Posted on 05/22/2003 6:50:32 AM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
HOLLYWOOD VS. AMERICA
Bush equated with Hitler
in 'Matrix' sequel?
Image of president shown with dictator
in discussion of evil
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:
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.
One door would lead to the Source and allow Neo to smash the matrix, and save Zion (although Trinity would die). The other door would allow Neo to get back into the Matrix, and (perhaps) save Trinity. But if he chose that door, Zion would be destroyed and Humanity would become extinct.
If the architect was telling the truth, Neo had to choose between love of a woman and love of humanity. Two different types of love. Did Neo make the right choice? Was the architect steering Neo in a particular direction? Was it a good direction, or bad? Did Neo behave in the way the architect wanted?
Noen of this is clear until the third movie. Which I hope is better than the second.
To tell the truth, I was too busy trying to figure out what the architect was talking about to pay much attention to the screens. It'll take a frame by frame analysis and many more veiwings. There's some other details I'm interested in as well: when they're showing Neo's memories (from childhood for example), do they also show memories he had after he was unplugged (in the first film)?
We're going to see it a few more times though so we'll pay attention to that scene every time and note if it makes us stop liking President Bush. I'll give it a bit more study too when I buy the DVD.
Also, does anybody else make a connection between Agent Smith and the Greek God Cronus (which means "crow")? In mythology, Gaia gave her son Cronus a sickle to castrate Uranus in the underworld Tartarus (which is also where Persephone was held by Hades). In the movie, when Neo and Agent Smith meet (after the Oracle scene), Smith walks up as crows fly slowly away. When Smith "hacks" into Zion in the form of Bane he is seen with a sickle shaped knife with which he cuts his hand twice (for some reason). Anybody got any ideas?
I don't understand it either and I agree, some seem to enjoy it.
From http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/myth.html:
CRONUS m Greek Mythology (Latinized) Pronounced: KRO-nus Latinized form of the Greek Kronos, possibly derived from korone meaning "crow".
At any rate... Any ideas about this? Why does this character cut his hand twice?
The first door let him select 6 men and 7 women to make a NEW version of Zion and start all over again.
The door that led back to the matix (lower) would compound the errors in the Matrix that would result/risk the destruction of the entire human race.
Neo 6.0 took that door in order to save Trinity's life ... no other neo version ever took that route.
Since there *wasn't* an "orgy scene", maybe the "sickness" is in the eye of the beholder...
Note for those who haven't seen the movie who might believe this nonsense: Zion, the only remaining city of the humans, gets the word that the computers are sending a quarter-million robot warriors to destroy Zion and everyone in it. The people are very fearful, but Morpheus gives a rousing pep-talk speech with a message similar to FDR's "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" speech, and convinces people that if they fight, they will prevail.
That night, the city has what's obviously an "eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die" party. There's a lot of dancing. It's not an orgy. Men dance with their wives/lovers, and there's some (fully clothed) necking done while dancing, standing up, as everyone realizes that the men are about to go off and fight and many will surely die.
Neo and Trinity sneak off to a private room and have sex (just the two of them, no "orgy"), which is depicted with a lot of skin, but no "naught bits" are shown.
That's it. No "orgy".
I agree. Too often it's like the woman who called the police and asked them to arrest a man for "whistling dirty songs".
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