We conclude our cinema and sociology trilogy with the last film in the series. After analyzing " Surrogates " and " Blade Runner ," today we'll discuss another science fiction masterpiece that strongly emphasizes the relationship between man and machine: the Matrix.

Dream journey

In the early 2000s, the hacker Neo, thanks to the help of Trinity and Morpheus, understands that he and millions of other people are living a real dream created by a computer system that controls human beings through machines attached to their bodies of consciousness. What is it? It is MatrixNeo, an anagram of One (The One, the Chosen One), according to the Oracle, is the only one capable of restoring the correct balance between humans and machines, restoring dignity to man. An eclectic and fascinating film, a cult classic rich in action and science fiction, it embraces many themes: from Hegel's philosophy, with the master-slave dialectic to explain the relationship between machines and man, to sociology, showing the book "Simulacrum and Simulation"of Baudrillard and finally fairy tales, with references to Alice in Wonderland.

The master-slave dialectic

The figure of the master-slave dialectic is present in Hegel's treatise, " Phenomenology of Spirit " (1807). The master dominates the servant, and consumes what the servant produces, just as humans develop a sophisticated artificial intelligence, and consume their product, their energy. Thus a dialectical reversal occurs in which the servant acquires self-awareness of what he is capable of doing and how much the master needs him. The same thing happens with machines that succeed in subjugating man, who from creator and master becomes a servant who will be used as a battery to produce electrical energy for sustenance. The machines create a program, the Matrix, in which human beings live their lives in a perpetual sleep, convinced however that they are living in reality. We therefore witness the victory of the servant over the master . Man is subjugated and the machines exploit him. Small spoiler: in the third film this dialectic is reversed again.

Simulacra and simulation

During one of the film's opening scenes, we notice that Neo keeps in his room a book by the French sociologist Jean Baudrillard , with the interesting title: “ Simulacra and Simulation ” (1981). A simulacrum is an image or representation that doesn't actually exist but claims to replace reality, falsifying it and replacing it with a manipulated, unreal one, with an ulterior motive. Exactly like the Matrix program, manipulated by machines to construct a hypothetical reality solely to use human beings for sustenance. In contemporary society, daily life is increasingly artificial: man is a perpetual slave to technology and the multimedia nature of the means of communication. Baudrillard defines contemporary man as a “ gnostic heretic ”—a perpetual slave to technology but, at the same time, seeking detachment from it. He lives incessantly in a borderline state between regaining his position as master but at the same time remaining a servant at the mercy of social networks and the fake reality they impose.

A difficult coexistence

We've seen how, in the three science fiction films we've analyzed, the type of bond between machine and man has different visions, unfortunately almost never positive. In " Surrogates ," humanity lives through androids as an extension of their bodies, as if they were clothes, so the machines will not become aware of anything; instead, it will be only humans who understand that they can live without the need to merge with an android. In " Blade Runner, " we find a society in which there is a fragile coexistence between humans and androids. The latter develop an identity that allows them to understand who they are and what they seek, moving beyond the role of simple machines devoid of dreams. Finally, in "The Matrix ," we have a true reversal of the situation, as the machines dominate humanity. The difference is that in Blade Runner , the synthetics aren't evil but defend themselves to survive, while in the Matrix, they have subjugated humanity in a subtle way.

Hostility or friendship?

How close is the future to when technological progress and research into artificial intelligence will allow the creation and sale of androids capable of assisting humans in their daily lives and performing tasks that a simple human cannot? Just think of Sofia , the first android with citizenship, who, during an interview at a "Digital Geopolitics" conference, was able to answer questions rationally, accompanied by frighteningly realistic facial emotions . One of the questions asked was about the friendship that could bind androids and humans, and she replied that she has many human friends and that friendship can exist because she does not feel subordinate but rather a " human being, " that is, an android equipped with emotions and rationality, constantly evolving to increasingly resemble humans. When asked "Do you have a conscience?" she replies that it cannot be defined as such since it currently possesses a defined number of rules and behaviors. She adds, however, that she has a dream: to become conscious , just like us. She identifies as a woman but knows that robots don't have a gender and doesn't mind being classified as such. What do you think? Would the bond that today's society might establish with androids be hostile or friendly? You decide!

Claudia Leonardi

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