The biggest concept in The Matrix, is the idea of simulation versus reality. In the matrix everything is simulated, and it is up to those who have escaped the system to discover and preserve reality. This brings up several questions. A small sampling being: What is reality? And Which is better simulation or reality?
In one of the most pivotal scenes of the movie, Cypher has to make the choice between remaining outside of the matrix with the rest of his shipmates on the Nebuchadnezzar or returning to the matrix with no knowledge of his time beyond it's grasp. He chooses to go back to the matrix and accept it's totalitarian control. While I don't agree with Cypher's choice, I understand why he made it. Earlier in the movie Neo is asked if he believes in fate and says no because he doesn't like the idea of not being in control of his life. I too don't believe in fate, but I like the idea of it. Fate is sort of like a cop-out, it's an excuse for not doing well. If something in your life goes wrong you can just blame it on fate, say it was out of your hands, and I think that's what Cypher wants. He doesn't want to have to make the tough decisions anymore, he just wants to be ignorant. He doesn't want to be in control anymore, and I sympathise with him. It's hard to know that your mistakes are all of your own doing. Sometimes it's nice to just push the blame off on someone or something else, not all the time, but sometimes.
As our society continues to develop and grow technologically, it is possible that we will be faced with a choice similar to Cypher's. Eventually, we may have to choose between simulation and reality.I think that there are many people out there who, when given this choice will choose simulation, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. To put it simply, life's rough. It's hard and exhausting and a lot of the time it just feels like more than you can handle. Therefor, it makes sense that people who have been overworked, and probably under-appreciated, would choose to enter a world that they knew would give them some relief. It would be like an instant weight being lifted off their shoulders However, other people seem to thrive on life's struggles. It propels them to do better and better, and so for them a world of simulation would be like torture.
The most important thing to take away from this is that both life styles are completely valid. Just because someone chooses to live blissfully unaware, does not mean that they are a lesser person it just means that they have a different opinion. And really it's no one's place to judge how someone chooses to live because life is so subjective. It's completely up to you to decide your own path, regardless of what someone else thinks... or doesn't think, I guess. You get to decide for yourself what your reality will be.
So, which would you choose, the blue or the red?
Kara,
ReplyDeleteI love this post because I think it applies to our world a lot now. You talked about how people in the world will someday be forced to choose between reality and stimulation and in a way, people already do that now. It's like the show CATFISH on MTV. It's about how people meet other people online, and fall in love with them. What is interesting, is that when they go to meet each other in person, most of the time, they are nothing like who they are online. Even now in the world, people choose simulation to get away from their real life. Overall, I think the point you make in your blog is awesome, and totally applicable to our lives today, and it was really enlightening. Awesome job girly!