The Warshowski’s admitted Ghost in the Shell was the strongest influence … and why they went on to create the Animatrix films.
A bong hit, followed by a scanning of a notebook from a freshman Philosophy class.
That selection from Morrison is amazing. How often do you see someone so brutally vindictive of another artist? I understand where he’s coming from… anybody who cares about their art would go insane if someone basically repackaged it and resold it. Still, this is a hell of an indictment.
His account in itself doesn’t prove anything to me, even taking it at 100% factually true… however, I’ve not read The Invisibles, so I don’t know how identical the two stories are. As far as Morrison’s book being handed out to the production crew… who cares? Everybody who works in design is aware of their influences, and the more aware and precise you can be, the better. Molding an aesthetic that’s heavily influenced by another work is par for the course, and asking for something to “look like this” isn’t synonymous with demanding an exact copy.
BUT again — I know The Invisibles is an incredibly influential work. I haven’t read it. I don’t know if The Matrix really reads as a rebranding of all the same content. Is Morrison really on target about his work being stolen? Or is he being a bit paranoid?
“Is Morrison really on target about his work being stolen? Or is he being a bit paranoid?”
Mostly the latter, I think. The Invisibles isn’t one of my favorites anymore but is so much more complex and dense than the Matrix that the influence seems marginal at best to me. Morrison is talented but he is kind of a crank. The Matrix is a very simple minded rip-off of a lot of more worthwhile material. If anyone should sue it should be any audience member who thought that crap was profound. It’s a cool action movie if you like that sort of thing. Nothing more.
It’s worth noting that the Invisibles is a deeply personal work for Morrison, reflective of his own life experiences throughout the undertaking of it (and he, in turn, began undertaking life experiences reflective of the work he was doing for the Invisibles, creating some sort of unholy feedback loop). I think he’d feel less slighted if he thought one of his work-for-hire superhero books was being ripped off.
He also loves to have a go at sacred cows. We’re talking about the guy who said that “when nerds have too much power, that’s how you get Hitler” earlier this year.
But who knows.
Obviously there is a sci fi influence, but philosophically, the Matrix is quite similar to Plato’s cave allegory.
On one of the special features I remember heraing or reading?? that when they were pitching the film they would show Ghost in the Shell and commented that was what they wanted to do live action, Though i think nearly all of the points raised are valid as The matrix is such a mish mash of ideas and inspirations and themes
Moderated
Well actually Akira is the movie that started all the crazy sci-fi film genre in 1988 which spawned movies like The Matrix Trilogy, Ghost in the Shell, Animatrix, etc.
excuse my total lack of interest. Joseph Campbell is a good one, dink’s.
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
Wachowski once said that had he made the film as a school project, he would have been expelled for plagerism, haha.
Philip K. Dick. Valis anyone?
William Gibson is a name that a lot of people like to throw around because he popularized the cyberpunk sub-genre, etc. but before Gibson there was Dick. To answer the question proposed by the thread, it’s most likely whatever influenced Dick – gnosticism probably?
To give u guys the wholesome truth, (as i consider it as my duty to awaken the whole of humanity), it is the “Bhagwad Gita’s” Chapter 3 “Karma Yoga” which inspired Matrix and all other such works…Bhagwad Gita is the oldest philosophical book, which is beyond doubt the best philosophical book ever written. Even socrates, plato and the greatest of philosophers couldn’t find contradictions in this spiritual philosophical book…So guys try and realize the reality and just dont live in the self created dream world, which is what captivating your intelligence…
// Asatoma Sadgamaya
Thamaso Maa Jyothir Gamaya
Mrithyor Maa Amrutham Gamaya
Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi //
heard of this shloka (verse) ….this is a verse from gita which was the theme song of “Matrix Revolutions”
and to tell u more…listen to Neo’s interaction with the character Rama Kandra “Sati’s father”…think about it guys
Aristrotle himself acclaimed Gita as the philosophy beyond dualities…which is both empirically and logically proven
To give u guys the wholesome truth, (as i consider it as my duty to awaken the whole of humanity), it is the “Bhagwad Gita’s” Chapter 3 “Karma Yoga” which inspired Matrix and all other such works…Bhagwad Gita is the oldest philosophical book, which is beyond doubt the best philosophical book ever written. Even socrates, plato and the greatest of philosophers couldn’t find contradictions in this spiritual philosophical book…So guys try and realize the reality and just dont live in the self created dream world, which is what captivating your intelligence…
// Asatoma Sadgamaya
Thamaso Maa Jyothir Gamaya
Mrithyor Maa Amrutham Gamaya
Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi //
heard of this shloka (verse) ….this is a verse from gita which was the theme song of “Matrix Revolutions”
and to tell u more…listen to Neo’s interaction with the character Rama Kandra “Sati’s father”…think about it guys
sorry for the repetition…error in connection
The whole ‘we were influenced by Baudrillard’ thing is a load of rubbish that the Brothers came up with to make them sound smart. Even Baudrillard said they misrepresented his ideas, although oddly enough he claims The Truman Show is a better example of what he is talking about but anyway. The ‘artificial reality’ plot is a sci-fi cliche. Nobody ‘owns’ it. Matrix put a novel spin on a well worn trope in sci-fi and created an interesting hybrid action film that was unique for its time. I’m not of it really, but they did well.
much prefer Dark City though.
doesn’t matter what you or what ur society thinks or believes…majority doesn’t makes things right…what is eternal truth can’t ever be mis-leaded…sorry to disappoint and bring u all to face the reality…spoon doesn’t bend, its you that bend, coz spoon doesn’t exist at all, its delusion ur senses have created
Raghav, are you a solipsist?
apursansar
Another influence seems to have been Neon Genesis Evangelion as well as Plato´s philosophy.