Akkam’s Razor

There are few things that resonate within webculture at as high a frequency as the original Matrix.

It's a compelling narrative.  Thomas Anderson works all day in his cube, but spends all night trying to answer a question, solve a puzzle, sometimes engaging in illegal activities.  At some elemental level, his knows that his senses are lying to him - the world cannot be as he perceives. 

This search attracts the attention of the Agents, who preemptively seek to discourage him from moving further in his search.  Likewise, Morpheus is also seeking him out, believing that he may be "the one".

Mr. Anderson narrowly escapes the Agents, is rescued by Morpheus, and given a choice - stay safe within the encapsulated truth that he is wrapped in, or shed that "truth" and confront the hard, bitter reality.  He chooses the red pill.  In doing so, the world he knows is ripped apart, and he is forced to accept a reality he initially cannot fathom - everything he knows is a lie, a construct meant to keep him docile, as a cog in the machine, producing, consuming, but never questioning.  Those that question are a deviation, and are to be eliminated.

At the end of the movie, Neo confronts the Agents, previously thought to be unbeatable.  He is, of course, killed.  But through the act of his death, he is reborn.  And in his rebirth, another truth is revealed.  The Agents are unbeatable because they operate within their own truth, a truth which is quite different from the truth that mere mortals operate in.  Physics, biology, and chemistry are all immaterial.  Only after dying, only after truly accepting that all he knows is wrong, can Neo fight the agents and win.

There are many metaphors that can be made.  Religion.  Consumerism.  Academia.  And of course, Politics.  I hope through the following analogy, I can somehow embrace the heritage of the enlightenment and encourage people to examine society, recognize reality, challenge it, reject and destroy it, and then redefine it according to their own new truth.  And if that truth is not acceptable, repeat as necessary.