Contact me - marensdasein@gmail.com
Fitting that I should break my silence on this blog today of all days. It is the international day of Trans Visibility. If you couldn't tell from my website color pallet, my website logo, or my constant references on here and on social media I'm transgender! Transfem non-binary to be precise. Which is to say, I am more woman than I am man. On that note, I recently got my HRT dosage upped so I'm looking forward to more dramatic changes on that front happening more rapidly. Unfortunately, This does mean taking twice the previous dosage of a diuretic (the T-blocker Spironolactone) so thats been somthing to deal with. Also, legislative attacks on trans people in Kansas and at the federal level continue to be more then a little scary, but I'm still fortunate enough that I'm still isolated from any direct impact on my life. Really I've just been transing harder. I make visibility a priority in my life. I work a public facing job with the local government, and I'm out at work. I wear a pronoun pin daily and present as trans as possible hoping that my presence shows people we are here, we aren't going anywhere, and we are not ashamed. I also hope that my visibility communicates to closeted co-workers or members of the public that even if their situation currently makes them feel unsafe to come out, that may only be a temporary situation and there is a life out of the closet.
By a bizarre and really cool cosmic coincidence Trans Day of Visibility is the same day that "The Matrix" was released in theaters 27 years ago! Not only was this modern classic of sci-fi written and directed by transwomen (Lana and Lilly Wachowski), but "transness" is woven deep into the fabric of the very concept of "The Matrix". The protagonist's arc or "transition" from Thomas Anderson to Neo maps pretty cleanly onto a story of self-discovery and acceptance that is very familiar to myself and many of my trans siblings.
I, of course LOVE The Matrix all of it. The Matrix, The Animatrix, The Matrix Comics, Enter the Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix The Path of Neo, and The Matrix Resurrections. Everything that still exists anyway. I missed out on The Matrix Online. Frustratingly, This is not the majority opinion of "Matrix" fans. Oh sure, the first movie is uncontroversial, the anciliary media such as the videogames and comics are at least appreciated for what they are, but the sequels are a bit less liked. Reloaded and Revolutions I do somewhat understand. They suffer from being a single three to four hour movie extended to about five hours and split into two two and a half hour movies. The Matrix Resurrections is a whole other issue.
The Matrix Resurrections (directed by Lana Wachowski alone) isn't good in the way that The Matrix Trilogy before it was good. Its action is more chaotic and stylistically subdued, it backgrounds the broader world to focus on Trinity and Neo's relationship, and recasts beloved characters with either different actors, radically different characterizations, or, in the case of Morpheus, both. It doesn't take much lurking in "The Matrix" fanspaces to find most people saying The Matrix Resurrections is a movie made deliberatly bad out of spite in a misguided attempt to salt the earth of the franchise and ensure no one would make another Matrix movie. The argument makes some sense if you've followed the production of the film. Naturally, after the massive success of The Matrix Trilogy Warner Bros. was eager for more, and in the interveaning years between the third and fourth movies The Wachowskis were approached multiple times to write and direct another film. They turned WB down every time. They told the story they wanted to tell, and weren't interested in adding anything else to it. Warner Bros. for their part, moved forward with plans without them with Michael B. Jordan rumored to be attached to a new Matrix film. Then Lana Wachowski approaches WB with an idea for a Matrix movie she wants to write and direct so of course WB says yes. Then The Matrix Resurrections opens with game designer, Thomas Anderson, being told that his parent company, Warner Brothers, is going to be making a sequel to his hit game trilogy "The Matrix" with or without him. This Matrix IV project turns out to be a soul less design by committee and buzzword laden process. The comodification of his artistic vision, throws Thomas Anderson into a near suicidal depression. If you turn off the movie there I'd agree with the consensus. That would be a pretty bad movie that hates its own existence, but what happens next? Thomas Anderson, Neo, is saved by a Matrix fan: a blue haired hacker girl named "Bugs" (a white rabbit ha ha). Who tells him that he can still break out of the system and be a hero. The movie ends with this 3 way exchange between Neo, Trinity, and The Analyist (a representation of the malevolent forces running The Matrix.
Neo: We’re not here to negotiate anything.
Trinity: We were on our way to remake your world.
Neo: Change a few things.
Trinity: I kind of like the “paint the sky with rainbows” idea.
Neo: Just remind people what a free mind can do.
Trinity: I forgot. It’s easy to forget.
Neo: He makes it easy.
Trinity: That, he does.
Neo: Something he should think about.
Trinity: Before we got started, we decided to stop by to say thank you. You gave us something we never thought we could have.
The Analyst: And what is that?
Trinity: Another chance.
Even without context, it should be clear that Lana Wachowski wants to make more Matrix movies. She wants to "remake" The Matrix. Not in the literal sense of make the movie over, but to progress the franchise, and take it in a new direction: "show what a free mind can do" and "paint the sky with rainbows". She even semi-sarcastically thanks the forces of oppression that run society for giving her the chance to do so. Taken as a whole the Matrix Resurrections is about precisely the opposite of the fan consensus. Far from salting the earth of "The Matrix" and saying that nothing meaningful can be made within in the Matrix so the franchise should die, The movie demonstrates its creators coming to terms with the idea that personal, and artistic movies can still be made within The Matrix. There is so much more going on in the film, especially in terms of its trans themes, but this has gone on long enough so here's a few youtube videos about the film by video essayists I greatly respect. I wanted to focus on this idea that The Matrix was bad on purpose specifically, because the attitude is frequently dismissed as opposed to addressed.
So Happy Trans day of visibility to all my allies and especailly my Trans siblings, and most especailly my trans siblings who don't feel safe coming out. I fully understand it's terrifying out there. Stay safe!
Contact me - marensdasein@gmail.com