Warning: Slight spoilers
First off, in my opinion, The Matrix: Resurrections is probably one of the best sequels I've ever seen. The way it simultaneously feels like a loving return and embrace of the original trilogy, while also being an intense deconstructionist is fantastic.
However, in addition, a key theme of the film is how revolutionary struggle is commodified by the oppressors as a way to placate the masses. In the film, Neo, now back inside the Matrix, has had his past as a revolutionary hero - all his exploits and feats in defeating The Matrix and the Machines - rewritten in his memory to be the plot of a video game trilogy he was the creator of. The program itself has turned his fight and struggle into a product, a fiction, that now imprisons Neo. He is even being forced by his boss at his company to dredge up the Matrix IP and make a forth game, despite thinking doing so feels diluted and pointless. The villain in the film goes on to describe how this sheen of revolution, of progress, that the games have, is intentionally used to give the people trapped inside the matrix at false sense of hope and entertainment, all while keeping their unaware minds in control. I think Lana Wachowski chose to very overtly set the film in San Fransisco, amid the capitalist, controlling class world of the Silicon Valley tech/video game industry.
I highly recommend you all go see this new film, especially if you're a fan of the original. It continues the story in an incredibly creative way that feels like an antithesis to the glut of cinematic universes and IP products fed through the film industry in the last 20 years. Not to mention it's still fun as hell and full of great style and action.
Also, if you're interested, on the podcast I do with my friend, we covered the trans-revolutionary politics of the original trilogy in last weeks episode and the episode we put out today, so check that out if you want: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6m4X8kWbVbyucC5QM1hQgk https://open.spotify.com/episode/2mdoEvOHnxgya3CovXcgT5
He is even being forced by his boss at his company to dredge up the Matrix IP and make a forth game, despite thinking doing so feels diluted and pointless.
studio execs were like :wonder-who-thats-for:
Im fairly certain that at this point at least 80% of execs cynically understand that merely portraying suffering and exploitation is not dangerous, and will make people like the product even more for being resonant.
“Bill’s doing a smart thing here. He’s going for that anger dollar”
"That’s a big dollar. A lot of people are feeling that indignation. We’ve done research – huge market. He’s doing a good thing."
As in we participate in the commodification of revolutionary sentiment? Because yes
Yes.
I like it here but y'all kinda too cringe to think you're revolutionaries, and y'all hate actually active organizers a fair amount. Like, there's a sentiment that organizing is good, but if you're part of the DSA you're a radlib and if you make your own org you're an idealist. Most other orgs fall into one of those two categories. The only logical conclusion this site can reach is complete nihilism and while very few people actually believe it that's kinda the result of the barely disguised disgust with anarchists and other "utopian" socialists.
New years resolution for you: stop projecting your bullshit onto everyone else.
I'm being blunt af here because this happens a lot with your account and there's no way that's good for you.
have you been on here? do you see all the anti-anarchist shit that gets posted here every day? oh my god
I mean, shitting on whole tendencies as one is a separate problem from shitting on organizers, I cant recall seeing specific anti-anarchist org shit being posted aside from shit about CHAZ, which is highly debatable to the degree in which it was an anarchist thing, plus isnt an active organizing thing anymore even.
Other than that you generally hear baseline positivity towards organizing in the western world, and typically balanced/positive discussion on anarchist/libsoc adjacent projects like Rojava and the Zapatistas.
If the problem is that theres relatively a lot of stuff shitting on individual anarchists, or on anarchism as a whole, then that seems a lot more fair to what I've seen on the site, but thats not the same issue the discussion started with.
okay, well, I suppose I used bad phrasing, because I'm just saying that I feel like most larger orgs are considered as "co-opted" while smaller ones are "larping". I'm not saying this site specifically dunks on random orgs all the time or something, just that there's little discussion about what a good org ACTUALLY IS and a lot of discussion about what it's not. It's more that it gives an impression of general despisal of imperial core organizing then people are actually saying stuff like this.
great organizing is when class conscious workers use strikes or other means to dismantle capitalism and replace it.
good organizing is attempting to create the conditions that allow such organizing to flourish, because the conditions are not there yet.
That I can definitely agree with, when I try to recall now what people are talking about as "good organizing" its usually pretty vague or has a distinct feeling of cheering from the sidelines.
Im sure there have been good posts that go into more depth but it doesnt feel like its an ongoing process of posting frequently about it, megathread links are not always super helpful to start off with.
Report it when it shows up, the mods purge sectarian shit and ban for it. There's also a couple wreckers that just spam accounts to post stupid shit.
obviously. But I'm not trying to dunk on the site "after" moderation. I'm talking about how common it is to see stuff like that BEFORE it gets deleted. Just idly browsing this site is a fun way to receive brainworms unless you stick to threads older than a few hours.
Just idly browsing this site is a fun way to receive brainworms unless you stick to threads older than a few hours.
People should be calling it out when they see it. I think most of us on here are able to read stuff critically, but I guess I get what you mean? The internet is always going to have weird shit on it though.
I say it because I unironically talk that way, not because I'm trying to be some sarcastic asshole. Of course I didn't mean you specifically, god.
I don’t have a problem with the word “y’all” and I wasn’t trying to be a dick. Sorry about that
The DSA sentiment is definitely common, but I generally dont see blanket mockery of other organizations unless theres a separate reason for that org to be mocked.
The dsa is a complicated topic bc they do ride the line between being easily cooptable by capital and not and there’s plenty of historic reasons to be distrustful of socdems which the dsa is full of but I think most people have a pretty mature view of that (as in they do do good work) it’s just hard to express all that on a site.
Other orgs, you don’t see it bc we don’t lol. This site is pretty supportive of any and all revolutionary parties other than some light “peoples front” jokes which is a light self joke at the history of parties splitting. It’s a common thing. Unless like you said they did something dunk worthy
Yeah this site is pretty pro PCUSA and PSL, food not bombs, even the occasional DSA post
Unfortunately if you're outside the US most people probably won't consider you, which makes sense I suppose
I said it yesterday and I hate that I'm having to say it yet again, the number of occasions on which I've had to deploy that emoji recently is truly out of hand. capitalism is officially canceled, smh 😤
YO DOG I HEARD YOU LIKE COMMODIFICATION OF REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE SO WE COMMODIFIED YOUR COMMODIFICATION OF REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE SO YOU CAN COMMODIFY WHILE YOU COMMODIFY
Nice! I know there was a good amount of trepidation around this movie but I didn't really take Lana Wachowski as one to go for a pointless cash grab. They could have done that already if they wanted to.
good script (especially the first third to half), run-of-the-mill visuals, terrible fight choreography and sound foley
hard disagree, good ideas but none fully explored, too much all over the place, call backs with little justification, what s at stake feels very diminished, the social critique sounds hollow... it s a quite good movie but a bad matrix movie
First, I always enjoy reading your writings, thanks for posting!
Second, is this actually the plot of the fourth Matrix movie? Holy shit, I kinda want to see it now.
Third, another hexbearer with a podcast I should listen to? yes please!
It is good, 8/10. Some rushed plot, bad scenes, and a few bits of bad dialogue but otherwise the op is 100% on the nose.
Side note:
One thing I like about The Matrix Resurrections is that it has g*mers salty as fuck. Lol IGN can lick balls. Anything they hate, I know I'll enjoy! And I did enjoy it.
And no, I will not link IGN's review. Fuck'em.
They literally put in a blue haired woman as the deuteragonist and that has to be intentional. It's funny as hell.
In the film, Neo, now back inside the Matrix, has had his past as a revolutionary hero - all his exploits and feats in defeating The Matrix and the Machines - rewritten in his memory to be the plot of a video game trilogy he was the creator of.
Should’ve just gone all the way and made it a canonical movie trilogy. Much more fun to have the real Matrix and actors as a direct in-universe inception. Yeah it’s cliche, but it also would’ve probably had more “woah” factor since that’s the medium we’re watching it through.
I think there is a point to be made here because I'm pretty sure the general understanding before release was that Keanu was playing Keanu Reeves: Star of the Matrix Trilogy in this new film. Even in the movie, they keep showing old Matrix movie clips and now we're supposed to assume they're cut-scenes, I guess? The new Unreal engine did that big advertisement for the movie, so I guess one of the stipulations of getting their tech involved to make the effects look great was changing the concept from a movie to a video game?
I'm glad to hear it is good. I will now read nothing else about it until I see it in a week
Matrix 2 and 3 must've been super forgettable because I had no idea what the actual fuck was going on the whole time.
Seemed like a good film, I'll have to rewatch 2 and 3 and then give it another go
I've only seen the first movie, is it necessary to watch the others before seeing the new one?
Yeah, I watched it earlier and you definitely should at least read the Wikipedia summaries or something like that. Especially to semi understand the one scene where a random French guy appears and starts yelling at everybody about how shit movies are these days in the middle of a massive fight. It definitely builds on the trilogy.
Matrix 1 is a genuine classic for a reason and literally about legit, non-watered down revolutionaries. Name me another Hollywood blockbuster which has it's heroes openly massacring cops umproted.
2 is also really good, maybe even better action, but doesn't really add much thematically. 3 is fine.
To be fair, most of the people shot in this movie are cops. The rest are "swarm people" which has a whole other thing going on there. But that coffee shop mini-finale was definitely Neo and friends mowing down FBI agents.
i had only seen the first one and still could follow the new one well enough. reading the wiki summaries for 2 and 3 will probably help you figure out a few small scenes in the new one but i didn't think it was necessary.
I’m going to avoid spoilers but I’m glad that I was right about my reading of matrix 1 and 2 and how I used it to dunk on champagne socialist professors. Anyone who compares the matrix to super structures needs to be shot, just because you know about a system doesn’t mean you exist outside of it.
