Every now and then a movie will come out that has a huge impact on American culture. One such movie, The Matrix will be celebrating its 20th anniversary next year. Have you seen it?
Spoiler alert. . .
The Matrix follows the life of Thomas A. Anderson (Keanu Reeves), a computer hacker going by the alias "Neo" with a fondness for spending more time alone with his computer than with his fellow human beings. Tired of his mundane life and chaffing against society's so-called rules, Mr. Anderson has a life-changing moment when his computer communicates back to him. Plunging down the proverbial rabbit hole, Neo meets the enigmatic Trinity and the stoic Morpheus, and together they open Neo's eyes to the truth: life isn't real.
Released in 1999, The Matrix was a phenomenal hit. A smart mix of practical martial arts, impressive special effects, thought-provoking philosophy, as well as both grounded realism and exotic science, The Matrix brought a fresh wave of new influences not just to movies, but popular culture in general. Arguably the freshest movie in a decade, The Matrix inspired numerous parodies, a wave of new esoteric science fiction films, several video games and sequels, and even several new phrases. Most anything you watched or read in late 1999 or early 2000 included some homage to The Matrix. Movies and shows today continue to reference the hit movie.
Here are just a few references in our own system:
You can go to Google or YouTube and find thousands of pictures and video-clips referencing The Matrix. To say this movie has had an impact on popular culture might very well be an understatement.
So if you have not already, feel free to check out The Matrix. It comes highly recommended for fans of science fiction, martial arts or just movies in general. Also feel free to check out both sequels; Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions.
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