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Bluepill: Difference between revisions
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The modern iteration of the term "bluepill" comes from the 1999 film The Matrix largely reflected in its protagonist Neo. In the film, the bluepill describes the perception of plugged in members of the Matrix, people who are unaware that they live in a computer simulated world. The antonym to bluepilled people are those who live on the hovership called Nebuchadnezzar, which is captained by Morpheus, a character played by Laurence Fishburne, who have instead taken the redpill. These people are no longer plugged in, and as such can see what the real world looks like rather than the "world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth ... that you are a slave Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind." (-Morpheus quote) | The modern iteration of the term "bluepill" comes from the 1999 film The Matrix largely reflected in its protagonist Neo. In the film, the bluepill describes the perception of plugged in members of the Matrix, people who are unaware that they live in a computer simulated world. The antonym to bluepilled people are those who live on the hovership called Nebuchadnezzar, which is captained by Morpheus, a character played by Laurence Fishburne, who have instead taken the redpill. These people are no longer plugged in, and as such can see what the real world looks like rather than the "world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth ... that you are a slave Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind." (-Morpheus quote) | ||
In the year 2199, those on the Nebuchadnezzar or other freed people in Zion (i.e. the redpilled resistance) constitute a small minority of the total human population, being bluepilled is typically associated with majority or popular, yet myopic viewpoints. As such, definitions of "bluepill" that stick to its etymological origins tend to extrapolate from the entirety of the plot line of the film "The Matrix", including the introduction and exposition. For example, the intro and expositions to the film repeatedly shows Neo has an inkling that something is not quite right with the world, even whilst plugged in, but he doesn't know exactly what that intuition entails. This is in stark contrast with the rest of the plugged-in populace who go about their daily lives as if nothing is happening. Neo's inquisitiveness about the strangeness of the world stands in stark contrast to other people who view the simulated reality as real, an archetype that can be summarized by the following quote from Trinity to Neo: "I know what you've been doing... why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer. You're looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. And when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, Neo. It's the question that brought you here". | In the year 2199, those on the Nebuchadnezzar or other freed people in Zion (i.e. the redpilled resistance) constitute a small minority of the total human population. As such, the standard sense of being bluepilled is typically associated with majority or popular, yet myopic viewpoints. As such, definitions of "bluepill" that stick to its etymological origins tend to extrapolate from the entirety of the plot line of the film "The Matrix", including the introduction and exposition. For example, the intro and expositions to the film repeatedly shows Neo has an inkling that something is not quite right with the world, even whilst plugged in, but he doesn't know exactly what that intuition entails. This is in stark contrast with the rest of the plugged-in populace who go about their daily lives as if nothing is happening. Neo's inquisitiveness about the strangeness of the world stands in stark contrast to other people who view the simulated reality as real, an archetype that can be summarized by the following quote from Trinity to Neo: "I know what you've been doing... why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer. You're looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. And when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, Neo. It's the question that brought you here". | ||
A line by Cypher in the same film also indicate that for some people, non-truths are more palatable that truths, i.e. through the line he communicates to Neo: "I know what you're thinking, 'cause right now I'm thinking the same thing. Actually, I've been thinking it ever since I got here: Why, oh why, didn't I take the Blue pill?" When coupled with his sentence a few scenes later wherein he says "ignorance is bliss", it is clear that some people are not brave enough to face the harsh realities of this world. Similar to Cypher, they would rather that complicated or difficult obstacles be wished away so they could continue to live in their fairy-tales. The plot of the film later reveals that Cypher defects from the resistance in the hope of being plugged into the fake virtual world again. | A line by Cypher in the same film also indicate that for some people, non-truths are more palatable that truths, i.e. through the line he communicates to Neo: "I know what you're thinking, 'cause right now I'm thinking the same thing. Actually, I've been thinking it ever since I got here: Why, oh why, didn't I take the Blue pill?" When coupled with his sentence a few scenes later wherein he says "ignorance is bliss", it is clear that some people are not brave enough to face the harsh realities of this world. Similar to Cypher, they would rather that complicated or difficult obstacles be wished away so they could continue to live in their fairy-tales. The plot of the film later reveals that Cypher defects from the resistance in the hope of being plugged into the fake virtual world again. | ||