Bush Equated with Hitler in 'Matrix' Sequel?

worldnetdaily.com ^ | 5/22/03 | Joe Kovacs

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

---

HOLLYWOOD VS. AMERICA
Bush equated with Hitler
in 'Matrix' sequel?
Image of president shown with dictator
in discussion of evil

---

Posted: May 22, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Joe Kovacs

---

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

Is President Bush equated with Adolf Hitler in the science-fiction flick "The Matrix Reloaded"?

The question is being asked in connection with a scene in the new movie where images of Bush and the German dictator are displayed during a discussion of evil in the world.

Adolf Hitler

"If they're saying our president is in the same league as Adolf Hitler, then I don't want to see this movie," says Mark Szorady of Rome, Ohio.

The 44-year-old cartoonist tells WorldNetDaily he has no idea if that's the intent of the filmmaker, but his curiosity has been piqued by reviews and online discussions of the blockbuster.

"The Matrix Reloaded" continues the story of mankind's struggle against machines which use artificial intelligence to enslave the human race in a dream world.

TV screens behind Keanu Reeves in 'The Matrix Reloaded' (Warner Bros.)

During the scene in question, actor Keanu Reeves – who portrays the hero "Neo" – is standing in front of a large bank of video screens as he discusses mankind's history with the designer of the computer-simulated world which is called "the Matrix."

Images of wickedness begin to rapidly flash on the monitors, including photos of nuclear warfare and notorious killers.

"When the architect of the Matrix describes the folly of man," Scott Bowles of USA Today says, "look at the screens behind Neo, which show images of a historical monster and a contemporary president."

The historical monster to whom he refers is Hitler, and the president is George W. Bush, as well as his father for a brief moment.

President Bush

"Discussion of evil in the world and flashing the picture of our president. Why?" asks Szorady. "Are they saying he's evil? ... I'd like to see this thing frame-by-frame."

The scene is also sparking chatter on the Internet about possible intended messages.

"If the Matrix films, the most philosophically challenging movies to be produced in a generation, reveal any obvious signs of the politics of its makers, then this subliminal equation (Hitler=Bush?) is it," writes the Today newspaper of the Philippines in an editorial about "Reloaded."

Messageboard threads on Yahoo and Free Republic.com include a host of reactions which span the political spectrum:

• "[Bush is] appropriately just to the right of Hitler."

• "This flick is off my list! I'm not even interested anymore!

• "Although it was not up long, it was safe to say that over half the audience recognized the dig at the president as well as the context that it was in – that President Bush was a negative part of human history."

• "I saw it. The TV monitors show Nazis, Hitler, and an atomic explosion, and somewhere in the midst of all that the face of George W. Bush can be seen for a second or so. Why would such a peace-loving president so emotionally engaged with the struggle of the common man ever be included alongside such dark images? What could the filmmakers have been thinking? Is it too late to start a boycott of this film? ... Maybe if enough pressure can be exerted, they can have the offensive image removed before they press the DVD!"

Contributors to Free Republic have even posted the images of Hitler and the Bushes from the movie in at least one discussion thread.

A spokesperson for the Warner Bros. studio told WorldNetDaily the company was reviewing the sequence in question to be "accurate" for any comment regarding the alleged Bush-Hitler connection.

Placing presidents in works of pop culture is certainly nothing new for the entertainment industry, as productions have featured both footage of elected leaders and actors portraying real-life officials.

Some have obvious comedic value, like in 1978's "The Pink Panther Strikes Again," where then-President Gerald Ford was lampooned as a stumbling buffoon more concerned with a college-football score than saving the world from a doomsday scenario.

President George H.W. Bush was cast in a less than flattering light during the Irish rock band U2's 1990 "Zoo TV" tour, as fans viewed a host of political images on giant video screens culminating with a caption telling the audience, "It's your world, you can change it."

Meantime, "The Matrix Reloaded" is already among the biggest financial smashes in movie history, grossing $134.3 million during its first four days, nearly matching the entire amount the first "Matrix" collected in its first five weeks.

It's expected to become the most successful R-rated film ever released, needing at least $234.8 million to match the current No. 1, "Beverly Hills Cop."

"I think it will easily do over $300 million," box-office analyst Robert Bucksbaum of ReelSource Inc. told the Los Angeles Daily News.

---

Related story:

'Matrix' makers blast charge of albino bias

---

---

Joe Kovacs is executive news editor for WorldNetDaily.com.

[Centurion2000]

Crap these people must be super observant or watching this thing several times. The only message that I came out of that scene with the Architect was that there were TWO Matrices. One that has the 'real world' with the AI's and one that Neo and crew lived in.

Guess I was just listening to the words.

[b4its2late]

Guess what movie I won't be going to see.......

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

I for some reason had trouble posting this article. I was editing it and it somehow posted. I apologize to all as the format and pictures blurped in an odd glitch.

Free Republic is mentioned, and if the links do not work in the article...

Click Here

[BenLurkin]

Wasn't going to see it anyway.

[plain talk]

They did a similar thing I believe in Men in Black (is that the one?) where they talk about how extraterrestrials have infiltrated our society and display a pic of Newt on the screen. That one was funny to me and wasn't offended. This one, if true, is a different matter.

[xlib]

Anyone who has doubts about the producers' politics need look no further than the cast, which includes radical Prof. Cornell West as "Councillor West."

[over3Owithabrain]

I was going to see this flick, but if this is true, I will not. I suppose they were trying to be subtle in their Bush-hatred, because if this was known prior to release, they probably wouldn't be taking in half of what they are.
The socialist liberals are always on the march, always at war with good.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

My family and I are probably the ONLY American's that did not go to see this movie. I don't get the hype. No, interest to pay 8 bucks for the garbage movies nowadays and rarely I may pay 3 bucks on pay per view for the rare good movies.

I hope folks don't go waste their money to see this film 'just to see' what this article is talking about.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Now I may understand a strange comment Leno made last night or the other night...can't remember. It was a veiled comment about this, I think.

[alloysteel]

The Liberal-Lefties have seized upon the juxaposition of the Bush Administration and the Nazi regime, and have tried to superimpose their interpretation upon the consciousness of the rest of the world. This is a most curious development, as a study of the actions and objectives of the Hollywood crowd more nearly resemble the tactics of the German Workingman's Party (the 'National Socialists') during the 1920's, capitalizing on economic collapse and unresolved conflict to win political power. Then it was the "Jews", today it is the "Christian fundamentalists".

You notice it even on talk show call-ins, where the Bush Administration is referred to as a "regime". Nazis had a regime. Saddam Hussein had a regime. Even the "Former Occupant of the Oval Office, 1993-2001" had a regime. But the Bush Administration discharges the duties of the office according to established legal means, under Constitutional guidance. That is not the definition of a "regime".

[Portnoy]

I haven't seen it yet, but I heard from a friend that the whole sequence with Bush's photo also showed FDR and JFK and it was more of a comment on War in general not specifically singling out Bush to compare him with Hitler.

I'll still go see the movie. I'd like to see for myself in what context they showed the photos.

[ClearCase_guy]

The movie isn't great, but it isn't terrible, IMO. Yes, Bush is shown (in about a .5 second cut) while Evil is mentioned. It's pretty subtle and I think more of an "inside joke" for the producer and his friends. I don't see how it would influence the unconscious of any movie-goer.

On the other hand, the Hitler mini-series was far more blatant is saying that Hitler came to power in a War against Terrorism which allowed him to disembowel the Constitution and trample on people's civil rights. Very inaccurate -- and unquestionably aimed at George W. Bush. The Matrix was mild indeed compared to this.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

I would not pay eight bucks to see for myself or otherwise.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

I did not watch the mini-series either. Anyone I talked to said thwey weren't for various reasons, mostly because of bad press the series got, it was not a blockbuster must see.

[God luvs America]

Inside joke or not....they better be ready to be held responsible and take the consequences if this is true.

I heard this morning that when the Dixie Chicks sang at the Country Music Awards last night they were booed! Good!

[over3Owithabrain]

They are both bullshit and undeserving of my support. This Bush-is-Hitler crap is about the most inane, unintellectual, dishonest tripe I've ever seen. And it's everywhere, you can't debate with a liberal acquaintance for more than 1 minute without the Nazi card being pulled out. Who is it that hates Jews today, who discard the undesirable, who wants to control the world through lies and propoganda? Two groups come to mind: Islamo-fascists and the Left.

[Liberal Classic]

There were some other pictures shown at the same time, who were they? I saw Bush and Hitler, but the scene went so fast I couldn't identify any other faces flashed on the television screens. They may have been wanting make a point but maybe not. I guess I'll have to wait to see it on DVD so I can freeze the frame and see who else in on the screens. I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't read about it here.

[evad]

GOOD vs EVIL ?

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

The Hitler mini-series and comparison to Bush and many Hollywood comments calling Bush hitler-like, has me possibly thinking there is something to this Bush picture flash in this Matrix movie.