Table of contentsIntroductionAnalysis of cinematographic techniquesCritical analysisMy opinionConclusionIntroductionThe Matrix was a revolutionary film that commented on technological dependence and used lighting, special effects and camera angles to add drama intrigue to the scenario. It tells of the dangers of technology and shows the worst-case scenario of what could happen if technology created by humans becomes so powerful that it overtakes the human race. Say No to Plagiarism Get a Custom Essay on “Why Should Violent Video Games” Be Banned?Get Original EssayThe movie The Matrix tells a very interesting story about what the world would be like if technology created by humans became so advance that she surpassed and began to control humans. It's a very ironic twist that humans. become like slaves to the technology they created to serve them. It is also interesting to see how the protagonists of the story must use technology in the form of training modules in order to defeat the powerful technology that rules the world. However, there remains the human element of being able to use your human brain to understand the world around you and outsmart artificial intelligence. It's a cautionary tale, but it nevertheless contains a hopeful final message that the human element will always be essential no matter what. Analysis of Cinematographic Techniques An example of when lighting is used to help tell the story is near the beginning of the film. When Neo is first seen in his office building, the lighting is bland and slightly dim, but much brighter than it had been in any location before this scene. This shows the contrast between the two lives Neo lived. When he gets involved in his secret hacker lifestyle, everything is dark and there are shadows everywhere. This creates a very mysterious ambiance and illustrates the secretive aspect of how Neo lives his life. When he is seen in his boss's office, it is the first well-lit scene and depicts the boring and bland everyday lifestyle Neo is stuck in during the day. This contrast in lighting shows the contrast between Neo's two lives, one as an ordinary citizen working a boring job and the other as a secret hacker trying to hide from his ordinary lifestyle. Special effects also play a role in telling the story. About twenty-five minutes into the film, Neo is brought to meet Morpheus for the first time. Morpheus is seen from behind, looking out a window. When he turns around and his face is seen, a loud roll of thunder is heard accompanied by a bright flash of lightning. This shows the intimidation Neo faced when he first met Morpheus. Morpheus is a mysterious character to Neo, and it seems like he should be afraid to meet him. There is also a similar thunder and lighting effect when Neo takes the pill, and also when Neo sees what the real world looks like for the first time. All this serves to show the seriousness of the situations and to emphasize what is said or done. This surprises the viewer by giving them an idea of ​​what the characters must be feeling at that moment in the film. Besides lighting and special effects, camera angles are sometimes used to convey meaning in the film. An example of this is when Morpheus gives Neo the option to take the red pill or the blue pill. The photo shows an extreme close-up of Morpheus' sunglasses, and in one lens viewers see his hands outstretched with a blue pill and in the other, his hand holdingthe red pill. This framing illustrates the two distinct choices for Neo: he can discover the truth or return to his false life in the matrix. The framing helps depict the stark difference between the two choices and makes viewers think about which pill they would take if they found themselves in that situation. Another example of this is when Neo gets into a car with the other rebels inside the Matrix. The photo shows Neo from behind looking out the car window at people walking down the street. Neo's reflection is seen in the widow, with a confused look on her face. Neo now knows that the people he sees are not real, but simply projections in a computerized world. He now knows that they are like his reflection, he can see them, but they are not really there. His entire life seemed real but was no more real than his reflection. It's a very interesting shot and it says a lot about what seems to be going through Neo's head at that moment. Critical Analysis Many people have opinions on this film, many of them with interesting and unique perspectives on the messages and how the story is told with lighting, special effects, and camera angles. One of the most interesting views compared the film to Plato's allegory of the cave. This is something that is discussed in many philosophy or psychology classes. Bottom line, if you spent your whole life in a cave looking at rocks, you'd have a hard time believing someone who talked about the outside world with things like grass and the sun. The author says that in the film, "the cave is reality, rebels hide from demonic machines in the sewers of this post-apocalyptic world, while those who dwell in the illusions of the Matrix bask in the sun" (Rothstein, 2003).This comparison is logical, because it in some way reverses Plato's allegory. Those who live in the matrix are comfortable and feel that everything they experience is real. Viewers are shocked to discover what true reality is, and he struggles to believe that this dark world is actually real and that all the life he knew was fake. Another interesting point was how the rebels fighting the Matrix relied at least partially on other forms of technology in order to defeat the technology that was in control. The message here is that “it is by liberating our minds…that we achieve freedom.” Ironically, to liberate the mind, rebels use virtual teaching machines and simulated combat arenas to learn how to fight terror with terror” (Boje, 2000). This casts a bit of a negative message about the film, as it shows how deep technology addiction runs and that even when technology is seen as controlling and evil, it still needs technology to work to defeat the technology that is controlling. It's never a good situation when the only way to defeat something is to use it against itself, it creates a "fight fire with fire" situation. This is one of many negative messages about technology presented in this film. Another negative message applies to school systems. An expert took the image of humans living in a gigantic field of tube-fed pods with no freedom and made connections to the education systems in place today. The expert states that “when the dominant notion of education is student making, there is no possibility of student self-creation” (Cook-Sather, 2003). This is an interesting connection that doesn't have much to do exactly. with the film itself, but paints a clear picture of what some think about today's education systems.They believe that schools treat students the way mainstream technology treats humans, that they lock them down and feed them their opinions and leave them no room for creativity. Regardless of what one thinks of current educational systems, it is interesting to see how far-reaching the interpretations of this highly influential film are. Some experts criticized the film, saying that the film's creators took a bunch of ideas from other films and put them together. Among creators, one expert said, "They know a heartbreaking story when they see one, and they're not afraid to steal—excuse me, appropriate—their superiors' ideas if it suits their purpose" ( O'Sullivan, 1999). Some people are OK with that, but others would say that it's overkill and that even though they took some basic ideas, they made it original enough to give The Matrix its own unique feel. (Maslin, 1999). These are just some of the opinions that can be found regarding interpretations of The Matrix. This is definitely a film that has sparked many conversations on all kinds of topics. My Opinion Personally, I agree with most of what I've read about the film, with a few exceptions. I don't think the creators just recycled ideas from other films and put them together. I think The Matrix was a very original and unique film. To say that a film considered revolutionary is a regurgitation of previous films is simply false. I really like the comparisons with Plato's allegory of the cave. It's interesting to think about reality and how it is different for each person. This is seen in the film when Neo returns to the Matrix after learning that it is fake. He sees all the people living their lives without even questioning whether what they are experiencing is real or not. If he tried to tell any of them that they live inside a computer, they would think he was crazy, just like the people inside the cave in the allegory would think that anyone who tries to describe grass or sunlight to them is crazy. I love how the rebels in the film depend on technology, even to the point of using it to defeat the technology that rules them. I think this makes the message of the film much stronger and helps to show the dangers of relying on technology even more clearly. I think there is also some positivity in this message, in that the rebels were still able to use the human element and control certain laws of the matrix with their minds. This shows that humans will always have the advantage over technology as long as we retain our ability to reason and think critically. Conclusion It is very interesting how many connections can be made from this film and how people can find topics from all over to analyze based on the massages in The Matrix. The message that the filmmaker is trying to convey in this film about reality is that what it is is only a matter of who you talk about. Reality is defined as “the world or state of things as they exist” (Miriam Webster). Everyone is different, and we see things differently, it varies from person to person although sometimes we think that the term reality is a universal term, and we all share the same conception of it. In the film, we introduced a character, Neo Anderson, where he expects to wake up from a "dream". His "real world" reality has always been an illusion or dream, therefore, it resembles his idea of ​​the reality of his real life and his feeling that it is a dream. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper. (2004)..