All the Metaphors in The Matrix, Explained

FromThe Take

Start listening View podcast show

All the Metaphors in The Matrix, Explained

FromThe Take

ratings:

Length:

22 minutes

Released:

Dec 2, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

The evolving discussion over symbolism in The Matrix is a testament to how much meaning the film holds for audiences. So which interpretations offer the most insight, and what does the Matrix teach us about the fundamental nature of art?

Released:

Dec 2, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

This is the Take. It's where you come to understand more about your favorite movies, shows and culture. Our video essays make the story worlds you enter richer and deeper. Think: Endings Explained, Character Studies, Hidden Messages and Symbols Revealed, Actor and Director Profiles, and more. We want to share our love of visual culture with the world. So here's our Take.

Skip carousel

The Girlboss Villain Is Everywhere - It's Enough Now: The Girlboss Villain is everywhere -- but are these stories about toxic female bosses incisive capitalist critiques, or are they actually kind of misogynistic, suggesting their desire for power is unwomanly or unnatural? by The Take
21 min listen
The Matrix 4, Ending Explained - "Fixing" Trinity Syndrome: The Matrix Resurrections is an interrogation of the original film and its legacy, asking whether anything has improved as a result of the Matrix’s message to free your mind, or if the mind-control in our actual world has just gotten worse. by The Take
22 min listen
The Cool Girl Trope, Explained: She’s not like other girls. She’s a COOL girl. But does this fun, junk food-loving hottie actually exist? And what’s behind this myth? In this episode, we take on how the Cool Girl has evolved onscreen and what she represents in our culture. by The Take
19 min listen
Ted Lasso on Today's Toxic Positivity - Season 2 Ending Explained: Ted Lasso’s relentless optimism won us all over in season one. But by season two, Ted’s refusal to look anywhere but on the sunny side of things is looking less and less healthy. So what really went wrong with Nate, and how can you achieve a “Light Side” that’s based on a genuine, rock-solid foundation? by The Take
22 min listen
Mean Girls: Regina George, The Psychology of a Dictator: Did you know Regina George (Rachel McAdams) actually tells us a lot about how dictatorships work? Listen to our take and find out more about this iconic character and her North Shore High “regime.” by The Take
20 min listen
The "Quirky Black Character" - How Black Creators Challenge Stereotypes: More than ever today, the Quirky Black Character is becoming a well-rounded protagonist in a Black-created story -- expressed not just as a personality, but through an individual or downright weird worldview that shapes the whole texture of the narrative. by The Take
19 min listen
The Devil Wears Prada: Miranda Priestly - A Defense of Perfectionism: Is Miranda Priestly actually "the devil" in The Devil Wears Prada? Her pursuit of excellence actually makes her a role model for working women, and we can all use a touch of Miranda in our professional lives -- that is, of course, if you’re willing to pay the price of perfectionism. by The Take
22 min listen
Clickbait’s Crazy Ending, Explained - The Clickbaiting of Film & TV: Netflix's Clickbait uses the same kinds of techniques as internet clickbait to keep us pressing “next episode”: focusing on sensational, violent spectacle; raising tantalizing questions that it delays answering, and ending episodes with cliffhangers that tease a big reveal, only to send us down a lot of false paths. by The Take
21 min listen
Legally Blonde and the History of the “Dumb Blonde”: A key mission of Legally Blonde's Elle Woods is fighting the bias against blondes -- in particular, the "dumb blonde" stereotype. But where does this stereotype come from? Let's all dig into the roots of the assumptions about blondes and find out what's really behind them. by The Take
17 min listen
The Dragon Lady Trope - Reclaiming Her Power: East Asian women onscreen have long been haunted by the figure of the Dragon Lady: a violent seductress who will do anything to achieve her goals. At the same time, the dragon lady is unapologetically driven, ultra-assertive, and has agency. by The Take
21 min listen
The “Victim” Onscreen and How She’s Been Misrepresented: The female victim-survivor binary of film & tv has produced both hapless "victim" characters and unrealistic "survivor" heroes -- so it's time we truly listen as the person who lived through hell tells her complicated story herself. by The Take
22 min listen
How Phoebe and Mike Redefined "Settling": Friends’ Phoebe Buffay is quirky, unique, and has lived an interesting life, while by comparison, Mike Hannigan is... kind of bland. So did Phoebe actually settle or did they find the key to happy ever after? by The Take
18 min listen
The Office's Andy - Privilege Can't Buy Happiness: Privileged and miserably insecure Andy Bernard is The Office's cautionary tale about the limits of what wealth can (or rather can't) do for you. Many Office fans found Andy’s arc disappointing, but his choices eventually proved how many who grow up in toxic, status-obsessed environments often don’t transcend their learned behaviors. by The Take
18 min listen
All the Metaphors in The Matrix, Explained: The evolving discussion over symbolism in The Matrix is a testament to how much meaning the film holds for audiences. So which interpretations offer the most insight, and what does the Matrix teach us about the fundamental nature of art? by The Take
22 min listen
How the Madonna-Whore Complex Still Reigns: Many of the labels we still put on women - good girls and bad girls, wifeys and femme fatales – come from Madonna-Whore dichotomy. Here’s how to spot these archetypes on-screen. by The Take
22 min listen
The Weird Girl Trope, Explained: She's a Weird Girl, the black sheep of all female character tropes. Why do people misunderstand her, or are even scared of her? What secret powers does the weird girl have? by The Take
20 min listen
Stop Talking About If Female Characters Are “Likable”: Why are we still talking about whether or not female characters are likable? Historically, female characters have been over-defined by how much a male viewpoint character likes, or indeed, doesn’t like them -- creating a gendered bias of likability. by The Take
22 min listen
The Office: Why Michael Scott is Actually the World’s Best Boss: The mug speaks the truth: The Office’s Michael Scott (Steve Carell) IS the world’s best boss. by The Take
17 min listen
Why Ted is the Villain of How I Met Your Mother: Is How I Met Your Mother’s Ted Mosby the good guy he claims to be? Or is his romantic journey more self indulgent and sometimes sinister than he claims it is? What if he's the bad guy? by The Take
23 min listen
The Nice Guy Trope, Explained: He's not like the other guys. He's a NICE guy -- but wait, is he really that nice? What's behind his sweet, romantic act? In this episode, we take on the Nice Guy archetype and figure out what he represents in our world today. by The Take
22 min listen
And Just Like That - What It Got Wrong (And What It Did Right): While And Just Like That faltered early on, it ultimately got its groove back, and left us with the classic Sex And The City takeaway that it’s the ever-evolving relationship you have with yourself that matters most. by The Take
22 min listen
The Antihero’s Wife - Home Is Where The Crime Is: The anti hero’s wife enables him to self-identify as a ‘family man,’ but they also serve to highlight that -- however much these men claim that their wrongdoing is separate from their pure family home -- it’s impossible to cleanly close the door on dirty business and retreat into the realm of pure domesticity. by The Take
20 min listen
Pete Davidson, Heartthrob - Why the “Hotness Gap” is BS: Media coverage of Pete Davidson suggests a society that’s still as obsessed as ever with conventional female beauty and a “hotness gap” between the men and women in celebrity couples. But Pete's attractiveness is actually pretty obvious, and the coverage of his relationships needs to calm down and catch up with the times. by The Take
15 min listen
The "Mean Girl" Trio - Three Types of Bad Female Rulers: Variations on the terrible trio, like The Plastics and the Unholy Trinity, have long dominated cinema’s and TV’s fictional high school hallways. So what is it about this rule of three and these particular recurring character types that add up to the perfect recipe for high-school popularity and oppression? by The Take
16 min listen
Forrest Gump: The Myth of America: The story of Forrest Gump is a myth of 20th-century America. Like any good myth, it filters historical facts through allegory, creating a symbolic journey that helps us make sense of a complicated era. So, what does Forrest Gump has to say about us -- and our national identity? by The Take
25 min listen
How I Met Your Mother's Controversial Ending, Explained: How I Met Your Mother's ending has never sat right with fans. Why is this conclusion regarded with such infamy? Should Ted and Robin have gotten together? Did the Mother live up to your expectations? Let's take a look at what doesn't work about the How I Met Your Mother series finale. by The Take
17 min listen
The Good Girl Trope - Why Women Can't Win: The good girl of film and tv plays by the rules. She's nice, polite, and probably a straight A student. Yet this perfect-seeming facade can mask her darker struggles, even from herself. by The Take
19 min listen
Janet Jackson, Taking Back Control: Janet Jackson's early music tackled the body insecurities she’d dealt with throughout her early life as a child performer. Now, she's taking back control once again with her own 2022 documentary. So let's celebrate her legacy of centering female bodily agency in pop. by The Take
16 min listen
The Housewife Onscreen, Start Valuing Her More: In capitalist terms, housewives as a group are highly influential, shaping everything from department-store stock to global politics. But whether she’s framed as an object of envy or pity, the housewife figure is routinely disrespected in our culture. by The Take
23 min listen
And Just Like That - How Sex and the City Changed: In the premiere episodes of revival series And Just Like That, Sex and the City catches up with its characters to show us what it's like for women to grow older, though it remains to be seen if ladies can resurrect the seemingly joyless, sexless city that was once theirs. by The Take
15 min listen

More Episodes from The Take

Skip carousel

House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra vs Alicent: Their Deeper Battle & Their Destined Doom | Explained by The Take
21 min listen
Mean Girls: How Regina Was Right About Everything (Unfortunately...) by The Take
11 min listen
Why Millennials Seem To Be Aging So Slowly | Explained by The Take
11 min listen
The Yoko Ono Trope, Explained: Why She's Hated | From Yoko to The Idea of You & More by The Take
11 min listen
Euphoria: How Maddy Was Right About Everything by The Take
13 min listen
Hit Man & The Forced Flop Problem: Why Streamers Sabotage Their Own Films | Explained by The Take
12 min listen
Gilmore Girls: How Rory Was Wrong About Everything by The Take
13 min listen
Movies & TV 's Unrealistic 30s Personal Finance: Expectations vs Reality | SATC, New Girl & More by The Take
12 min listen
Back To Black: Why The Controversial Amy Winehouse Biopic Doesn't Work | Explained by The Take
15 min listen
Why Everyone On Screen Kind Of Has The Same Face Now | Explained by The Take
12 min listen
The O.C. - Seth Cohen Was Wrong About Everything (& That's Okay) | Explained by The Take
13 min listen
The Hot One Trope, Explained: Why She's Chosen | Friends & Beyond by The Take
12 min listen
Seinfeld's Elaine Benes: Morally Grey, Majorly Hilarious | Explained by The Take
18 min listen
How Toxic Productivity Took Over Our Entire Lives by The Take
14 min listen
Analyzing 3 Body Problem's Deeper Symbolism by The Take
15 min listen
"Content Creator" Finances Onscreen v Real Life, and the Real Costs of the Career by The Take
14 min listen
Movies & TV's Most Unrealistic Job Salaries: Writers, Teachers, Lawyers, & more by The Take
13 min listen
Movies & TV's Most Unrealistic Grand Gestures: Dates, Proposals, $$$ Gifts, & more by The Take
15 min listen
The Horse Girl Trend, Explained by The Take
11 min listen
Bradley Cooper's Failed Oscar Run & The Reason For Awards "Desperation" by The Take
11 min listen
Why Rich Kids On Screen Are Always Miserable by The Take
13 min listen
Movies & TV’s Most Unrealistic Personal Finances: Friends, SATC, Emily in Paris, & more by The Take
12 min listen
Capote vs The Swans: Scandal, Lies, And Secrets... But What Was True? | Feud, Explained by The Take
21 min listen
Dune: Part 2 and Paul's Dark Turn, Explained by The Take
12 min listen
The Office: Review Every Amazing, Ordinary Season With Us | Extended Take by The Take
50 min listen
30 Rock Why Jenna Is An Unhinged, Relatable Icon by The Take
12 min listen
The Mean, Hot Mom Problem On Screen, Explained by The Take
11 min listen
Big Bang Theory: Why Bernadette Was The Meanest *And* Nicest Character by The Take
28 min listen
Paris Geller: from Villain to Smart Girl Icon | Gilmore Girls by The Take
11 min listen
The O.C.'s Marissa Cooper: The Darkness Behind The Beauty by The Take
13 min listen

Related podcast episodes

Skip carousel

Tilly Bridges, "Begin Transmission: The Trans Allegories of The Matrix" (BearManor Media, 2023): An interview with Tilly Bridges by New Books in Gender
34 min listen
Grant Tavinor, "The Aesthetics of Virtual Reality" (Routledge, 2021): An interview with Grant Tavinor by New Books in Critical Theory
53 min listen
Grant Tavinor, "The Aesthetics of Virtual Reality" (Routledge, 2021): An interview with Grant Tavinor by New Books in Science, Technology, and Society
53 min listen
Grant Tavinor, "The Aesthetics of Virtual Reality" (Routledge, 2021): An interview with Grant Tavinor by New Books in Art
53 min listen
Lisa Messeri, "In the Land of the Unreal: Virtual and Other Realities in Los Angeles" (Duke UP, 2024): An interview with Lisa Messeri by New Books in Anthropology
70 min listen
Lisa Messeri, "In the Land of the Unreal: Virtual and Other Realities in Los Angeles" (Duke UP, 2024): An interview with Lisa Messeri by New Books in Science, Technology, and Society
70 min listen
Lisa Messeri, "In the Land of the Unreal: Virtual and Other Realities in Los Angeles" (Duke UP, 2024): An interview with Lisa Messeri by New Books in Critical Theory
70 min listen
Ep. 71: Rereading Hong lou meng 紅樓夢, Chapter 34 part 1/2 by Rereading the Stone
44 min listen
Arbitraging Culture in Size | Meltem Demirors by Empire
72 min listen
Role of Architecture: Eisenman Vs Alexander debate [Introduction] by Talk Architecture
13 min listen
The awesome potential of many metaverses | Agnes Larsson: In the multitude of metaverses that exist there are infinite possibilities for inclusivity and creativity. As we revisit a talk that invites us to craft our own digital universes, Minecraft's game director Agnes Larsson shares how the experience of building and sharing metaverses can foster dialogue, friendship and trust — pointing to the meaningful impact virtual worlds can have on the real world. Following the talk, Sherrell explores how these safer metaverses have the power to spill beyond the digital realm and positively impact our entire society. by TED Tech
16 min listen
2584: Empowering Voices Through XR: A Deep Dive with Michaela Ternasky-Holland: Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Michaela Ternasky-Holland, an Emmy and Webby award-winning director renowned for her groundbreaking work in immersive and interactive storytelling. Michaela's expertise in XR (Extended Reality) and the metaverse has... by The Tech Talks Daily Podcast
53 min listen
S8 E05: Disenchantment & The Reemergence of Wonder with Stephen Roach by Makers & Mystics
32 min listen
Rhea Myers, "Proof of Work: Blockchain Provocations 2011-2021" (MIT Press, 2023): An interview with Rhea Myers by New Books in Science, Technology, and Society
79 min listen
Rhea Myers, "Proof of Work: Blockchain Provocations 2011-2021" (MIT Press, 2023): An interview with Rhea Myers by New Books in Art
79 min listen
Metaversable: Exploring the metaverse thru NFTs, NFT Art, and Cryptocurrency: We have a new show! In episode one, Ron and Chris explore NFTs and digital art with Jason also known as 0xBanana. 1:18: What is the Metaverse?2:04: Tumbling down the Metaverse “rabbit hole.”3:00: What are Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) all about?5:55: Is... by Hacker Valley Studio
29 min listen
Rhetoricality: Welcome to Mere Rhetoric, the podcast for beginners and insiders about the people, terms and movements who have shaped rhetorical history. I’m Mary Hedengren, Samantha’s in the booth and we have a brand new episode here for you. If you... by Mere Rhetoric
9 min listen
?183: How to Have an Influential Voice and Leave a Legacy with Tricia Brouk: Storytelling is one powerful tool. To highlight just how powerful it can be, I was thrilled to have the incredible Tricia Brouk back for another episode of the I Heart My Life show. (She was last with us in Episode 18 which you can find .) This time,... by I Heart My Life Show
38 min listen
Skinny Mini: What's going on in the Crypto Markets? by The Wall Street Skinny
37 min listen
The awesome potential of many metaverses | Agnes Larsson: In the multitude of metaverses that exist there are infinite possibilities for inclusivity and creativity. by TED Tech
16 min listen
Zachary Stein (Part 1) – The Future of Education and Civilization: Navigating the Potentials and Perils of New Media, AI, Pervasive Propaganda, and the Looming Metacrisis by Deep Transformation
48 min listen
Redefining Impact: A New Playbook for Social Change with Eric Ressler by Untapped Philanthropy
33 min listen
How Psychedelics Can Help Us Make Sense Of The Meta-Crisis | Alexander Beiner ~ ATTMind 185: Alexander Beiner joins us to explore how psychedelics can help us make sense of the meta-crisis. This includes topics like complexity tolerance and the overwhelming deluge of information in modern digital life; “How” and “why” we solve a... by Adventures Through The Mind
104 min listen
#1359: Landmark Anthropological Field Study of VR with “In the Land of the Unreal” author Lisa Messeri: Yale Anthropologist Lisa Messeri spent a year doing field work in Los Angeles in 2018 studying the political ecology of the VR community, and will be releasing her landmark book called In the Land of the Unreal: Virtual and Other Realities in Los Angel... by Voices of VR
103 min listen
Q&A: Will we spend more time in VR than in real life? by Euronews Tech Talks
21 min listen
David A. Kirby, “Lab Coats in Hollywood: Science, Scientists, and Cinema” (MIT Press, 2011): First things first: this was probably the most fun I’ve had working through an STS monograph. (Really: Who doesn’t like reading about Jurassic Park and King Kong?) In addition to being full of wonderful anecdotes about the film and television industrie... by New Books in the History of Science
65 min listen
Unveiling the Emotional Journey of Fear The Walking Dead with Michael E Satrazemis: On this episode of Sci-Fi Talk, I am delving into the intriguing insights shared by Michael E. Satrazemis, the executive producer and director of the last episode of Fear The Walking Dead. As he chats with me, Satrazemis discusses the importance of ... by Sci-Fi Talk
16 min listen
The Art of Storytelling with Yan Vizinberg by Matters of Experience
28 min listen
Visual Rhetoric: Halloween Special "The Mezzotint": Welcome to MR, the podcast for beginners and insiders about the ideas, people and movements who have shaped rhetorical history. I’m Mary Hedengren and a big thanks to the Humanities Media Project at the University of Texas for support for... by Mere Rhetoric
32 min listen
2570: Improbable | Venture into New Worlds: In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I am joined by Rob Whitehead, the visionary co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Improbable and M2, who has been at the forefront of pioneering interoperable virtual worlds. With a background that marries... by The Tech Talks Daily Podcast
26 min listen

Discover this podcast and so much more

All the Metaphors in The Matrix, Explained

All the Metaphors in The Matrix, Explained

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from The Take

Related podcast episodes