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AudioSunday, November 09, 2003
If I smoked, I’d light up and say, "Awww! Andy and Larry, I’m satisfied."
Are you still asking total strangers, whether ... to go or not to go ... to "The Matrix: Revolutions"? Well, that’s easy; because "PIE: PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING", the choice is yours. But let’s face it, if you got totally lost in Chapters 1 and 2 [but are not admitting it -- and you know who your are] you’re not "cool enough" for this final installment. Mean but true. So "kiss this".
If you still get lost, dazed, and confused with working out the liquid matrix of time and being that is "Quantum Leap", and if the flat "Star Wars" series [all of them] and their "may the force be with you" is the very top of deep thought for you, or you’ve never read a successful sci-fi / philosophical novel series like "Dune" [original six books by Frank Herbert only] and loved it....
If you don’t "get" why Star Trek’s "Deep Space Nine" [with its themes of: messiah [Avery Brooks as Sisco], altered states and time, and who’s really my enemy / ally, who’s really my friend / betrayer, and who am I to bear and execute this burden] still blows away all its previous and concurrent shows....
Or if you have no head for existential reasoning, no sense of the difference between spirituality versus religion or true warrior [Trinity] versus mere soldier [Agents]....
Or that all endings begin something else....
It’s also interesting and well done that Mr. Keanu Reaves has given intriguingly complex performances as a humble messiah more than once ["The Matrix" series, "Little Buddha", "Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure" series] or anti-messiah ["The Devil’s Advocate", "My Own Private Idaho"].
"The Matrix" series succeeds on infinite levels starting with the fact that, unlike other films of a "similar" post apocalyptic nature, it postulates that there IS a future, there IS freedom, there IS choice, there IS connection / love / faith, and women also have a strong purpose and are very necessary for survival of all. And all in this universe is NOT completely and unequivocally horrid [depending on where your mind and body are jacked into: whether locked in the delusional dream of The Matrix or self-exiled in cozy Zion far beneath the destruction].
Nor is the future only for and only filled with those with "white" skin or "superiorist" sensibilities, which the old Agent Smith believed in and that the new/neo Smith is even worse about -- "me, me, me" ... and no one else.
In the Wachowski universe, diversity, choice, and creativity are life / existence. Faith reinforced by the heart faces off with belief propped by errorist thinking. Faith is not blind and belief is not all seeing here. No mere black hat / white hat, "evil" empire / goody-goody freedom fighters, them vs us.
Here is true balance. The Navaho "Walk in Beauty". The Chinese Tao [see the Oracle’s yin-yang earrings].
And our latest and most powerful ex-Agent neo Smith believes "he" can swallow and possess and bully the entire world, that all will be correct if "he" can do the Architect one better; by enveloping and destroying balance and making everything the one -- Smith. Except for his interfering "evil" twin Mr. Thomas J. Anderson / Neo and loyal family [Trinity = wife, Morpheus = father, The Kid / Mr. Popper = son or at least nephew, Sati = daughter, and more, Oracle = mother].
Personally, my joy for a film can run the gamut of all sorts of "guilty pleasures" but my true satisfaction isn’t a 2D "Mad Max" keep-away chase or squish the mumbling terminator and wait for the next "Lethal Weapon" cute installment kind of thing.
The best written characters; fortuitously portrayed by the right actors, who truly embody these "real people" better than some of us embody ourselves; sheltered by and framed by the best production team into a "real realm" – well thought out, heartfelt and well loved, and without compromise ... is "The Matrix: Revolutions". And both its successful predecessors: beginning middle end; origin conflict resolution; understanding who you are, using who you are for the benefit of others, risking all you are for all you love. It’s all here. Open your whole being and see. That’s what the best films, books [remember the Bible, the Koran, the I Ching], and physics theory open us to ... if we’re lucky.
This series is very rare and thusly confuses many. Lord knows Reasoning is no longer a skill taught alongside reading – ’riting – and ’rithmetic. Also, how many were confused and hated MLK, Malcolm, Gandhi and are now proudly saying how wonderful they were? You and I were probably at least partially in that camp. Fear of breaking away from what we’ve always thought was all that is right is frightening. But some of us grow up and expand and take a look around.
Before Neo unplugged he had no friends, no family, no personal connections, no peace of mind. Now, besides being unplugged, he’s gone wireless remote. And if you’re lost about that statement...?
This is your chance to look around and to see the Wachowki’s [Andy and Larry] brilliance, Mr. Reeves intelligence and generosity, Mr. Laurence Fishburne’s ferocity [remind me to tell you my Fishburne and me story sometime], Ms. Carrie-Ann Moss’ smart elegance as a lady and as a fighter [ah, Mrs. Peel and Charlie Baltimore], Mr. Hugo Weaving now forever etched in heart and mind are here and now officially lauded and publicly appreciated by me. And performance and tech staff!! You rule!!!!
Such deep and wide philosophical exploration and the piercing contemplation of being, sex, violence, betrayal, coding and overwriting of code, etc is often times handled best by fantasy / sci-fi /horror / anime series [Sam Raimi & Rob Tappert’s "Xena: Warrior Princess", Joss Whedon’s "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer", etc.], or by fully uncategorizable series like "The Matrix" or Diana Gabaldon "Outland" novel series [time travel, love, history, sex, karma (Frank / Black Jack)]. Most reality or reality-like pieces ["Law and Order", "Lethal Weapon" series, reality TV, etc.] can’t handle this nor do they even aspire to do so.
And people wonder why the younger generations aren’t deep. Look again.
"Revolutions" has it all. Beautiful and horrid swarms of killer bee-like sentinel squid attacks; heroes passing the hero torch to the next generation; and unstoppable whirling, drilling dreidels.
"Revolutions" has an ALWAYS humble hero whose cockiness never becomes overweening even when he’s full in his element. He knows he can’t do it all by himself, eventhough he "knows" and "sees" that there are duties only he can perform and must do. And he does it without complaint, despite his fears and his great losses.
"Revolutions" has women heroes [Trinity, Niobe, Zee] who take no backseat to anyone and whose presence is necessary and whose energy bolster everything on the screen....
Did I mention no men of color die just to boost the "superior status" of the hero? Did I mention that no women die, are raped and / or flash bare breasts just because someone in a business suit thought we might be bored.
And, I’d like to address from "Reloaded" that I’ve heard countless whines about the one and only true sex scene between the hero / husband and his hero / wife [Isn’t that what husband’s and wives do to balance, support, and reinvigorate each other?]. No one complained about the guy with the mace imbedded in his cranium. "Don’t forget the violence" but let’s complain about the sex and love in a movie with adult themes for adults.
Or hadn’t you noticed that MPAA sanctioned, screen überviolence is a pornography in and of itself? Violenceography. The same and similar people, who keep the Oscars, Emmys, and such quarantined from deserving performances and works like this. I mean have any of these dry brained people on these councils ever watched Lucy Lawless, Hudson Leick, James Marsters, and oh so many more...?
Extra points from me for the all the little stuff like the Tao earrings, the purple [color of seers and seekers] blindfold / bandage and its nod to "Dunes" Paul Atriedes [and yes, I did "see" it coming]; remarkably great costumes always, Kym; music to die for; sound to sex your ears; and visuals to bend the mind. And so many versions of what a family or alliance can be and look like. [Are you listening 1600 Pennsylvania AVE?]
The revolution is that one can change ... or not. Fight or not. Live or not. Plug in or pull out. So choose.
(0) comments
If you still get lost, dazed, and confused with working out the liquid matrix of time and being that is "Quantum Leap", and if the flat "Star Wars" series [all of them] and their "may the force be with you" is the very top of deep thought for you, or you’ve never read a successful sci-fi / philosophical novel series like "Dune" [original six books by Frank Herbert only] and loved it....
If you don’t "get" why Star Trek’s "Deep Space Nine" [with its themes of: messiah [Avery Brooks as Sisco], altered states and time, and who’s really my enemy / ally, who’s really my friend / betrayer, and who am I to bear and execute this burden] still blows away all its previous and concurrent shows....
Or if you have no head for existential reasoning, no sense of the difference between spirituality versus religion or true warrior [Trinity] versus mere soldier [Agents]....
Or that all endings begin something else....
It’s also interesting and well done that Mr. Keanu Reaves has given intriguingly complex performances as a humble messiah more than once ["The Matrix" series, "Little Buddha", "Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure" series] or anti-messiah ["The Devil’s Advocate", "My Own Private Idaho"].
"The Matrix" series succeeds on infinite levels starting with the fact that, unlike other films of a "similar" post apocalyptic nature, it postulates that there IS a future, there IS freedom, there IS choice, there IS connection / love / faith, and women also have a strong purpose and are very necessary for survival of all. And all in this universe is NOT completely and unequivocally horrid [depending on where your mind and body are jacked into: whether locked in the delusional dream of The Matrix or self-exiled in cozy Zion far beneath the destruction].
Nor is the future only for and only filled with those with "white" skin or "superiorist" sensibilities, which the old Agent Smith believed in and that the new/neo Smith is even worse about -- "me, me, me" ... and no one else.
In the Wachowski universe, diversity, choice, and creativity are life / existence. Faith reinforced by the heart faces off with belief propped by errorist thinking. Faith is not blind and belief is not all seeing here. No mere black hat / white hat, "evil" empire / goody-goody freedom fighters, them vs us.
Here is true balance. The Navaho "Walk in Beauty". The Chinese Tao [see the Oracle’s yin-yang earrings].
And our latest and most powerful ex-Agent neo Smith believes "he" can swallow and possess and bully the entire world, that all will be correct if "he" can do the Architect one better; by enveloping and destroying balance and making everything the one -- Smith. Except for his interfering "evil" twin Mr. Thomas J. Anderson / Neo and loyal family [Trinity = wife, Morpheus = father, The Kid / Mr. Popper = son or at least nephew, Sati = daughter, and more, Oracle = mother].
Personally, my joy for a film can run the gamut of all sorts of "guilty pleasures" but my true satisfaction isn’t a 2D "Mad Max" keep-away chase or squish the mumbling terminator and wait for the next "Lethal Weapon" cute installment kind of thing.
The best written characters; fortuitously portrayed by the right actors, who truly embody these "real people" better than some of us embody ourselves; sheltered by and framed by the best production team into a "real realm" – well thought out, heartfelt and well loved, and without compromise ... is "The Matrix: Revolutions". And both its successful predecessors: beginning middle end; origin conflict resolution; understanding who you are, using who you are for the benefit of others, risking all you are for all you love. It’s all here. Open your whole being and see. That’s what the best films, books [remember the Bible, the Koran, the I Ching], and physics theory open us to ... if we’re lucky.
This series is very rare and thusly confuses many. Lord knows Reasoning is no longer a skill taught alongside reading – ’riting – and ’rithmetic. Also, how many were confused and hated MLK, Malcolm, Gandhi and are now proudly saying how wonderful they were? You and I were probably at least partially in that camp. Fear of breaking away from what we’ve always thought was all that is right is frightening. But some of us grow up and expand and take a look around.
Before Neo unplugged he had no friends, no family, no personal connections, no peace of mind. Now, besides being unplugged, he’s gone wireless remote. And if you’re lost about that statement...?
This is your chance to look around and to see the Wachowki’s [Andy and Larry] brilliance, Mr. Reeves intelligence and generosity, Mr. Laurence Fishburne’s ferocity [remind me to tell you my Fishburne and me story sometime], Ms. Carrie-Ann Moss’ smart elegance as a lady and as a fighter [ah, Mrs. Peel and Charlie Baltimore], Mr. Hugo Weaving now forever etched in heart and mind are here and now officially lauded and publicly appreciated by me. And performance and tech staff!! You rule!!!!
Such deep and wide philosophical exploration and the piercing contemplation of being, sex, violence, betrayal, coding and overwriting of code, etc is often times handled best by fantasy / sci-fi /horror / anime series [Sam Raimi & Rob Tappert’s "Xena: Warrior Princess", Joss Whedon’s "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer", etc.], or by fully uncategorizable series like "The Matrix" or Diana Gabaldon "Outland" novel series [time travel, love, history, sex, karma (Frank / Black Jack)]. Most reality or reality-like pieces ["Law and Order", "Lethal Weapon" series, reality TV, etc.] can’t handle this nor do they even aspire to do so.
And people wonder why the younger generations aren’t deep. Look again.
"Revolutions" has it all. Beautiful and horrid swarms of killer bee-like sentinel squid attacks; heroes passing the hero torch to the next generation; and unstoppable whirling, drilling dreidels.
"Revolutions" has an ALWAYS humble hero whose cockiness never becomes overweening even when he’s full in his element. He knows he can’t do it all by himself, eventhough he "knows" and "sees" that there are duties only he can perform and must do. And he does it without complaint, despite his fears and his great losses.
"Revolutions" has women heroes [Trinity, Niobe, Zee] who take no backseat to anyone and whose presence is necessary and whose energy bolster everything on the screen....
Did I mention no men of color die just to boost the "superior status" of the hero? Did I mention that no women die, are raped and / or flash bare breasts just because someone in a business suit thought we might be bored.
And, I’d like to address from "Reloaded" that I’ve heard countless whines about the one and only true sex scene between the hero / husband and his hero / wife [Isn’t that what husband’s and wives do to balance, support, and reinvigorate each other?]. No one complained about the guy with the mace imbedded in his cranium. "Don’t forget the violence" but let’s complain about the sex and love in a movie with adult themes for adults.
Or hadn’t you noticed that MPAA sanctioned, screen überviolence is a pornography in and of itself? Violenceography. The same and similar people, who keep the Oscars, Emmys, and such quarantined from deserving performances and works like this. I mean have any of these dry brained people on these councils ever watched Lucy Lawless, Hudson Leick, James Marsters, and oh so many more...?
Extra points from me for the all the little stuff like the Tao earrings, the purple [color of seers and seekers] blindfold / bandage and its nod to "Dunes" Paul Atriedes [and yes, I did "see" it coming]; remarkably great costumes always, Kym; music to die for; sound to sex your ears; and visuals to bend the mind. And so many versions of what a family or alliance can be and look like. [Are you listening 1600 Pennsylvania AVE?]
The revolution is that one can change ... or not. Fight or not. Live or not. Plug in or pull out. So choose.
