Sunday, August 17, 2003
WHAT IS REALITY?
"In the near future, a computer hacker named Neo discovers that all life on Earth may be nothing more than an elaborate facade created by a malevolent cyber-intelligence, for the purpose of placating us while our life essence is "farmed" to fuel the Matrix's campaign of domination in the "real" world. He joins like-minded Rebel warriors Morpheus and Trinity in their struggle to overthrow the Matrix."
- One synopsis of the movie the matrix. 1999 sci-fi starring Keanu Reeves.
May be you understood that, but that went right over my head. When I watched the film, all I basically understood was that a young man was discovering everything he believed to be reality was not. This is an extremely common theme running through alot of films. I found that idea similar in the Trueman Show starring Jim Carry. I found the part hilarious where he is confiding to his old school boy friend about his suspicions that the whole world around him is a complete set up-while his friend has an earplug on who is getting his next lines from Ed Harris who is playing the director of the whole facade.
I'm using these examples to work into my theme: what is reality?
If you look at dictionary definitions you will find "reality" completely synonymous with the word "truth".
Reality: 1. The quality or state of being actual or true.
2. One, such as a person, an entity, or an event, that is actual: “the weight of history and political realities” (Benno C. Schmidt, Jr.).
3. The totality of all things possessing actuality, existence, or essence.
4. That which exists objectively and in fact: Your observations do not seem to be about reality. IDIOM: in reality
Truth: 1. Conformity to fact or actuality.
2. A statement proven to be or accepted as true.
3. Sincerity; integrity.
4. Fidelity to an original or standard.
5a. Reality; actuality. b. Often Truth That which is considered to be the supreme reality and to have the ultimate meaning and value of existence
So what is truth/reality? Can it really be proved? Why is there so much disagreement on what reality is if it really can be proved? I.e.- the earth is not flat. When you can only come to terms with reality through your own senses-how can you be so sure you can trust your senses? I.e.- Someone with Alzheimer’s or another mental disorder/delusion who is completely convinced of his own reality. Or when you are driving a car through a chaotic intersection and the person beside and behind you are telling you what to do, you are putting everyone's life in the hands of your senses and judgment. Or when the car does crash, arguments erupt defining reality as to blame and who's insurance goes way up. But why should you care about what reality is?
Here's a quote to consider-its on the lines of whether or not God is a reality. "Perhaps you feel that these questions do not really affect you. You may think:’ It does not matter how I got here-I’m here. And I’ll probably live for 60,70 or maybe 80 years-who knows? But whether we were created or we evolved, it changes nothing for me now.' On the contrary, it could change a great deal-how long you live, the way you live, the conditions under which you live. How so? Because our entire attitude toward life and the future is influenced by our viewpoint on the origin of life. And how life came here will definitely affect the future course of history and our place in it."
Arnold Schewarzenegger is in the film Total Recall, where he is presented with the option of swallowing a pill to come back to reality or not. The pill idea was in The Matrix too. The idea of being strapped to a table and hooked up to wires and at the same time being present in another dimension was also in both films and in the 13th floor and the film The Cell with Jennifer Lopez. The alternate reality seems to have repercussions on the present reality- like in Back to the Future when Michael J Fox altered the past-he was changing his present reality. Gets so confusing you know longer know what reality is. The recent film K-pax was really good. Starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges. Jeff plays a psychiatrist who travels through the psyche of Kevin Spacey with the intentions of understanding and "curing" him by helping him deal with his past traumas. This idea of helping in this manner was also in the cell where Jennifer Lopez enters the mind of a serial killer who was abused as a child and reach him through fantasy role playing to make a stronger present psychological being. Similar too in What Dreams may come; Robin Williams tries to connect with his dead wife traveling through the afterlife.
Some complicate things by saying that today’s reality is not the same as yesterdays or tomorrow. How do you argue with that? In the movie dark city Kiefer Sutherland plays a scientist who is being forced by an underworld to make a syringe solution that alters people's memories. New memories are implanted every night into people who are completely unaware. In total recall Arnold paid for a memory implantation of going to mars instead of the actual trip there. How do you trust your memories? Do other people's memories validate yours? Items, people and places from the past haunting you.
Reality/Truth is what you want it to be. Because truth and reality cant really be proven (or can it?) we simply live in the reality we want to believe, or must believe to survive.
The words of a song:” if you tell me there's a heaven up above, than that’s what I believe, cause you're the one thing I'm so sure of." Now and Forever. -Anne Murray. (A woman living in her husband/caregiver's reality because of her trust and dependency/emotional makeup)
By our choice of what reality is-the reality we create-the reality we live by-is evidence of our personality/character. This topic is very similar to the topic of "Denial" I wrote about earlier. Reality is too painful to live in so we live in fantasy. To some- religion is a nice fantasy to live in. The idea of heaven and luvey duvey at church is a great coping mechanism to the real world. If their faith really is real, than they will put their money where their mouth is, instead of putting their materialistic pursuits first. When our reality lets us down (we find out it's false) we have to discard the previous reality and adopt a new one. In time we will come closer to the actual reality once we have been forced to discard all our false notions.
By the way: the movie The Matrix gave Keanu Reeves a big name. Did you already know that the cool Keanu Reeve played the goofball in the movie: Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure? He played Ted with the long hair over his face, but had it shaved in the Matrix. A friend of mine loves Bill and Ted. He also loves Bruce Willis especially in 13 Monkeys. He says he understands the storyline-but I’ve seen it twice and it makes no sense to me. Do people pretend to really understand these movies or am I just slow?
If you got any input into what is reality-please feel free-I would really like to know cause I am really up the creek.
"In the near future, a computer hacker named Neo discovers that all life on Earth may be nothing more than an elaborate facade created by a malevolent cyber-intelligence, for the purpose of placating us while our life essence is "farmed" to fuel the Matrix's campaign of domination in the "real" world. He joins like-minded Rebel warriors Morpheus and Trinity in their struggle to overthrow the Matrix."
- One synopsis of the movie the matrix. 1999 sci-fi starring Keanu Reeves.
May be you understood that, but that went right over my head. When I watched the film, all I basically understood was that a young man was discovering everything he believed to be reality was not. This is an extremely common theme running through alot of films. I found that idea similar in the Trueman Show starring Jim Carry. I found the part hilarious where he is confiding to his old school boy friend about his suspicions that the whole world around him is a complete set up-while his friend has an earplug on who is getting his next lines from Ed Harris who is playing the director of the whole facade.
I'm using these examples to work into my theme: what is reality?
If you look at dictionary definitions you will find "reality" completely synonymous with the word "truth".
Reality: 1. The quality or state of being actual or true.
2. One, such as a person, an entity, or an event, that is actual: “the weight of history and political realities” (Benno C. Schmidt, Jr.).
3. The totality of all things possessing actuality, existence, or essence.
4. That which exists objectively and in fact: Your observations do not seem to be about reality. IDIOM: in reality
Truth: 1. Conformity to fact or actuality.
2. A statement proven to be or accepted as true.
3. Sincerity; integrity.
4. Fidelity to an original or standard.
5a. Reality; actuality. b. Often Truth That which is considered to be the supreme reality and to have the ultimate meaning and value of existence
So what is truth/reality? Can it really be proved? Why is there so much disagreement on what reality is if it really can be proved? I.e.- the earth is not flat. When you can only come to terms with reality through your own senses-how can you be so sure you can trust your senses? I.e.- Someone with Alzheimer’s or another mental disorder/delusion who is completely convinced of his own reality. Or when you are driving a car through a chaotic intersection and the person beside and behind you are telling you what to do, you are putting everyone's life in the hands of your senses and judgment. Or when the car does crash, arguments erupt defining reality as to blame and who's insurance goes way up. But why should you care about what reality is?
Here's a quote to consider-its on the lines of whether or not God is a reality. "Perhaps you feel that these questions do not really affect you. You may think:’ It does not matter how I got here-I’m here. And I’ll probably live for 60,70 or maybe 80 years-who knows? But whether we were created or we evolved, it changes nothing for me now.' On the contrary, it could change a great deal-how long you live, the way you live, the conditions under which you live. How so? Because our entire attitude toward life and the future is influenced by our viewpoint on the origin of life. And how life came here will definitely affect the future course of history and our place in it."
Arnold Schewarzenegger is in the film Total Recall, where he is presented with the option of swallowing a pill to come back to reality or not. The pill idea was in The Matrix too. The idea of being strapped to a table and hooked up to wires and at the same time being present in another dimension was also in both films and in the 13th floor and the film The Cell with Jennifer Lopez. The alternate reality seems to have repercussions on the present reality- like in Back to the Future when Michael J Fox altered the past-he was changing his present reality. Gets so confusing you know longer know what reality is. The recent film K-pax was really good. Starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges. Jeff plays a psychiatrist who travels through the psyche of Kevin Spacey with the intentions of understanding and "curing" him by helping him deal with his past traumas. This idea of helping in this manner was also in the cell where Jennifer Lopez enters the mind of a serial killer who was abused as a child and reach him through fantasy role playing to make a stronger present psychological being. Similar too in What Dreams may come; Robin Williams tries to connect with his dead wife traveling through the afterlife.
Some complicate things by saying that today’s reality is not the same as yesterdays or tomorrow. How do you argue with that? In the movie dark city Kiefer Sutherland plays a scientist who is being forced by an underworld to make a syringe solution that alters people's memories. New memories are implanted every night into people who are completely unaware. In total recall Arnold paid for a memory implantation of going to mars instead of the actual trip there. How do you trust your memories? Do other people's memories validate yours? Items, people and places from the past haunting you.
Reality/Truth is what you want it to be. Because truth and reality cant really be proven (or can it?) we simply live in the reality we want to believe, or must believe to survive.
The words of a song:” if you tell me there's a heaven up above, than that’s what I believe, cause you're the one thing I'm so sure of." Now and Forever. -Anne Murray. (A woman living in her husband/caregiver's reality because of her trust and dependency/emotional makeup)
By our choice of what reality is-the reality we create-the reality we live by-is evidence of our personality/character. This topic is very similar to the topic of "Denial" I wrote about earlier. Reality is too painful to live in so we live in fantasy. To some- religion is a nice fantasy to live in. The idea of heaven and luvey duvey at church is a great coping mechanism to the real world. If their faith really is real, than they will put their money where their mouth is, instead of putting their materialistic pursuits first. When our reality lets us down (we find out it's false) we have to discard the previous reality and adopt a new one. In time we will come closer to the actual reality once we have been forced to discard all our false notions.
By the way: the movie The Matrix gave Keanu Reeves a big name. Did you already know that the cool Keanu Reeve played the goofball in the movie: Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure? He played Ted with the long hair over his face, but had it shaved in the Matrix. A friend of mine loves Bill and Ted. He also loves Bruce Willis especially in 13 Monkeys. He says he understands the storyline-but I’ve seen it twice and it makes no sense to me. Do people pretend to really understand these movies or am I just slow?
If you got any input into what is reality-please feel free-I would really like to know cause I am really up the creek.
