The Meaning Of Life In The Movie The Matrix?

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Slavoj Žižek believes the world perceived by humans to be “real” is isolated from a more authentic reality due to it being distorted by one’s own fantasies and desires (Žižek 335). He believes that it is only through fantasies that humans learn what they truly desire (Žižek 335). In the film The Matrix, the protagonist, Neo, attempts to escape the fantasy world (called “the Matrix”) to live in true reality. Neo’s desire to escape the Matrix and live in a real world symbolizes how we, as humans, have an innate desire to pursue an authentic life, or to find the meaning of life. Although this can be done in many different ways, the film focuses on just three: individuals using drugs to discover alternate experiences of life in hopes of finding the truest, feelings of love aiding in the discovery of the meaning of life, and religion being sought due to the desire to live out truth. Firstly, drug use is not a concept new to the twenty-first century. The use of psychedelic/hallucinogenic drugs results in perception-altering effects manifested as …show more content…

In The Matrix, Neo does not believe in the concept of fate, as he believes he is in control of his own life. In contrast, if one is not capable of changing their own fate, then the search for an authentic or meaningful life could remain fruitless. The fruitless search for a meaningful life is an alternate image of how Neo would have failed as the One to save his comrades if he had not come to believe in his capability of changing the prophecy that he was not actually the One. If one’s fate is not to find the meaning of life, then they most likely never will. This could be the reason for the fantasy life Žižek details, as the meaning of life could be manifested as a desire, only to be found through the comprehension of fantasy (Žižek

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