Matrix
It’s not a milestone year, but ‘The Matrix’ was released on March 31, 1999. I think this movie really changed how certain genres operate. At least for a time. We saw ‘bullet time’ everywhere and stories about living in simulations exploded. Not to mention characters who could absorb skills like Neo and chosen one tales. It really was a fun movie and I still enjoy it today because it feels culturally impactful to me.
The aspect that I was thinking about today was the concept of humans being trapped in a false world. ‘The Matrix’ poses this as a place where humans are kept to be unwittingly used as batteries for machines. If one is going to escape, they are approached by someone who gives them a choice. Red pill means they wake up to the horrible reality of a desolate Earth and blue pill means they stay in the fake world. Of course, the heroes always take the red pill in order to make the story continue. Wouldn’t be exciting if they bow out of their own adventure, right?
I’m sure there are stories out there with the climax being that the hero decides to stay in the fake world. Can’t think of any off the top of my head, but I swear I’ve seen some endings like that. Staying in a false world can make sense if reality is so horrific that you would rather not face. People do that in the real world too. An author would still call this a negative ending since the hero didn’t escape what we are supposed to see as a prison. I guess the message could be to enjoy what you have and don’t always toss it away for what might not be better. Need to have a lot of prep work for that though. Most will think escaping reality is a sign of failure and weakness. Just see how people will speak to someone who plays D&D or wants to be a fantasy author. It’s not pretty.
Role-playing games, fantasy, and science fiction can all be seen as creating fake worlds for us to play in. While we don’t physically go to them, we mentally travel there and leave our reality behind. Yes, we can do this with other genres, but I’m talking about the ones that are more likely to leave Earth. Personally, I always felt there was a different level of escapism when you go into an entire new world. It isn’t one designed like ‘The Matrix’ to make people think they’re in reality, but to leave here entirely. Guess I’m leaning towards how all authors, especially in these genres, are architects of their own ‘Matrix’ to temporarily trap readers.
On the other side of the coin, I have seen a big push to make our fiction more realistic. I see people tearing fantasy apart because it doesn’t match science. Historical fiction is shredded because people don’t pay attention to the second word in that genre. I don’t know what caused the rise in destroying fiction and a large push towards getting readers to stick to non-fiction and the news. The amount of political books and biographies that seem to come out is dizzying. In fact, I really only hear about those on the few ads I bump into or maybe a James Patterson book. Are people so worried about leaving reality and missing something that they are avoiding escapism in all forms? That would explain why so many are stressed, negative, and miserable.
The fake world is a fun story trope to work with, especially since it’s a very flexible. You can make it everything. Characters can be aware or unaware of their situation. Maybe they’re trapped in a game, which is a common anime/manga tale. It could be them being experimented on by aliens who want to learn about our society and only kidnapped the hero. The fake world concept can be used to carry almost any story that involves ‘reality vs fiction’. Sure, reality tends to win, which might feed those who think fiction is a waste of time, but that tends to be the good ending. It’s still a fun adventure.
What do other people think of stories involving ‘fake worlds’?
Legends of Windemere 
Two words: Love them.
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Me too!
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The concept of an imaginary world trapping a character is certainly interesting. I loved the first Matrix film. The others not so much. I’m reminded of Inception—the dream world in which the main character travels. I’m afraid to give a spoiler by saying too much about the ending. But your post reminds me of that movie. I loved the book Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde. The main character was trapped in an RPG. I also think of Jumanji, where the characters were sucked into the game—to their detriment. No one wanted to stay. (To think that the movies were based on a picture book by Chris Van Allsburg!)
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I rewatched The Matrix trilogy when the 4th was released. 2 and 3 definitely feel like different creatures. Much more philosophical and gritty due to it being more about the big war. Jumanji is a great example too. Totally forgot about that one.
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I think stories in fake worlds are excellent. I remember when Truman in the Truman Show got a close look at the sky and suddenly discovered he was living in a reality show. Also, Paradise, currently on Hulu, is a fake world but the inhabitants know it as such. Still is is fascinating.
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I keep seeing ads for Paradise, but never looked into it. How good is it?
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I only saw the opening episode. It did not pull me in. I think you have to see three or so to get the whole picture.
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A lot of series are like that.
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Yes they are.
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These concepts have been pulling at me. Nothing has quite jelled, but my brain is working on something.
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Hope something emerges.
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I never saw The Matrix; I’m more of an Inception girl myself, but ever since I was twelve – all the way back in 1999 – I have dabbled with the concept of, “What if our dreams merged with reality?” I’m finally working on the final draft of the literary fiction, dark fantasy novel, Catching Dreams, that explores this very concept.
I had a publisher, but it fell through, nonetheless, this idea has haunted me. The idea of other realities. The exploration of worlds beyond our own. I’m riveted beyond words of the concept of this not being the only world. That being said, it’s not an easy novel to read – the one I’m writing – because it explores the darkest parts of our psyche and the cleaving of our personalities and doing whatever it takes to save our loved ones.
Sure, Neo made sacrifices, but did he make the ultimate sacrifice?
…I’m asking for real because I never saw the movies.
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I feel old since I was 19 in 1999. I saw Inception and liked it with the reality altering and dream stuff. It made me wonder about if our reality is nothing more than a dream. I play around with that theory like if there’s one dreamer and they’ve created all of us. Maybe this is all of our dreams combined while we’re all sleeping in stasis. Though, I’d expect someone to add dragons in that scenario.
Sorry your publisher fell through. There is a market for dark psychological stories though.
For Neo, it depends on what a person deems the ultimate sacrifice. He did give up everything, including his life and freedom, to stop the war.
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Don’t feel old; age is just a number, right? I remember learning about a Buddhist theory years ago that life is just a dream, I think there was a koan regarding that, one that I remember tumbling around in my mind over and over. What you’ve said definitely resonates with me. It’s a really intriguing possibility or even just a thought to explore.
I’m hoping to find an agent and actually have one in mind, so fingers crossed!
I guess in some ways, my main character is like Neo. There are parallels in my story to the Matrix!
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I really need to research more Buddhist beliefs and lore. Seems to have a lot of interesting things. Good luck with the agent.
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Thank you! I definitely see a lot of interesting components to all world religions.
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