The most unrealistic thing about The Matrix movies wasn’t the suspension of time or the killer robots or even the idea that someone in their mid-thirties could fit into a leather suit that tight. It was Neo’s reaction to being told he’s “The One”. They tell him how special he is, how they’ve been looking for him this whole time, and his reaction is doubt. Only until after he achieves amazing feats does he truly believe in himself.

Rather than Neo’s reaction, most people wouldn’t doubt they’re The One. After Morpheus found them they’d pridefully say “I KNEW IT ALL ALONG!” They’d be even more cold and entitled than before. Their “Special” status would justify taking shortcuts in life and relationships.

And so, these Sci-Fi movies are rotting our brains and subliminally encouraging the worst parts of our souls. We vicariously live through the life of Neo and are left with the dangerous fantasy that we can be special too.

Hollywood should feed us something with nourishment instead. Give us a movie where Neo takes the Red Pill and is broken free from the Matrix. He wakes up in Booneville, Iowa (a small suburb of Des Moines). He has a family and kids. His elderly parents whose health is declining also live in his overcrowded house. Neo cleans commercial buildings during office off hours. At two AM, when the whole world is asleep, he is emptying trash cans and replacing them with new bags. He mops the floor, scrubs out the break room microwave where someone thoughtlessly didn’t put a lid on their lunchtime spaghetti.

He can’t dodge bullets or jump over buildings. He just carries responsibility. “You are the One Neo, one among many, and we need you to keep living outside the Matrix.”

Also, these science fiction films are all fiction and no science. How can you claim to believe in evolution whilst sitting through the 2 hour and 25-minute monstrosity known as Independence Day?

An advanced alien race comes to earth riding huge intergalactic battleships. They blow up New York, LA, Beijing, the Eiffel Tower and the White House. They have been sent to destroy the humans and harvest all of Earth’s rich resources to power their empire elsewhere. They have weapons never seen before and technology so advanced that they’ve come from thousands of light years away.

The moral of the story is clear: even when outgunned in every way, we are special and a hero lives inside us all, just waiting to come out.

In the case of Independence Day, that special someone is a washed-up fighter pilot turned alcoholic hillbilly played by Randy Quaid. He discovers flying a plane into the undercarriage of the aliens’ ships will blow them up. This is followed by a divine revelation that comes to Jeff Goldblum as he drunkenly sits on the floor of his lab. He’s depressed and despondent, he’s been working on a solution to beat the aliens for a whole 3 hours! In this pit of despair, he decides to get hammered, a time-honored tradition and scientifically validated solution to just about any problem you may have. Despite his disheveled state and lack of diligence, he has an epiphany – they should give the aliens a virus. His brilliant idea saves the world.

Bob Marley famously said, “Every little thing is gonna be alright” which seems to be the principal strategy for overcoming adversity or defeating an advanced alien race. Hence, M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs - just pour water on them and they will die like an inverted Chia-Pet. Or Tom Cruise’s War of the Worlds - the aliens are on an unstoppable rampage, then get sick and have to leave. Whew!

Subconsciously, we can’t imagine a world where we’re not special and not winning. The movies of our culture reflect these beliefs.

More importantly, we can’t imagine a world without us in it. But we might want to give it a try.

Here’s a film idea, little green men show up in Texas. They fight a war with the Texans that, because of their advanced technology, is over in twelve minutes. Then, the aliens drag people off and make them work in a galactic salt mine on a distant moon. When most of the earthlings are dead from overwork the aliens return to Texas to collect even more people. Despite their best efforts the Texans are completely helpless, it is truly terrifying. Now there’s a realistic Sci-Fi movie that might engender a little humility and compassion in its viewers.

Under the cloak of science-fiction we tell stories about ourselves and the culture we live in. We are shaky and want to be assured that we’re special above the rest. We are nervous and want to be reminded that everything will be ok in the end. In this, our unspoken fantasies of being The One are projected on the silver screen. But the more we insist our hero-ness is inherent, the further we drift from who the world needs us to be.

science-Fictions