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“What is ‘real’? How do you define ‘real’? (The Matrix)” Andy and Lana Wachowski wrote and directed a mind-boggling science fiction story with a strong psychological theme. “The Matrix” was released March 31, 1999 in the United States and was instantly a hit. “The Matrix” is currently number 18 on IMDB’s top 250 movies list; behind the likes of “The Godfather”, “Star Wars”, and “The Lord of the Rings”. “The Matrix” by the Wachowski siblings should be preserved because is successfully depicts the still prevalent philosophical fear of technology rising up over humans.

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Lana Wachowski was born in June 1965, and her brother Andy was born in December 1967. They starting writing science fiction movies, and co-wrote their first movie “Assassins” that came out in 1995. They shared a directorial debut with the movie “Bound” in 2006, then in 1999 “The Matrix” franchise began.  Most recently they wrote “Cloud Atlas” which was released this last year. They have shared 5 movie awards during their career of co-writing and co-directing. “The Matrix” is the only franchise under their belt, with people still wanting more (IMDB).
This movie directly correlates to the “Information Age” movement which is normally shown as the 1960s to present. The “information age” summarized is the movement of rapid technology growth and an increase in available information. During this time computers were invented, and in 1990 the internet was launched. Once the internet was launched, technology increased incredibly fast, leading to the world becoming connected. You can send an email to someone on the other side of the world, and they can respond instantly (Fiero).
In the 1990’s America was fascinated by the growing technologies of the age; the internet was launched and AOL began their historic trek. We as humans became exceedingly more dependent on machines for everything from communication to work. Computers now allow us to instant message someone across the world, making writing letters obsolete. A commonly used storyline in science-fiction movies was technology taking over. The leader of the rebel group in “The Matrix” named Morpheus says, “Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems is not without a sense of irony (The Matrix).” This psychological fear of technology goes back to around Einstein. Albert Einstein is regularly quoted saying , “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity (Einstein).”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE7PKRjrid4[/youtube]

<a id="internal-source-marker_0.10227513299287372" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE7PKRjrid4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE7PKRjrid4</a>
<p dir="ltr">“The Matrix” storyline begins in the future, where a hacker by the codename Neo has come across the term Matrix and he is trying to find out what it is. Morpheus, the rebel leader, is told a prophecy about the one who will beat the Matrix, and believing Neo is that one reaches out to him. Neo is given the decision to take the blue pill and go on with life as he wishes, or take the red pill and “...stay in Wonderland... (The Matrix).” Morpheus shows Neo the Matrix, and informs him that the life he knows is nothing but a computer program. Neo is basically reborn and at first can’t even move, they use computer programs to teach him basic instincts as well as fighting techniques. After Neo gets reprogrammed and introduced to the actual real world, the ‘battle’ with the machines begins.</p>
<p dir="ltr">[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLn1XgNWnDs[/youtube]</p>
<p dir="ltr">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLn1XgNWnDs</p>
    The movie references Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” several times in the beginning to highlight the culture shock Neo goes through, as Alice did in the book. After Neo has taken the red pill, Morpheus says “I imagine that right now, you’re feeling a bit like Alice. Hmm? Tumbling down the rabbit hole (The Matrix).” Alice in Wonderland has become a quintessential example of a crazy realization, and is often referred to in movies like “The Matrix” (IMDB).
If you look at it science-fictionally you won’t see much difference from the other movies being released in the 1990’s. This theme of life being a lie shows up a few times, like the Total Recall franchise. Total Recall is about a man who goes to a place to receive memories of a vacation to Mars, but when things go wrong he remembers being a secret agent on Mars. He realizes that what he thought was his life is a lie, just like in the Matrix when Neo realizes that life as he knew it was a lie. Total Recall went on to become a franchise, like the Matrix, and one just came out this last year (IMDB).
When the Matrix was released on March 31, 1999, it made almost $30,000,000 opening weekend and ended up making $204,000,000 while in theatres. It won 28 movie related awards, 4 of them being Oscars. A concern when the movie first came out was the deceiving factor in the movie of reality really being a simulation. As with other movies, most recently shown in “The Dark Night Rises”, people take the movie literally. Robin Turner wrote an essay called “‘Guns...Lots of Guns’: The Role of violence in The Matrix”, which discusses the violence in the movie and the confusion it has caused. Turner says that around the country people killed their family and friends, because they claimed they are living in the Matrix. While the producers of the movie started referring to the Matrix as a ‘fantasy’, the psychological aspect of this false reality has some people convinced the Matrix is a real thing (Turner). It has only been 13 years since the movie was released, and since then the Matrix franchise has released 2 sequels (“The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions”), a movie called the “Anti-Matrix”, and a TV animated series.
Personally, this is one of my favorite movies. I love that it makes you think, but is still very entertaining. It’s a movie that can have a different meaning every time you watch it; you could watch it for entertainment and be entertained, you could watch it for science fiction and be entertained with the idea of the machines battling the humans, and my favorite is when you watch it for a deeper meaning and get a question on life in general.
There is alot future generations can take from “The Matrix”. One thing is the portrayal of the “Information Age”, the dangers of technology. Another thing is that things aren’t always how they appear. “The Matrix” by the Wachowski siblings should be preserved because is successfully depicts the still prevalent philosophical fear of technology rising up over humans.

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Works Cited
"Albert Einstein Technology Quotes." &lt;http://www.searchquotes.com/search/Albert_Einstein_Technology/&gt;.
I used this to get a quote on technology from Einstein.

"Andy Wachowski." &lt;http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0905152/&gt;.
I used this to get specifics on Andy himself.

Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition. Vol 2. Books 3-6. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. eBook. McGraw-Hill’s Connect. 2011. Web. Fall 2012.
I used Fiero to talk about the Information Age.

"Lana Wachowski." &lt;http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0905154/bio&gt;.
I used this to get specifics on Lana herself.

"The Matrix (1999)." &lt;http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/&gt;.
I used this to get the specifics on the movie; the awards, the gross income, a storyline summary, and other things.

"Total Recall (1990)." &lt;http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100802/&gt;.
I used this to get specifics on “Total Recall” for the needs of the paper.

Turner, Robin. "“Guns . . . Lots of Guns”: The role of violence in The Matrix." www.bilkent.edu. N.p., 09 2003. Web. 26 Nov 2012. &lt;<a href="http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/%7Erobin">http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/~robin</a>
I used this to show reactions after the movie came out.