The 18-year wait is nearly over, and the fourth Matrix movie, The Matrix Resurrections, is almost here.

This hour, we look back at the original film and its continued influence across the culture with bullet time and red pills and the “woah” meme and so much more.

We take the question of whether we’re living in a simulation much more seriously than we did when The Matrix came out. We’re much more attuned to the allegory for the trans experience that The Matrix might well have been.

And The Matrix Resurrections is just the latest iteration of the ongoing #Keanussance, from Duke Caboom to Bill & Ted Face the Music to John Wick: Chapter 4 next year.

GUESTS:
River Donaghey - An associate editor at Vice, where he published the piece “Give Keanu Reeves Some Space, Everybody”
David Sims - A staff writer at The Atlantic and the cohost of Blank Check with Griffin and David
Emily VanDerWerff - The critic at large for Vox, where she published “How The Matrix universalized a trans experience — and helped me accept my own”
Rizwan Virk - Executive director of Play Labs at M.I.T. and the author of The Simulation Hypothesis: An MIT Computer Scientist Shows Why AI, Quantum Physics, and Eastern Mystics All Agree We Are in a Video Game

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired June 19, 2019.

The 18-year wait is nearly over, and the fourth Matrix movie, The Matrix Resurrections, <a href="https://www.whatisthematrix.com/">is almost here</a>.
This hour, we look back at the original film and its continued influence <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2014/03/15th-anniversary-the-matrix-appreciation.html">across the culture</a> with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGOvIzIn2Ic">bullet time</a> and <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/the-matrix-red-pill-internet-delusional-drug.html">red pills</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP8uhXuS2n8">the &ldquo;woah&rdquo; meme</a> and so much more.
We take the question of whether <a href="https://hackernoon.com/are-we-already-in-the-matrix-7492e89be433">we&rsquo;re living in a simulation</a> much more seriously than we did when The Matrix came out. We&rsquo;re much more attuned to <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/30/18286436/the-matrix-wachowskis-trans-experience-redpill">the allegory for the trans experience</a> that The Matrix might well have been.
And The Matrix Resurrections is just the latest iteration of <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qv7npq/give-keanu-reeves-some-space-everybody">the ongoing #Keanussance</a>, from <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/toy-story-4-how-keanu-reeves-became-duke-caboom-1217869">Duke Caboom</a> to <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/arts-and-culture/2020-09-04/the-nose-parties-on-dudes">Bill &amp; Ted Face the Music</a> to <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/john-wick-4-everything-we-know-about-the-action-sequel/1100-6498903/">John Wick: Chapter 4</a> next year.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>River Donaghey - An associate editor at Vice, where he published the piece &ldquo;<a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qv7npq/give-keanu-reeves-some-space-everybody">Give Keanu Reeves Some Space, Everybody</a>&rdquo;</li>
<li>David Sims - A staff writer at <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-sims/">The Atlantic</a> and the cohost of <a href="https://audioboom.com/channel/Blank-Check">Blank Check with Griffin and David</a></li>
<li>Emily VanDerWerff - The critic at large for Vox, where she published &ldquo;<a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/30/18286436/the-matrix-wachowskis-trans-experience-redpill">How </a><a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/30/18286436/the-matrix-wachowskis-trans-experience-redpill">The Matrix</a><a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/30/18286436/the-matrix-wachowskis-trans-experience-redpill"> universalized a trans experience &mdash; and helped me accept my own</a>&rdquo;</li>
<li>Rizwan Virk - Executive director of Play Labs at M.I.T. and the author of <a href="https://www.zenentrepreneur.com/more-info">The Simulation Hypothesis: An MIT Computer Scientist Shows Why AI, Quantum Physics, and Eastern Mystics All Agree We Are in a Video Game</a></li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on <a href="http://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/wnprcolin">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired June 19, 2019.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

The Colin McEnroe Show

The 18-year wait is nearly over, and the fourth Matrix movie, The Matrix Resurrections, is almost here.  This hour, we look back at the original film and its continued influence across the culture with bullet time and red pills and the “woah” meme and so much more.