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Red pill and blue pill

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"Red pill" redirects here. For other uses, seeRed pill (disambiguation).

Red and bluecapsule pills

Thered pillandblue pillaremetaphoricalterms representing a choice between learning an unsettling or life-changing truth by taking the "red pill" or remaining in the contented experience of ordinary reality with the "blue pill". The pills were used as props in the 1999 filmThe Matrix.

InThe Matrix

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In the filmThe Matrix,the main characterNeo(played byKeanu Reeves) is offered the choice between a red pill and a blue pill by rebel leaderMorpheus(played byLaurence Fishburne). Morpheus says "You take the blue pill... the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill... you stay inWonderland,and I show you howdeep the rabbit hole goes."It is implied that the blue pill is asedativethat would cause Neo to think that all his most recent experiences were a hallucination, so that he can go back to living in the Matrix'ssimulated reality.The red pill, on the other hand, serves as a "location device" to locate the subject's body in the real world and to prepare them to be "unplugged" from the Matrix.[1]

Neo takes the red pill and awakens in the real world, where he is forcibly ejected from the liquid-filled chamber in which he has obliviously been lying. After his rescue and convalescence aboard Morpheus's ship, Morpheus shows him the true nature of the Matrix: a detailed computer simulation of Earth at the end of the 20th century (the actual year, though not known for sure, is suggested within the original movie to be approximately 200 years later, though it is revealed through sequelsThe Matrix Reloaded,The Matrix RevolutionsandThe Animatrixthat at least 700 years have passed). It has been created to keep the minds of humans docile while their bodies are stored in massive power plants, their body heat andbioelectricityconsumed as power by the sentient machines that have enslaved them.[2]

LaterMatrixfilms

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In a 2012 interview, Matrix directorLana Wachowskisaid:

What we were trying to achieve with the story overall was a shift, the same kind of shift that happens for Neo, that Neo goes from being in this sort of cocooned and programmed world, to having to participate in the construction of meaning to his life. And we're like, "Well, can the audience go through the three movies and experience something similar to what the main character experiences?" So the first movie is sort of classical in its approach. The second movie is deconstructionist, and it assaults all of the things that you thought to be true in the first movie, and so people get very upset, and they're like "Stop attacking me!" in the same way that people get upset with deconstructionist philosophy. I mean,DerridaandFoucault,these people upset us. And then the third movie is the most ambiguous because it asks you to actually participate in the construction of meaning...[3]

— Lana Wachowski,Movie City News,October 13, 2012

In the 2021 filmThe Matrix Resurrections,the Analyst uses blue pills to keep Neo's true memories suppressed in the guise of therapy sessions. Later, Neo takes another red pill before being freed from the Matrix once again by Bugs and her crew. In Trinity's case, she does not have to take the red pill again because of the way that Sati is freeing her from the Matrix. The red pills also allow friendly programs to leave the Matrix, as seen with the program version of Morpheus.

Analysis

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An essay written byRussell Blackforddiscusses the red and blue pills, questioning whether if a person were fully informed they would take the red pill, opting for the real world, believing that the choice of physical reality over a digital simulation is not so beneficial as to be valid for all people. Both Neo and another character,Cypher(Joe Pantoliano), take the red pill over the blue pill, though later in the firstMatrixfilm, the latter demonstrates regret for having made that choice, saying that if Morpheus fully informed him of the situation, Cypher would have told him to "shove the red pill right up [his] ass." When Cypher subsequently makes a deal with the machines to return to the Matrix and forget everything he had learned, he says, "Ignorance is bliss." Blackford argues that theMatrixfilms set things up so that even if Neo fails, the taking of the red pill is worthwhile because he lives and dies authentically. Blackford and science-fiction writerJames Patrick Kellyfeel thatThe Matrixstacks the deck against machines and their simulated world.[4]

Matrix Warrior: Being the Oneauthor Jake Horsley compared the red pill toLSD,citing a scene where Neo forms his own world outside of the Matrix. When he asks Morpheus if he could return, Morpheus responds by asking him if he would want to. Horsley also describes the blue pill as addictive, callingThe Matrixseries a continuous series of choices between taking the blue pill and not taking it. He adds that the habits and routines of people inside the Matrix are merely the people dosing themselves with the blue pill. While he describes the blue pill as a common thing, he states that the red pill is one of a kind, and something someone may not even find.[5]

Literary and philosophical allusions

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See also:The Matrix (franchise) § Influences and interpretations

The Matrix,and its sequels, contain numerous references toLewis Carroll's 1865 novelAlice's Adventures in Wonderlandand its 1872 sequelThrough the Looking-Glass.[6]TheAlice in Wonderlandmetaphor is made explicit in Morpheus's speech to Neo, with the phrases "white rabbit"and"down the rabbit hole",as well as the description of Neo's path of discovery as" Wonderland ". The concept of the red and blue pills has also been speculated to be a reference to the scene inAlice in WonderlandwhereAlicefinds a cake labelled "Eat Me" and a potion labelled "Drink Me": eating the cake makes Alice grow to an enormous size, while drinking the potion makes her tiny.[6]

The Matrixalso makes references to historical myths and philosophy, includinggnosticism,existentialism,andnihilism.[7][8]The central concept of the film has been compared toPlato'sAllegory of the Cave,[9][10]Zhuangzi's "Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly",René Descartes'sskepticism[11][12]andevil demon,Kant's reflections on thePhenomenonversus theDing an sich,Robert Nozick's "experience machine",[13]the concept of asimulated realityand thebrain in a vatthought experiment.[14][15]

The Wachowskis asked star Keanu Reeves to read three books before filming:Simulacra and Simulation(1981) byJean Baudrillard,Out of Control(1992) byKevin Kelly,andIntroducing Evolution(1999) byDylan Evans.[16]

Red pill as transgender allegory

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Fan theories have suggested that the red pill may represent an allegory fortransgender peopleor a story ofLana and Lilly Wachowski's history as coming out as transgender.[17][18]During the 1990s, a commontransgender hormone therapyfor trans women involvedPremarin,amaroontablet, while a common antidepressant prescribed to closeted trans women at the time,Prozac,was blue.[19]Lilly Wachowski stated in August 2020 that the filmmakers had intentionally included transgender themes in the film.[20]

As political metaphor

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The concept of red and blue pills has since been widely used as a political metaphor in the United States, especially among online hate culture, where "taking the red pill" or being "red-pilled" means becoming aware of purported political biases inherent in society, including in themainstream media,and supposedly thereby becoming an independent thinker; while "taking the blue pill" or being "blue-pilled" means unquestioningly accepting these purported biases.[21][22]The supposed truths revealed to those who refer to themselves as "red pilled" often includeconspiracy theories,as well asantisemitic,white supremacist,andmisogynisticbeliefs.[22][23]

Because of its common usage as a self-identifier among thealt-rightand others who subscribe toright wingbeliefs, the term "red pilled" is sometimes used by others to refer to the right.[24]

The first known political use of this metaphor is in the 2006 essay "The Red Pill" byUniversity of Coloradosociology professor Kathleen J. Tierney, in which she argued that those who felt that the U.S. government had a poor response toHurricane Katrinashould "take the red pill" and realize that "post-September 11policies and plans have actually made the nation more vulnerable, both to natural disasters and to future terrorist attacks. "[25]

The metaphor was then popularized in a different context by neo-reactionary bloggerCurtis Yarvin.[26]He first used it in a 2007 blog post written under the pseudonym Mencius Moldbug, and titled "The Case Against Democracy: Ten Red Pills"; in it he argues that trying to convince a Westerner that democracy is bad is like trying to convince "aCatholicin 16th-centurySpain... to stop believing in Catholicism ", but he then offers ten" red pill "arguments (along with their" blue pill "counterparts) to make a case against democracy.[27]

In some parts of themen's rights movementand themanosphere,the term "red pill" is used as a metaphor for the specific moment when a person comes to believe that certain gender roles they are expected to conform to, such as marriage and monogamy, are intended for the benefit of women alone, rather than for mutual benefit.[28][29]In 2016, a documentary titledThe Red Pill,about the men's rights movement, was released.

In 2017, political activist and commentatorCandace OwenslaunchedRed Pill Black,a website andYouTubechannel that promoteblack conservatism in the United States.The term is used as a metaphor for the process of rejecting previously believed leftist narratives.[30]

Black pill and white pill

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Main article:Incel § "Red pill" and "black pill"

The metaphor of the "black pill" was first popularized by theincel-related blogOmega Virgin Revolt.[31]In this parlance, being red-pilled means believing concepts like male oppression and femalehypergamy,while being black-pilled means coming to believe that there is little that low-status or unattractive men can do to improve their prospects for romantic or sexual relationships with women.[32]

This metaphor was extended to political matters, where, after being red-pilled (recognizing, and then rejecting, the dominant political narratives), one can then become either black-pilled (pessimistic or apathetic about the future), or white-pilled (hopeful about the future or believing change is possible.) This metaphor has been embraced by commentators includinglibertarianMichael Malice,whose 2022 bookThe White Pilladvocates the latter point of view.[33]Malice defines the term as, “It is possible that we will lose, it is impossible that we must lose.”

Other uses

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  • The 1990 filmTotal Recallhas a scene where the hero (played byArnold Schwarzenegger) is asked to swallow a red pill in order to symbolize his desire to return to reality from a dream-like fantasy.
  • In the 2004 bookThe Art of the Start,author Guy Kawasaki uses the red pill as an analog to the situation of leaders of new organizations, in that they face the same choice to either live in reality or fantasy. He adds that if they want to be successful, they have to take the red pill and see how deep the rabbit hole goes.[34]
  • Until they were removed from theMaemooperating system application installer in January 2010, certain advanced features were unlocked by a "Red Pill Mode"Easter eggto prevent accidental use by novice users but make them readily available to experienced users. This was activated by starting to add a catalog whose URL was "matrix" and then choosing to cancel. A dialog box would appear asking "Which pill?" with the choices "Red" or "Blue", allowing the user to enter red pill mode.[35][36]In "Red Pill" mode, the installer allows the user to view and reconfigure system packages whose existence it normally does not acknowledge. In Blue Pill mode the installer displays only software installed by a user, creating the illusion that system software does not exist on the system.
  • In the 2013 movie version ofThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty,whenBen Stiller's character lands atNuukin Greenland, he asks the man in the airport booth: "Do you have any cars available?" "Yeah, we have a blue one and a red one", the man replies. "I'll take the red one", says Walter.[37]This is also "the final scene in the trailer: a quirky and charming sequence on its own, even before the viewer recognizes the built-in riff on the famous" Red/Blue Pill "exchange fromThe Matrix".[38][39]"The choice between the red and blue car at the rental car lot is worthy of mention, if only because it almost candidly pulls the idea from the red pill ofThe Matrix.Two jelly bean, or pill, shaped cars [Daewoo Matiz], red and blue; the only thing missing is Lawrence [sic] Fishburne working the counter ".[40]"The passage connecting reality to illusion is often visualised using tangible things and physical environments [as] Neo took the red pill inThe Matrix."[41]
  • The 2023 filmBarbiecontains an allusion to the dilemma. In one scene, Barbie is given the choice between continuing to live obliviously in Barbieland (represented by a pink stiletto heel) and entering the real world (represented by a plainBirkenstocksandal).[42]At the end of the movie, in which Barbie now lives in the real world as a human, she is shown wearing light pink Birkenstock sandals.
  • Large sections of the lyrics of the 2004Bloc Partysong "She's Hearing Voices"include the lines" red pill, blue pill ".
  • In the gameCyberpunk 2077,the character Misty gives V two medications, one orange (Omega Blockers), and one blue (Pseudoendotrizine). The blue pill slows down the process of Johnny Silverhand's personality engram taking over V's mind. The orange one speeds the process up.

See also

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References

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  1. ^Nathan, Ian."The Matrix Review".Empire Online.RetrievedJuly 29,2024.
  2. ^Isaac, Steven."The Matrix".Plugged in.RetrievedJuly 29,2024.
  3. ^Poland, David (October 13, 2012)."DP/30: Cloud Atlas, Screenwriter/Directors Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski".moviecitynews.com. 18:49. Archived fromthe originalon December 17, 2012.RetrievedDecember 10,2012.
  4. ^Kapell, Matthew; Doty, William G (2004).Jacking in to the Matrix franchise: cultural reception and interpretation.Bloomsbury Academic.ISBN978-0-8264-1588-2.
  5. ^Horsley, Jake (2003).Matrix Warrior: Being the One.Macmillan. p.125.ISBN978-0-312-32264-9.
  6. ^abBreznican, Anthony (September 9, 2021)."The Matrix Resurrections Trailer: Decoding the Alice in Wonderland References".Vanity Fair.
  7. ^Rothstein, Edward (May 24, 2003)."Philosophers Draw On a Film Drawing On Philosophers".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 8,2021.
  8. ^"Journal of Religion & Film: Wake Up! Gnosticism and Buddhism in The Matrix by Frances Flannery-Daily and Rachel Wagner".unomaha.edu.Archived fromthe originalon March 3, 2016.RetrievedNovember 29,2015.
  9. ^Glenn Yeffeth (2003).Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and the Religion in the Matrix.BenBella Books. p. 152.ISBN978-1-932100-02-0.
  10. ^"You Won't Know the Difference So You Can't Make the Choice".philosophynow.org.
  11. ^Dan O'Brien (2006).An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge.Polity. p. 115.ISBN978-0-7456-3316-9.
  12. ^"Skepticism".stanford.edu.Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. 2015.
  13. ^Christopher Grau (2005).Philosophers Explore The Matrix.Oxford University Press. pp. 18–.ISBN978-0-19-518107-4.
  14. ^"The Brain in a Vat Argument".utm.edu.
  15. ^Hazlett, Allan (January 15, 2006)."Philosophers Explore The Matrix".NDPR.nd.edu.RetrievedJanuary 4,2015.
  16. ^"The Books: Matrix 'Inspirations'".The Matrix 101.
  17. ^Long Chu, Andrea (October 19, 2019).Females.verso.ISBN9781788737371.RetrievedJuly 7,2020.
  18. ^Dale, Laura (September 13, 2019)."With The Matrix 4 coming, let's talk about how the first movie is a trans allegory".SyFy Channel.RetrievedJuly 7,2020.
  19. ^Long Chu, Andrea (February 7, 2019)."What We Can Learn About Gender From The Matrix".Vulture.RetrievedJuly 7,2020.
  20. ^"The Matrix was a metaphor for transgender identity, director confirms".The Independent.August 5, 2020.RetrievedOctober 30,2020.
  21. ^Ganesh, Bharath (December 19, 2018)."The Ungovernability of Digital Hate Culture".Journal of International Affairs.71(2): 30–49.Despite their tenuous coalitions and the fragmentation and fracturing that many observers of the "alt-right" have identified, digital hate culture does have a "common spirit" that is based on the tropes of the Red Pill andwhite genocide.... Often used as a reference to a state of mind, the sense of being "red-pilled" in the context of digital hate culture refers to the idea that leftist political ideologies (which, for the purveyors of hate refers to the entire spectrum of feminists, Marxists, socialists, and liberals) have deluded the population and conspired to destroy Western civilization and culture.
  22. ^abCunha, Darlena (September 6, 2020)."Red pills and dog whistles: It is more than 'just the internet'".Aljazeera.RetrievedMarch 17,2023.'You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe,' Laurence Fishburne's character Morpheus tells Neo. 'You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.' The hero takes the red pill, which is meaningful to these groups who feel the world has mistreated them. Gathering in online echo chambers, they feel like heroes for seeing the world for what it is, for being brave enough to handle it and strong enough to show others. Little do they realise that their red pill of truth often leads them down a path of delusion, the very thing they think they are rallying the rest of the world against.... They hang out on YouTube or in internet forums and weave a web of conspiracy theory around themselves, in which they are the ultimate victims, and their scapegoats some unlikely victors in the game of life – groups typically marginalised by society: Jewish people, Black people, other people of colour, and, of course, women.
  23. ^Lewis, Becca; Marwick, Alice (December 2017)."Taking the Red Pill: Ideological Motivations for Spreading Online Disinformation"(PDF).University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication.As group members are radicalized – a process they refer to as "redpilling" – their ideologies and distrust of the media feed on each other and ultimately inform a broader shift in their understanding of reality and veracity. As a result, they may view highly ideological and factually incorrect information as truthful, thus complicating understandings of disinformation.
  24. ^Madison, Caleb (December 13, 2021)."How We Swallowed Redpilled Whole".The Atlantic.RetrievedMarch 17,2023.
  25. ^Tierney, Kathleen J. (June 11, 2006)."The Red Pill".Items.Social Science Research Council.
  26. ^"Curtis Yarvin wants American democracy toppled. He has some prominent Republican fans".Vox.October 24, 2022.RetrievedDecember 18,2022.
  27. ^Moldbug, Mencius (April 24, 2007)."The Case Against Democracy: Ten Red Pills".Unqualified Reservations.
  28. ^"Men's rights movement: why it is so controversial?".The Week.February 19, 2015.RetrievedApril 1,2015.
  29. ^Sharlet, Jeff (March 2015)."Are You Man Enough for the Men's Rights Movement?".GQ.RetrievedApril 1,2015.
  30. ^Ames, Elizabeth (September 13, 2017)."Liberals Sick of the Alt-Left Are Taking 'the Red Pill'".Fox News.RetrievedFebruary 19,2020.
  31. ^Sonnad, Nikhil; Squirrell, Tim (October 30, 2017)."The alt-right is creating its own dialect. Here's the dictionary".Quartz.Archivedfrom the original on March 7, 2018.RetrievedJune 8,2018.
  32. ^Williams, Zoe(April 25, 2018)."'Raw hatred': why the 'incel' movement targets and terrorises women ".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on April 26, 2018.RetrievedApril 26,2018.
  33. ^"Getting White Pilled With Michael Malice".Federalist Radio Hour.Ricochet. November 12, 2020.
  34. ^Kawasaki, Guy (2004).The art of the start: the time-tested, battle-hardened guide for anyone starting anything.Penguin. p.92.ISBN978-1-59184-056-5.
  35. ^"Red Pill mode".maemo.org wiki.RetrievedJanuary 25,2010.
  36. ^"src/repo.cc".hildon-application-manager.Line 153. Archived fromthe originalon July 15, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 25,2010.
  37. ^"CNN.com – Transcripts".CNN.July 31, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 15,2018.
  38. ^Schaefer, Sandy (July 30, 2013)."'Secret Life of Walter Mitty' Trailer: Ben Stiller Goes on a Grand Adventure ".Screen Rant.RetrievedJuly 23,2020.
  39. ^Trailer:"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: watch the trailer for Ben Stiller's new film".The Guardian.July 30, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 15,2018.
  40. ^Gravano, Adam (September 17, 2017)."A Look Back at Walter Mitty".Highbrow Magazine.RetrievedFebruary 10,2018.
  41. ^Buckmaster, Luke (December 23, 2013)."The Secret Life of Walter Mitty movie review".Daily Review.RetrievedFebruary 10,2018.
  42. ^Dockterman, Eliana (July 21, 2023)."An Exhaustive List of (Almost) Every Single Reference in the Barbie Movie".Time.Archivedfrom the original on September 6, 2023.
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