Compare And Contrast Matrix And We

Isabella Dawson
02/03/17
Dr. John G. Oates and Dr. Alex Barder

The Matrix and We
The Matrix and We both present a dystopian future. The Matrix is a portrayal of the effects of technological advancements that outstrip the capabilities of humans to control it. The novel We is a critique on the capabilities of a government to achieve a perfect society, this is shown through the failure of order and rationality to ensure a permanent peace. The two works of science fiction offer examples of power which are created through interactions between conscious entities. The conflicts of interest that occur in these works are due to one entity influencing another’s behavior, creating a limited form of freedom. Critical theory informs that such limitations

The state, which is directed by the Benefactor is interested in collective happiness. The state achieves this by setting rules that prohibit irrational behavior that cannot be scientifically understood or measured. By limiting these behaviors through strict enforcement of rules, One State achieves perfection, that is to say prevention of chaos and war. The other subject in the power relation in We are the citizens like D-503. Whether or not they want to exchange their freedom and individuality for order and contentment, they follow the status quo. The government in We has removed all privacy, which ruins the citizens’ ability to experience and act (Arendt,). In this way, the pursuit of the collective interest by the state has created conflict within the individuals under its influence. The goal of the state was achieved, though it unintentionally resulted in its own demise. When some of the citizens of One State (the MEPHI) awaken the side of themselves that had been obstructed, they work to overthrow the state which was perpetuating the system that reduced people to machines. The order that had been shown in One State early in the book was only possible because of the state’s ability to render the citizens incapable of independent thought, which leads to unpredictable

Such norms as the removal of privacy and principles such as working to be as functional as a machine, to better serve the collective interest are espoused by everyone in One State, and anyone that does not follow the same norms or have the beliefs is dangerous to the state’s ability to set the status quo, thereby exerting control over the population. “The Tables transformed each one of us, actually, into a six-wheeled steel hero of a great poem. (We, chapter...) here D-503 shows the power of the state to shape the values of society, by idealizing norms that suit the state’s interests. “These values and norms are not immutable structural features of human activity, for they can always be explicitly questioned and altered (Digeser,).” D-503 does not question the states’ control over the