Bullet-time in Simulation City: Revisiting Baudrillard and The Matrix by way of the "Real 1999"

The writers and directors of The Matrix famously claimed Jean Baudrillard as a source of inspiration for their movie, going as far as to feature a copy of Baudrillard’s signature book, Simulacra and Simulation, as a prominent prop in one of the movie’s first scenes. Baudrillard, however, explicitly...

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Main Author: Randy Laist
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University College Cork 2012-02-01
Series:Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.alphavillejournal.com/Issue 2/HTML/ArticleLaist.html
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author Randy Laist
author_facet Randy Laist
author_sort Randy Laist
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description The writers and directors of The Matrix famously claimed Jean Baudrillard as a source of inspiration for their movie, going as far as to feature a copy of Baudrillard’s signature book, Simulacra and Simulation, as a prominent prop in one of the movie’s first scenes. Baudrillard, however, explicitly disowned The Matrix as a representation of his worldview. When we follow the story of The Matrix from the perspective of the protagonist Neo, as the story compels us to do, we encounter a dualistic, Platonic division between reality and illusion which, as Baudrillard rightly observes, annuls the implosive dynamic that is the heart of the hyperreal condition. On the other hand, when we consider The Matrix from the perspective of its audience, the citizens of the “real 1999” (as opposed to the simulacral 1999 generated by the Matrix), we find late-century American culture refracted back to us as the kind of world that lends itself to “neural-interactive simulation.” By performing a reading of The Matrix that emphasizes its reference to its contemporary historical moment, we can identify a sense in which the film authentically captures a Baudrillardian variety of space-time.
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spelling doaj.art-135e645639b8487bbebc184d5fb0cb2b2022-12-22T02:10:29ZengUniversity College CorkAlphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media2009-40782012-02-0121933https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.2.02Bullet-time in Simulation City: Revisiting Baudrillard and The Matrix by way of the "Real 1999"Randy Laist0Goodwin College in East Hartford, ConnecticutThe writers and directors of The Matrix famously claimed Jean Baudrillard as a source of inspiration for their movie, going as far as to feature a copy of Baudrillard’s signature book, Simulacra and Simulation, as a prominent prop in one of the movie’s first scenes. Baudrillard, however, explicitly disowned The Matrix as a representation of his worldview. When we follow the story of The Matrix from the perspective of the protagonist Neo, as the story compels us to do, we encounter a dualistic, Platonic division between reality and illusion which, as Baudrillard rightly observes, annuls the implosive dynamic that is the heart of the hyperreal condition. On the other hand, when we consider The Matrix from the perspective of its audience, the citizens of the “real 1999” (as opposed to the simulacral 1999 generated by the Matrix), we find late-century American culture refracted back to us as the kind of world that lends itself to “neural-interactive simulation.” By performing a reading of The Matrix that emphasizes its reference to its contemporary historical moment, we can identify a sense in which the film authentically captures a Baudrillardian variety of space-time.http://www.alphavillejournal.com/Issue 2/HTML/ArticleLaist.htmlthe matrixwachowski brothersjean baudrillardrealityplatoallegory of the cavehyperrealpataphysicaltimespace
spellingShingle Randy Laist
Bullet-time in Simulation City: Revisiting Baudrillard and The Matrix by way of the "Real 1999"
Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media
the matrix
wachowski brothers
jean baudrillard
reality
plato
allegory of the cave
hyperreal
pataphysical
time
space
title Bullet-time in Simulation City: Revisiting Baudrillard and The Matrix by way of the "Real 1999"
title_full Bullet-time in Simulation City: Revisiting Baudrillard and The Matrix by way of the "Real 1999"
title_fullStr Bullet-time in Simulation City: Revisiting Baudrillard and The Matrix by way of the "Real 1999"
title_full_unstemmed Bullet-time in Simulation City: Revisiting Baudrillard and The Matrix by way of the "Real 1999"
title_short Bullet-time in Simulation City: Revisiting Baudrillard and The Matrix by way of the "Real 1999"
title_sort bullet time in simulation city revisiting baudrillard and the matrix by way of the real 1999
topic the matrix
wachowski brothers
jean baudrillard
reality
plato
allegory of the cave
hyperreal
pataphysical
time
space
url http://www.alphavillejournal.com/Issue 2/HTML/ArticleLaist.html
work_keys_str_mv AT randylaist bullettimeinsimulationcityrevisitingbaudrillardandthematrixbywayofthereal1999