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Social Imagination In The Movie: The Matrix

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Social Imagination In The Movie: The Matrix
Brad Davies
Sociology
11:00-12:15 a.m. MW
2/20/2010

Swanson
Movie Paper 1) In the movie The Matrix, Keanu reeve stars as a character whose world is based on a futuristic reality. This fact plays the role to why this movie demonstrates social imagination. The basis is that the individuals in the movie have to be aware of their enemies, the machines and artificial intelligence. Social imagination is also expressed through the virtual reality the humans go into where they have certain advantages that they wouldn’t have in the real world. The environment determines the reality of the characters in many ways. In The Matrix, that was created by computers to limit and reduce the human population, reeves character forms a rebellion against the machines with others who escaped the cyber world. When he enters the matrix, he continues his constant struggle with Agent Smith, a virtual character created by the machines to destroy Reeves. These, I believe, are good examples of the social imagination.
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Along with the characters in the movie, the writers, producers, and directors are the ones who created this deception. The Matrix, which is the “fake reality”, is created through the minds of the characters by the means of technology. The advancement in technology that the movie portrays is the basis behind the “artificial reality.” I believe, after viewing the movie, the main characters figure out the difference between fact and fiction by simply going through the metamorphous of the real world and the matrix. I feel that the reality of this movie is the possibility that the future of the humans may indeed involve a conflict with machines, artificial intelligence, and/or the entire cyber

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