Re: <nettime> The Matrix Reloaded

[Jesse Hirsh <jesse@openflows.org>]

> But, what is most amazing about 'The Matrix Reloaded' is its rhythm, the
> non-stop *speed* employed throughout the movie. The new matrix is a film
> that feels like a videogame. It has the aesthetics of a game, but more than
> that, it tells the story as if it were just that, a videogame.

well, that's cause it is a video game:

http://www.enterthematrixgame.com/

just because you paid, say $12 to see a 2 hour movie. i'd reckon the
primary market is the $50 multi-platform video game market.

i spent the past few days in nyc, and was exposed many times to ads for
the video game that played off post-movie going audiences:

"Not just a game based on a movie, Enter the Matrix is an integral part of
the entire Matrix storyline. If you don't play the game, you're not seeing
the entire Matrix story."


> 'The Matrix Reloaded' is one of the best examples I've seen of the
> application of a 'new medium' narrative style to a 'traditional'
> medium. In that sense it is the perfect counter-example to Marshall
> McLuhan's 'the content of a new medium is an old medium'.

i disagree. i think it is indeed an example of old media in the new. the
movie is contained within the video game. in fact, one can argue the movie
is just a commercial for the video game. the commercials in the rest of
the old media (tv, radio, newspapers) that direct us to the commercial on
the big screen, that directs us to the actual product, the $50 video game.

so its correct to say that the video game is the purpose of production,
the holder of the primary narrative, with everything else being a side
effect that builds into the final product.

> best. ana

jesse :)


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