Lily Wachowski, co-director of The Matrix, which was undeniably one of the most iconic films of the 1990s, recently revealed that the narrative of the film was a metaphor for life, through the lens of a transgender person. Although this may seem far-fetched at first glance, it must be noted that the Wachowski sisters are themselves trans women who only came out publicly in the years following the release of The Matrix trilogy. This realisation led many fans of the series to speculate that the film was perhaps influenced by the sisters’ status as closeted trans women.
For instance, the very premise of the film suggests that we inhabit two parallel worlds, each of which are intrinsically linked, but all that truly matters in both universes is our minds and our beliefs. This is emblematic of the struggle that closeted trans people often endure before coming out: feeling as though they are living two separate lives. Lily Wachowski also directly addressed the character, Switch, who she said was originally intended to be portrayed by a man in the “real” world and a woman in the Matrix. While this idea was rejected by the studio, Switch was given an androgynous appearance instead, to subtly reflect this aspect of her character, and Lily claims that this decision illustrates where her headspace was at the time of directing The Matrix.
Certainly, these thematic aspects of the film are easy to overlook or dismiss but their existence makes no difference to anyone except trans people themselves, who can either rewatch the film from a new perspective, or find the theories that they may have already had, about the true intentions of its story, confirmed. Either way, The Matrix is a clear example that art is always influenced by its author and their life.
Written by Alex Mulhare
Artwork by Aurora Brooks
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