Further Reading

Podcast Episode

Cerise Townsend and Vicky Osterweil, ‘The Matrix Episode’, Cerise and Vicky Rank the Movies [LINK]

Film critics Cerise Townsend and Vicky Osterweil discuss The Matrix in relation to the sequels (The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and The Matrix Resurrections (2021)). They chat about the strengths and weaknesses of each film and how the franchise has developed.

Magazine Article

Emily St. James, ‘How The Matrix universalized a trans experience – and helped me accept my own’, vox.com (2019) [LINK]

Journalist Emily St. James looks back on The Matrix twenty years on. She reflects on her experience watching it as a trans woman and how the fact of Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s coming out as trans has impacted the film’s legacy.

Academic Article

Cerise L. Glenn and Landra J Cunningham, ‘The Power of Black Magic: The Magical Negro and White Salvation in Film’, Journal of Black Studies, 42:2 (2009) 135-152. [LINK]

Cerise L. Glenn and Landra J. Cunningham discuss the significance of race in The Matrix alongside a number of other films from the late 90s/early 00s. They write about the fact that the inclusion of black characters is not enough to ensure that a film avoids racist stereotypes.

Academic Book

Cáel M Keegan, Lana and Lilly Wachowski (2018) [LINK]

Cáel M. Keegan analyses The Matrix in relation to the Wachowskis’ other films. He identifies what he calls a trans* aesthetic in their film making style and interest in digital spaces.

Background Reading

Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation (1981) [LINK]

This is a book which Neo has in his flat in The Matrix. Jean Baudrillard’s theory of what it means to live in contemporary culture, based around his understanding of ‘the simulacra’ – the copy without an original – was very influential on the Wachowskis.