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CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#451: Jan 11th 2022 at 3:09:10 PM

Ehh, in real life there's many oppressive authoritarian governments that label people to be terrorists when they are not. That's actually one of the parts of the metaphor that works.

Morpheus and company are Hero with Bad Publicity types because the Machines control the system's information.

You have to make your own decisions rather than believe them. This movie came out right before the Iraq War justifications after all.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#452: Jan 11th 2022 at 3:11:30 PM

The Matrix may have inspired a lot of LGBT+ people to come out, but it also inspired a lot of alt-right folks to adopt the "redpill" mentality.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#453: Jan 11th 2022 at 3:17:46 PM

Hence why this movie has some noticeable Take That! moments at MRAs.

And on the queer side this is an interesting discussion by trans critics Willow McCatelyn and Caden Mark Gardner on the trans themes of Resurrections.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#454: Jan 11th 2022 at 3:19:35 PM

The Matrix may have inspired a lot of LGBT+ people to come out, but it also inspired a lot of alt-right folks to adopt the "redpill" mentality.

Which means it's good art. Fascists automatically steal from better artists than themselves. They are inherently parasitic and incapable of their own creation.

Fritz Lang pretty much said it best when he made Metropolis that the Nazis absolutely loved his movie about how dangerous monstrous psychopaths considered their fellow humans to be a subspecies worthy of wiping out. Pretty much just mentally blotting out the part about how it was meant to be about reconciling the two, condemning that attitude, and embracing peace.

He said Goebbels even offered to make him an exception among Jewish persecution and put him in charge of the Nazi film industry.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Jan 11th 2022 at 3:22:53 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
windleopard from Nigeria Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#455: Jan 11th 2022 at 7:20:09 PM

The Matrix inspiring fascists doesn't say anything about its quality. Fascists will copy anything.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#456: Jan 11th 2022 at 8:01:16 PM

The Matrix is not to blame for fascists co-opting its ideas, but I find it amusing that they don't pay similar attention to the ideas in its sequels, which definitely contradict the notion that it's cool and edgy to put on sunglasses and leather and murder anyone who's a tool of "the system".

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
windleopard from Nigeria Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#457: Jan 11th 2022 at 8:04:33 PM

The sequels being rather divisive probably makes it easier for them to ignore any messages that contradict what they believe.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#458: Jan 11th 2022 at 8:11:35 PM

I feel the sequels lacked some of the anarchist spirit of the first movie and suffer for it. The movie seems less likely to indicate the police, corporations, and government are assisting in the oppression of humanity for the Machines.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
windleopard from Nigeria Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#459: Jan 11th 2022 at 8:14:23 PM

[up] The first movie never did that either. It pointed out that everyone was a pawn of the machines.

Edited by windleopard on Jan 11th 2022 at 8:14:53 AM

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#460: Jan 11th 2022 at 8:23:12 PM

Yes but we had numerous fights against the corruption and we see the Machines using the government as well as corporations to keep Neo down in his Thomas Anderson identity.

Plus they are cannon fodder against the rebels.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
windleopard from Nigeria Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#461: Jan 11th 2022 at 8:52:19 PM

Like I said, they're just pawns. They aren't especially evil, just tools used by the machines.

ThriceCharming Since: Nov, 2013
#462: Jan 12th 2022 at 4:14:50 PM

Saw Resurrection last night. Short review: it's considerably better than Reloaded and Revolutions, but nowhere near as good as the original. It definitely deserves some kind of award for "Least subtle commentary about the film industry being terrible."

My two biggest complaints are that Neo and Trinity didn't make a rainbow when they flew away in the end and the new Smith imitated Hugo Weaving's speech patterns once in the beginning and then never again, even after we find out he's Smith. I kind of wish he always did the "Smith voice," since that's such a fun and memorable part of the character.

Whowho Since: May, 2012
#463: Jan 13th 2022 at 2:50:47 AM

I never considered that, but I think I'm with you on the second point.

jakobitis Doctor of Doctorates from Somewhere, somewhen Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Doctor of Doctorates
#464: Jan 13th 2022 at 4:12:20 AM

I can see that point, but anyone else trying to imitate the Weaving-Smith would just feel too... Artificial? Not sure if that's the right phrasing. I'd rather have something new rather than a copy of the old,especially as the original is so iconic.

"These 'no-nonsense' solutions of yours just don't hold water in a complex world of jet-powered apes and time travel."
Whowho Since: May, 2012
#465: Jan 13th 2022 at 5:16:08 AM

See that's also a concern and going into this was the reason why I initially didn't want Smith to appear at all.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#466: Jan 13th 2022 at 5:18:29 AM

My problem with Smith in this film is that he's barely an antagonist. What's his motivation, why's he after Neo, why's he fighting the Analyst? It hardly seems to matter.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#467: Jan 13th 2022 at 8:04:26 AM

Smith became a Generic Doomsday Villain when there were hints that he was more in the first movie. I'd like to see how living as a human being for sixty years screwed with his brain.

There could be a whole movie about being Neo's buddy for that time messing with him.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
ThriceCharming Since: Nov, 2013
#468: Jan 13th 2022 at 1:43:09 PM

I can see that point, but anyone else trying to imitate the Weaving-Smith would just feel too... Artificial? Not sure if that's the right phrasing. I'd rather have something new rather than a copy of the old,especially as the original is so iconic.

That already happened with Bane in Revolutions and I thought it worked out fine there.

Whowho Since: May, 2012
#469: Jan 13th 2022 at 3:49:26 PM

It still surprises me on rewatched how effective that is. I feel like it shouldn't work so well.

I would like to see a faction of programs who escaped the matrix by hijacking the bodies of humans

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#470: Jan 13th 2022 at 3:51:09 PM

I feel it was They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot.

Imagine Smith coping with humanity.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
jakobitis Doctor of Doctorates from Somewhere, somewhen Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Doctor of Doctorates
#471: Jan 14th 2022 at 12:32:31 AM

[up][up][up] True, but it was still the "original" Smith but in a hijacked body, instead of a new "model" of Smith?

I feel like I'm probably not explaining very well and it's definitely not a hill I want to die on.

I guess I just really liked the Weaving Smith and can't get over it [lol]

"These 'no-nonsense' solutions of yours just don't hold water in a complex world of jet-powered apes and time travel."
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#472: Jan 14th 2022 at 4:16:26 AM

Hugo Weaving anything is the best version of that thing, because Hugo Weaving is the best. But that's not my problem with the depiction of Smith in Resurrections. My problem is that he has nothing useful or interesting to do. Like much of the plot, he seems to be there to fill space in an arbitrary list of obstacles that must be checked off for it to be a Matrix film.

Edited by Fighteer on Jan 14th 2022 at 7:16:45 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Whowho Since: May, 2012
#473: Jan 14th 2022 at 4:31:37 AM

I think he's only there to explain the situation The Analyst had Neo in and then break The Analyst's story breaker power.

Which is shallow sure, because he doesn't interact with anyone's character, but he serves a purpose in the script.

I do find myself wishing for more from Smith, or for New Smith to be a new character all together.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#474: Jan 14th 2022 at 4:37:23 AM

It's unfortunate that Neo doesn't save himself in that situation. He's just a bystander while Smith and the Analyst have a corporate power struggle. Then the movie waves it off and goes back to the wuv stowwy. Can I get a film about the Machines' politicking and warfare? That would be amazing. It doesn't have to be feature-length; do it Animatrix style.

Edited by Fighteer on Jan 14th 2022 at 7:37:45 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#475: Jan 14th 2022 at 11:53:28 AM

"Humans Are the Real Monsters should be done subtlely to be effective."

....Should be? and why? more often I feel its done mostly to not alinate the audience with it.

"The Matrix inspiring fascists doesn't say anything about its quality. Fascists will copy anything. "

I mean this is unique of facist, people cop up stuff every damn time, I mean a lot of LGTB and black people are draw and use lovecraft even when he feel like alt righter at times.

And Smith.....yeah, he feel kind as weird sequel bait for me.

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"

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