It's Die Hard in a simulation!
This week, hosts Phil and Liam are following the white rabbit into one of the most prophetic and influential movie of the 90s - The Matrix (1999) - with special guest Matt Zoller Seitz, the renowned Editor at Large of rogerebert.com. He is a Features Writer at New York Magazine, and is the author of many books, including books on Wes Anderson, Mad Men, The Sopranos, and many more. Matt not only loves this movie, but talks eloquently about how it changed his life.
Released in the banner year of 1999, The Matrix follows Thomas Anderson, a mild-mannered software engineer who moonlights as a notorious hacker known as Neo, discovers to his horror that the world he lives in is actually an elaborate simulated reality created by intelligent machines who have subjugated humanity. Guided by the enigmatic resistance leader Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and the skilled warrior Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Neo learns the truth about the Matrix and his potential role as "The One," a prophesied savior who can bend, and perhaps break, its rules. As he battles powerful Agents led by the ruthless Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), Neo must embrace his destiny and free his mind to prevent the machines' enslavement of humanity.
We talk about the film's unexpected connections to Die Hard (Kinda blowing Matt's mind), the movie's philosophical complexity (Plato! Descartes! Baurdrillard!), it's appropriation by both the right and left-wing, and if it can be seen, 26 years on, as being somewhat optimistic. We also talk about the culture-chaning action, the amazing performances by Reeves, Moss, Fishburne, and Weaving, and how the movie's style hasn't aged a day.
So call your operator and strap in for one of our most mind-blowing episodes yet!
Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.