University of Innsbruck, 28th February, 2006
Faculty of Humanities 2, Department of English
PS Narrative Analysis of Literary Fiction and Fiction Film

The depiction of virtual realities and the transition
between parallel realities in "eXistenZ" and "Matrix"

by

Stefan Hinterholzer

Index

1. Introduction  3

2. Reality and virtual realities  4

2.1. Hostile groups  4
2.2. Escape from (virtual) reality 5
2.3. Free will 5
2.4. Absoluteness of the transition 6
2.5. Existence of an absolute reality 6

3. Levels of reality and narration 7

3.1. Matrix 7
3.2. eXistenZ 8

4. Transition 10

4.1. eXistenZ 10
4.2. Matrix 12

5. Artificiality 13

5.1. Lighting 13
5.2. Artificial objects, actions and surroundings 14

6. The additional orifice 15

7. Existence or eXistenZ?  16

8. Bibliography 17

1. Introduction

The depiction of virtual realities seems to be very popular in modern film production. eXistenZ and Matrix are only two examples of films belonging to the genre of “cyberpunk”. This genre mainly deals with human beings and their bodies and their relationship to technology and their environment. There is a strong focus on the “anxiety over […] the technological creation of alternative realities and consequent loss of a stable perceptual ground for reflection” (Hotchkiss 19).

Cyberpunk started as a subgenre of science fiction dealing with the “altering of the human body through pharmaceuticals and electronics” (Hotchkiss 19). This topic was quite poplar in the sixties and seventies when parts of the society were very suspicious of totalitarian corporate control. Cyberpunk reached its climax in the mid-eighties again dealing with the interfering of body and mind through “protheses, implanted circuitry, cosmetic surgery, genetic alteration, as well as brain- computer interfaces, artificial intelligence, [and] neurochemistry” (Hotchkiss 19).

As mentioned both eXistenZ and Matrix deal with these virtual realities and their impact on human beings, though in different ways. In both films the characters travel to these virtual realities and back, but they have different motives, there is a different philosophy behind these transitions. As a consequence different filming techniques are used. In this paper I am going to analyze how these transitions between parallel realities are depicted and which effects are created through certain techniques. Furthermore other aspects concerning these transitions between parallel realities, such as the requirements to make such a transition possible, will be taken into consideration.

My argumentation will be supported by certain scenes from the two films that can be found on the CD-ROM that is attached to this paper. In the text the reference to the clips is made like this: <Clip1.mpg>. These scenes and also the quotations of characters are taken from the DVDs of eXistenZ and Matrix that are listed in the bibliography.

2. Reality and virtual realities

Both eXistenZ and Matrix deal with virtual realities, and there are certain parallels and similarities. But if we take a closer look at the two different virtual realities, we will discover certain differences. The following points of analysis are taken from Ritch Calvin’s article “The Real eXistenZ transCendz the Irreal” in which he compares eXistenZ to Philip K. Dick’s novel Three Stigmata (Calvin 278-279, 285, 287).

2.1. Hostile groups

In both films there are hostile groups that fight due to the issue of virtual reality. In eXistenZ the so-called “Realists” try to destroy Allegra Gellar’s video game and to kill her because they regard it as a threat and as harmful to the human mind. To play this video game people need a so-called “bio-port”, an additional orifice that is drilled into the spine through surgery. This is necessary to connect the game pad, that looks and somehow is organic, to the human body through a wire that is similar to an umbilical cord.

In Matrix there is a fight between human beings and the machines. In a war between these two groups the humans darken the sky forever banning sunlight to destroy the machines’ primary source of energy. But the machines can defeat the human beings and then use them as “batteries” using the energy the human body produces. Through a plug in the back of their head the human beings are connected to a virtual reality. The aim of most of the people who realise that they live in a virtual reality is to escape and to defeat the machines.

In both films the fight between the two groups is a fierce one. This shall show that reality is something precious and that it is worth fighting for it when it is in danger. This becomes very clear in Matrix where people prefer living in a destroyed and inhumane, yet “real” world to a worthwhile life in a virtual reality.

2.2. Escape from (virtual) reality

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