The Matrix is a re- writing of the philosopher Hilary Putnam’s “brain in a vat” scenario, in which a disembodied brain is subject to computer stimulation and operates in a false reality. Putnam’s vision was an update of the 17th-century French philosopher René Descartes’s first meditation, in which he posited the idea that an evil demon had fabricated the external world (Anthony. 2007).
What is in your opinion the idea of reality proposed by “The Matrix”? And how does the film express this visually?
The way 'reality' is proposed in the film The Matrix is very unusual. The techniques and effects used make the film look like it has been made in late 2000s' even though it was actually made in 1999, for example when ‘The Matrix' has Neo hostage, they don't give Neo a choice about joining them, so they use their ‘brain power’ seal his mouth up and insert a bug-like machine into his belly button. This procedure was shown by some quite striking special effects. Anoth0er example is when Neo swallows the red pill and he suddenly has the power to fix a broken mirror, using his brain. It is clear that the director (Lily Wachowski) had a strong idea on what visuals she desired, like jumping from building to building, they made a virtual reality out of it. "To represent this, they tapped an emergent visual technology known as flo-mo, a process which allows a seemingly impossible time-jamming graphic where Keanu freezes mid kick while the camera rotates dizzyingly around him." -Empire Essay: The Matrix film review, (January 2000). The differences between the real world and the virtual were that the virtual world was depicted bright monochrome and it is very spacious. However the real world was dark and crowded.
My personal opinion with the visual and special effects is that they’re extraordinary, especially for the late 90’s. When it was released the audiences must have regarded the special effects as new and innovative.
2 - In The Matrix, the machines initially make a utopian simulation, but the humans don’t believe in the reality, so it is adjusted to include all the pain and drama humans associate with being alive.
Looking back at the idea of “filmic experience” (Casetti) as something able to orientate our experience also in relation to the world external to the film, how does this film re-orientate our experience of the world we live in? And how does this reflect further in relation to the current use of new media, especially VR?
When the film was released into the cinemas in the late 19s', the audience were shocked because of all the clever different visual effects. Nowadays it is normal to see those amazing effects. When Leo goes into the year 2199 he finds it hard to believe. There are loads of new, strange technologies and machinery that he is introduced to. The expectations of the audience has changed nowadays, back when it was released in cinemas, the audience were impressed with the idea of 'time travelling' and all of the associated graphics and fancy equipment. However display technology today is improving really fast, for example a VR, the headset makes the audience feel like they are in a different world but you only can see the visuals. There are some VR simulators, that the audience can actually enter and which also move to match with the image, providing another dimension to the virtual imagine. For example, a rollercoaster and flight simulators.
3 – What are the symbols used in the film to orientate the relationship between the real and the virtual? How is space described?How is time represented?
When Leo takes the red pill he goes forward in time from 1999 to 2199. The reason the director has done this is because we see the differences between the machinery and technology. As soon as Leo takes the pill, he goes into this unrealistic world, where he appears to be in a gooey type of cocoon, clinging on to his body, which would seem to have transported him to a place where he is being prepared for the virtual world. The way they have created this very unrealistic world is by the scenery around the character. It almost looks like Leo’s ‘cocoon’ is floating in space, this is an example to show the way the film presents the differences between the real and virtual worlds. A lot of the events in the virtual world are extreme but also appear to be unexplained, allowing the audience to use their imagination and to apply their own interpretation.
In the virtual world time is distorted, when Leo wakes up his hair has been shaved off, but then five minutes after when he goes into another virtual world where he can pick clothes, weapons etc, his hair has suddenly grown back. In the virtual world there is almost no concept of linear time and there are abrupt cuts between different spaces and times.
