Mr. Anderson, welcome back! We’ve missed you.
I’d been waiting for the new Matrix film ever since they announced it last year.
Admittedly, I was hesitant to give HBO another $5 to upgrade my plan so I could watch. After all, the app had been crashing on me so much that I was hardly able to justify the $9.99 I’d been handing over every month. But, I mean… Where else am I gonna watch The Wire?
Anyway, I gave HBO the money, bought some food, and turned on the movie.
All in all, I enjoyed it. And, while this isn’t a review, like any reboot, there were clumsy moments, cheesy lines, bad CGI etc. But the message itself is more relevant than ever.
20 years later, the takeaways are still that in some way:
We’re All Mr. Anderson.
**Spoiler Alert, If you plan on watching don’t read ahead**
Matrix 4 shows us Neo (yes, he’s alive) back in the Matrix as Thomas Anderson – an average joe working a 9-5 as a video game designer.
In between the humbug of daily life, Neo goes to a psychiatrist who helps him keep a grasp on reality – something that he’s recently had trouble reconciling with. To help Neo with his inability to separate reality from fiction, the good doctor prescribes him “blue pills” – no not those. These pills keep him stable. Off the ledge of insanity. And thus, Mr. Anderson finds himself in a loop – one that I’m sure many of us will find similar.
Gym. Work. Home. Repeat.
Add in the occasional pre-office Starbucks visit and a weekend visit to Costco, and you’ve just described the average middle-class American.
This is who Neo has become; An adult stuck in a series of loops that are slowly wearing away at him.
And honestly, who can blame him? It’s Easy To Get Stuck In A Loop.
Work loops. Home loops. Anxious loops, Social loops – you often don’t realize you’re stuck in one until you’re in one. In fact, I’m willing to bet that some of you reading this are stuck in a loop that you’ve been meaning to break (or maybe it’s just me).
In Matrix 4, Neo is no different in that he’s been reminding us that before the extraordinary happens you have break the loops you’re caught in. How do we so? By questioning our reality.
Questioning reality requires mindfulness; It means taking an honest inventory of where your life is and making a conscious decision to get off the hamster wheel and break the loops.
One loop I’m in the process of breaking is living outside of my hometown.
I love Atlanta, but I’ve been here far too long. I know it too well – every bar, every vegan restaurant, every neighborhood from the ritzy to the rough; There are almost no surprises anymore, which means there aren’t many opportunities to adjust to change or grow.
Some People Want To be In the Matrix
**Mini spoiler alert**
On the back of the last Matrix movie, we see that a new version of the Matrix has now arisen, along with new versions of the characters we all loved.
However, the most shocking realization is that people are given a choice between being in the Matrix or being free (albeit on a subconscious level). And what’s even more shocking is that many people don’t want freedom.
On the surface that seems odd, right? But I think the message here is interesting.
It all goes back to choice. The ability to choose, and moreover the ability to choose the truth when it’s presented to you. That can be burdensome if you’re not ready for it. Especially if the loops you’re stuck in aren’t THAT bad.
Who knows… Maybe you can settle. Maybe you don’t have to have to face those harsh realities. Maybe everything is alright.
Frankly, I don’t think any of us should settle, but I can admit it’s the easier path, and it’s one that people still stuck in the Matrix opt for.
The trade-off? Well, it’s access to the extraordinary. To me, that’s not a good trade-off, and I think Mr. Anderson would agree.
What Does This All Mean?
I think the Matrix just re-taught us of a lesson that’s easy to forget. It reminded us that we’re all like Mr. Anderson. We can become Neo if we choose to be, but often we don’t because being Neo is hard.
Let’s be honest…
Neo gets beat the f*ck up. Like in every movie, and in every scene. Dude catches A LOT OF L’s. He also gets confronted with impossible decisions daily – all of which are things I’m not a fan of personally. But what remains clear is that despite the countless ass whuppings, Neo’s life is way better for having left the Matrix.
I don’t want to be Mr. Anderson, and I strive everyday not to be him. I could get cheesy about how its rewarding and such but I think a better way of looking at things is to realize that it’s the better alternative.
Neo wouldn’t wait for New Years or some other arbitrary date to break the loops that bind him. If he did, Trinity would’ve been gone. So you shouldn’t wait either.
Break the loops and watch some extraordinary things do happen.
Peace.
