Jacking In To the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation

by Matthew Wilhelm Kapell (Editor), William G. Doty (Editor)

Overview

There have already been several very successful books devoted to the original film in the Matrix trilogy. This entirely new collection of essays is the first book to examine the trilogy as a whole - as well as related products such as The Animatrix and the computer game. Contributors tackle these subjects from a range of perspectives: religion, philosophy, gender, race, film studies, and science, providing a comprehensive view of everything Matrix-related.Reviewing the cultural and religious implications of the trilogy, authors look at: * American Religion, Community and Revitilization: Why The Matrix Resonates* Religion and Salvation, the Optiate of The Matrix Franchise* Gimme that Bullet Time Religion, or, The Dream of Spiritually Perfect Violence* Ultimate Reality: Buddhist and Gnostic Constructions of BlissAlso covered are theories of cyberworlds, issues of gender and race and the games and ethics of simulation

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826415882
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/01/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	230
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

Matthew Kapell is Visiting Lecturer of Anthropology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. William G. Doty is a retired Professor of Humanities and Religious Studies at the University of Alabama. He has published 16 books and over 70 essays in a wide range of academic journals.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
	About the Contributors	xi
	Introduction
	"The Deeper We Go, the More Complex and Sophisticated the Franchise Seems, and the Dizzier We Feel." Issues treated in this volume; contexts of looking at the franchise	1
	Jacking In to Issues of Gender and Race
1	"Welcome to the Sexual Spectacle: The Female Heroes in the Franchise." Perhaps it is time for a retelling of heroic mythology that does not masculinize the female hero	14
2	"Is Neo White? Reading Race, Watching the Trilogy." Ignoring the racial message of the franchise only reinforces old abuses of power	32
	Cultural and Religious Implications
3	"Religion, Community, and Revitalization: Why Cinematic Myth Resonates." The roles of religious symbolism in an entertainment culture	48
4	"Story, Product, Franchise: Images of Postmodern Cinema." A postmodernist redemption myth with a control-freak messianic hero	65
5	"Fascist Redemption or Democratic Hope?" Embedded political values smack largely of American fascism	80
6	"Stopping Bullets: Constructions of Bliss and Problems of Violence." The various religious themes do not overcome a reliance upon violent means	97
	Theorizing Cyberworlds
7	"The Deja vu Glitch in the Matrix Trilogy." Literal versus ironic readings of the "reality" of our matrix	115
8	"Visions of Hope, Freedom of Choice, and the Alleviation of Social Misery: A Pragmatic Reading of the Matrix Franchise." This is neither a "postmodern" or "modern" franchise, but one that hopes for a better future for all	125
9	"Biomorph: The Posthuman Thing." Machine plus human plus computer software: things, they are a-changing	141
	The Games and Ethics of Simulation
10	"Strange Volutions: The Matrix Franchise as a Post-Human Memento Mori." Lessons about free will and choice in the new theater of "dynamic cinema"	158
11	"Try the Blue Pill: What's Wrong with Life in a Simulation?" The choice of the blue pill satisfies philosophical teachings	169
	Conclusion
	"At the Edge of the World, Again." From Star Wars to the newest franchise using many more mediations. Perhaps it is an allegory of a new aesthetic	183
Appendix	Getting with the Program/s of the Franchise--Users' Information
1	List of items in the franchise, with abbreviations used in this book	189
2	Glossary of names and terms in the franchise	190
3	Useful Internet sites	200
4	Recommended bibliography	201
	Index	203

Editorial Reviews

Any book under the editorial leadership of Professor William Doty is an event. His authority insures that the articles have intellectual density and academic weight. Yet, what is much rarer in this kind of publication, is a style that will captivate anybody interested in understanding how we experience and interpret films. The discussion is fascinating, the ideas fresh, the bibliographies precious. The title: Jacking into the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation, is too restrictive as it may appear like it is only addressed to fans of the Matrix films (of which I am not). But the collection of articles offers much more: it is a grand tour of all the subjects that matter in film studies: gender and degenderization, race and multiraciality, evolving and contradictory definitions of male and female heroism, religious symbolism in an entertainment culture, hidden agendas and embedded political values, postmodern deconstruction and reconstruction of hope, archetypal characters showing up unannounced, the opposition of an old in the new market of spiritual values and more I am one of those who, twenty some years ago, immensely enjoyed Baudrillard s Simulacra and Simulation (1981). Doty and Kapell s collection of articles are the best update on the subject I have read since. I am ready to bet my copy of Bound (another Wachowski brother s movie), that Doty and Kapell s collection of articles will become a classic in film studies. I think of Bound as the best film ever made about trust (as well as a superb thriller); it did not attract the fame of the Matrix, and reading Jacking into the matrix Franchise help me understand why. - Ginette Paris, PhD. Pacifica Graduate Institute, Spring Journal 2004

Jacking into the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation [is] a collection of meaty essays on The Matrix s cultural meaning. Hailing from a range of scholarly disciplines, the contributors speak to the innumerable interpretations the films have inspired. This collection s strength is that it doesn t try to tell you that the Matrix films are good or bad movies. The writers are as interested in the films failures as in their innovations, and in the opportunities they offer to take the measure of the American mind. They ask intriguing questions. I came away from Jacking convinced that the Matrix films are more than action flicks. By provoking such passionate and thoughtful responses, from academics and water-cooler philosophers alike, the series has embodied the cyborg dreams, the fears and desires, of Americans at the turn of the millennium. And that s something worth reading about. The Boston Phoenix, 9/11/04

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