Watching Keanu Reeves back in the Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure days, did anyone ever think that there would someday be a college course based on one of his movies? Well, now there is. One word for that, and you all know what it is. OK, OK: “Whoa!”
Yes, The Matrix is now the focus of an introductory philosophy class at the University of Washington in Seattle. According to Sci-Fi Wire, instructor David Nixon based the class on the philosophical themes and religious archetypes of the film. Nixon got the idea after seeing the film five times in theaters and realizing that it served to illustrate such concepts as perception, the mind and free will.
“The movie presents a lot of good, concrete scenarios that serve as thought experiments for getting students thinking about these traditional philosophical problems,” he told Sci-Fi Wire.
Nixon also notes that there are some aspects of the film which are not as, shall we say…academic. “I must admit, the last half of the movie is not as philosophical and has a lot more butt-kicking,” he said. We should make a joke here equating kickass action to some kind of philosophical concept, but we’re too busy formulating our lesson plans for a slate of companion courses: “Buffy as Pop Cultural Turning Point in the History of Women’s Rights,” “The Semiotics of Xena: Warrior Princess,” and “Q or Spock? The Eternal Debate.”
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