Interpretation and Intertextuality of the film The Matrix

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,00, - (Herzog Christian August Gymnasium Sulzbach-Rosenberg), language: English, abstract: Take a trip down memory lane and find yourself in the year 1999. This year marked the birth of a film that would eventually become one of the most praised science fiction films of all time. Not only being received positively by critics and having a worldwide gross profit of over 463 million dollars with a budget of 63 million dollars, The Matrix by the Wachowski Brothers quickly gained a cult following for it s highly professional fighting scenes, revolutionary special effects and steampunk atmosphere. It spawned two even more successful and anticipated sequels four years later, three video games, comic books and an anime spin-off. But what really made The Matrix a mentionable film was not it s focus on action scenes, but it s complex storyline and a wide range of possible Interpretation and Intertextuality. This seminar paper will give you a glimpse of how far those two points can reach. It will summarize the plot of The Matrix first, then it will interpret the points in the movie, that seem unclear and confusing to the viewer and last but not least explain the most notable references and the Intertextuality to works, that inspired the movie. It will, however, only treat the first and original movie The Matrix and not it s sequels Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions and other media from the franchise.