Words cannot express how abysmal “A Glitch in the Matrix” was. But more importantly, it’s worth mentioning just how dangerous this documentary actually is for today’s troubled youth and modern technology. Premiering at Sundance Film Festival 2021, comes “A Glitch in the Matrix,” directed by Rodney Ascher (Room 237) which provides so much toxicity behind simulation theory and uses pop-culture and the technology today’s youth has grown accustomed to, as a justification for why it’s not crazy to believe that the world we live in, may not be the world we think it is.
“Simulation Theory”, in its barest form presents a question as to how “real” the world around us really is. In pop-culture, it’s known as “The Matrix” trilogy. But do not confuse the two, as the social, moral, and ethical value behind the theory is significantly lacking. The film’s skeleton is predicated upon the conspiracy theories that were manufactured by sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick, beginning with his 1977 speech in France titled, “If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some of the Others.”
Dick, known for authoring dark futuristic works such as A Scanner Darkly, The Man in the High Castle, Minority Report, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and We Can Remember It For You, confesses that back in 1974, a dose of Sodium Pentothal for impacted wisdom teeth allowed him to have this epiphany, which he refers to as an “acute flash” of a “recovered memory” about a world and life that was not his own.
“Glitch” attempts to *dangerously* convince viewers that The Matrix actually is real; that we all need to “wake up”, which helps to explain why they believe simulation theory was the inspiration behind many groundbreaking works like Terminator, The Adjustment Bureau, Bladerunner, among others. In other words, we are all living in a modern-day Truman Show. But what is coincidentally looked over, is that the gaming examples that interview subjects continue to present, are games and ideas that they themselves have created, so of course it makes sense. Sound familiar?
Confirmation bias. An example of this is the delusional series of beliefs that former U.S. President Donald Trump has brought to courts, claiming election fraud and that the election was stolen from him. In essence, an individual wants so much for a fact or set of facts to be true, so they choose to believe they are. A dangerous mentality with no rainbows at the end.
“What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient…highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain, it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed – fully understood – that sticks; right in there somewhere.”
If you haven’t seen Christopher Nolan’s Inception, it couldn’t hurt to explore the world of memories, extraction, and what it means to “plant an idea” into someone else’s stream of consciousness. Unfortunately, this documentary is nothing more but an attempt at feeding the confirmation bias of troubled minds who truly believe the world they live in, is not real. Throughout the film, interview subjects make reference to countless pop-culture works, including, but not limited to The Wizard of Oz, The Truman Show, Minority Report, Total Recall, Terminator, Rick and Morty, and of course, The Matrix. But the bastardization of these notable works wasn’t the worst part about this documentary gone wrong.
The darkest part of this film was the deep focus on Joshua Cooke and the infamous “Matrix Defense.” If you haven’t heard of this defense, it really is a legal defense that individuals since 1999 have tried to bring before the court, unsuccessfully of course. Derived from The Wachowski Siblings’ Matrix trilogy, “The Matrix Defense” is legal insanity plea based upon the idea that we live in a simulated world, to which we must free ourselves from, at the cost of either our own life, or someone else’s. Disturbingly, this is an actual legal defense that has been very difficult to successfully prove.
Cooke, a Matrix fanatic who at 19-years-old, brutally murdered his parents with a 12-gauge shotgun in cold-blood in 2003. In efforts to bring a successful “insanity” defense, Cooke eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 40 years in jail. He isn’t scheduled for release until 2040.
“A Glitch in the Matrix” opens in select theaters and on-demand Feb. 5, but please do not allow your children to watch this film. This is extremely poisonous and dangerous to those who are easily susceptible to misguided conspiracy theories.
