Deconstruct The Matrix trilogy using the cultural theories of Jean Baudrillard and Friedrich Nietzsche

Introduction

Present essay develops deconstruction of popular Hollywood trilogy The Matrix , directed by Wachowski brothers in 1999 . Deconstruction technique was first conceptually introduced by Derrida and consequently has evolved in many theories , relating to postmodernist thought Deconstruction of the first part of The Matrix trilogy will be , however based on cultural theories of Baudrillard and Nietzsche . The choice of Nietzsche 's philosophy is not paradoxical , because it had a profound influence on deconstruction and post-structuralism in general and his famous On the Genealogy of Morality may be regarded as the genuine

br practice of deconstruction applied to Christianity , communist movement and Western civilization

Matrix as the object of deconstruction

Deconstruction may be characterized as the practice of philosophical and cultural critique , which seeks to expose stable metaphysical structures and oppositions (such as good and evil , divine and earthly etc , which are hidden in the discursive system of a cultural product , be it a literary work , a movie or a scientific text (Derrida 10 . In this view we will use critical cultural concepts developed by Baudrillard and Nietzsche to show basic ideological oppositions and structures , on which The Matrix is based . The Matrix is a cultural product par excellence with embedded ideological meanings and relations between signifier and signified . Moreover , its blockbuster status is premised on simplification of the inherent cultural and philosophical content in favor of immediate commercial success . Therefore , Matrix represents juxtaposition of cultural and economic structures , which directly refers to Baudrillard 's theory of sign and meaning . Let us...