Movie the Matrix and Octavia Butlers Dawn Essay - 1538 Words

Movie the Matrix and Octavia Butlers Dawn When I first announced to my parents that I was going to marry my current wife, the first words out of my father’s mouth were, â€Å"But she’s from another culture.† My father and mother, although being generally good people, are the products of an older system of beliefs. It is the matrix I was raised with, and that dictated my earlier learning experience. Fortunately for me, I chose to risk alienating my parents, and told them that if they ever mentioned â€Å"different cultures† to me again, it would be the last time we would be on speaking terms. I chose to ignore the matrix I was presented with, and the happiness and peace of mind that came from that decision have shaped my life ever since. I†¦show more content†¦He is taken from the world he knew and shown the reality of humanity’s state, in which they are held prisoner to power the machines they helped create. Now Neo must choose whether he will pass to a higher state of cognit ion and change the reality he was given, or simply continue as he is, limited by the boundaries and walls imposed on him by a group that doesn’t care about his welfare. He chooses between a system of stagnant mental captivity and progressive mental growth and movement. Now we must compare Dawn to this pattern. The main character Lilith Iyapo is awakened after many years of alternately being tested in a lab and hibernating to discover that the humanity she knew almost destroyed itself with war and violence. She comes from a background where individual thought and expression are treasured above all else, and is faced with the fact that in order to survive as a species, humanity might be forced to give up that uniqueness. The Onkali, a race of beings capable of manipulating DNA in the same way computers manipulate numbers, have given Lilith and her people the chance for survival, but have demanded that the humans join their DNA structure to the Onkali’s in order to reproduce. Lilith, just as Neo was, is given two incredibly binary opposites to choose from, and told