Matrix was. You have to read it for yourself. Good way to
hype yourself up before Reloaded on May 15th."
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"The Matrix is a sci-fi John Hughes movie, in which a misfit learns that he's actually cool. (Think Harry Potter with guns.)" How is a programmer who sleeps in front of his terminal a misfit around here?
The Matrix
It's Harry Potter with guns.
By Chris Suellentrop
Posted Thursday, May 1, 2003, at 2:23 PM PT
Illustration by Charlie Powell
Why is The Matrix? The "what" has already been answered: It's an R-rated Star Wars, a sci-fi movie with philosophical pretensions that did shockingly gangbuster business at the box office. The Matrix raked in more than $170 million in the United States, became the first DVD to sell more than 1 million copies, and set the stage for the two most-anticipated sequels of 2003 (at least until The Return of the King comes out). But while The Matrix's commercial success is impressive, it's not mind-boggling. In 1999, four movies--Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, The Sixth Sense, Toy Story 2, and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me--did better business than The Matrix, and Disney's Tarzan finished only a fistful of dollars behind. What makes The Matrix stand out from that pack is the way it combines mass appeal with a smaller, more intense cult following. No recent movie (other than films with a built-in fan base, like the Star Wars or Lord of the Rings movies) inspires the same kind of slavish, fan-boy devotion. Type the name of a contemporary movie with a similar box-office gross, like Ocean's Eleven, into Google, and you're confronted with a list of official sites and e-commerce pages hawking the movie. Type "the matrix," and you get those sites but also a flood of fan pages--Matrix as Messiah Movie, Knowthematrix.com, the requisite LEGO site, and the sine qua non of movie-geek cult status: the fan-created role-playing game.
What explains the phenomenon? We know it's not the dialogue. Part of the explanation is simple: The mixing of the genres of science fiction and kung fu meant that the Wachowski brothers combined two great cult tastes that go great together. (On one of the featurettes on the Matrix DVD, Andy Wachowski sums up the movie by saying, "It's about robots vs. kung fu.") The movie's startling premise, atmospheric John Woo-style action, and "bullet time" effects go a long way toward explaining the movie's appeal, too. As does the fact that the movie is laden with references and allusions that reward repeated viewings, making fans who recognize them feel as if they and the filmmakers are part of an exclusive, in-the-know club. A by-no-means-complete list includes everything from Baudrillard to Christianity to Descartes to Buddhism to spaghetti westerns to Lewis Carroll to William Gibson's Neuromancer to Jackie Chan's Drunken Master.
But none of these explanations is sufficient. The real source of the fascination with The Matrix is that, despite all appearances, the movie is not a dystopia. Rather, it's a utopia, a geek paradise. The Matrix is a sci-fi John Hughes movie, in which a misfit learns that he's actually cool. (Think Harry Potter with guns.) At the software company where Keanu Reeves works, his boss might as well be the principal castigating Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club when he says: "You have a problem with authority, Mr. Anderson. You believe that you are special. That somehow the rules do not apply to you. Obviously, you are mistaken." Of course, we learn that the oppressive Figure of Authority is the one who is mistaken. But instead of going to the prom, Keanu gets to pack heat, learn kung fu, wear a black trench coat and sunglasses, and, to top it off, he gets a hot, ass-kicking girlfriend who sports fetish wear. What kind of dystopia is this? No one wants to be Winston Smith in 1984, but everyone wants to be Neo (or Trinity, or Morpheus) in The Matrix.
As Alan Dean Foster puts it in Exploring the Matrix, an anthology of essays by science-fiction writers, Neo is "Everynerd": "His perceived world is a sham, a mistake, a carefully crafted fake, and you know, deep down, that yours is, too." But the movie has a special appeal to that subset of misfit, the computer geek. When we first see Neo, he's living alone in his cramped apartment, staying up all night on his computer. He's a programmer by day and a computer hac
I don't agree w/the comment that it blends "mass appeal with cult".
This movie was good period. It had exceptional and ground breaking special effects. The story-line was great and contrary to the comment of the author the dialog was good.
Nope, it didn't have a ready made fan base but it does now.
I wish people would watch movies to watch movies instead of reading into them so much.
Oy Malfoy!
What is it, Potter?
BLAM.
No, but really, does anyone see the resembelance in the most recent matrix trailer at the end where he flies past the castle and hogwarts/quiddich?
Neo: I don't need broomsticks.
Does this mean that MPAA boycatt ends on May 15th???
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
Have things gotten so bad that people have to be explicitly directed to read the article??
Good point made about this dark future. While on the surface the matrix is a prison, it is a prison in which you can fly, dodge bullets and jump into the chests of your enemies (without all the trouble that comes with your run of the mill prison made psychedelics).
all I want to know is, if there are hovering robots and a computer reality, is there no space capability? I mean, why don't the machines just purge the faulty human batteries and move into space? plenty of solar power, plenty of room. Besides, regardless of the number of humans you have powering your MMOR (Massive Multiplayer Online Reality) I cannot help but speculate that a nuclear reactor has a great deal more potential for raw power than small to mid-sized mammals...But what kind of a movie is that right?
About 2 months ago a very anti-technology professor of mine pointed out that the reason the matrix is popular is because it tells nerds what they want to hear, that they can still be cool and powerful even if where they are right now is a small room, by themselves, spending 14 hours a day stairing at a computer screen.
I do security
Am I the only one sick of product placement and movie tie-ins? I didn't mind too much, since they were all movies I wouldn't like anyhow, but the serious movies such as castaway are becomming multi-hour-long commercials that you have to pay $10 to watch...
I wouldn't think Matrix would stoop that low, except for the current commercial tie-ins, that are making me suspicious.
I really think the MPAA should have a rating to indicate if there is product placement, and how extensive it is...
I would hate to see a good movie series ruined so the studio can make a little bit more money... *cough* *cough* *star wars*
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
The fact that Keanu Reeves might actually go down in history as a great actor. We all know that he is NOT, but many years from now, people will only look at the success of his movies and actually claim that he CAN act.
Harry Potter with Guns
:-p
Ok, so obviously Harry would be Neo and Hermoine would be Trinity, but who would be Morpheus?
My vote's for Dumbledore. Just imagine him in a black trenchcoat with some slick shades.
MPAA exec #1: We need another $2,000,000 to buy this senator his dream home.. which will get us our "dream legislation".. I was thinking it would be funny and ironic if those pirates and thieves on Slush Dot paid for it.
exec #2: You mean Slash Dat. Shall I have my well-paid contacts at the Slash post another pointless article on the Matrix to get them interested? Then they will flock to the movie and we will laugh uproariously as we use their own money against them.
exec #1: Actually, it's Slosh Dot, now that I think about it. Whatever the case, that's a great idea. They are all a bunch of hackers and pirates, so why not let them pay for the law that hangs them!
exec #2: BWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! MWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!
exec #1: Still have that bad cough?
exec #2: Yes, whenever I cough it sounds like an evil laugh or something.
exec #1: Weird.
I agree. I personally do not care for for special effects, but I need a good story, and the Matrix was a very good story. Something very original, not your typical clever, good looking, young lawyer that beats the big bad guy. Not as predictible as the average movie either, and the "standard american set of morales" is not necessarely respected, contrary to 90% of movies coming out of Hollywood.
I have met Christians who saw the matrix as a metaphor for God, I personally think it was a modern version of a lot of the Tibetan Budhism teachings (an no I am not a Budhist, but interrested in the different perception of realities both in eastern and western culture).
In the movie, when the hero (Neo ?) is sitting in an armchair, and wonder if everything is fake, and the other hero asked him "what is reality ? Is it waht your senses tell it is to your brain ?" - this is a very "budhist question" (not only Tibettan, but accross the differnt form of budhism), and definitely a very valid question !!
Man, do these types ever give up? It's like the business world is convinced that everything is about trends, ratings, etc.
Here's a thought... Did it ever cross anyone's minds that the Matrix might just be a dammed good movie? One that is unique and creative?
If you listen to these guys, you could take the same elements, and make movie that would be just as successful. If that were true, Star Wars 1 & 2 would have been just as good as 4, 5 & 6... If that were true, the last two seasons of the Simpsons would have been just as good as the rest, but they certainly aren't (it's like they fired the writing staff and hired guys that have only heard about the show 2nd hand).
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
For those of you who didn't read the article, Read this! it is all of Neo's dialogue, all 3 pages of it. I never realized it before, but most of his lines are questions. and the only really long line is his ending narration.
YOU SUCK BALLS!
One of these movies... has a future, and one of them does not. Now, I'm going to be as... forthcoming, with you as I can be, Mr. Anderson. You're here because, we need your help. We know that you've acquired the highest karma rating on a certain website, one that calls itself Slashdot. Whatever you think you know about this site is irrelevant, it is considered by many corporate executives to be the most dangerous site on the web. We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start, and all that we're asking in return is your cooperation in bringing known Microsoft bashers to justice.
The Matrix is is popular not because of nerds but because of its great quality and entertainment value as a movie. Quite simply, there aren't even enough "nerds" to justify the massive figures at the box office and the hordes of fans that will swarm to the theaters next week. Case in point: 15 of my closest friends on my dorm floor have never even heard of Linux (*gasp*, in some cases they don't even know "operating system"), yet we're all going to see the Matrix on opening day, because of how much we loved the first one.
Nerds. Pfah.
Moral of the story: Stop listening to community college professors.
What I most admire about this movie is that it served as a proponent of free thinking. For the past few years now, 90% of movies leaving Tinseltown are ridiculous, dum-minded farces, (even the action flix and the dramas) filled with product placement. Seeing movies today is as good an experience as cleaning your toilet. The matrix on the other hand, left its audience divided. Some just scuffed it off like an of the wall movie beucase they didn't understand anything that happended in it (except for the line hwere Neo goes: "I used to eat there. Good noodles.")Others lved it for the mind-boggling philosophies it entailed, with no real message to sum it all up. I remeber walking out of a huge theater aftter seeing The Matrix, lookied up at the sky and said...whoa.
George Lucas is a bright guy. He worled with noted mythologist Joseph Campbell in designing the story line for the star wars saga, such that it is most compelling to the largest possible audience. The late Joseph Campbell theorised that there are identifiable story elements and common threads in all mythology that makes it so universally compelling and has allowed some stories to live on literally for thousands of years.
George Lucas sought to harness these concepts and taylor a mythology for the modern era, and with the help of Joseph Campbell, he succeeded. I recall hearing comments from many of my colligues that Harry Potter is a lot like Star Wars (back when the first one came out) and my imediate reaction was to examine the common threads where I found an almost identical human struggle. A lost chile finds his way in the world with the guidance of an elder who then (eventually) leaves the student to his own devices, to overcome a great evil, not only to save the world but to save some one or something far more personal to him. This is only a cursory summary of the similarities which were outlined in the article but can be examined more closely after a careful reading of some of Campbell's works on mythology. I recommend the Masks of God or the Mythic Dimention.
IN the case of the Matrix, I believe the brothers who's name I won't attemt to spell, simply stumbled upon this formula. Certainly there are similarities and this is what makes it such a compelling story, but as far as I know, they didn't approach the writing of the story as methodically, or in such a calculating way as did George Lucas or the author of the Harry Potter books.
--CTH
--Got Lists? | Top 95 Star Wars Line
A grow tired of these astoundingly ignorant reviews of the matrix. Is it entirely possible that some people, especially hipster professional pop culture critics, are so ignorant of life and philosophy they truly have no idea what the fuck they are talking about?
The matrix is a great movie beacuse it is the first and only movie to really focus on the use of illusion as a tool of social control. From Plato and the allegory of the cave to Nietzsche and is exploration of slave morality, this has been a dominant theme amongst the greatest philosophers.
This movie did well because the people know in their hearts they are not free. They are enslaved by school, learning nothing but conformity and submission, then they work at a company contributing nothing of substance, wasting their lives away until its time to retire.
People know that their lives are impotent, that their hopes and dreams are completely disconnected from the reality in which they live.
This is the story of the 20th century, of people lost without the fiction of religion imposed on their minds, with governments scrambling to impose all sorts of substitutes to give life meaning to a nihilistic population, as well as find new ways to raise a worker class now that physical slavery no longer exists.
The entire social structure of the modern world is a fiction, just as the matrix is a fiction. Both serve the same purpose: to enslave the mind of free men.
Sadly, pop culture experts never read philosophy they look at everything as a fashion, a fad. "The Matrix is a mixture of kung-fu and sci-fi". The Matrix is no more "about" those things than Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is about sex or Plato's Republic is about unemployed Greek guys dressed in Togas. There is a difference between the medium and the message, and this review gets it all wrong.
The Matrix simply uses pop culture theatrical tools as a means to an end, to open the eyes of a people doomed to a life of slavery. It is a noble effort, and one that should be applauded.
Nothing will blow your mind like reading Nietzsche however especially Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy for the Future.
There is also a whole book out discussing the philosophy of the matrix, but IMHO it is weak.
I don't read or respond to AC posts
> George Lucas is a bright guy. He worled with noted mythologist Joseph Campbell [jcf.org] in designing the story line for the star wars saga, such that it is most compelling to the largest possible audience.
You know, I used to think George was greatness itself because of the first three SW movies, but now, after seeing the previous two, I think he just got lucky. I don't think he _really_ understands why the first three movies were so good, because if he did, I don't see how in the world the previous two could have been as bad as they were.
And he's certainly not much of an director. Hayden Christiansen _can_ act, but he's one of those iffy actors who requires a good director to get a good performance. Kinda like George Clooney. Put someone like Soderbergh at the helm, and even George Clooney can be a good actor.
Unfortunately, the latest SW films have mediocre writing AND mediocre directing. Great special effects, sure, but the original SW films weren't great because of special effects. The only saving grace out of either of the last two has been the fight scenes! That's pathetic.
*sigh*
The great thing about it was that it appealed on so many levels. The following exchange shows what I mean...
Poster A : See, Neo is forced to question the very fabric of existance. He questions everything that we take for granted and reveals that the truth is vastly different to what we perceive to be true. Its an existential quandry, are we just figments of someone's imagination? How do we know that what we perceive to be "real" is what is actually reality?
Poster B : I like the bit where he fights an agent.
I would dare to angry anybody and say Star Wars is Lord of the Rings a couple of millennia into the future. Same for The Matrix being Harry Potter. But in terms of movies, I think the reverse is equally true. I think LOTR has to be thankful to Star Wars for part of its success, the same way Harry Potter has to be thankful to The Matrix opening the gates to the Magic Hero trail.
However, ancient and future heroes, battle of good and evil, greek, roman, chinese mythology have been part of a zillion good movies. I mean, good vs evil is THE subject of all modern movies. So why doesn't Sixth Sense, Toy Story and Austin Powers generate such an impressive fandom?
Let me wobble over a couple of reasons I think stand behind such a tremendous success as these four movies have inspired:
__________
Don't belong. Never join. Think for yourself. Peace!
The real reason Matrix is great is because virtually all other sci-fi movies have sucked. Maybe 1 out of 10 is even watchable. Between canned storylines, making movies about special effects and Hollywood endings... it's all too sad to contemplate.
I've read a handful of awesome sci-fi books in my my life (out of thousands read) and I can truthfully say it would be sad to see them turned into a movies. Ender's Game with a happy ending? Could liberal Hollywood really get the point of "Atlas Shrugged" across? Expectations are already so low that even I compliment the latest rendition of LOTR. At least they didn't completerly bungle it. Battlefield Earth anyone?
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
It could be worse. It could be Matrix II: Attack of the Clones.
> (a) Pythagoras got some of his ideas from visiting India,
Really? Do you have a ref?
I came, I saw, I cried. I saw the film yesterday at a special trade screening in Los Angeles and was left with a new burning desire for more Matrix. The next film will be released in November BTW. The Matrix Reloaded contained some of the most amazing action sequences I have ever seen in my movie-watching career. CG animation was seamless, but it was especially noticeable when you realized that no one could stage a one on 50+ fight (see trailer for a sample) with traditional movie making techniques. Very exciting and funny at times, the pacing is a bit ponderous at first, but at the same time, you are given more information about the actually underground city of Zion and the upcoming conflict with the machines. Once the action kicks in, the movie never looks back. Unbelievably breath taking at times, the hype to the film is justified and well worth the cost of tickets. If this film or Revolutions doesn't win the Oscar for best special effects then I will be totally shocked! Possible Spoiler: The scene with the Matrix Architect near the end bugged the hell out of me. Why does the old guy need to use so many GOD DAMN philosophical words? He sounds lame... but the plot twist he reveals is very startling... (Note the scene is near the end of the film) Recommendation for those who have not seen the original movie: You must see the first before you see this film. The plot will make absolutely no sense and you will have a bad experience trying to figure out why the hell these people are running around and trying to kill each other. Recommendation for traditional movie nuts: Cry now. You'll never be able to see another film without same copied Matrix effect
I think Dark City is all of what the Matrix SHOULD have been...
The emphasis on guns was way too heavy. While I don't believe in the direct connection of gun heavy movies to gun play in real life, this movie does put an interesting spin in the whole argument. Here's these people that can do so much with their mind, just because they believe... Yet they still use guns guns guns. Dark City showed one man take on aliens that enslaved humans for so long and he won, becoming god-like in the aftermath. I totally see this as the path the Matrix series goes. If the gun play goes down in the next two movies, it may redeem itself in my eyes.
I only saw the Matrix once when it came out on DVD, but I always thought it was sci-fi metaphor for Christianity.
Anderson (which means "Son of Man") is the messiah/Christ who is going to save humanity from the illusion that life on earth is all there is.
In the Matrix (just as in Chrsitianity's teachings) there are good angels and bad angels in our world who are in a constant battle for our everlasting lives.
Some guy came to Keanu's apartment early on and said something like "you're my savior, man"; and later Neo was resurrected by "Trinity" (Father/Son/HolySpirit), reinforcing Neo as the Christ character.
There are plenty of other references like the name of the ship Nebecanezzer (sp) who was the king in the book of Daniel who wanted his dreams interpreted. The traiter's name was "Cipher" (ie. Lucifer). And there's probably a lot more that I have since forgotten.
The most poignent moment in the film for me was when Fishbourne was tied to the chair and the "bad angel" was saying something about how he hates people, that he hates their smell -- and he equates them to a virus. To me, this sounded like something a "fallen angel" or Satan would say to a real person in the same situation.
Anyway, just one guy's opinion. I spotted references to some web sites in the article, "Messiah in Matrix" and knowthematrix.com -- maybe I'll check them out.
Stephen Legge
I always thought we liked it depite Keeanu, not because of.
Seriously, I don't think his appeal is that in the Matrix he was a geek who broke into systems, it's more that he's an everyman who learns there's more behind the scenes, and he learns to master that.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. I think Neo takes the classic hero journey. Just off the top of my head:
First, he gets the "call to adventure": "Wake up, Neo. The Matrix has you..."
He meets Trinity (at the club), a messenger from beyond who re-affirms the call.
He rejects the call by getting out of the car on the way to meet Morpheus.
Next, he meets Morpheus and accepts the call (takes the red pill). (It was the red one, right?)
After being rescued from the Matrix, he is in the wild (the real world). Here, the old rules don't apply and he must forge a new identity.
While out in the wild, he discovers new powers. His wise mentor is Morpheus. The trickster is Cypher.
Next, he returns home (by jacking back into the Matrix) and brings uses his newfound powers to help the rest of society.
This is the classic hero cycle of hearing the call, rejecting the call, accepting the call, going into the wild, forging a new identity (with the help of a wise mentor), dealing with a trickster, returning from the wild with newfound knowledge and/or powers.
The same structure was used in Star Wars IV-VI and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which is part of the reason why those two series also resonate with people so much. The hero mythology is a metaphor for life and how to live it.
~percepto
------------------"You only have to realize the truth."
"What truth?"
"There is no sig."
The term "outside the box" is squarely within the box at this point.
He went to a club afterwards and met a girl.
Any sufficiently advanced man is indistinguishable from God
If you watch carefully, despite the modern gloss, The Matrix was a tradition Greek play in three acts. In the work of the movie there was unity of time, place and action. All in three distinct acts.
Art is often hard to fully understand, because unless assumptions are made it becomes excessively wordy, something like scholarship when it is done right.
In fact, it would be almost impossible to totally understand the meanings of an artwork without being the person who created it. The associations, implications, and assumptions behind an act of expression are a product of that person's mind at the moment of creation.
The further you are culturally from the creator the less the art will speak to you. However there is a loophole, which is all too often exploited.. If you leave your expression vague enough, people will use their natural tendency to assume that all people are more like themselves than they really are, and will fill in the blanks the way they see fit. If the viewer is inclined to see you positively, they'll fill in the blanks with positives, and, presto! you're art is suddenly deeply meaningful. Yay!
Straightforward expression has a much harder time getting across because if it's inherent complexity, but it ultimately explains the world much better.
The Matrix is no exception. The notion of humans as "power sources" makes perfect sense, then: the corporations still need votes to maintain their hold, in the US and Europe. Now that they own all the major news sources, it's easy to manipulate the electorate with delusions that lead them to vote any which way. (Over 50% of Americans actually believe that Iraq had something to do with Sept. 11. Very few know that Bush ordered all investigations of Saudis abandoned several months before it. That's power.)
As long as you think of the Matrix (and other fiction, for that matter) as just escapist fantasy, you miss most of its value.
Dude, we're past the "laugh at us" part... we're on to the "attack us" part.
Next, of course, we, win.
You could've hired me.
I didn't realize that one needed to be famous to the general public in order to be powerful. I'm sure that most Americans don't know who the hell Hu Jintao is, but that doesn't detract from the fact that he's the leader of the most populated nation on the planet. (And a nuclear power at that!) No, Linus isn't particularly well known outside of tech circles and Wall Street, in whose publications he is sometimes mentioned, but that doesn't mean he has no power or has not made an impact.
As I said in another post, Bill is more powerful, but he didn't become powerful at the computer - he became powerful in business meetings, and the discussion was on the ability to become influential while "just sitting at the computer."
I'm in the real world just fine, but thanks for your concern. The world I'm in is the same one where multi-billion dollar corporations are changing the way they do business all over that little linux thing. (Sun, IBM, Microsoft come to mind?) Whole economies was probably not the correct word, though - industries would be a better term. It still illustrates the fact that Linux has been tremendously influential. Denying that is to lose one's grip on the "real world", IMHO.
The Free desktop that Just Works