Movies - Matriculated

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	Movies - Matriculated

Matriculated is a short film set in the world of The Matrix
and part of The Animatrix
collection.

Matriculated deals with an interesting topic: the capture and subsequent "brainwashing" of a Runner robot by an outlying group of the Resistance. By plugging the Runner into a special "program" designed specifically for the machine, the rebels manipulate it into trusting and obeying them. A group of Sentinels come across their base, however, and the story ends rather abruptly, with a touching moment where the converted machine tries to bring back his new human friends. The animation may look familiar to some, as the director was Peter Chung (of Aeon Flux fame).

Of particular note, is the "eye" color change that occurs when a "brainwashed" machine effectively "changes sides" and allies itself with the humans. When this shift in the machine's alligience occurs, their eyes go from red, to green.

This is interesting in its own right, but also for the fact that it directly ties into the Matrix film trilogy. After the theatrical release, the last film in the trilogy -- The Matrix Revolutions was altered slightly, seemingly to incorporate an element introduced in Matriculated.

:In the theatrical distribution of The Matrix Revolutions, at the end, when Neo's dead body is being carted away on a barge looking machine, this barge machine's eyes are red. As are the bulk of the lights to be seen in the Machine City landscape.

:However, in the subsequent DVD release, the barge machine's eyes have been changed to green, as well as the lights in the Machine City landscape -- just as the machines in Matriculated who had "changed sides."

It is also helpful to keep in mind that the change from red to green 'eye' color does not necessarily mean a simple change from "the machine team," to "the human team." In fact, it could be taken to mean a change in the machine's psychological paradigm. To go from a binary understanding of the world (human = enemy, machine = friend) to a more comprehensive open-minded paradigm in which the humans are seen as fellow conscious beings that they can co-exist with. Suggesting that the peace bartered by Neo in the end of The Matrix Revolutions, may indeed last.

This could also be seen as an incorporation of elements of Ken Wilber's philosophy.

Ken Wilber's Quadrant paradigm is alluded to in the design of The Matrix Revolutions DVD cover. And he is also one of the few people Larry Wachowski has agreed to be interviewed by, regarding the Matrix. So it seems likely that perhaps the choice to shift the machine's eyes from red to green may be an allusion to Chris Cowan's color codes for Spiral dynamics memes (possibly more easily described as a person's world view). In this paradigm:

red = egocentric, power, feudalistic

green = postmodern, multicultural, sensitive, pluralistic.

Runners

A type of machine scout with multiple transformation modes, Runners are named after their function to run over ground instead of the typical hovering that most of the machines use. They can transform into a form that slides along with its head tentacles and uses its legs as arms. They can even swim. If the Runners spot rebels, they can drop off a tracking device that alerts the nearest sentinels.

Voice actors

Melinda Clarke
— Alexa
Dwight Schultz
— Nonaka
Rodney Saulsberry — Chyron
James Arnold Taylor
— Raul
Jack Fletcher
— Sandro
Olivia d'Abo
— Rox

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Matriculated ]

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