The Matrix has always been one of those classic movies that I tell myself I plan to see, yet never actually find the time to sit down and watch. And now that I finally have seen the Matrix, it made me think about the contrast between fantasy and reality. We all fantasize about living the perfect life, where everything goes right in the world, everything is good. The movie is based on this idea that the mass population lives inside a virtual reality, in a dream world where life is good. These few humans decide to fight back against the artificial intelligence running this program, and the main character Neo is given the choice to leave the Matrix and fight or stay and live in a fantasy.
When presented with this idea, we assume we would all make the heroic choice and follow Neo’s path. But honestly, when I really think about how life has unfolded I wonder how willing I would be to give up an artificial reality where things were normal again. I imagine with the buzz in VR technology these days, we aren’t too far away from full immersion in a virtual world. I don’t think it would get to the level of the matrix, but I can see people wanting to escape their reality and live in a virtual world. I look forward to seeing just how far our technology will take us, but I am confident it will never elevate to the level of the Matrix.
It’s interesting that you bring up VR and I wonder whether VR was something that the creators of the Matrix foresaw to be possible less than two decades after the film’s release. I’d argue probably not. And that makes me wonder whether your certainty that technology will never take us to the level of the Matrix is misguided. I think it may be possible, but surely our humanity wouldn’t allow the realization of such a possibility.