The Matrix is everywhere - you can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes, or when controversial figures completely misunderstand it on the internet. The Wachowski sisters' Matrix trilogy not only left a groundbreaking cinematic legacy, the blend of stylish action and thought-provoking philosophy had a lasting impact upon the consciousness of pop culture, immortalizing concepts such as the red pill, glitches in the Matrix, and how to look good in a floor-length leather coat. The Matrix tapped into an innate psychological fear that all society is a lie, and those themes remain relevant over 20 years later.

Weirdly, The Matrix has also been dragged kicking and screaming into a culture war. The film and its concepts have been referenced by a slew of public figures occupying the more divisive end of the social spectrum, most recently trending thanks to YouTube star Logan Paul, and each of them twists The Matrix in a way that either runs counter to its intended meaning, or has little basis in reality. Somehow, The Matrix has become a go-to buzzword for personalities who completely misunderstand the film, whether accidentally or through willful ignorance.

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The Matrix's Modern Misinterpretation Trend Explained

Red Pill Blue Pill in Matrix

While The Matrix's vernacular had already been adopted by fringe groups and online activists, the film's strange new placement in modern society first became headline news thanks to Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump in 2020, with Musk tweeting, "Take the red pill," and Ivanka replying, "Taken." Sadly more than just two film buffs quoting from their favorite sci-fi classic, the "red pill" comment marked a shift in which a term previously hijacked by controversial men's rights movements was taken mainstream by the president's daughter and one of the world's richest businessmen. Immediately, this surprise rebranding of the Matrix red pill idea felt disconnected from what the film was actually about.

Exactly what Musk and Ivanka meant by "take the red pill" was never clear, but it has similarities to the style of pro-conspiracy rhetoric seen throughout Donald Trump's political career, in the aftermath of Joe Biden's election, and elsewhere. In an astounding turn of events, a Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne scene from a 1999 sci-fi movie had become a rallying cry for the political hard-right - an insinuation that society must wake up to "the truth" that "they" were trying to conceal. Co-director Lilly Wachowski's reply to Musk and Ivanka - "F**k both of you" - left little doubt this interpretation of The Matrix mythology was an inaccurate distortion.

Unfortunately, Lilly's clear-cut response to the meaning of The Matrix being contorted in such a way has done little to stop the misinterpretation spreading. In January 2023, self-proclaimed misogynist and social media personality Andrew Tate was arrested in Romania on disturbing charges of human trafficking and rape. Tate quickly posted "The Matrix has attacked me" - the latest example of him blaming the elusive "Matrix" like it were some intangible, invisible enemy. Continuing that trend, Logan Paul later tweeted "the matrix is real. pray you never become its target" as he became embroiled in a cryptocurrency scandal.

Why So Many Controversial Figures Misunderstand The Matrix

The Matrix 4 Is A Love Story Says Keanu Reeves

Tate and Paul's The Matrix references once again bring a social spotlight onto how an innocent film about missing spoons and bending over backwards has adopted a very different meaning that bears no correlation with the movie's true themes. The story and meaning of Matrix is designed to be interpreted in many different ways, and each new viewing can bring a fresh nugget of commentary to the surface. The Machines dominating humanity can be viewed as a critique of capitalism, whereas Neo's journey highlights the difference between free will and the illusion of choice. Lilly Wachowski has also described the story as a transgender allegory.

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Despite its malleable symbolism, the above examples of The Matrix being trumpeted loudly on social media are impossible to support using the film itself. The Machines' Matrix simulation may carry an anti-establishment message, but speaks more to humanity as a species than as a dividing line between political or social values. If anything, The Matrix having transgender allusions and the comparison between the Machines and real-world dictatorships push the narrative more toward a left-leaning stance. Andrew Tate and Logan Paul, meanwhile, utilize The Matrix as a boogeyman - a suggestion that, rather than facing allegations of wrongdoing, they are victims of a grand conspiracy that only the truly special can see.

Ultimately, there is no logical explanation behind why Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump claim to be redpills, or why social media personalities are seeing Agent Smith around every corner. In all cases, The Matrix's mythology is being used as a deliberately vague justification for a personal agenda - culturally-recognizable phrases like "taking the red pill" and "matrix" that encourage so-called free-thinking while simultaneously holding up a distorted lens. That casts an unjust stain upon the Matrix franchise's legacy. Echoing how Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA" was willfully misinterpreted as a patriotic anthem, The Matrix's association with controversial figures is proving hard to shake, despite the abundance of obvious contradictions.

The Matrix's Real Meaning Is More Relevant Than Ever (Because People Get It Wrong)

Keanu Reeves as Neo in the Matrix Architect scene

One of the most prominent messages throughout The Matrix is the choice between a difficult truth and a convenient lie. The Matrix's entire red pill and blue pill scene is really an adaptation of Plato's Allegory of the Cave, in which a group of prisoners chained to a wall only experience the world through shadows, limiting their understanding of reality to these dark shapes. The prisoner freed from the cave must adjust his eyes to the sun before accepting the outside world as their true reality. Neo, like the liberated prisoner in the Allegory of the Cave, becomes accustomed to the real world and returns to free his fellow prisoners.

As The Matrix's symbolism becomes increasingly misused by right-wing political figures and social media personalities embroiled in criminal accusations and scandal, the story's real meaning becomes more pertinent than ever. The Matrix is a tale about discovering truth, and whatever one might think of the public figures invoking its name, the Wachowskis' work is being misunderstood in a way that is clearly unfaithful to the creators' original intention. That alone highlights how the need to dispel deception and keep tangible, quantifiable reality in sight is even more vital now that it was in 1999 when The Matrix released.

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