In February 2003, a 19-year-old named Joshua Cooke shot his parents to death at his home in Virginia. Cooke told his lawyers that he believed he was living in the Matrix, a simulated universe outlined in Keanu Reeves’ 1999 blockbuster of the same name. Cooke pleaded guilty and the defense was never used. But, years later, he still offers a scary and painful account of the moment when he realized that killing another human being was nothing like an action movie.

This is definitely a spoiler for A matrix failure, a new documentary about the simulation hypothesis – the idea that our reality is actually artificial. But it is the key to explaining why the film never comes together. A matrix failure it is a peculiar overview of a popular and intriguing philosophical puzzle: what if we were living in a video game? It is also a film about people who discover this puzzle incredibly seriously. But it never reconciles those elements. It’s like watching a conversation at a dinner party about paranormal activities where one guest shares painful stories about the spirits of dead loved ones and the other quotes from Ghostbusters.

A matrix failure is directed by Rodney Ascher, known for acclaimed documentaries The nightmare and Room 237. The film is framed by a 1977 lecture by science fiction author Philip K. Dick, who became convinced of the simulation hypothesis after a religious experience fueled by anesthetics. Its core is extended interviews with some modern believers who have had metaphysical epiphanies, appearing through Zoom links, where they are obscured by overlays of science fiction cartoon characters. Gradually, they expose their own reasons for believing in a virtual world where other people may or may not exist.

To like Room 237, which gave obsessive Bright space for fans to present elaborate theories about its meaning, A matrix failure offers a hodgepodge of justifications for a simulated universe. You’ll find sober probability estimates from the philosopher Nick Bostrom, who popularized simulation theory in a 2001 essay, alongside speeches by well-known proponent Elon Musk and clickbait pseudoscience like the Mandela Effect, which postulates that widely overlooked pop culture references they are evidence of parallel realities.

A matrix failure suffers from having woefully little reality, although. Zoom’s interviews are understandable during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are frustratingly abstract, offering no sense of what it really means to live your life convinced that the world is false. Instead, the film is largely assembled from low-budget animations and copious movie clips and video games. The most convincing details receive only a passing mention – as a participant who mentions motivating himself to “level up” in life and try new things, thinking that this will make it more interesting for an observer from another world.

In addition to any factual arguments, the simulation hypothesis seems to offer reassuring answers in a frightening and irrational world. Why do celebrities meaninglessly drain their bank accounts or set their reputations on fire? Because they are being controlled by a bored player character. Why would a suicidal man steal and bring down an empty plane? Because he knew he could just log out. Why can’t you make friends? Because no one around you is really human.

As the last question suggests, this path can lead to some very dark places. At least one participant recognizes that their beliefs can result from social anxiety. A matrix failure makes a brief reference to the nihilistic meme of 4chan “NPC”, which (although the film never mentions it) that the right-wing supporters adopted to paint political enemies as literal automatons. And then there’s Cooke – whose deaths seem more motivated by simple mental health problems than science fiction delusions, but which methodically details how The Matrix consumed your life.

A flaw in the Matrix’s version of the simulation theory is basically smart design for sociopaths. The most interesting parts of the film are about why people believe, not if it’s true. But he spends a lot of time on scattered and remarkably unconvincing arguments presented in a tone of innocent and wide-eyed fascination – a tone that, as figures like Cooke enter the scene, seems increasingly disturbing and frightening. And if you Does I think other people are real, A matrix failure it probably won’t persuade you otherwise.

In February 2003, a 19-year-old named Joshua Cooke shot his parents to death at his home in Virginia. Cooke told his lawyers that he believed he was living in the Matrix, a simulated universe outlined in Keanu Reeves’ 1999 blockbuster of the same name. Cooke pleaded guilty and the defense was never used. But, years later, he still offers a scary and painful account of the moment when he realized that killing another human being was nothing like an action movie.

This is definitely a spoiler for A matrix failure, a new documentary about the simulation hypothesis – the idea that our reality is actually artificial. But it is the key to explaining why the film never comes together. A matrix failure it is a peculiar overview of a popular and intriguing philosophical puzzle: what if we were living in a video game? It is also a film about people who solve this puzzle incredibly seriously. But it never reconciles those elements. It’s like watching a conversation at a dinner party about paranormal activities where one guest shares painful stories about the spirits of dead loved ones and the other quotes from Ghostbusters.

A matrix failure is directed by Rodney Ascher, known for acclaimed documentaries The nightmare and Room 237. The film is framed by a 1977 lecture by science fiction author Philip K. Dick, who became convinced of the simulation hypothesis after a religious experience fueled by anesthetics. Its core is extended interviews with some believers today who had metaphysical epiphanies, appearing through Zoom links where they are obscured by overlays of characters from science fiction cartoons. Gradually, they expose their own reasons for believing in a virtual world where other people may or may not exist.

To like Room 237, which gave obsessive Bright space for fans to present elaborate theories about its meaning, A matrix failure offers a hodgepodge of justifications for a simulated universe. You’ll find sober probability estimates from the philosopher Nick Bostrom, who popularized simulation theory in a 2001 essay, alongside speeches by well-known proponent Elon Musk and clickbait pseudoscience like the Mandela Effect, which postulates that widely overlooked pop culture references they are evidence of parallel realities.

A matrix failure suffers from having woefully little reality, although. Zoom’s interviews are understandable during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are frustratingly abstract, offering no sense of what it really means to live your life convinced that the world is false. Instead, the film is largely brought together from low-budget animations and copious clips from movies and video games. The most convincing details receive only a passing mention – as a participant who mentions motivating himself to “level up” in life and try new things, thinking that this will make it more interesting for an observer from another world.

In addition to any factual arguments, the simulation hypothesis seems to offer reassuring answers in a frightening and irrational world. Why do celebrities meaninglessly drain their bank accounts or set their reputations on fire? Because they are being controlled by a bored player character. Why would a suicidal man steal and bring down an empty plane? Because he knew he could just log out. Why can’t you make friends? Because no one around you is really human.

As the last question suggests, this path can lead to some very dark places. At least one participant recognizes that their beliefs can result from social anxiety. A matrix failure makes a brief reference to the nihilistic meme of 4chan “NPC”, which (although the film never mentions it) that the right-wing supporters adopted to paint political enemies as literal automatons. And then there’s Cooke – whose deaths seem more motivated by simple mental health problems than science fiction delusions, but which methodically details how The Matrix consumed your life.

A flaw in the Matrix’s version of the simulation theory is basically smart design for sociopaths. The most interesting parts of the film are about why people believe, if not true. But he spends a lot of time on scattered and remarkably unconvincing arguments presented in a tone of innocent and wide-eyed fascination – a tone that, as figures like Cooke enter the scene, seems increasingly disturbing and frightening. And if you Does I think other people are real, A matrix failure it probably won’t persuade you otherwise.