Through the number of times The Matrix has appeared in pop-culture, in various Emory courses, and even in politics, I always found it fascinating that the original story was allegorical to the “egg-cracking”, and subsequent transition, of transgender people. Though both sisters were at the time not out, much of the fuel of the film is powered by the emotions of that desire.
This is not fan-fiction or anything like that, both of the Wachowski’s are openly trans, and here is Lilly Wachowski in an interview speaking on the Matrix’s legacy and it’s story as a largely trans one:
There are many such nods to this allegory in the film, such as Switch’s character originally being written as both man and woman, or Neo’s rejection of his “deadname”, and more throughout the film.
I think in this, it is fascinating how the Matrix has been co-opted into the mainstream culture, often in the case of conservative or “red-pilled” politics. This idea of awakening to the real world, can be interpreted in many ways– as an awakening to a life as a different gender, or as waking up to the lies of liberals and going off the reddit deep-end.
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