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You have to wonder why they didn't just jack into their local instance of the Matrix to eat lunch, while the goop goes in through a food tube or whatever.

by pram 4y ago

edanm 4y ago
Yes! That's long been my biggest criticism of The Matrix, much more than the whole "but humans would make terrible batteries" thing. The whole motivation of Cypher is because he wants to be plugged back in, and the movie presents it as him being sick and tired and the drab life aboard the ship. But they literally have a VR env that is completely realistic, and can give them any experience they want. The best food, the best entertainment, the "Lady in Red", etc.
- gurchik 4y ago
  Because it wasn't real. Cypher says ignorance is bliss but that's the opposite that everyone else feels. They'd rather eat slop they know is real. Even the suggestion of trying to go back to the Matrix willingly was seen as a betrayal. Mouse offers to set up a private meeting between Neo and the Lady in Red but he doesn't accept and we never heard of anyone else accepting.
  - huffer 4y ago
    But indeed, if they had the _option_ to escape from reality from time to time, people like Cypher would be happier (I know I am when I do it :D). Indeed the irony of partaking precisely in the thing that you fight against is there; however, what they actually fight against is the enslavement by it, not the casual enjoyment of it: it's bad to be a medieval serf forced to toil the soil, it's quite another thing to play gardener to take your mind off the day.. They have an unsophisticated, binary view of the world (for plot reasons, I guess) while some nuance and tolerance would have had made a more realistic and_human_take on the situation.
    - Teever 4y ago
      Agent Smith: Do we have a deal, Mr. Reagan? Cypher: You know, I know this steak doesn’t exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss. Agent Smith: Then we have a deal? Cypher: I don’t want to remember nothing. Nothing. You understand? And I want to be rich. You know, someone important. Like an actor. Agent Smith: Whatever you want, Mr. Reagan. Cypher: Okay. I get my body back into a power plant, re-insert me into the Matrix, I’ll get you what you want. Cypher didn't just want to eat fake steak, to him that wasn't enough. Ignorance is bliss. He wanted to eat fake steak and not know that it was fake.
    - gurchik 4y ago
      To add to this, in most media that shows virtual reality, people who are addicted to it are also shown. Those people, even knowing it is not real, still enjoy riding roller coasters or whatever. Yet in The Matrix franchise there isn't a single person (that I know of) that is addicted to training programs or some such.
- jorvi 4y ago
  > "but humans would make terrible batteries" thing I'm not sure if you actually know this, but AFAIK initially the script writers wanted it to be 'the human brain as CPU' but the studio was afraid the general movie populace (back in 1999) wouldn't know what a CPU was and thus wouldn't jive with it.
- yessirwhatever 4y ago
  The biggest thing cypher wanted was to forget first, that’s the only way he could handle it after knowing the truth. Unreal can never be as good as real.

You have to wonder why they didn't just jack into their local instance of the Matrix to eat lunch, while the goop goes in through a food tube or whatever.

by pram 4y ago

You have to wonder why they didn't just jack into their local instance of the Matrix to eat lunch, while the goop goes in through a food tube or whatever.

edanm 4y ago

Yes! That's long been my biggest criticism of The Matrix, much more than the whole "but humans would make terrible batteries" thing. The whole motivation of Cypher is because he wants to be plugged back in, and the movie presents it as him being sick and tired and the drab life aboard the ship. But they literally have a VR env that is completely realistic, and can give them any experience they want. The best food, the best entertainment, the "Lady in Red", etc.

gurchik 4y ago
Because it wasn't real. Cypher says ignorance is bliss but that's the opposite that everyone else feels. They'd rather eat slop they know is real. Even the suggestion of trying to go back to the Matrix willingly was seen as a betrayal. Mouse offers to set up a private meeting between Neo and the Lady in Red but he doesn't accept and we never heard of anyone else accepting.
- huffer 4y ago
  But indeed, if they had the _option_ to escape from reality from time to time, people like Cypher would be happier (I know I am when I do it :D). Indeed the irony of partaking precisely in the thing that you fight against is there; however, what they actually fight against is the enslavement by it, not the casual enjoyment of it: it's bad to be a medieval serf forced to toil the soil, it's quite another thing to play gardener to take your mind off the day.. They have an unsophisticated, binary view of the world (for plot reasons, I guess) while some nuance and tolerance would have had made a more realistic and_human_take on the situation.
  - Teever 4y ago
    Agent Smith: Do we have a deal, Mr. Reagan? Cypher: You know, I know this steak doesn’t exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss. Agent Smith: Then we have a deal? Cypher: I don’t want to remember nothing. Nothing. You understand? And I want to be rich. You know, someone important. Like an actor. Agent Smith: Whatever you want, Mr. Reagan. Cypher: Okay. I get my body back into a power plant, re-insert me into the Matrix, I’ll get you what you want. Cypher didn't just want to eat fake steak, to him that wasn't enough. Ignorance is bliss. He wanted to eat fake steak and not know that it was fake.
  - gurchik 4y ago
    To add to this, in most media that shows virtual reality, people who are addicted to it are also shown. Those people, even knowing it is not real, still enjoy riding roller coasters or whatever. Yet in The Matrix franchise there isn't a single person (that I know of) that is addicted to training programs or some such.
jorvi 4y ago
> "but humans would make terrible batteries" thing I'm not sure if you actually know this, but AFAIK initially the script writers wanted it to be 'the human brain as CPU' but the studio was afraid the general movie populace (back in 1999) wouldn't know what a CPU was and thus wouldn't jive with it.
yessirwhatever 4y ago
The biggest thing cypher wanted was to forget first, that’s the only way he could handle it after knowing the truth. Unreal can never be as good as real.