One of the filmmaking duo behind The Matrix recently addressed the right-wing misinterpretations associated with the 1999 sci-fi blockbuster. In a conversation with writer-comedian Caleb Hearon on his podcast, Lilly Wachowski said it becomes important to detach oneself from one’s creation once it's out in public.
“You have to let go of your work. People are gonna interpret it however they interpret it,” Wachowski said. “I look at all of the crazy, mutant theories around ‘The Matrix’ films and the crazy ideologies that those films helped create, and I just go, ‘What are you doing? No! That’s wrong!’ But I have to let it go to some extent … You’re never gonna be able to make absolutely every person believe what you initially intended.”
For the unversed, the iconic "red pill/blue pill" line from The Matrix has been appropriated by the far-right, implying that it refers to "waking up" from the idea of reality advocated by left liberal groups.
In an earlier interview, Lilly Wachowski said that The Matrix was intended to be a transgender allegory. Both Lana and Lilly Wachowski transitioned in 2012 and 2016, respectively. However, the conservative take on their film doesn't come as a surprise to her, as she believes “right-wing ideology appropriates absolutely everything.”
“They appropriate left-wing points of view, and they mutate them for their own propaganda, for their own to obfuscate what the real message is. This is what fascism does. And so, of course, that’s going to happen,” she added.
