The Film Asylum

Millions of people flock to the movie theater year after year on a quest to be entertained. Even a mediocre movie has the ability to take the audience to another place, escaping the realities of their own life, even if for just a few short hours. Some movies are simply pure entertainment. And then, there are those movies that provoke conversation long after the film has been viewed. Despite the popularity of the recent films The Hunger Games and Divergence, the dystopian theme in film is not a new one. The Matrix shows a society where humans exist without any freedom. The film, not only entertaining but thought provoking as well, paints a world with two different dimensions, a world very much like today’s when the film is closely examined. The Matrix questions the benefit of technology and influence over society.

The movie ‘Her’ is the story about Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a man who develops a relationship with Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), an intelligent computer operating system personified through a female voice. At the beginning of the film, Theodore is completely inept when it comes to how to make relationship with person, specifically women. However, after he gets to know Samantha, an OS program, a feeling of true love develops inside of Theodore’s mind. Then he realizes how he was fatuous in his past. Throughout the film, the director (Spike Jonze) uses five distinct color schemes to correspond Theodore’s feeling and situation.

This essay will discuss the science fiction genre in the films District 9 and Avatar. It will compare the two movies according to three different themes prominent in science fiction; societal or cultural issues, space travel and advanced technology. This essay will determine whether or not the Movie District 9 is more evolved as a science fiction film than Avatar. In District 9 there is a clear theme of oppression, the film is set in South Africa during the Apartheid regime. This movie shows the societal issue of this country as a corporate is oppressing and controlling the alien population.

When the film The Matrix debuted in 1999, it was an instant box office success that captivated many viewers. However throughout the featured famed actors, costumes, special effects and fight scenes, many viewers failed to notice the philosophical issues. Plato and Descartes, just like the characters in the movie are faced and driven to extreme measures to understand the world around them. They are compelled to seek knowledge in understanding what is real, evaluating the mind-body problem, and are left wondering if there is any good. These philosophical features of the movie have raised questions and have made it an interesting film to watch. While many viewers can agree that The Matrix is highly action packed, not all can truly appreciate

Millions of people flock to the movie theater year after year on a quest to be entertained. Even a mediocre movie has the ability to take the audience to another place, escaping the realities of their own life, if only for a mere two hours. Some movies are simply pure entertainment. And then, there are those movies that provoke conversation long after the film has been viewed. Dystopian themes are not new, and have historically provided a template to gage the course of human existence. The Matrix portrays a society where humans exist without freedom. The film is not only entertaining, but also thought provoking. It paints a world with two different dimensions, one with the mind numbing

The Matrix, written and directed by Lary and Andy Wachowski, is a 1999 science-fiction action film that has been regarded as one of the most igneous and highly imaginative films of all time. It depicts the complex story of a dystopian future in which the reality perceived by most human beings is actually a simulated one created by AI machines who use the suppressed humans as energy sources. Though the main characters of the story have freed themselves from the matrix, one character named Cypher (a.k.a. Mr. Reagan) regrets learning the truth and wants to return back to the dream world. Cypher is an example of antagonist Agent Smith's belief that "as a species, human beings define their reality through misery and suffering" as he believes

The matrix, as presented in the eponymous film, operates as an Althusserian Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). The Matrix1 presents a world in which "the state [as] a 'machine' of repression" is made literal where robots rule the land (Althusser 68). It is true that they rule by force (sentinels and agents) and these constitute the Repressive State Apparatus, but their primary force of subjugation is the matrix, their ISA. The film traces the path of one man, Neo, in his painful progress from the ideology of the matrix to the "real world," or the ideology of the "real."2

The Matrix, released in 1999, is a science fiction action film that depicts a dystopian future. In this reality, what is perceived by humans is only a computer simulated reality called ‘The Matrix’ which was created in order to sustain human delusion while their bodies were used as an energy source by machines. The main character, computer hacker Neo (played by Keanu Reeves, respectively) is drawn into rebellion against the machines once he is united with those that have been freed from the false reality. The characters, suffering from the reality of a broken illusion, make specific choices and decisions which can be explained or validated by sociological perspectives discussed by Berger. First off, ‘The Matrix’ can be defined as a social institution with the ability to give those that live within the false reality a fulfilled existence and exert social control over it’s residing victims. Second, the betrayal of Cypher touches upon the concept of sociological knowledge; specifically, the reference group ideology. Lastly, Neo’s previous feelings of unease and change of character after he joins Morpheus’ rebellion shows the importance a reference group can have on the overall personality and ideology of a person. Therefore, the Sociological Perspective understands the personalities, actions, and story of the movie ‘The Matrix’ in a variety of ways.

Neuromancer came up with a novel approach towards science fiction, and was instrumental in spawning multiple movies of similar genre. One of such movie is “The Matrix”. The reason I chose this movie for the review is the very concept of stimulated reality in this movie being quite analogous to the one slowly budding towards the end in the Neuromancer.

Science Fiction is a genre that visualizes fictional phenomena which are caused by scientific development using imaginative settings. ‘A.I.’ by Steven Spielberg shows the journey of an artificial kid called David who is the first to desire to be loved by people in a dystopian society. This film is made to warn human beings about the ramifications of everything they create because they affect future generations in unimaginable ways. ‘GATTACA’ directed by Andrew Niccol illustrates the social/ethical issues by the world which people are identified by the DNA in their cells to show the discrimination made due to technology development. Gattaca is made on 24th of October, 1997 and won several awards including Academy Awards and Academy of Science

The movie Split is an American thriller that is centered around the fictional character known as Kevin Crumb. Kevin suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder which leads to him being known as many other names. Kevin is also commonly known as Hedwig, a young boy, Dennis, a perverted man who suffers from OCD, and Patricia, an older classy woman. These are only some of the personalities Kevin has taken on. These personalities began to develop young in Kevin’s life as a defense mechanism to help protect him from his abusive mother. Kevin has many other personalities, some of which are evil. These evil personalities are what give the movie its thriller genre. Kevin kidnaps a girl, and she experiences all of these different personalities until a new one emerges that dominates over the others. “The beast” as it is referred to is the one that causes all the scare factors in the movie. When Kevin sees the damage that his other personalities have done, he is horrified and scared because he does not know how to control himself.

A world where everyone lives inside of a simulation that is being controlled by machines after humans lost the war, but they are unaware that it is not the real world. A group of people that are trying to take down this simulation called The Matrix. The directors, Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, use themes, chemistry, and special effects to capture attention and make The Matrix the greatest film ever made.

Throughout this semester our literary material dealt with themes of technology, modernization, the imponderable bloom, human nature, and truth to name a few of the most overarching. Each text has woven an impression of the possible near future for humanity if the patterns we are creating continue at an exponential rate. Patterns such as consumerism, neglecting unpleasurable emotions, using drugs, and controlling the environment for our short term benefits will write an unsavory and inevitable future. Science Fiction often reflects on society by exaggerating their negative characteristics and advancements to seem far-out, but often it is ironic how close many aspects of the fiction are a direct reflection of the present condition. Even now, the possibilities of utopias and dystopias forming are not so out of reach. The ability of our culture to control an entire population with a self-satisfied culture of vices outfitted with technology is less and less science fiction as the years pass.

Action-packed and highly-rated, Mad Max: Fury Road is a critically-acclaimed film about a journey of survival through a post-apocalyptic wasteland. There is no doubt that post-apocalyptic films are becoming increasingly popular among audiences as seen with movies such as the Hunger Games. However, Leggatt (2012) describes another variation in the post-apocalyptic genre, one that has been dubbed post-9/11 after a string of patterns prevalent in some post-apocalyptic films. Leggatt’s definition of post-9/11 apocalyptic films are ones that have a pessimistic tone towards the future of a society. As the world evolves and progresses, many new issues overlap and outgrow previous issues that have plagued the world before - though this transgression, the film industry follows suit in order to invent stories and media that is thought-provoking and relevant to changing society. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) is a film that encapsulates many elements of Leggatt’s post 9/11 apocalypse film genre through the apocalyptic setting, derailment of redemption, and societal obsession with apocalypse over utopia.

In contrast to a utopia, according to the power point provided in class a dystopia is “an imaginary place where people live dehumanized and often fearful lives.” The movies The Matrix, 1999 and Avatar, 2009 overall seem to me as dystopian films. To show how each film portrays the different aspects of perspectives on the future, and a dystopia, I’m going to use the settings, actions, and outcomes of each film.