The Matrix was a breath of fresh air, but as an early GenXer it hit me on different resonances. First there's the reflection of early Gnosticism in elements of the story (still need to research that belief system/sect more). But it also resonated hard with the more intense works of Phillip K. Dick, especially The Green Ray, Ubik, and the Divine Invasion trilogy. But the big thing that bugged me as I watched the magnificent film the Wachowskis wrought was the question, "What's in the next layer up of the onion, and what's the next one down, and so on." I get that it's Neo's story, so it has to focus on him, but sending him to Avalon didn't work for me because I thought it'd be far more interesting for him to ascend to the next level up.
I strongly feel that all the infighting and adversarialism came from Newt Gingrich's War on America. I think this may be a cornerstone of what Bill Bishop wrote about in The Big Sort, which I highly recommend.
I guess once again I'm a statistical outlier that shouldn't be counted, because I'm slightly right of center, though not enough to be noticed as such by most people. But as a centrist I find myself mislabeled by all kinds of folks all across the spectrum, because this current climate others people who aren't a part of their particular subgroup in such broad generalizations.
I adore Sense 8, though it's not available as a video free descriptive video version of the finale. I don't get the feeling very often that something is talking directly to me in media, but that one did -- when, in "Liminal Resonance" Neets toled Nomi that she'd always have her back I had to pause the show and cry for a bit, because though that would be wonderful I can't expect anything like that anymore, and the last person who said that to me later ravaged my back so hard that I lost all trust in my ability to pick allies.
I wonder, though, could The Matrix be made now? Or is it too radical against the establishment that it'd be quashed? And if that's the case, what else is being quashed?
So Much to Respond to
I strongly feel that all the infighting and adversarialism came from Newt Gingrich's War on America. I think this may be a cornerstone of what Bill Bishop wrote about in The Big Sort, which I highly recommend.
I guess once again I'm a statistical outlier that shouldn't be counted, because I'm slightly right of center, though not enough to be noticed as such by most people. But as a centrist I find myself mislabeled by all kinds of folks all across the spectrum, because this current climate others people who aren't a part of their particular subgroup in such broad generalizations.
I adore Sense 8, though it's not available as a video free descriptive video version of the finale. I don't get the feeling very often that something is talking directly to me in media, but that one did -- when, in "Liminal Resonance" Neets toled Nomi that she'd always have her back I had to pause the show and cry for a bit, because though that would be wonderful I can't expect anything like that anymore, and the last person who said that to me later ravaged my back so hard that I lost all trust in my ability to pick allies.
I wonder, though, could The Matrix be made now? Or is it too radical against the establishment that it'd be quashed? And if that's the case, what else is being quashed?