The Matrix/The Matrix Reloaded/The Matrix Revolutions (Australia/USA: Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski, 1999/2003/2003b)

[Note: I didn't include a trailer for The Matrix because all of the available trailers online give away too much of the plot. If you have not seen this film, I would advise that you watch it without viewing any of the trailers or reading any of the sources below.]



The Matrix/The Matrix Reloaded/The Matrix Revolutions (Australia/USA: Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski, 1999: 136 mins/2003: 133 mins/2003b: 129 mins)

Benton, Michael Dean. "Decoding the Success of The Matrix: A Contextual Analysis of the Influences of Postmodern Theory and Underground Cultures." (English Department, Illinois State University: 2000). [Professor has copies]

De Fren, Allison. "Fembot in a Red Dress." (Posted on Vimeo: 2016) ["This video essay examines the cultural trope of the “lady in red” as it evolved from the genre of film noir to science fiction and from the human to the artificial female in a variety of film and television texts."]

Ebiri, Bilge. "15 Years Later, The Matrix Still Has Us." Vulture (March 31, 2014)

Falzon, Christopher. "Philosophy Through Film." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (August 12, 2013)

Koski, Genevieve, et al. "The Matrix / Ghost in the Shell (2017), Pt 1." The Next Picture Show #72 (April 18, 2017) ["The poorly received new live-action GHOST IN THE SHELL draws inspiration from a lot of different sources — including one that was itself inspired by the original GHOST IN THE SHELL anime: The Wachowskis’ 1999 future-thriller THE MATRIX, which turns on a similar form of science-fiction dysmorphia. In this half of the discussion, we focus in on tiny miracle that is THE MATRIX, a studio-backed, creator-driven sci-fi film that drew from a deep well of cinematic, literary, and philosophical reference points — and would go on to influence countless other films in turn, including, naturally, the new GHOST IN THE SHELL"]

---. "The Matrix / Ghost in the Shell (2017), Pt. 2." The Next Picture Show #73 (April 20, 2017) ["In this half of our discussion of the “weird conceptual sandwich” that is THE MATRIX and GHOST IN THE SHELL, we puzzle over why the latter hyper-stylish, cerebral film fails where the former succeeds. The two films ultimately have different aims, but their approaches are surprisingly similar — though it’s how they differ that’s most telling."]

Netzel, Daniel. "The Matrix: Perennial Philosophy." Film Radar (Posted on Youtube: March 19, 2017)

O'Hehir, Andrew. "From Ike to “The Matrix”: Welcome to the American Dystopia." Salon (June 16, 2013)

---. "Lost in 'the desert of the real' with Donald Trump: We all took the red pill, right? It didn’t work." Salon (May 5, 2018)

Read, Max. "How The Matrix Fed Our Conspiracy-Laden World." On the Media (April 12, 2019) ["When it comes to nourishing paranoiac beliefs through pop culture, one of the most iconic works is the 1999 sci-fi political parable The Matrix. A computer hacker, Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, journeys into a reality he didn’t know existed and must battle the system of machines controlling all of humanity. The plot of the movie hinges around a choice Neo makes to take a red pill and to wake up from his blissful ignorance. Bob talks with Max Read, a writer and editor at New York Magazine, about what red-pilling has come to signify on the internet and in American politics, and how different groups use the potent metaphor."]

Thoret, Jean-Baptiste. "The Seventies Reloaded: (What does the cinema think about when it dreams of Baudrillard?)." Senses of Cinema #59 (2011)

Walter, Damien. "The Matrix and the Archetypes of Carl Jung." Science Fiction (December 2021) 

Zizek, Slavoj. "The Matrix, or Two Sides of Perversion." (Inside the Matrix: International Symposium at the Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe: October 28 1999)