Posted by Josh Lipovetsky in Welcome back to FilmInsight!
Are we living in reality? Or is our entire perception of reality just an illusion? Is our brain fooling us into thinking certain things/people/events are real, when they are all non-existent? In 1999, The Matrix was released. It tackled the difficult question of reality. It addressed this question with such style, power, and individuality, that it will be remembered as one of the greatest Sci-Fi movies ever made.
In The Matrix, Neo is a computer hacker. One day, Morpheus enters into his life. He is given 2 options: To go back into living his ‘dream’ life, and never find out what reality truly is. Or, he could ‘go deeper down the rabbit hole’. Tp Discover what forces powered our reality, and how our mind perceived everything. Neo chose the red pill, to discover the truth behind his existence.
Every one of us is given various choices in life. We can go on living like zombies, in a world of our own. Or we can choose to do something about our lives, to make the best of reality as we know it. Whether reality exists or not, is an entirely different question. But let’s face it: You are probably not going to discover a machine that creates a false reality while you are alive. Illusion or not, you might as well make the best of it.
This article that you are reading; how do you know if it is real or not? Your mind is interpreting these awkward shapes called letters, into messages. These messages are then decoded nearly instantly by your brain. What you want to do with these messages is completely up to you.
Do we exist? Or are we living in a dream world? I will reference my article on the existentialist film, Waking Life. In Waking Life, one character states that our brain functions for 5-10 minutes after we are dead. What if those 5-10 minutes are the reality that we are living now? What if you are the only real person on earth, and everyone else is just a figment of your imagination? This could be a possibility. Whatever it is, this ‘life’ that you are living, may not be real. It is why I choose to stop taking myself so seriously. Problems are going to occur. Think about it: If you were not real, if nothing was real, would you be stressing out about paying your bills? You would probably be much more calm, and treat life more like the game that it is.
The Matrix is not a very friendly computer program. It tricks people into truly believing what doesn’t exist. It has no compassion whatsoever. It sees people falling in love, having families, and enjoying life. On the other hand, it sees people being killed, starving, and depressed. For this ‘Matrix’, it’s job is to continue the illusion. It does not care who is suffering from its illusion of existence.
The same can be said in real life. There is so much suffering in the world. I don’t know the ratio of suffering to happiness, but I would imagine it is extremely high. Depression is increasing, and it’s not going to slow down anytime soon. If our reality is fake, then what’s stopping the creator, whoever it is, from putting and end to the suffering? In this sense, life is very much like the Matrix.
The agents are the allies of the matrix. They are the people who will stop at nothing to prevent the truth from being found. They want everyone living a dream life, and are prepared to kill anyone who stands in their way. The best real-life comparison, is ourselves. Think about it. We will stop at nothing to keep up the illusion of life, if it is indeed an illusion. We are blind to any ideas other than our own. People are closed-minded to new religious/spiritual concepts. Everyone has their own views on what existence really is, what God is, and what it means to ‘be’. There are thousands upon thousands of interpretations of life. And you know what? Not a single one of them has been proven correct. Likewise, not a single one has been proven false. Hang onto your beliefs, but respect others’ thoughts on existence. Neo had his own beliefs on life. Morpheus challenged him to bend his beliefs, and open his mind, in ways that Neo could never have imagined. When the time comes; will you learn to open your mind?
What keeps us going on? Is it the worthless paper that we call currency? Is it coming home to our families? Maybe enjoying the flavors of delicious food? Again, taste buds are just part of the brain’s function. There can never be a right answer, and there can never be a wrong answer. As soon as you die, a transformation occurs. What happens on the other side? I guess you will have to wait for that! Until then, make the best of life and its opportunities. Illusion or not, it is an incredible experience. Make the best of it while you can, because once you find out the truth, you will never be the same. Go ask Neo what reality is. He’ll tell you.
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