I’m feeling kinda Matrix-y today, so I’ll finally attempt to recreate the essay on the background of the film which was cruelly deleted. I doubt this will be as good as the original (which took about 45 minutes to write), but I want it out of the way. In fact, it’s about a million times shorter and is really just a bunch of links now. For shame.
First up is Reloaded Questions, an article which focusses on the inspiration of the film, and how the sharp philosophy interestingly contrasts the less cerebral kung-fu moments. Keeping a balance between the ideas and the action, the thinking man and the mainstream, is difficult enough but in a sequel of this magnitude it must be damn near impossible.
Next is Tantek’s look at Burning Chrome, William Gibson’s seminal book of cyberpunk short stories. It introduced the concept of an abstract virtual world known as, you guessed it, the matrix. Lots of terminology found in The Matrix originated here and in the remainder of Gibson’s work.
Interestingly, The Matrix starred Keanu Reeves, who also starred in the awful film of Johnny Mnemonic, the first story in Gibson’s Burning Chrome. Gibson defends it as not being the version they shot, and with a writer like that, I believe him.
And that’s it. I did write a lot more originally but fate told me it was not meant to be.