Philosophy and the Matrix: Return to the Source

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Philosophy and the Matrix: Return to the Source

This documentary is one of the most unique documentaries I have seen in a long time. We have all seen the Matrix trilogy more times than we want to recount, but did you realize how many philosophical concepts are woven into that film? It is truly amazing when you have philosophers walking you through this, explaining all the concepts in great detail. Overall this is an amazing documentary, Philosophy & The Matrix will open your eyes even further than the actual movie hopefully did.


This is one of the two feature-length documentaries on the Ultimate Matrix Collection. It goes over many philosophical concepts that inspired and are presented in the trilogy. They spend the first half on the original film, and the rest of the time goes over parts 2 and 3, with a couple of things on the Animatrix shorts. This consists of clips of aforementioned releases and interviews.

It does a good job of informing the audience about the various thoughts, although it would obviously take far longer to go over all the symbolism in them, and one can ask the very appropriate question if something anywhere near that definite and final is even desired, by viewers or the Wachowskis alike.


That does mean that this is limited, but it is likely enough to enlighten and provide food for thought. In line with the series, this may provoke debate, rather than give answers set in stone. Whether one cares for this or not may depend on the extent of their knowledge on the subject, the old ideas, as well as how much they've thought about the presence of such in these three silver screen efforts. Obviously, it also makes a difference if one particularly wants to think about the meanings one could possibly take out of them.


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