Choosing to live monotonous yet uncomplicated life or to live in a reality where your worst fears are true but you have a chance to change everything. That is the choice the main protagonist, Neo, had to face in this movie.

Ideally, I believe that we would all choose to face hardships in exchange for a chance to change the world, since we are all the heroes to our own story. However, as seen in the movie, there are also those that choose to conform to societies demands and remain ‘normal’ and complacent. While this decision might be exaggerated in this film, due to its sci-fi elements, I think that it still represents a daily struggle that we face in life. Since we face a multiple of choices each day that vary in consequence, something that we must each decide is whether we will be happy with our decision.

That’s why we choose to root for Neo, despite all of his obstacles and no guarantee that he would succeed, he still chose to learn the horrifying truth of his life and attempt to fix it, which is something that we should strive to do in our lives.

The Matrix was one of my favorite movies to watch growing up with my father. While Neo and his friends are fighting to find out the truth, this movie makes me think about if life as really like this. It is really trippy. This is an action movie about world domination and discovering the truth, but I found it really interesting how this film can relate back to religion, specifically the Bible. I believe this was a perfect choice for a movie event because this post apocalyptic film really makes you think hard.

This was my first Film Friday. The activity provides an interesting dynamic in Rose Scholars because while nobody talks to one another it still feels like a progressive community building activity  none the less. The proctor brought us all popcorn which was also fun. As far as the Matrix goes the movie is a classic. I had seen it multiple time so I did some work while it played in the background but it was a great feeling to be able to look up and see Keanu Reeves beautiful face every few minutes. My friend and fellow rose scholar Vivian hadn’t ever seen the Matrix so it was also fun to see her reactions to the movie.

When I initially went to watch The Matrix, I was really excited because I know it was highly influenced by critical theorist Jean Baudrillard. I had just finished reading Simulacra and Simulation, which examines the growing gap between symbols and what they represent, which presents a number of problems within a social context.

The film helped explicate these ideas well, but I found most salient to compare it to something more along the lines of Anzaldua or Gramsci, who work to build a consciousness that is neglected within conventional society. This is what we see Morpheus doing with Neo; he guides Neo through the confusing and often painful steps of deviating rom what is socialized into him.

This becomes confusing when there are different ideologies that deviate from the hegemony. Taking the rd pill is often used in neo-nazi circles as a metaphor for ‘waking up’ and actualizing reality. But if you look to the left, the same metaphor can be used for the opposite agenda. Both claim to be the ‘true’ reality, like in the Matrix. But I would argue that Baudrillard would instead question whether one can really reach a true reality, or if that even exists.

It was a great time to watch the first Matrix, and I hope to see the next one soon.

Seeing the matrix movie again really taught me a very surprising fact about life. Never to be overconfident and trust the process as it takes time. Neo’s training took a lot of time and effort and he couldn’t have picked everything up in one matrix session, the same applies to my classes I can’t try to understand everything by studying the day before my final but need to spread things out and work towards my goal patiently.

The Matrix is one of my favorite movies to this day and always back so many memories from the 2000s. Growing up, I was always terrified about the concept behind the matrix. What if we were all living in some sort of simulation to some unknown entity. It was always nightmare fueling for me way back then. As I grew up and watched the movie on occasion, I noticed that the movie had incredibly interesting storytelling and a lot of biblical references. Everything seems to tell the story of some savior that will save humanity from a doomed fate. Even some names, Trinity, Zion are direct references to the bible. While the action is obviously way over the top, I found interesting to observe the religious symbolism found within this movie despite it being a movie about action, the future, and robot domination.

On Friday, I went to the movie showing of the Matrix. This is a classic movie that I have seen many times over my childhood (my dad loves it). But this time, I thought a lot about what the plot of the movie was actually portraying, and it reminded me of a conversation that I had with my friend Nate, who is a Computer Science major, about the idea of simulation theory and the. Simulation paradox. The idea is actually crazy, it is the following: if, in the future, humans, or a different form of intelligent life, has the. Capability to simulate life, then we are most likely living in a simulation. Yeah, its kind of hard to comprehend. Basically, the theory says that, in order to simulate life on the scale of our universe and to simulate each and every individual conscious, it would take an incomprehensible amount of computer power and energy, not to mention technology. Far superior to our current day technology. However, if in the future, humans or some other intelligent life form, is able to create such technology, then it is almost certain that we are currently residing in that simulation, but if in the future that’s not possible, then we are not in a simulation. Try wrapping your head around that.

I grew up watching the entire The Matrix trilogy, literally. My dad is a huge sci-fi fan and this trilogy is his favorite, so every time any of the movies would be playing on a random channel, sure enough, my dad would put it on. So that means I have watched all of The Matrix movies just never in order and never completely. Before watching the first one during this Friday film night, I wasn’t very sure which plot points were from this movie and which ones weren’t. Now, I actually know. Moreover, I finally understand why these are my dad’s favorites movies.

In short, the movie was really good. The movie has some amazing features, especially considering that no special features like the ones used on The Matrix were never used before. The stand out? Morpheus’ glasses. His glasses did not have any temples or hinges but they never fell off his face when he was fighting Agent Smith. That was FX at its finest. I also loved the scene when Neo and Trinity destroy the guards when they enter the building to save Morpheus. It’s the best scene I can recall from the trilogy.

The movie is also really good at highlighting Keanu Reeves’ extremely bland and unemphatic face. It worked really well for his character of a very confused and troubled Neo. Overall, I really liked this movie and I can’t wait to go back home and watch the other 2 movies with my dad.

My high school math teacher recommended me to watch this movie, so I was glad to have the  opportunity to finally watch this movie. In this movie, humans are used as devices of extending lives of AI. Upon birth, humans have the matrix program encoded into their brains so that they live in a false reality created by the matrix. This scene depicts how humans are ironically exploited and used by robots and AI when we have created them for our convenience. This also allowed me to reconsider the fourth industrial revolution and the emergence of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in our lives. Artificial Intelligence definitely provides us with convenience and accuracy. In fact, devices such as Watson are known to be able to make precise medical prescriptions based on their precise calculations of past data. However, as these AI develop to become self thinking machines, they come to manipulate and take over humans. In fact, even in our world, humans would lose jobs and parts in our world as we are eventually replaced by artificial intelligence one by one. 

However, even the seemingly perfect matrix has a problem. The cause for this bug is human mind. AI makes calculated predictions based on past events but human minds are unpredictable; thus, humans would sometimes come out of the matrix to face the painful reality. The matrix is a jail that creates a false reality out of unproved, unreal thoughts so that those in it would never know the reality. In contrast, human minds are shown as being the distinguishing factor with artificial intelligence and the only way to find the intuition to reach the reality. This seems to give us a strong message not to be trapped in a matrix of false reality, but to listen to our minds. This led me to question and rethink if I have ever set limits on myself and put myself in a jail of the matrix. This movie really spoke out to me not to set limits but to be truthful to myself and to listen.  Overall, I really enjoyed watching this movie as it had such a strong, deep message. I was also struck by how accurately the movie from 1999 predicts our near future. 

Recently, I watched The Matrix for the second time in my life in the Flora Rose dining hall. This second time, I found it much more interesting to watch, as I was not simply trying to keep up with the plot, but could instead focus on the details, which I had not noticed before. For one, I never noticed some of the deeper philosophical questions the film raises. On particular moment, Neo’s meeting with the Oracle, calls into questions whether humans have free will. Specifically, when the Oracle tells Neo not to worry about the vase, which he promptly then breaks, she then says he will wonder whether he would have broken the vase had she never said anything. This scene calls into question how much of one’s actions (specifically Neo’s) are under their own control, rather than another’s (or that of a machine). Beyond the massive implications of this question outside of the film, it has significant implications in terms of the film’s story itself. For, throughout the movie, Neo is faced with numerous choices, both in and outside the Matrix. In the Matrix, he is faced with the choice of taking the blue pill or the red pill. Outside, he is faced with risking his own life to save Morpheus, or not. If, within the Matrix, Neo has no free will, this dramatically changes the narrative significance of the first choice. Yet, if he has no free will at all, then both choices have significantly different meanings in terms of the film. This question, among others, are just some of things I noticed in my second viewing of The Matrix, and I am sure I will discover more upon future viewings.

This is perhaps the third or fourth time I have watched The Matrix, yet the movie has not lost its appeal and is still quite fascinating. The Matrix reminds me of Black Mirror in some ways; both examine the darker aspects of modern/future technologies. The Matrix delves into the potential downfall of human society due to AI, while Black Mirror examines more futuristic tech that tend to be uncomfortably similar to modern tech. Moreover, The Matrix also explores the idea of reality, and our decisions to remain ignorant or become aware of our reality. While watching The Matrix, these themes reminded me of a specific Black Mirror episode that I watched a while ago called “Nosedive,” in which the protagonist, Lacie, is stuck in a seemingly perfect world based on people’s ratings of each other, but is jarringly exposed to the superficiality of this society. In this world, people’s personalities and humanness are leached away by a rating system that determines one’s rank in society. Similar to the world of The Matrix, these people are controlled by their tech. Although their world is colorful and aesthetic, it all seems to be quite uncomfortable and too perfect. Interactions between people are faked and the emotions and desires that make us human are suppressed. When Neo and Lacie are exposed to the realities of their worlds, it is a stark contrast to their previous, false realities. Neo’s real world is literally a darker place, there’s no sun, and humans are forced to live underground. At the end of “Nosedive,” we see Lacie in a dark, colorless prison cell, whereas before she was surrounded by pleasant, pastel colors. However, these characters’ awareness of their realities is liberating, but at the same time still not entirely free. Neo is seemingly liberated from his entrapment in the Matrix simulation, however he is still latched to his fate as the “One,” and not truly in full control of his life. Lacie is liberated from the system of ratings and the oppressive society she lives in; however, Lacie is still trapped by the physical walls of her prison, even if she is free to voice her own opinion and lets out all her suppressed emotions in an epic screaming match with her fellow inmate. While The Matrix and “Nosedive,” seem to suggest that freedom is possible, they also hint at the idea that there are constraints to freedom and that no one is truly free from their reality.

The Matrix is one of those movies that excels in every aspect of its cinematography and didactic components. The main question the film raises mainly relates to what it truly means to be human. Humanity is a complicated concept, mostly defined by scientists as “culture-bearing primates.” Yet, this vague definition does not seem to do justice to the complexities of our daily lives. As a student of the world of neurobiology, it is amusing to me how academia tends to separate human behavior and animal behavior as two separate entities. However, humans are not all that special. We are, technically, animals. Our brains work similarly to other species and our behaviors and decisions are based on genes derived from a single common ancestor.

The conflict of having the choice of knowing the truth behind your reality is also another main analytical question. It could be compared to the question of whether or not you would like to know the day of your death if you had the chance to. In the context of this movie, knowing the truth was a very heavy concept that could not be shared with the public, given that your entire perspective about your life would shift and not all beings were mentally ready for it.

The film philosophically criticizes our world’s version of reality, in which people are unable to expand reality beyond their daily routines. Neo, our main character, struggles to accept the fact that he lived in a world controlled by outside forces of an unknown entity “The Matrix.” You could say it was a hard pill to swallow.

On Friday night, I joined the Rose Scholars to watch the Matrix for the first time. I was really looking forward to seeing this movie, since I had never seen it before and so many people have talked about it and how much of a mind warp it is. What is real? Are we awake? Upon watching it, I understood the hype. I also really liked the unique perspective of a neuro-biological lens. Looking at the mind as a separate entity from the body while at the same time, one cannot live without the other, is an intriguing concept, especially because I myself am I neurobiology concentration within the bio major. Every once in a while I’ll have an existential crisis regarding who I am in the big scheme of things, how small humans are compared to the vastness of the universe, and, of course, is any of this even real?

I remember reading one insight regarding something similar and I thought it was interesting to include. Basically, at the end of our lives, we experience a memory flash of all our experiences, our life flashing before our eyes. But at the end of that flash, we will see ourselves dying and reliving those memories, so once again, in that memory flash we will remember the flash itself, and so on and so forth. Essentially, we become trapped in the infinitely shrinking flashes of our lives, forced to relive every moment for eternity. I thought this was really cool, although I obviously cannot vouch for its scientific validity. The fact that we determine and we define what is real for ourselves makes everything relative and overall is really cool.

This week I watched The Matrix for the first time, and I am so glad that I was finally able to see this classic movie. Not only were some of the visuals incredible, especially considering the movie is 20 years old, but the plot was very complex and well thought through. What stood out to me the most was one particular scene where Morpheus said that reality is whatever your senses perceive it to be. In a literal sense, he is right. Everything that we know of the world, and of reality, is based off of what we have sensed through our senses, and there is no way to confirm that the reality that we are sensing is the same as someone else’s. For instance, although everyone may be able to see an object, feel it, maybe even taste it, and we can come to a consensus of what that object may look, feel or taste like, how do we know that the image that each of us have in our mind of that object is the same? Take a coloured object for example. Physically that object absorbs and reflects certain wavelengths of light that fall in the visible spectrum, and we are able to perceive those wavelengths with our eyes, but what is to say that two different people do not perceive the same wavelength of light as two different colours, but nonetheless each call the colour they are “seeing” red? This idea of reality also reminded me of the saying, “if a tree falls down in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?” As a teacher once highlighted to me, the tree may make sound waves as it crashes to the forest floor, but they said that sound is dependent on someone hearing those waves, and thus if there is no one around the tree does not actually make a sound. Overall, I found this movie’s concept of reality to be very thought provoking, and I enjoyed talking about many of the implications of reality with my friends afterwards.

Though The Matrix was released almost two decades ago, I find its discussion of artificial intelligence to be especially relevant in modern times, as development and innovation into the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence continues to grow. 

As AI continues to improve, it will undoubtedly bring many benefits to humans. If coded properly, AI would have a low, or nonexistent error rate. Artificial intelligence programmed to perform medical procedures, to drive cars, to complete tasks that humans are unable to do will greatly advance human civilization. Productivity will greatly increase as AI will never need to take a break or get tired, and AI can be programmed to complete the mundane tasks that humans do not want to do. 

Yet, there is the very real fear of job loss due to automation, of immoral machines, and (one of the most interesting hypothetical scenarios to me, and the theme of many dystopian novels and movies) the fear of an AI takeover. 

Will AI ever become sentient to the point that they take control of Earth and enslave all humans? Will we ever find ourselves in a Matrix like scenario, where we are controlled by and batteries for AI and live only in our minds?

Many AI researchers have also voiced a similar concern, that AI could potentially develop to the point that humans cannot control it, meaning the end of humankind as we know it. Yet theoretically, if humans were to create AI, we could instill it with human morals, so that it will help humans rather than harm us. At the same time, would we also not take precautions to prevent an AI takeover?

Research and development of AI will undoubtedly continue. I know that we can gain a lot from AI and the quality of human life and society as a whole will improve. As it stands right now, I believe that the benefits we can gain from AI outweigh the potential dangers, but it is never too late to think about what could happen and what we should do if things go south.

I watched the famous movie “The Matrix” for the first time this Friday, which was filmed in 1999. However, I was obsessed by the idea that the “real world” that individuals used to was stimulated by the machine in order to grow human beings as biodynamic bacteria to collect power. It was really ridiculous at very first but reasonable and frightening in the end. What if human beings are all grown in purpose just as we raise the livestock. What is the death that each individuals will have to suffer is not the natural end of our live but is conducted by the machine who grow us when our energy reach a certain level.  Actually, I have grown this idea for years that how can we tell the difference between true reality and stimulation in mind. Because just as the movie said, our sense of sight, smell, taste and touch are recognized by our brain via nerve system and impulse. Thus it is really desperate and hard to tell whether the world we live right now is true or not. Maybe we are just the extras in the world like matrix and wait for a Morpheus to wake us up. Unfortunately, if we are not the one that have the ability to spot the difference, maybe the destination is just being lost forever. However, the movie indeed gave us a lesson back in 1999 that we need to keep calm when facing the artificial intelligence and maintain keen insight. Being ignorant is not terrible, what really suffering is recognizing the reality and never lose hope.

On Friday, this week’s movie was called The Matrix, which depicts a futuristic society in which AI machines trap humans into simulated realities. I found this movie particularly interesting because last semester I took an FWS course called Robots. During the course, we watched similar movies and read books about the idea of AI taking over the world. Most of the pieces we discussed in the course were about how AI would destroy the human race with their massive intelligence. The Matrix had an interesting take on this idea about how AI machines preserved humans instead of destroying them and using humans as a source of energy. For a 1999 movie, it depicted this idea well and would be a great continuation to my FWS class from last semester. It definitely had a better perception of AI than other pieces like Ex Machina where AIs kill humans. This movie also would connect very well to Black Mirror episode “San Junipero.” That show was about how people could live in a simulated reality after their death. We had discussions about the morality behind this idea and The Matrix has a similar idea except each human’s entire life span is simulated. These ideas of simulations and AI are really interesting to discuss about and bring up many questions about ethics of computer usage that would be important to discuss in the near future.

“The Matrix” is one of those movies that I vaguely remember seeing in the background at family parties as a child. I’d never sat down to watch it thoroughly, and even if I’d had at a young age, I would’ve missed out on a lot. First and foremost, the movie was downright trippy for me. The idea that our reality is a simulation created for us by machines in order to pacify humans while they harvest our energy is crazy, yet not crazy enough to rule out as a future (or current) possibility. 

The blue and red pills definitely represent a choice: to continue to be blissfully ignorant or to face the harsh reality of the world. When Neo takes the red pill, he chooses to be reborn and is pulled out of the comforting world that he’s previously known. This rebirth is filled with typical birthing imagery. He’s somewhat covered in slime, naked, vulnerable, pushed out of a tube and picked up by some foreign claws and brought into the light. I guess when you think about it, that’s exactly what happens to babies when they’re born. They, essentially, take the red pill.

Another idea that I somewhat fixated on during the movie was that humans are like viruses, the idea that humans don’t really respect the balance of things in the world. We go into different parts of the world, take the resources we need, and multiply with an air of disregard for our effect on nature. It hasn’t been until somewhat recently that the majority of people think about or even care about the human impact on everything.