Posts Tagged ‘Neo’

The red pill

24th March 2009 by Violette

10 years ago a movie changed the face of sci-fi. I won’t pretend I know everything there is to know about the Matrix and its significance for the history of cinema. However there is an important scene at the beginning of the film that I thought would be perfect to describe the importance of ‘now’ for the plot and the progression of the story.

The Matrix describes a future in which the reality perceived by humans is actually a simulated world (called the Matrix) created by machines. Neo, a computer-programmer wishes to discover the reality behind the cryptic messages he receives on his computer. He meets Morpheus a mysterious man who offers him the chance to learn the truth.

In this very famous scene, Neo is faced with a choice: if he ingest the blue pill he’ll stay in the fake world of the Matrix believing whatever he wants to believe. If he ingest the red pill he’ll learn the truth and change his life forever.

The soundtrack and the distant sound of thunder, the different camera angles, and the actors acting create a real suspense and to me that is just an other way of thinking about ‘now’.

tagged Morpheus Neo The Matrix this is now