Irish Examiner view: Source code for conspiracy theories

In these paranoid times, the fourth Matrix film reminds us how prophetic the original was

Keanu Reeves in the poster art for 'The Matrix Resurrections', which updates the paranoiac universe created in the original movie 22 years ago. Picture: @TheMatrixMovie

If ever a film has synchronised with the spirit of these paranoid times, it’s The Matrix, which returns to Ireland's big screens today in its latest iteration, 22 years after the original.

The Matrix Resurrections is directed by just one of the Wachowskis on this occasion. Its predecessor is one of the seminal artistic creations of the new age of digital with a profound influence on cultural and political thinking. Alongside William Gibson’s Neuromancer, it can be regarded as one of the founding documents of the era of the internet.

In the dystopian city of Zion, every human being is trapped inside a simulated reality, networked together to provide energy for sentient machines. Only hackers can help us. That overwhelming sense of déjà vu (who hasn’t felt that in the past 12 months?) is “...usually a glitch in the Matrix. It happens when they change something". 

With its comparison between humankind and a virus, lives immersed online, artificial intelligence, and VR, The Matrix has been a source code, with its strange repeating loops, for conspiracy theorists everywhere. 

Who in the past two years hasn’t listened to QAnon, or theories about Bill Gates or wild suspicions about 5G, without reflecting on that quote from Keanu Reeves: "Ever have that feeling where you’re not sure if you’re awake or dreaming?"

Welcome back, Neo and Trinity. You will find things really haven’t changed at all.