Pretentious but Fascinating

Rating: Null/10 (4 April 2003)

The Matrix is an over-the-top, high concept movie that plays, sometimes fast and loose, with the appearance/reality distinction. Many viewers have found it more than merely an entertaining sci-fi thriller and regard it as quite profound and philosophical; I would describe it as pretentious and confused myself. In passing, a book called Philosophy and the Matrix, containing articles by professional philosophers, has been published. I can't recommend it, however, as the articles are largely silly and pointless.
At any rate, if you liked The Matrix, you might try Descartes's Meditations. You'll find that he was thinking about appearance and reality long before the Wachowski brothers and to better purpose. Still, anyone who gets people to think about issues like this deserves some credit.