Recently I’ve been thinking back to The Matrix film — as some of you may know, it was written and directed by two trans sisters (Lana and Lilly Wachowski). I’ve linked below an interview with Lilly Wachowski where she discusses being closeted during the making of the film, as well as why she was drawn to science fiction and the power of the genre to imagine worlds beyond your current reality. One of my favorite quotes from this interview is when she speaks to the “seemingly impossible becoming possible.” This reminds me of Arthur C. Clark’s 3 Laws and venturing a little ways past the impossible 🙂

I’ve also linked an interesting review of the film by a writer I’ve been reading lately, Andrea Long Chu (an excerpt from her book “Females: a Concern”). She challenges this narrative quite strongly, stating that “Allegorically is the least interesting way to read anything.” Do you agree with this? I think at the time that this film was made, the writers were looking for a way to communicate their experience without having to delve into specifics. It’s interesting to think about science fiction as a vehicle to tell your story indirectly especially to such a mass audience such as the Matrix franchise. I’d be curious about science fiction that more outwardly engages with gender — I’m excited to reread Bloodchild by Octavia Butler, as I remember it reimagined reproductive rights in a nuanced way. Overall, I think The Matrix accomplishes a lot of alternate reality building, and it is in many ways is productive to recontextualize this narrative in terms of gender. Hope you all enjoy the video and article!

https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/what-the-matrix-can-teach-us-about-gender.html