Illusion

I am a great believer in the power of the motion pictures. For a number of years now, it has replaced many a great work of art in the eyes of the modern beholder. Presently, it may very well be making good its final conquest on the epic novel and winning over the snootiest geeks of our generation. Like these great masterpieces which it has dethroned, it moves us; and what's more, unlike them it moves too. Personally, movies have defined and moulded me in a big way and gifted me with arguments to defend any of the opinions that they allowed me to form.

The concept of reality and freedom explored in three of my favourite movies have helped me while away my time by writing this blog today, so I am thankful and dedicate this post to them. The first movie is The Matrix, which talks of the human race awakening to a reality of being slaves and trying to regain their freedom. Memento on the other hand is about a man hiding behind a lie that gives him a purpose to live and frees him from his guilt. Lastly, Fight Club talks about a man who creates an illusion for himself, so that he can be free.

What is freedom, I ask myself sometimes. Is it like any other state of mind or does it have to be backed up by physical freedom. If it is a concept that exists in our mind, was it really wrong on the part of the traitor in Neo's gang to choose the disembodied illusion of the matrix over physical reality? The matrix gave him a happy life and in return used him as a battery. So should he consider it his benefactor or an evil ruler? Guy Pierce's memory kills his wife, but he later uses it as a shield to create a false sense of reality and protect himself from the pain. So should he hate his memory or thank it? And why was it all the more important for Edward Norton to fight against the ideals and rules of fight club, when he realized that they were his own creation? Which brings us to the question of defining reality, which is slightly ironic, since this post started out by talking about movies in the first place; a make-believe world that some people take too seriously. Ah well, then I better get back to reality. Heroes Season 3 episode 11 awaits. The movies can't always win now, can they?