The Matrix (film)
The Matrix was a film which Bill Bishop watched in a Department M rehabilitation facility in 1999. (PROSE: The Danger Men) It involved some characters taking a blue pill, which was used as a metaphor by conspiracy theorists in the 21st century for "swallowing lies". (AUDIO: SOS)
Cleo Proctor said she had never seen The Matrix, since it was a "boy film". (AUDIO: SOS)
Behind the scenes
Though Cleo characterises The Matrix as a "boy film", it was actually written and produced by two closeted trans women, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, who later confirmed The Matrix was originally an allegory for the trans experience.[1]
In The Matrix, the "blue pill" could be taken in order to forget about the reality of the Matrix, which proved that the conventional real world was a simulation, whereas the "red pill" allowed one access to that higher reality. Though this was also intended as a trans allegory, with red pills indicating estrogen[1], the "blue pill, red pill" metaphor has been co-opted by alt-right groups in more recent years, especially among right-wing conspiracy theory groups.[2][3] It is in this context that Shawna Thompson uses the term.
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 White, Adam (21 August 2020). The Matrix was a metaphor for transgender identity, director Lilly Wachowski confirms. Retrieved on 17 April 2022.
- ↑ Power, Nina (24 December 2021). Red pill, blue pill: how the alt-Right ruined The Matrix. The Telegraph. Retrieved on 17 April 2022.
- ↑ Wilmes, John (21 December 2021). The Twisted, Stolen Legacy of the 'Matrix' Red Pill. The Ringer. Retrieved on 17 April 2022.
