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sakecat t1_je98ifl wrote

Reply to comment by The_Wise_Sultan in The Matrix (1999) - Reflection "Pills Swap" by The_Wise_Sultan

Ok. Got ya. Your thoughts on the symbolism are good. Have the directors spoke about it or is there any info on the commentary track?

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The_Wise_Sultan OP t1_je99mxl wrote

In a sense, he picks the red pill to keep dreaming about the illusion of control. Thus the reflection "hand swap". He picks the red pill to keep dreaming.

Edit: Idk man, once I though a little bit about it, it seemed so obvious.

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sakecat t1_je99w1o wrote

I see what you are saying but disagree completely. I could maybe stretch it to say he takes the red pill to keep hope alive but wouldn’t say he wanted to keep dreaming

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The_Wise_Sultan OP t1_je9a9gq wrote

Not consciously, no. But he still believes in a bigger lie that is control and choice. Choice by the way, he never had. He was always meant to be the one. As the oracle says: "It seems like you are waiting for something".

In this scene he picks the red pill to wake up, but only later on the movie (after his death) he trully understands the reality of the matrix. Until then he just takes the red pill to have control of his life. So he changes one lie for another, in a sense.

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sakecat t1_je9ak0z wrote

By your logic, the whole choice is an illusion. Because if he is fated to be the one without any real free will than there was actually no choice. Using that logic sort of unravels the whole point imo

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The_Wise_Sultan OP t1_je9b2ap wrote

I believe the movies follow a sequence: the first he believes (erronously) that he have a choice. In the second, he finds out he never had one. And in the third, he makes one.

I believe the movie makes a good point about the difference between choice and control. At the end of the movies he have no control. But he makes the choice to save Trinity. Choice, withouth control. "What will really break your mind, is what would have happened if I had'nt said anything".

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Tacosaurusman t1_je9u8rp wrote

Isn't the only one actually making a difference in the movies Agent Smith, by glitching up the Matrix like a virus? The whole story about Neo being the One is already calculated in by the machines.

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The_Wise_Sultan OP t1_jebwh9y wrote

In a sense yes, but Neo also went off the path and chose Trinity over Zion, which never happened before.

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The_Wise_Sultan OP t1_je990ic wrote

I'm desperate to find anyone else that found the same conections that I did. It's a very fast scene so most people don't really look into it. I'm trying to bring attention to the topic to see what else people thinks of this. Maybe I'm over analyzing, but my intuition says it's deliberate foreshadowing.

Edit: To awnser your question, I found nothing on this topic. Nothing!

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