The Matrix

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The Matrix is a science fiction / action multimedia franchise created by The Wachowskis. It is set in a future where intelligent machines have taken over the world, imprisoned the vast majority of human beings in pods and harnessed them for their bioelectricity. To keep the humans under control, the machines project into their minds a vast and detailed simulated reality program, called the Matrix. The franchise tells the story of a group of people who have been freed from the Matrix and are fighting against the machines.

The franchise began with the original movie, The Matrix, which came out in 1999. The movie was notable for its ground-breaking special effects: particularly, the "bullet time" effect, in which the action freezes while the camera pans around the subject. A classic example occurs in the movie's opening scene, where Trinity fights the police officers who are trying to capture her.

The Matrix was followed by two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, in 2003. The franchise has also spawned video games, comic books, and animated short films which expand on the storyline from the movies.

The Matrix has been referenced several times in the Simpsons universe: in television episodes, comics and video games.

Episodes

Picture Season Episode number Episode name Reference 12 251 "Insane Clown Poppy" In the couch gag, the family enter the living room in bullet time. They freeze in mid-air while the camera pans around them, then take their seats on the couch. 252 "Lisa the Tree Hugger" Music from the movie's soundtrack plays during the montage of scenes where Bart delivers the menus for You Thai Now. When he is in the apartment building, the bullet time effect is seen when he first enters the hallway. As he hangs the menus from the doorknobs, he runs along the wall as Neo and Trinity do in the lobby fight scene. 13 274 "The Blunder Years" The bullet time couch gag appears again. 15 327 "The Ziff Who Came to Dinner" Two of the upcoming movies at Springfield Googolplex Theatres are A Matrix Christmas and You're in the Matrix, Charlie Brown. 250px 18 387 "Kill Gil, Volumes I & II" One of the characters in the ice show is "Matrix Poochie". He is costumed as Neo and enters the rink bent over backwards, similar to Neo when he fights the agent on the roof. 20 440 "Four Great Women and a Manicure" During the Macbeth parody segment, actor Homer forgets his lines and starts reading from scripts concealed on his person, trying to find the right line. He reads, "Dammit, Morpheus! Not everyone believes what you believe." Patty quickly catches him out, however, and identifies the quote as being from The Matrix Reloaded. 26 562 "The Man Who Came To Be Dinner" The Rigellian resistance live in a large underground cavern and enjoy celebrating with dancing and loud music, similar to the "Zion Dance Party" scene in The Matrix Reloaded.

Comics

Picture Comic issue Story name Reference Simpsons Comics 57 How the Vest Was Won! Right after Bart gets his bulletproof vest, he envisions himself wearing it and standing with Milhouse and either Sherri or Terri, in a pose resembling a poster from the first movie. The Simpsons Summer Shindig 2 Chili Chili Bang Bang Chief Wiggum eats an insanity pepper and undergoes a vision quest with Wiggle Puppy as his spirit guide. When Wiggle Puppy asks Wiggum if he has any questions, Wiggum replies, "What was The Matrix about? I didn't get that movie at all."

Video Games

Picture Game Reference The Simpsons Game The title of the sixth level, Enter the Cheatrix, is a pun on the video game Enter the Matrix.

External links

• The Matrix at Wikipedia

Cultural references

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