Philosophy of Baudrillard Applied to The Matrix

When we revisit the "big question" of "Is truth, justice, and progress possible in today's world?" the answer from poststructuralist philosopher Jean Baudrillard is a resounding "No!" (Lecture, 2004, p. 2, 3). In Simulacra and Simulations, Baudrillard argues that a capitalist world and reality are a fake world and reality, one wherein human beings live in an illusionary world created by capitalism. People live in a fantasy world as opposed to the real world. As Edward Miller (2004) argues in his essay, The Matrix and The Medium's Massage, Baudrillard's dystopia of the future is fairly representation of contemporary society:

For Baudrillard, all of the United States is a theme park. In this corporate-sponsored illusion, authentic experience is in fact nostalgia. �Reality' can only appear in quotes and the original is all but replaced by copies (p. 2).

There is no coincidence to the fact that the Wachowski brothers who direct the 1999 motion picture The Matrix provide one shot showing a copy of Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation. For The Matrix visualizes a society much like the one depicted in Baudrillard's view of American society and the future, one where individuals are so lulled into being the slaves of the corporate generated reality that they do not even know it is not reality. This analysis will address how Baudrillard's theories are illustrated by the motion picture The Matrix.

Baudrillard (1986) described the U.S. as a land of signs without referent

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that the world is not what he thinks, but, instead evil forces have successfully concealed reality from humans. He also tells Neo that he is the "one," the messiah-like figure who has been prophesied as the savior of the world. Only Neo can remove the wool from the eyes of human beings and lead them to freedom. Morpheus explains that the world Neo knows is actually the "Matrix," a giant virtual-reality computer that programs every man, woman, and child. Morpheus tries to explain to Neo that when he enters the illusionary world that humans think is real, he must see others as enemies because they are still under the illusion they are in a real reality. As he says, The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is your enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand�many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it (Wachowski, et al., 1999). Baudrillard (1986) argued the same theory we see visualized in The Matrix, that the "America surrounding it [Dis

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