Over the past few years, media and the blogosphere have tried to make a case for The Matrix (1999) by the Wachowskis being an allegory for transgenderism. This narrative surrounding one of the great sci-fi action movies of the 1990s coincidence with the national and international push for the LGBTQ acceptance, particularly with the trans ideology, in the west. But does it offer any convincing ground in support of the case?
The case history of re-presenting The Matrix as a coded trans story is kind of tangled up with the history of the transition of its creators, the Wachowski brothers (Larry and Andy) who became the Wachowski sisters (Lana and Lilly) some years after the release of The Matrix. In 2020, BBC and other media created a buzz about the Wachowskis (specifically Lilly) confirming that their production is a trans metaphor.
Probably a debate or, as Screenrant put it in 2023, “increased analysis of the film” ensued so that Lilly clarified that their film “wasn’t intentionally written as a transgender allegory, but that it could be interpreted with those themes in mind.” This ran rather contrary to the 2020 buzz and since then has been up for debate, if one was interested. Screenrant was and so it posted a piece last year trying to reconcile the two positons with the ambivalent statement: “There’s evidence both for and against The Matrix being interpreted as an intentional trans allegory…”
The problem of the evidence remained though since repeating that something has evidence doesn’t make evidence unless you are able to put it on display. The Screenrant piece tried to hold its “evidence” on the movie’s theme of awakening and life transformation or kind of a new birth – something that many trans people say they experienced. Well, that is evidence of someone looking at such a theme through their personal lens and seeing their life story in it. That lens could be a change of faith or awakening moment to Jesus or some other religion; could be a drug/alcohol addict getting a rebirth in recovery and finding the true meaning of living sober; and so on.
One important lens is the political red-vs-blue one which has a stronger appeal to the awakening theme since many are waking up to realize that they are being fed lies by the government, corporations, and other influential giants. It’s something the 1988 movie They Live explored quite compellingly. In the political world, conservatives and libertarians frequently use the red pill analogy to refer to their political awakening.
The other point Screenrant raised was the creators’ intent to make the character Switch a trans character such that she is a woman in one world (matrix) but a man in the alternative (real) world. First, it doesn’t show in the movie so it is not a valid reason for claiming the work is a trans allegory; just like an intended murder does not make a person a murderer if he/she does not act on the intention. Secondly, even if Switch was shown as a male in one and female in the other world, it still wouldn’t make the story an allegory for transgenderism. The trait of a minor character in a story does not define the meaning of the whole story. In David Lynch’s Twin Peaks (1990), for example, David Duchovny played the transgender DEA agent Denise in three episodes of the show’s second season. It didn’t make the show anything related to trans ideology or politics or worldview, not even close, except if a trans person was watching the show and derived his/her subjective interpretation of the sort.
In short, the original The Matrix movie (and I have not seen the sequels) has nothing to convincingly offer as basis for its interpretation as an allegory for transgenderism. The Wachowskis may have chosen to reinterpret their own work as a trans allegory after they transitioned but that only tells about their identity politics and the intention to define the meanings of their work for others. It only works if one is willing to wear the glasses they offer through which to see the movie. For others, it simply doesn’t work.
