Rating of
3.5/4
Follow the white rabblit
Owtkast - wrote on 08/26/08
The Matrix is compelling not only for its beautiful music (great oboe), colors, martial arts and believable special effects, but for its modern portrayal of Socrates’ questioning the socio-culturally accepted descriptions of reality. The Matrix begs you to question everything you think you know. It gives you a story that is thrilling and fun to watch, while providing you with questions to consider. Like Castenada’s Don Juan it asks you to “stop the world”, or wake up and question what you think reality is. I am not surprised to read that some reviewers feel that the movie is terrible and over acclaimed. Neo is a metaphor for Socrates; his pink pod is a metaphor for Socrates’ cave. Socrates was executed for teaching his philosophies. These ideas are unsettling, and it seems some people cannot tolerate them. I especially like the way the Wachowski brothers portrayed the story. The brain-in-a-vat (the pods) example is scary. The men-in-black example and other unexplained phenomenon (like déjà vu) are cleverly unexpected. These examples of unexplained phenomenon give the story and its’ questions an added depth. The symbols like Alice’s white rabbit are smart. Of course maybe it all just seems that way.
