As we celebrate Pride month, Rivka and Frank are joined by actor, director, and educator Wren Mack for a deep-dive conversation about Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s sci-fi masterpiece The Matrix, which has become a meaningful film for the LGBTQ community since its release in 1999.
Over the past few years, reactionary right-wing forces across the country have increased their legal attacks on LGBTQ folks, particularly the transgender community. Most notably, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a record amount of anti-LGBTQ laws in his state last May. The MVC group discusses how The Matrix has been misappropriated by online right-wingers who believe they’ve been “red-pilled” while completely misunderstanding the film’s central anti-capitalist metaphor. They also unpack how the Wachowskis unintentionally created a transgender allegory in “Thomas Anderson vs. Neo,” and they gush about how the movie remains one of the most entertaining, sexy, and sweaty action films of all time.
A rough transcript of the episode is available here.
For next week’s movie, MVC will be watching the 1997 Nickelodeon original movie Good Burger.
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