Matrix and Philosophy

The Matrix and Philosophy

The Matrix, a science-fiction film released in 1999 is written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski and stars Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishbourne. The Matrix was a box office smash, set records for DVD sales (first DVD to sell 1 million copies), and won four Oscars - Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Sound Effects Editing. On the outside, The Matrix seems like any other science-fiction or shoot em’ up film, but there is much more to be found inside The Matrix. The film raises many philosophical questions concerning freewill, the soul, and the nature of reality, all of which are subjects raised by some of the most historic philosophers like Plato or René Descartes and in my paper, I intend to prove to the reader that The Matrix is not your average science-fiction film, but a film that revolves around philosophy.
The film revolves around Thomas A. Anderson, played by Keanu Reeves, who is a man living two lives. By day he is an average computer programmer and by night a malevolent hacker known as Neo. Neo has always questioned his reality but the truth is far beyond his imagination. Neo wishes to learn the answer to the question "What is the Matrix?" Cryptic messages appearing on his computer monitor and encounters with three sinister Agents, led by Agent Smith, played by Hugo Weaving, lead him to a group led by the mysterious underground hacker Morpheus, played by Laurence Fishbourne, a man who offers him the chance to learn the truth about the Matrix. Morpheus and members of his inner-circle take Neo to a secret meeting where they offer Neo a choice between two pills. A blue pill that will return Neo back to his old life, or the red pill that will provide him with the answers that he seeks. Neo swallows the red pill, and he abruptly finds himself in a liquid-filled pod, his body connected by wires and tubes to a vast mechanical tower covered with identical pods. The connections are severed, and he is...