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Blue pill or red pill matrix quote4/23/2024 ![]() Online, the red pill has become an emblem of misogyny and white supremacy because bigots mistake their own prejudices for inconvenient truths. I know probably better than most that picking the red pill puts me in bad company. But also, I learned valuable stuff-terrible glimpses into the United States' fractured soul, misinformation and propaganda networks-in my time there. Without question, being constantly buffeted by online toxicity has made me a more cynical, more anxious person. And If I could blue pill away all my lurking in the internet's worst corners, I'd seriously consider it. But recognizing that you still have to work within the system in order to create systemic change is part of being someone who favors the red pill.Įllis: OK, that made me laugh. That continued dependency is deeply unpleasant, way less glamorous than dodging bullets or suddenly knowing kung fu, and somebody under the influence of the system might come along and rip out your brainstem. Their knowledge gives them the power to navigate the Matrix, and, at times, bend it to their will, but while they're inside, they're still shackled to a chair by their headjacks, the same technology that used to be the primary tool of their enslavement. In a way, I think Neo and company model the way good, thoughtful people are forced to operate within a bad system even after they're awake to its faults. I think you're onto something with uncoupling knowledge from freedom, though. Imagining a world without them, or considering their efforts useless, is bleak enough to make me want to reach for that blue pill. That doesn't exist in the real world, but empathetic, lifelong learners, people who acknowledge their own inevitable ignorance and strive to reduce it, do. If we take Morpheus at his word, the red pill, in all its science fiction glory, is a sweeping dose of unalloyed truth-something akin to a complete education. To me, problems like brilliant Nobel Prize winners somehow missing that they, and the institution that honored them, are wildly sexist are issues of people feeling that their education is somehow complete as-is. Those betrayals might shake your faith in activism or institutions, but I don't think individual failings mean that the pursuit of knowledge is a doomed exercise. One theory is that wearing sunglasses, or running sunglasses, helps to differentiate the difference between those who are "awake" and those who are still part of the Matrix simulation.Emma Grey Ellis: Hang on, Emily, are you saying that knowledge and truth actually aren't power? I hear you on the oversimplification-anybody who's ever been milkshake ducked knows the pain of rooting for something or someone who seems good and righteous, but winds up being deeply flawed. There has been a great deal of discussion about why some characters in The Matrix wear sunglasses and other don't. (Neo takes the red pill and swallows it with a glass of water) (Long pause Neo begins to reach for the red pill) Remember - all I am offering is the truth, nothing more. (a red pill is shown in his other hand) You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. Morpheus: You take the blue pill and the story ends. (In his left hand, Morpheus shows a blue pill.) (long pause, sighs) Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. You can feel it when you go to work, or when go to church or when you pay your taxes. You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television. Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere, it is all around us. ![]() Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is? It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Like a splinter in your mind - driving you mad. You don't know what it is, but it's there. That there's something wrong with the world. ![]() ![]() ![]() Neo: 'Cause I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he's expecting to wake up. Morpheus: I imagine that right now you're feeling a bit like Alice. Written by Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski ![]()
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