Postmodernism and the Matrix

Where does truth lie? Postmodernism is a literary movement of the twentieth century that attempts to show that the answer to this question cannot be completely determined. Characteristics of postmodern works include a mixing of different genres, random time changes, and the use of technology that all aid in presenting a common postmodern theme that truth doesn’t lie in one story, place or person. The novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer encompasses these postmodern characteristics combining together show how the truth cannot always be attained.

The Matrix is a sci-fi heavily reliant on the theme of cyber culture and cyber punk. Like Case, Neo too is a computer hacker, but the similarity ends there. While Case is clearly an anti-hero, Neo flies pretty close to being an ideal hero. “Neo” which is also an anagram of “One” is the one prophesied by the Oracle to bring in the destruction of the matrix and usher in the freedom of mankind. While

The novel War, written by Sebastian Junger, records the events in Korengal, Afghanistan with the American Army from a journal’s perspective. Throughout the book, he retells his experiences of fire fights, the emotional trauma of losing a fellow fighter, the undeniably strong bond between soldiers, and the consequences combat has on family members. While this novel has some detailed and brutally honest components regarding the war in Afghanistan, I found the insight provided by Junger on combat to be interesting. Once I started reading this novel, putting down the book was nearly impossible as I was finding myself entranced within this world of war. The insight into the world of combat, although brief, permitted me to better understand a soldier’s experience in war zones. My previous knowledge regarding the novel’s context, as well as personal experiences, transformed my mindset from thinking critically about the novel to becoming emotionally connected to the soldiers’ success. I found that the more I read this novel, the more my life experiences influenced my attitude towards the individuals and experiences as described by Junger.

In this perspective, it is captivating to note that these two masterpieces reflect on the US Vietnamese war. They both try to analyze the effects of war on the soldiers and the struggles they underwent in their quest to bring tranquility. In both cases, it is disheartening to understand that they succeed in bringing physical peace at the expense of their emotional peace.

The adventures and trials the comrades encountered confirmed their dedication to return home and their competence to kill opponents of their sacred ideology. The action and rivalry in these interactions represented the

Sebastian Junger’s “Combat High” first appeared in Newsweek magazine in 2010. In this essay adapted from the author’s book War, Junger aims to convince readers how society’s decisions affect the many men and women fighting for our country and how soldiers all become one. In “Combat High”, Sebastian Junger apprise us about his involvement in Konrengal outpost in the Valley of Afghanistan (KOP). In his journey he perceives war in distinctive eyes, the eyes of a soldier.

“War” develops throughout a year in the Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan. The delightful, rough landscape is sharply chilly in winter and bursting hot in summer, the troops enduring in primitive conditions through long extends of pounding weariness punctuated by brief, nerve racking scenes of battle. Junger was right in the heart of the activity. Truth be told, he 's so much a part of the contention that he 's constrained as a writer to think about the topic of whether to take ownership of a weapon he may really need to shoot in battle. The substance of this war, battled in such is impromptu creation, as a rule including brief yet serious firefights with a frequently undetectable foe. The way to every trooper 's survival lays more on his unit 's capacity to connect than any demonstrations of individual gallantry, a perception Junger bolsters with authentic material and research on the

Transcendentalism, Realism, Naturalism, and Existentialism- shaped the advancement of American literature. They were considered to be theoretical and political philosophies which held important positions in the development of modern literature. The original authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, Lawrence Sargent Hall, and Jerome David Salinger, presented works inspiring new perspectives and social outlooks upon reality and it’s offerings. Through characterizing the progress of the philosophies, the development of American literature is explained.

I will be asserting, in this argument, through the quotes and actions of Neo and Agent Smith as well as underlying themes and philosophies throughout the trilogy that, despite what was clearly and repeatedly implied and stated throughout the trilogy Neo is not actually the savior figure in accordance with the Oracle’s prophecy. Or, rather, that Neo may represent the Messiah to the humans in Zion and the Matrix, the “1” respectively. However, Agent Smith, the “0” in the integral anomaly, more fully represent a manifestation of the Oracle’s prophecy than even Neo.

Shells exploded all around us, peppering us with shrapnel. Over the past months, I’d watched friends, enemies, and innocent bystanders die. Every time someone fell, I felt the briefest flicker of guilt. Had it been my bullet? Was more blood on my hands? Some nights I yelled, hoping more than just God and the stars would hear me; some nights I cried, praying no one was listening. Around me, I saw grown men falling to bits, their nightmares screaming them back to reality as they echoed through the trenches. Reality was no better than their nightmares.

Postmodernism is a term which is highly contested in the sociological world, where it is used to indicate a significant detachment from modernism. It is easier to give the uses of the term; ‘to give a name to the present historical period, to name a specific style in arts and architecture and to name a point of rupture or disjuncture in epistemology’ (Buchanan, 2010). For this,

Hilary Putman’s brain in a vat thought-experiment has caused many to question their sense and the concept of what is considered real. In the experiment we are asked to imagine a possibility, that we are all a brain hooked up by wires to a really advanced computer system built to simulate our experience of the outside world. The brain vat argument simply states that if you cannot prove that the brain vat does not exist, then you cannot rule out the possibility that all your beliefs could be false. The movie The Matrix directed by The Wachowskis, in 1999 was based on Putman’s brain vat experiment. In this short essay I will be comparing and contrasting the synopsis of The Matrix against Plato’s The Republic, and Descartes Meditation.

project for "any attempt at a postmodernist 'method' is contradictory (an impossible possibility)" (25). In one of the most

In The Matrix, Neo is contacted by the leader of the freedom fighters, Morpheus. Morpheus believes Neo is "The One" who will lead humanity to freedom and defeat the machines in the Matrix that have been growing and harvesting people to use as an energy source. Together with Trinity, Neo and Morpheus fight against the machine 's enslavement of humanity as Neo begins to believe and accept his role as "The One". As a team, they fight ending the machine 's enslavement of humanity once and for all. With Neo 's mind trapped between the Matrix and the machine mainframe, Trinity, Morpheus and Seraph fight for the key to rescuing him, while Zion 's military leaders defend their home against the machines. As Agent Smith continues to grow in power, Neo returns to learn from the Oracle that only by stopping Smith can he stop the war and save humanity. In the Matrix Trilogy, the films depict freedom and choice by the course of action Neo pursues and the foundation of how the Matrix and the human world are designed.

When entering this unit of postmodernism, my only thoughts were of a reluctant nature. I pessimistically expected only disagreement and frustration from reading the works of Life of Pi, Reading Lolita in Tehran, and Fidelity. However, my initial expectations were completely and thankfully wrecked. Though the philosophies of both Martel and Nafisi contradict my own, there are endless gems of insight to be plundered from their writings. These postmodern works emphasize where we as humans find our identity and how religion plays into that identity. Contrary to my presumptions, I learned so much from reading these novels woven with postmodernists thought and can say with confidence that I am a better and more educated person for having read them.