Extracts from The Matrix - choose three of these extracts and explain IN YOUR OWN WORDS how they reinforce what you understand Baudrillard's theory to mean...
For next Tuesday...
1.Morpheus and Neo meet for the first time
Morpheus: Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You've felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there...like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Neo: The Matrix?
Morpheus: Do you want to know....what it is....?
Neo nods
Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It's all around us, even in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to work, when you pay your taxes. The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes, to blind you from the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison...for your mind....Unfortunately, no one can be...told what the Matrix is...you have to see it for yourself.
…
Morpheus: Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference, between the dream world...and the real world....?
2. Upon Neo being woken up for the first time
Morpheus: Welcome to the real world....
3. The program
Morpheus: Your appearance now is what we call residual self-image. It is the mental projection...of your digital self. Two chairs appear in front of them, and Neo reaches out to touch one. He runs his hand along its back.
Neo : This....this isn't real?
Morpheus looks at him
Morpheus : What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain….
4. Upon Neo being shown the real world for the first time
Morpheus : Welcome.....to the desert of the real.
5. The Program 2
When Neo wakes up, Morpheus takes him into another program.
They walk down a busy street, full of people going to work. Morpheus casually walks through them, but Neo keeps on being hit or shoved aside. As they walk, Morpheus begins to walk.
Morpheus : The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around. What do you see? Business people, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy.
A woman walks by, standing out from all the people in suits, as she is wearing a bright red dress, and bright red lipstick. Neo stares.
Morpheus : You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependant on the system, that they will fight to protect it. Were you listening to me, Neo? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?
Neo : I was...
Morpheus : Look again..
Neo turns around, to see that the woman in the red dress has turned into an agent, and is pointing a gun at his head. Neo ducks, covering his head with his hands.
Morpheus : Freeze it.
6. Returning to The Matrix for the first time
They all walk out the room, leaving Switch and Apoc waiting for them to come back. As they head towards a black car, Cypher drops a cell phone into the bin and it begins to ring. They get into the car, and Morpheus begins to drive them to their destination. At a red light, he turns around to look at Neo, who is sitting in the back seat with Trinity.
Morpheus : Unbelievable....isn't it?
Neo looks out at the street they are driving down.
Neo : God...
Trinity turns to look at him
Trinity : What?
Neo points to a restaurant.
Neo : I used to eat there....really good noodles.
He stops to think about it
Neo : I have these memories from my life, none of them happened. What does that mean?
Trinity : That the Matrix cannot tell you who you are.
7. The Oracle
Neo looks around the room, and sees he is the only adult there. Most of the children's heads are shaved. Some are playing, others meditating, or practising their gift. Neo watches in amazement, as a little girl levitates wooden alphabet blocks. He turns around, and sees a skinny bald boy sitting on the floor, holding a spoon, which sways and twists as he bends it with his mind. Neo crosses over to him, and sits in front of him, interested. The boy looks at Neo as he picks up a spoon and tries to imitate the boy's actions. Despite his best efforts, Neo cannot make it bend.
Spoon Boy : Do not try and bend the spoon...that's impossible. Instead only try to realize the truth...
Neo : What truth?
Spoon Boy : There is no spoon.
Neo : There is no spoon?
Spoon Boy : Then you will see, it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.
