Postmodernism and The Matrix Films

I think it is obvious that the Matrix films are a postmodern work and I don't think it was an accident that it was made this way (since we live in a postmodern world). This was a great way for the Wachowski brothers to connect with most people and get them to identify with Neo and the Matrix. I think the Matrix Trilogy is in a big part a reflection of our times and our societies' view. A beautiful mixture or quilt of the various religious ideas, philosophy, mathematics, psychology, etc.

When examining and studying the Matrix films it is wise to be careful. Because there is so many different ideas presented in the films it can be confusing to come to discover reality or truth. There is definitely truth to be found in the films but also fiction. We must learn to differentiate between the two or we can fall into the danger of confusing the two. It is definitely easy to look at the films and see what we want to see. It takes humility, and open mind, hard work and study to discover reality in the films. That's what the purpose of my book Matrix Reflections is all about (discovering reality).

Postmodernism Defined

Postmodernism simply defined is a movement or set of movements that have grown out of the modernism movement. Hence the term "post" means coming after or later.

The modernist movement really emphasized the importance of science, facts and logic. The postmodern does not feel compelled to rely on these as much as subjective truth.

Currently, this term (postmodern) is becoming more widely used by philosophers, social scientists, art critics and theologians to describe our culture, contemporary art, economics, and our present social conditions. In short, it is many times used to describe the way that most of the world is currently thinking.

What is the Postmodernism Movement After?

The postmodernism movement is born of the idea that human reason should not be held as the main source of finding truth. It is skeptical of society giving reason a privileged position over other ways of finding truth because it can lead to depriving other mediums of the truth from being heard. It contends that modernism has put too much emphasis on human reason as a way of finding truth and by doing this created a bias against other cultures that resulted in their views and beliefs being ignored or not put on the same plane. The postmodernist desires and hopes to level the playing field and make sure that all cultural and minority beliefs are given a voice in public discussion.

It states that there are other ways of discovering truth other than human reason such as feeling, experience, stories, metaphors and intuition. The postmodernists are more open to finding truth through feeling and experience. They believe that truth is relative (with no absolutes) and accept and respect all beliefs as true and equal.