Pendell

Not to discount the trans readings of The Matrix or anything, but I honestly think it's quite reductive to sum the whole thing up as "it's about being trans."

I think the material the Wachowskis were heavily inspired by certainly spoke to them on a level even they may not have fully understood at the time and one can certainly see how a pair of very creative and talented "eggs" would find those sorts of themes around identity, self-image, and self-realization extremely compelling.

But The Matrix is not uniquely "trans" because of that. Those themes are deeply relatable to trans people, yes - and there's not a doubt in my mind that relatability was one of the driving forces for them to make the film - but they're also relatable to so many other people for so many other reasons. That's one of the great things about choosing to portray your ideas thematically rather than literally, the scope is so much greater. And there's plenty of stuff in the movie that simply doesn't parse from a trans reading no matter how you look at it - it's one element of a lovely tapestry, one of the colors of thread you can see woven in.

I think this plays into a larger problem I've noticed, where anything a trans creative does is often times read exclusively through the lens of the trans experience. When a trans person is so so much more than "just trans" and I honestly think it's a little insulting to read their work as just about gender.

The Wachowskis loaded up The Matrix with so many pop philosophy concepts and crazy ideas (don't even get me started on the sequels, which I will defend to the death) and personally I'd feel a little insulted if I did all that work and someone was like "well because you're [identity] this is just about [identity.]"

Again not to say that's not a part of it but wow you're leaving a lot on the table if your reading begins and ends there.

I guess really my point is that we need better media literacy and for people to realize art can be about multiple things. I think most people understand that but a concerning amount of people seem not to and will rebut any critique focusing on other elements of something like The Matrix with a blunt "actually it's about being trans."

Still don't know what to think of The Matrix Resurrections. Saw it in theaters back when it came out (two years ago??? already???) and it was equal parts refreshingly clever and mind-meltingly stupid and inane.

I basically have the same complicated, conflicted feelings about it that I do for Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time. Which is fitting since the two films are very similar in that they're auteurs analyzing and deconstructing a work of theirs that was extremely popular in the 90s and has followed them through their entire careers since. In both cases you can almost feel a pessimistic resentment oozing through the screen, like they just want to reach through and grab you by the throat and yell "IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?! MORE OF THE THING YOU LIKE?! HERE IT IS!!! NOW YOU CAN SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT IT!!!" while they throttle the life out of you.

Which is on one hand, metal as fuck, but on the other, doesn't exactly make for an enjoyable or fulfilling moviegoing experience.

The Matrix sequels and the Star Wars prequels are in pretty much the same boat for me of utterly bizarre followups to famous movies where they let the creatives behind it do whatever the fuck they wanted, and that resulted in movies that are not necessarily good, but far more interesting than their more traditional predecessors in all the unique quirks that come about from letting a creative voice run around unrestricted.

all this to say I'm gonna get some Kroger sushi and watch my 4K of The Matrix Reloaded that just arrived in the mail (Revolutions is on order)