The Matrix Trilogy

The Matrix and Star Wars formed a symbiotic relationship as my co-favorites that, in my mental space, threw me off guard for a moment back in like 2009 (or sometime around then) and that has never left me since…a splinter in my mind, driving me mad, perhaps? It was actually the day AVATAR came out, which is sort of important, too, but…anyway! There is actually an insane story to all of this, some a bit too personal to share in a public forum, but one of the initial thoughts triggered by the, sort of, IDK, “anomaly,” that I experienced was that the movies were conceptually “behind each other,” like the two rings of a Venn diagram barely touching on their edges or something. It could be thought of as my initiation into something like magic or WHATEVER you want to call the weird philosophy I cooked up. Sort of not kidding? I keep saying something like “something like…” BECAUSE this thing I encountered has still not been able to be integrated into my psychic plane as a single worded concept. It’s like each thing as a manifestation of one thing, with hyper-specific nuances that can affect any subject. A real idea of hidden messages and quoted messages and stuff. The Matrix movies contain lots of really perfect metaphors for everything. You’re right, there’s a lot to say. BUT! It’s less about the plots and characters and more the ideas of the movies as meta-movies and the concepts involved that affect all of cinema. Like, for example…movies as hackable, movies as code, movies as AVATARS, movies as input fields, movies as A.I., movies as alternate reality games, movies as *insert thing here*, etc. You get the idea, but it can be explored and interpreted endlessly…fine gems embedded in fine textures and the like! Super-schizophrenia-inducing-microcosms, hooray!

One thing I've always wondered is how did Smith get into Bane's brain? Fictional movie or not, I'm still curious about the mechanics of it, How is a computer code able to cross over and integrate with organic material?

I'm curious as to what are some of the general aspects people found they didn't like about Reloaded and Revolutions.

It's a fascinating film trilogy; or more like a self-contained opener followed by a sort-of tacked-on duology. Although, one can make a similar claim for the Star Wars trilogies, to varying degrees. However, the Wachowskis unfortunately view Star Wars as popcorn-munching space-trash, while their blockbusters are -- of course -- serious, mind-expanding works of cinema with genuine philosophical/existential depths:

(Pyro and I previously discussed this and I'm shamelessly grabbing this link from our former conversation about it)





"And this was like a strange phenomenon that you could suddenly look at something and then have different eyes and see it again and understand it in a completely different way. And that is *not true* for something like Star Wars. You see Star Wars and then you see it again and it's the same. And the only thing that happens is that your relationship to the excitement diminishes. And that's, I think, the difference between entertainment and art."


The sycophantic interviewer is no help. He just mindlessly affirms Lana Wachowski's strong, doorstep-shitting statements. It's not even clear if she's talking about the original film or the entire saga or what. No delineation from Lana. And not a moment's probing from the interviewer. What she says is just accepted and acceded to as stone-cold fact.

I know... This post is a little off-topic, but...

It's pretty bad form to put down the work of another in such a contested industry. No tact. She just outright names Star Wars and slams it. Something about stones and those in glass houses. She also advances a false dichotomy. There's nothing to say you can't have entertainment and art both. The way she implies The Matrix films are art and Star Wars is just entertainment is pretty grating; not to mention pretentious as hell. 

I guess I'm saying this because there's always been something that's registered to me a little bit "off" about The Matrix movies. I actually prefer "Speed Racer". And heck, given how colourful and digital and delightfully absurd that movie's presentational ethic is (the same cinematographer as the PT is used: David Tattersall), you might think the Wachowskis (and yes: Andy/Lilly bashes Star Wars in the above clip, too) would be a little more open and charitable. 

Then again, the prequels gave The Matrix sequels a thumping at the box office, and their other movies have struggled to find a similar audience, while Star Wars (despite some bumps in the road) continues to thrive... Never underestimate the power of the green-eyed monster...

I mean, I do have some sympathy for them. They strive hard not to give people the same experience twice. So I can see where Lana is coming from in her remarks. Star Wars is more formulaic. But the whole is also greater than the sum. Possibly a truth (albeit generous/subjective) that eludes them where a rival franchise that has taken the western world by storm is concerned...

Well said.

I think it's Cypher pondering how, if he gets his wish and is plugged back into The Matrix, he's little more, in reality, than a piece of meat on the end of a fork.

And, of course, there is no spoon/fork.

ah. that reminds me of a movie that came out 22 years ago.