Informal Assignment #2: Blue vs. Red

From the very beginning of the movie the directors of The Matrix, discretely set up the conditions that Neo would face when Morpheus presents him with an ultimatum. Neo is constantly given “choices”, either to take that path of already knowing what will happen or to take a chance and explore the unknown path. It first happened when Neo was invited to go out or to stay at home; then when he was at work, his boss was explaining to him he could stay and work for the company or he could leave; then he could either escape by the window or leave with the authorities. In each of these situations one choice would be like taking the red pill and the other choice would be like taking the blue pill. Whenever he was in a tough situation he would take the easy way out and go with what was comfortable with him. But all that changed when Trinity made his decision easier for him by saying, “…you have been down there…you know that road…you know exactly where it ends...” Once he closed the door and stayed in the car, he knew that he would not be going back to Kansas.

            “You take the blue pill-the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe.” For me, by taking the blue pill one would be taking the more conservative route. There is no change in the existing conditions or ideas. There are no risks being taken or hard choices being made. Nothing stands out and everything is the same. One would just continue with their everyday routine, being just another sheep herded along with the flock. There is no sense of control over ones self, you are trapped. Taking the blue pill is like taking the safe road because it is what you are used to, you are comfortable with it. If I took the blue pill I would be full of regret because I would already know how this path goes and I would constantly be wondering what would have happened if I would have went with the red pill. I would feel like slave to the daily routine compared to what my life could have been like if I went with the other pill. I feel like whenever I regret not doing something or not going along with something, the same saying pops up in my head: should have, could have, would have.

            “You take the red pill-you stay in wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” My first instincts would be to say I would have without hesitation gone with the red pill. But I probably would have taken a quick second to think about what options he is actually presenting me with. I would have thought about how my life was going then and how it would be if I took the red pill. Thinking now if I was actually in that position, I would see my everyday routine for my life now if I went with the blue pill, but thinking about how it would be with the red pill, I wouldn’t be able to picture anything. Like Morpheus says, “There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” With the blue pill I would be walking the unknown path. I would have been anxious about the decision but very excited about the first steps along the path of the unknown. I am the type of person that regrets not taking certain chances when they are presented to me. In life there are certain times when you go with your gut feelings on certain things, especially if they are potentially life altering decisions. When I don’t go with my heart or my gut feeling I am always regretting not going with that decision. Usually that decision was doing something or trying something that I haven’t done before, a path that is different from my everyday routine.

            For society I feel that we are in mystified by the idea of the unknown and at the same time we are not quite comfortable with leaving or abandoning what is known. Nevertheless, sometimes society is afraid to take steps toward the unknown so they like to imagine it through movies. This concept of red vs. blue pill, or known and unknown is portrayed in so many movies like The Wizard of Oz, Pan’s Labyrinth, and even in The Phantom of The Opera.