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This thought-provoking examination of The Matrix explores the technological challenges, religious symbolism, and philosophical dilemmas the film presents. Essays by renowned scientists, technologists, philosophers, scholars, social commentators, and science fiction authors provide engaging and provocative perspectives. Explored in a highly accessible fashion are issues such as the future of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The symbolism hidden throughout The Matrix and a few glitches in the film are revealed. Discussions include "Finding God in The Matrix," "The Reality Paradox in The Matrix," and "Was Cypher Right?: Why We Stay in Our Matrix." The fascinating issues posed by the film are handled in an intelligent but nonacademic fashion.… (meer)
The word “cyberspace” was coined by William Gibson in his 1982 science-fiction short story “Burning Chrome”, and in his first novel, Neuromancer, he used “matrix” to describe the same thing. In Gibson’s books it’s the technological equivalent of a drug-induced hallucination, an addictive virtual realm into which computer hackers escape from real life. The film The Matrix later switched this around: it’s where we all are, right now, unknowingly living out our so-called “lives”. So what is The Matrix? The simple answer is that it is a science-fiction action film, replete with Hollywood special effects, fight scenes, guns and chase sequences, written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski and released in 1999. It is also a whole lot more though: it’s intelligent, philosophical even—but what does it mean? Is it a metaphor, or literally true; is it just science fiction, philosophy—or theology even? This book is a collection of fourteen essays loosely (very loosely in some cases) aimed at answering that. Some see the film as:
• Metaphysics: “What is the Matrix?” is also the question which propels the film’s hero, Thomas Anderson, down his rabbit hole; it’s a film about the true nature of reality. • Or a religious parable for the new millennium; full of Christian imagery, a messiah story. • Or Buddhism, although only superficially—the film glories in some pretty graphic ultra-slow “bullet time” violence, which is hardly part of the Buddhist (or Christian) teachings. • Or a film, not about the future at all, but about the unreality of the way we live now—modern life as a kind of dreamworld imposed on us by the rich and powerful. • Or, simply, as a pretentious, pseudo-intellectual excuse for violence on the cinema screen.
Other essays have a more tenuous connection to the film though (the possible future of technology for example, both optimistic and pessimistic viewpoints). There are some well-known contributors here, science fiction’s Robert Sawyer and inventor Ray Kurzweil among them, and the final essay is by Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom who considers the question of whether we could all be living in a gigantic Matrix-like simulation already. Interesting read overall. ( )
This thought-provoking examination of The Matrix explores the technological challenges, religious symbolism, and philosophical dilemmas the film presents. Essays by renowned scientists, technologists, philosophers, scholars, social commentators, and science fiction authors provide engaging and provocative perspectives. Explored in a highly accessible fashion are issues such as the future of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The symbolism hidden throughout The Matrix and a few glitches in the film are revealed. Discussions include "Finding God in The Matrix," "The Reality Paradox in The Matrix," and "Was Cypher Right?: Why We Stay in Our Matrix." The fascinating issues posed by the film are handled in an intelligent but nonacademic fashion.
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So what is The Matrix? The simple answer is that it is a science-fiction action film, replete with Hollywood special effects, fight scenes, guns and chase sequences, written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski and released in 1999. It is also a whole lot more though: it’s intelligent, philosophical even—but what does it mean? Is it a metaphor, or literally true; is it just science fiction, philosophy—or theology even? This book is a collection of fourteen essays loosely (very loosely in some cases) aimed at answering that.
Some see the film as:
• Metaphysics: “What is the Matrix?” is also the question which propels the film’s hero, Thomas Anderson, down his rabbit hole; it’s a film about the true nature of reality.
• Or a religious parable for the new millennium; full of Christian imagery, a messiah story.
• Or Buddhism, although only superficially—the film glories in some pretty graphic ultra-slow “bullet time” violence, which is hardly part of the Buddhist (or Christian) teachings.
• Or a film, not about the future at all, but about the unreality of the way we live now—modern life as a kind of dreamworld imposed on us by the rich and powerful.
• Or, simply, as a pretentious, pseudo-intellectual excuse for violence on the cinema screen.
Other essays have a more tenuous connection to the film though (the possible future of technology for example, both optimistic and pessimistic viewpoints).
There are some well-known contributors here, science fiction’s Robert Sawyer and inventor Ray Kurzweil among them, and the final essay is by Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom who considers the question of whether we could all be living in a gigantic Matrix-like simulation already. Interesting read overall. (