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.

Quentin Tarantino’s style of filmmaking is like no other. He turns left where others choose to turn right, and turns right when others choose to turn left. His latest movie, Inglourious Basterds, is very unique. Instead of focusing on how bad the Nazi’s were, he focuses on how a war affects every single person for the worst. He demonstrates the corruption of the human spirit, and the lengths we are willing to go in order to find peace. For ourselves, and for others. Unfortunately, throughout the struggle, we may lose our humanity. Inglourious Basterds is a representation of what happens when we lose our humanity, and how it can affect people on a mass scale.

One group of people that nearly every American hates, are the Nazi’s. Their brutal violence and torturing of the Jews will forever be shamed upon. Inglourious Basterds is a fictional depiction of the anger that Jews felt towards the Nazi’s. Although the anger is justified, does it really benefit anyone? If the depicted events were factual, how would Jews and Nazi’s be viewed under today? The Nazi’s would still have a bad reputation, but the Jews would be remembered for the violent way they ended the war. If the events were true, how would our society be different today? The world might have been more violent, and people would see their revenge justifiable. After all, it would have ended World War II. But in the end, what does the seeking of violence and revenge lead to? Through it all, we lose the essential traits that make us human beings. Our compassion, our kindness, our rationality. We lose it all, and for what? To lose our own lives in a battle that isn’t worth fighting for? To seek revenge against any and all who stand in our way? There are always going to be a few rotten apples in our world, like Adolf Hitler. The best thing you can do is to leave them alone, and stay out of their way. But what if they get in your way? If they are a threat to your way of life, you must seek non-violent ways to solve the problem. Violence + Violence = More Violence. More violence = Hate. Hate = Loss of Humanity. When we lose our humanity, then we have lost all hope for our lives. This is beyond the level of desperation, and this is where the Nazi’s stood.

Another issue that Inglourious Basterds deals with, is the ability to walk away from the wrong you have done. When the Basterds let one of Nazi’s leave, they leave a mark on their foreheads. The mark represents that they were once a Nazi, and they can never escape their past. Is it moral, to not let another forget their past? To forgive them for the wrong they have done, and let them live a better life in the future? There are many people we see every day, walking on the streets, who have done wrong in the past. We have all made mistakes in the past, big or little. Despite our shortcomings, we continue to move forward, able to move past the wrong we have done. No physical mark is left on our bodies to remind us of our past. The actions that the Nazi’s took were brutal, cruel, and terrifying. However, is it right to engrave their own mark on their foreheads? What if one of the Nazi’s asks for great forgiveness, and becomes one of the worlds top peacemakers? What if he helps more people personally, than he has harmed? Does his past deserve to be forgotten? As human beings, we are given a birthright. The ability to change, at any time, as we wish. People can go from good to bad. They can also go from bad to good. If a person wishes to change their ways from bad to good, they should not have a constant physical reminder of their horrible past. Isn’t it enough that they are suffering from the memories of all the wrong that they have done?  Is it right to judge others by what they have done in the past? No, because at any given time, people can change their ways. And that is what makes us human.

Colonel Hans Landa, played by Christopher Waltz, is a terrifying character. In the beginning of the film, he enters the house of a local farmer, and begins his interrogation. He is looking for Jews being harbored in the area, and he does it in his own unique way. Landa walks into the house, as if he were an old friend. He is very polite, and talks as if he were having a casual dinner conversation. This makes the scene even more intense. How can one person exterminate Jews, and compare them to rats?! Colonel Landa is our primary example of lost humanity. He has no mercy for those he kills, and he lives to serve Hitler. He asks; Would you welcome a rat into your home? What has the rat ever done to you, to elicit such a violent reaction? And this had me thinking, why do we hate rodents so much? Of course, they do spread deadly disease, and they are quite unpleasant in general. But is that the only reason why people kill rodents on sight? It is not. People have a difficult time accepting any other animal/being into their home. Unless invited, we tend to kill any little bugs/rodents that we see. It is a human reaction, that represents mass superiority. Is it our right to take the lives of less superior beings away? What if at one point in time, humans are no longer the superior beings? What if we become ants, and another group of beings feel they can exterminate us at any time? It is difficult and horrible to comprehend, but you get the horrible picture. Just because certain beings don’t belong, does not mean they should be killed. Instead, they should be moved to a place where they will be more appreciated. Rodents do not belong in a home, they belong out in nature.

The Nazi’s treated the Jews like rats. The Jews are great people, and have done absolutely nothing wrong. Yet the Nazi’s wish to exterminate the entire Jewish population! How can something so horrible, happen to our humanity? A twisted belief. I am going to quote Will Smith. He took a lot of heat for saying this, but he spoke the truth about general humanity:

“Even Hitler didn’t wake up going, ‘Let me do the most evil thing I can do today.’ I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was ‘good.’”

This quote accurately represents what a twisted mindset can do to a population, and how powerful it can be when a leader has lost their humanity. People aren’t evil by choice. They are evil because they have a blocked neuroreceptor, that distinguishes between right and wrong. It seems that Hitler, and all Nazi’s had lost their sanity on what was truly wrong. This can be due to genetics, environment, and they way a person was raised, and what events they had gone through in their life. It’s a shame, but some people believe that violence is good. This is absolutely ludicrous. In no way did God create the world with violence. God never wanted a single person to commit a violent when he created the world. Unfortunately, he gave people emotions. He gave everyone a brain of their own, and let them set out to create their own lives. Some people became wildly successful, some trekked through the middle of the road. And some people dropped down low. Very low. People resorted to violence to give themselves significance. Adolf Hitler was one of these people. He believed that in order to be a good person, he had to commit genocide. I need not explain further, how horrible and wrong this mindset was. The scariest part? It only took one seriously twisted mind, and a whole bunch of followers, who believed that he was right. When evil is given ultimate power, horrible things can happen. We must never let anything like this happen again, to anyone.

One major final event that happens in the movie, is the surrender of Colonel Hans Landa. What causes this change of heart? Why didn’t he choose to save Hitler, and the rest of the Germans? He wanted to end the war, because he was through with the destruction. After he forced himself to kill Bridget von Hammersmark, he had a change in heart. He realized that the war affected not only the Jews and Germans, but everyone else. People did what they could to stop the evil of Hitler, and he was part of the collective evil. Did the Germans know that they were evil? Like I mentioned earlier, they believed, in their own twisted minds, that they were doing right. It wasn’t until the very end of the movie, that Colonel Landa realized that he had pointlessly killed every single person. Bridget von Hammersmark was an actress, who had realized the evil of the Nazis. She used her high-class to stop the evil once and for all, and succeeded in the end. She lost her life because of it. Colonel Landa finally realized what she died for, and he had a change of mind. It goes to show, that no matter how evil a person is, they can always change. Many don’t, but anything is possible.

How does Inglourious Basterds represent society today? Many people are revenge driven. If someone did something horrible to them, they would want to do something equally horrible to the other person. To suppress the part of your emotions that seeks revenge, is to suppress nearly all of the evil in your body. Of course, there are other factors, besides revenge, that play a factor in how humane you are. But revenge is by far the most powerful negative emotion, and its elimination would be in incredible leap for all mankind.

As a Jewish American, I found Inglourious Basterds to be a very interesting and insightful movie. I have seen many holocaust films, depicting the horrors of the Nazi’s. However, Inglourious Basterds takes a different approach. Instead of showing how horrible the holocaust was, it shows an in-depth look at the human beings involved. Including the leaders of the Nazi’s, and a small but powerful group of Jews who rebelled. Tarantino made up a completely new story, that is not only compelling and insightful, but gives a deeper look into what drives human beings and their emotions.  I have seen other Tarantino movies like Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction. His movies never disappoint, because they are intense character studies, which use cause and effect, and direct/indirect characterization to describe and analyze a situation. His filmmaking is such a pleasure to watch. However, his movies are only for the open-minded. So if you are not ready to analyze his unique ideas, then you may not be such a big fan. Inglourious Basterds is Tarantino’s interpretation on the holocaust, and what could have been. It goes to show that we are all human beings, and we all want the same thing: Significance. We all want our own significant role in making the world a better place. However, some of us have a very skewed perception on what actually can improve the world. Following the path of hate will never lead you anywhere good. Hitler tried to improve the world by filling it with hate for a specific group of people. In return, he became more evil by the day. Following the path of love will truly improve the world. Look at Gandhi and Mother Teresa. They wanted significance, and they wanted to make the world a better place. They followed the path of love, and look at what good they have done for humanity! Follow their example, and act out of love. Never follow what Hitler did, because it will contribute to the fall of humanity as we know it.

In the Taking of Pelham 123, there is an intense psychological battle between 2 characters. It sounds similar to many movies, but there is one important difference: Both characters have done wrong. Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) has taken a bribe, and Ryder (John Travolta) has hijacked a train and taken many people hostage. Obviously, taking a bribe is less of a crime than killing people on a train, but both characters learned from their mistakes. Walter could take his lesson with him throughout his life, but for Ryder, it was too late.

Walter wanted what was best for his family. The train company offered him money to select their design, and he did. In this sense, taking a bribe is not a very moral thing to do. Garber’s life was heading down south. He was falling down rapidly, until he met Ryder.

Ryder was a white collar criminal, turned into blue collar after prison time. He sought revenge against New York, and the mayor. By hijacking the train, he knew what he was getting himself into. Ryder knew that his day was not going to end well, and he accepted it completely. When he talked to Garber about the bribe, Ryder gained great admiration for him, and for committing a crime in order to help those you love.

At the end of the day, when all was said and done, 2 bad characters (Garber and Ryder) grew tremendously over a common situation. Both woke up that morning with a certain degree of moral corruption. By the end of the day, that corruption had faded in both of them. Ryder had realized this before he died, and recognized Garber as his hero. Garber was brave enough to go out there and stop Ryder. Not many people would do the same, especially the kind of people who take bribes.

One more quality about Garber, is that he has his own way of doing things. If he feels that another persons method/strategy is not good, he will make his own. An example from the movie, is when his wife urged him to bring home 1 gallon of milk. Walter thought this was a bad idea, so he brought 1/2 gallon instead. This says a lot about his character. For one, he does not care what other people think of him. No matter how much people urge him to do something, he won’t do it if he doesn’t want to. He wanted to take the bribe for his children, but he did not want to buy the full gallon of milk. A very simple metaphor, with a very powerful message.

Originally, we think that the 2 main characters are opposites. However, throughout the film we find out that they have more in common with each-other. Both have committed a crime, and both are seeking redemption for their actions. The difference between Walter and Ryder is the way that they seek this redemption. One through violent actions, and one through a brave act. Both get their redemption in the end. One was willing to die for it, and one was willing to live for it.

Although it has some crude and unpleasant jokes, Yes Man definitely has its moments. The movie starts out with the tune of “Separate Ways” by Journey, and we find out that it is Carl Allen’s (Jim Carrey) ring-tone. He immediately silences it, being the anti-social person that he is. Carl doesn’t like to go out, he finds excuses to avoid social meetings, and he rejects any new opportunities that come his way. He lives a lifestyle that is sure to put anyone in a depressed state. The only way to get yourself out of these anti-social habits, is to do something about it. By going to an inspirational seminar, the speaker told him to say “Yes” to every new opportunity that comes his way. Carl takes this literally, and completely removes the word “No” from his vocabulary. What occurs after his change is magical. He begins to change his mindset; from cranky into welcoming, from bitter into kind. The movie is an obvious exaggeration; we obviously shouldn’t say “Yes” to every single option that comes our way. If we did, our lives would become overwhelming, and we would make many stupid decisions. However, there are so many things to do. So many things out there, that are waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, no one else can discover these opportunities for you. It’s on you.

Carl’s change was instant; it seemed to be a result of hypnosis, and an internal need to break out. If you are suffering from unhappiness, or depression, you are suppressing the real you. The real you loves to participate in new activities. It loves to seek opportunities. Most people suppress this internal being to some degree, including myself. Once Carl is hypnotized, he cannot say “No” to anything. As a result, he ventures into new and exciting things like guitar playing, and the journey of learning a new language. These kind of opportunities will always be there for you. Some other examples are sports, martial arts, drawing, painting, graphic design, writing. The list goes on and on. Many can be done from the comfort of your own home, and many can be done outside your home. You can take up these hobbies, wherever you are! That’s the beauty of opportunity. You don’t need to be in a specific place, it’s always there for you.

Finally, and most importantly, Carl makes some drastic long term lifestyle changes, and it goes to show how reaching out to help someone else can transform both of your lives. In Yes Man, Carl helps drive a homeless man to his destination, lets him use his phone, and lends him money. This is a wonderful act of kindness, and leads to an unexpected meeting with a woman. It’s funny how things like that happen in life. You reach out to someone, do something kind, and in turn, something else happens to you. Something that could change your life. Because he helped the homeless man, his car ran out of gas. He had to go to the gas station to manually fill up the gas, and that is where he met Allison (Zooey Deschanel). Had he never helped the homeless man, he would have never met her. Sometimes, we can control what happens to us, and sometimes destiny and fate play their part. Destiny is our ultimate destination, and fate is the little events that are meant to happen along the road. Yes Man is fictional, but many people have had similar things happen to them, because they began to welcome new opportunities, and reach out to help others.

Yes Man is also a hilarious movie, but with many unrealistic sequences. Don’t let the faults in Yes Man steer you away from its ultimate message. The producers/writer knew exactly what message they were aiming for, and Yes Man conveys the message with humor. They set their goal, and inspired. When your intuition tells you that an opportunity may be of benefit, listen! Even if it’s a small benefit. A picture with little detail is better than no picture at all. So build the beautiful picture that is your life, and make it the way you want it. Live how you want to live!

Besides being one of the best comedies of 2007, Hot Fuzz carries a heavy life message. It talks about the truth of perfection. It also deals with the social beating that one can take, when outperforming everyone else. The movie is about Police Officers Nicholas Angel, and Danny Butterman. In a seemingly peaceful village, the murder rate is extremely low, and the accident rate is extremely high. Throughout the movie, events keep happening, until the shocking climax. This is when we realize the truth about the seemingly peaceful village. This article will discuss the meaning of the village, and why the townspeople would do what they did. Hot Fuzz is filled with both American and British humor, that will appeal to all kinds of audiences. The movie is quite graphic as well. It’s very refreshing to see a movie mix comedy and brutal violence together in such a smooth fashion. It’s quite inspiring to see a movie like Hot Fuzz, and Pegg/Frost have quickly become my favorite comedic duo.

Nicholas Angel was one of the top police officers in London, before being transferred to Stanford. The reason? He was too good. The more you are beating your competition, the more criticism you will take. Look at Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. They are the top players in the NBA, and the most widely criticized. Is this a coincidence? No. When you are the best, people will always envy you. In Hot Fuzz, Nicholas Angel outperforms every police officer on his team by 400%. Embarrassed by his performance, the police force transfers Angel. To quote the film “You are making us look bad!”. If you find yourself in a situation where you are outperforming everyone you are around, then find better performing people. They will raise your standards, and greatly improve your quality of life. How can you be challenged when you are already better than everyone else? When Officer Angel is transferred to Sanford, he is faced with the greatest police challenge of his career. An entire town cover up. Dealing with mass criminals was a job up to his standards. When you overcome big challenges, you will find that everything becomes much easier. Your threshold for challenge greatly expands, and you become a force to be reckoned with.

It is revealed in the movie, that the leaders of the Stanford Community, are the real criminals. They have an idea in their minds about what constitutes a perfect society. Anyone who goes against their society rules, is immediately murdered. The reason can be as miniscule as an annoying laugh. They do this to maintain ‘perfection’, and a supposedly safe city. This secret, mutual murder, is the worst type of crime. Especially when the law is on their side. Nicholas Angel saw through the townspeople, and uncovered the mystery of the Perfect Village of Sanford. Why did the townspeople do something so terrible? Every social movement, good or bad, starts with one person. It triggers a chain reaction, that can spread like wildfire. In the case of the Sanford townspeople, their city council was influenced by a few bad characters. You can make an inference that some of the townspeople were pushed into the idea, even if they didn’t particularly like it. Some people can exert tremendous influence on others. One rotten character in particular, is Simon Skinner. He seems to be the most evil member of the council, and the one who is most convinced that murder can create a perfect society. First of all, people aren’t perfect. Therefore, society=imperfect. Second of all, no matter what you do, there will always be some really bad people in this world. These people pledged to the darkest side of life. In Hot Fuzz, you saw that an entire city council can be on the dark side of society. Their beliefs are completely faulty, primitive, and ridiculous. Yet, they are in so much denial, they are willing to kill for it. The evil is beyond any possible human explanation.

Hot Fuzz depicts some of the lengths that evil people can go to in order to get what they want. In this case, it is a powerful collective evil. In real life, a situation like this would be a real tragedy. And the worst part: We would not know if it existed or not. The movie depicts evil in a very hilarious way, which makes it such a unique piece of art. Also, Hot Fuzz demonstrates that being the best can lead to criticism. Nicholas Angel’s coworkers did not like him, because of his exemplary performance on the job. A general guideline in life: If you are being criticized on a major scale, then jealousy is probably the root cause. Think Lebron James. It means that you are doing something right!