The Nineties: A Book

by Chuck Klosterman

The Matrix was a sci-fi action film about a computer-simulated world constructed during a war between humans and self-aware computers. The movie is a series of interlocking contradictions that should not equate to the blockbuster it became. It was written and directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski, who were still living in 1999 as men. Their eventual gender transition is now the most glaring subtext to The Matrix, directly illustrated when the story’s main character has to choose between swallowing a blue pill (which would allow him to continue living a false, fabricated life) and swallowing a red pill (allowing him to experience physical existence as it actually is). The metaphoric meaning of this decision has been projected back upon the Wachowski siblings, prompting Lilly to eventually admit that this was, in fact, the original thematic intention (there was even a transgender character in the original script, but the story arc was killed by the studio during preproduction).