During Morpheus' interrogation, Agent Smith reveals to Morpheus why humans rejected the first version of the Matrix, the perfect version of it, 1.0:"Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. Some believed we lacked the programming language to describe your perfect world. But I believe that, as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from, which is why the Matrix was redesigned to this: the peak of your civilization"1
This idea that humans' lot in life on Earth is suffering comes a lot from many different religions, but it's also a very negative view of life. Is it accurate that humans' reality DEPENDS upon suffering and misery? That's one question I'd like you to think more deeply about.
Smith goes on to define humans as a virus that destroys anything and everything in its path; we spread across the planet like a plague and annihilate everything.
"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure" 1
This is kind of a bleak outlook on humanity, but what would you expect from a computer / artificial intelligence who had been trying to destroy our kind for 200 years? But, ironically, these thoughts didn't come from a computer but the minds of the Wachowski sisters who wrote the script. And even more levels of irony, the Agents characters (as revealed in the sequels) are essentially viruses in the system of the Matrix (think about it - they can hop from one sentient being to another, and when that being is killed, the virus / Agent looks for another host with which to do damage).
And since we're hopefully wrapping up the Covid pandemic (fingers crossed), I couldn't help but think of the corona virus when I watched this scene again in 2022. In the past two years, we have seen the virus kill over 1 million Americans (and 6.2 million worldwide as of April 7) and almost half a BILLION confirmed cases across the world. If we want any evidence that humans are NOT a virus, this pandemic has shut that notion down dramatically (though some radical environmental activists point to improved pollution levels as the pandemic being a good thing since a lot of human activity was shut down for months on end).
Questions:
1. Do you agree w/ Agent Smith that humankind's reality depends upon suffering and misery? Why or why not?
2. Does mankind act like a virus in the way we consume resources and destroy our living space? Why or why not?
Due Sunday, April 10. 300 words minimum for your total answer.
Sources:
1. Internet Movie Database - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/quotes
A little music to make the blog go easier: Shinedown's "Devour" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QXNtLaOnSE plus the lyrics for the song:
Due Sunday, April 10. 300 words minimum for your total answer.
Sources:
1. Internet Movie Database - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/quotes
A little music to make the blog go easier: Shinedown's "Devour" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QXNtLaOnSE plus the lyrics for the song:
Take it and take it and take it and take it and take it all
Take it and take it and take it until you take us all
Smash it and crash it and thrash it and trash it
You know they're only toys
Try it you'll like it don't hide it don't fight it, just let it out
Steal and shoot it and kill it or take another route
Take it and take it and take it
You know they're only toys
Devour Devour
Suffocate your own empire
Devour Devour
It's your final hour
Devour Devour
Stolen like a foreign soul
Devour Devour
What a way to go
You want it, you want it, you want it, you want it
Well here it is
Everything everything everything
Isn't so primitive
Take it and take it and take it and take it and take it all
Nobody nobody wants to feel like this
Nobody nobody wants to live like this
Nobody nobody wants a war like this
Devour Devour
Suffocate your own empire
Devour Devour
It's your final hour
Devour Devour
Stolen like a foreign soul
Devour Devour
What a way to go
What a way to go
I don't think humankind depends on misery and suffering but I also don't think we could live in a world of pure bliss and happiness. In the matrix it says that our primitive cerebrum kept waking humans up. I think that could be due to the fact that our primal instincts to keep humans alive stemmed from solving problems, not just living happily. Another theory for why humankind didnt work in a world of pure happiness comes from the good place tv show. I recently started and binged the show. Toward the end it shows that the good place was “to perfect '' and after times humans brain became mush because they were living in a perfect environment with everything they could ever wish for.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the agent's view of humans as a virus. I wouldn't normally phrase it that way because humans do sometimes improve their living space and the term virus is quite harsh. But some Humans do ruin their environment whether they realize it or not. For example pollution, Humans caused pollution by using dangerous gasses, building factories, and simply littering. I do think humans can improve but they do in some ways act like viruses.
Firstly, I completely agree with Agent Smith that as humans, our reality depends upon suffering and misery to understand that the world we are in is real. If we were to never have any hardships in life, it would be extremely difficult to even gauge our happiness, as everything would be perfect all the time. Unfortunately, pain is a part of every person’s life. It is what shapes us and makes us grow. Nothing that is real can be completely perfect. As great as it may seem for people to never suffer, never experience pain, it is at the end of the day, one thing in life which reminds us we are real. When we are physical, we can feel it, letting us know something is wrong. When we are in emotional pain, we can tell something is wrong. So not only is it a part of our survival, it is a part of what makes us human and real.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I have mixed feelings on Agent Smith’s next argument, that humans are a virus. I believe that there have been many times where humankind was practically a virus, completely destroying everything in its path. Things that come to mind are complete deforestation, poaching, and our current contribution to climate change. However, I believe that many want to fight back against the harm we’ve caused. For example, the many animal and plant sanctuaries that we have in order to protect, and regulations on how we dispose of our waste in factories and such. Still there is much that we have destroyed that we cannot fix unfortunately. So to a certain extent, I can definitely understand why Agent Smith would say that. Humans have caused irreversible damage to the world, but I also believe that we are trying to make up for our horrible actions by attempting to better ourselves and help improve the world. Still, overall it is a difficult question to answer.
1. I agree with agent Smith that humankind’s reality depends on suffering and misery. Without suffering and misery there would be nothing pushing humans to strive to be better. This motivation creates a purpose. If the world which we lived in was perfect, there would be no purpose. This is why the humans in the first matrix could not accept the perfect world. Humans need motivation; without it what is there to live for? How would humans know what to do without negative experiences? Experiences teach us almost everything we know and most of those experiences are not all perfect.
ReplyDelete2. Mankind acts as a virus, inhabiting land and destroying it. Since early civilizations, the area which humans occupy has greatly increased. The land was never enough, causing exploration past their own boundaries. The Europeans expanded westward, leading to another westward expansion from Americans. All of the untouched land began to get destroyed with new houses, buildings, and farms. Cities popped up all over the world, and when these cities were not enough land civilization sprawled to the suburbs. These are some of the same characteristics as a virus. A virus finds a host and expands throughout, destroying everything they can in that host. Natural landscapes are becoming a rarity in this world due to humans destroying most of it to consume. For example, if oil is found on a piece of property, that property will be overused until there is not a single drop of oil left. That land will be ruined because of the process of extracting the oil. This destruction is not an issue to humans since they are getting oil at a cheaper price. Producers will continue to do this will land which they find valuable until there is nothing left because it is convenient to them.
Charlie Cusimano
I think that I somewhat agree with what agent smith was saying in the movie and his idea that humankind’s reality depends on misery and suffering. I think that it is true that at every place and time in history there has been some kind of misery and suffering, and it is a major part of human reality. However I am not sure about the idea that human civilization would not be able to survive without it. If humans were put in a simulated world where everything was perfect, they might reject it at first like they did in the matrix because they cannot accept that it is real. At all times in human life there is some kind of suffering/imperfection and nothing is fully perfect, if everything was already perfect, there would be nothing for humans to do and some might be driven crazy. But I think that most humans will easily adapt to a perfect world even if it is completely different from what humans are used to and they will be able to not be dependent on some kind of suffering to focus their life on. I do agree with agent smith’s statement that humans act like a virus relative to the natural world and in the way we consume resources and destroy our living space. Throughout history and still today human civilization thrives off damaging the environment for its own benefit. We know that what we are doing is bad for the environment and for us in the future, but we keep doing it because it is good for us right now. Also, like a virus we are always looking to expand to new lands to use more natural resources once we have used up what we have, even now we are looking at using new planets for habitat and resources.
ReplyDelete-Elliot Viaud-Murat
The Matrix has quite an interesting villain in Agent Smith. Hugo Weaving brilliantly plays a computer program who has come to the conclusions that the reality of humanity is based on suffering and misery, and that humanity is a virus, wiping out the very resources of the world that gave them their prominence. Even though Smith is very clearly the antagonistic presence, I believe that he is correct in both of his assertions.
ReplyDeleteLet’s begin with the first conclusion: is humanity’s reality dependent on misery and suffering? I would argue that it is, as any kind of perfect world would be “too good to be true” to any human who has had any kind of life before entering this proto-Matrix. We as a species are used to draining jobs, corrupt politicians, et cetera, and any break from that would be considered something like a dream. As much as I would like to believe that we would be able to live comfortably in a world without suffering, it would be extremely off-putting to live in that perfect world while knowing what my life had been like before being put into this proto-Matrix. There would always be a quiet feeling that something was wrong if everything was perfect in the world.
Next, I’d like to talk about Smith’s other assertion: that humanity is a virus, destroying everything in its path in order to preserve the species. While watching the movie and hearing this speech, I came upon the realization that Smith was completely right. Humanity has always been a species of consumption. Just looking at one single issue, that of climate change, you can really tell how Smith is correct. In order to provide energy, we have taken an extreme amount of both coal and oil from the land, and burned it up, releasing dangerous gasses into the atmosphere. It’s very clear how humanity has shaped the world to its desires, destroying it in the process. Smith is pretty clearly correct in this instance.
In conclusion, as someone who doesn’t believe they’re very nihilistic, Smith’s monologue struck a remarkably accurate chord with me, strangely enough. As much as I don’t want to believe that Smith is correct, I have nonetheless come to the conclusion that he is.
Agent Smith’s notion that humans depend on suffering and misery holds some truth but not entirely. After reading “Power of the Now” by Ekhart Tolle, I believe that human consciousness is mostly overrun by the ego and subconscious mind. In regard to the ego, I do believe it needs suffering and misery, many people subconsciously identify with their problems and trauma as though it defines them. People are unable to live in the freedom of the present moment, and rather worry about the future. If there is no problem in the present moment, the mind will suffer in the future since you cannot cope with the future. The ego cannot live without fear, suffering, problems etc. Therefore people unconsciously gain a sense of identity through suffering and refusal of what is. Although, deprived of ego I think humankind would not depend on suffering and instead see reality for what it truly is, free of judgment and negative perception. The outer is never truly the issue, it is the inner perception that creates the reality. The same goes for whether human beings are a virus. Run by the ego, I think human beings do act as a virus. We dominate every species on earth and kill other life forms due to our own greed. Just look at global warming, extinction etc. Mankind is killing the very world that keeps us alive, the irony is insane. The creations (mankind) are killing the creator (Earth). Although devoid of ego, and the true form of human consciousness prevailed, I think we would no longer be a virus. Mankind can coexist with nature if we choose too. But until human beings are no longer run by fear and greed, we will remain a virus. Of course there are those of us who care for the environment and do our part in maintaining it, but I think it's too small in comparison to how our society is run. Capitalism breeds destruction of the earth.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Agent Smith that in some sense humankind’s reality does depend on suffering and misery. Throughout all our history we have always made decisions and choices that were made at the expense of other people. Just look at how many wars we started and how many expansions we made. Whenever we want natural resources and land we push ourselves into territories that are not ours in order to obtain them. Look at how many lives were lost in order to bring “democracy” in the Middle East and elsewhere. Our lifestyles in this country and many others depend on the suffering of other people in different countries and different parts of the world. The clothing and shoes we wear, the phones we have, the gas to run our cars, and the “freedom” we claim to be spreading have all had a serious impact on people we don’t often care or want to hear about. For example, we have an extremely bad reputation when it comes to our treatment of native populations. Not just the Native Americans that we kicked out for the sake of Westward expansion, but also the Berbers in Northern Africa, the Kurds in the Middle East, and the native indegnious tribes throughout South America. In many senses, Mankind does act like a virus in how we consume our natural resources and how we strive for more. Everyone knows that sometime in the future we will eventually run out of oil, coal, and natural gas. However, we humans have a specific trait that is exclusive to our kind. When we occupy an area and consume all of it’s natural resources, we completely destroy it and go to another area to do the same, and then another. Take a look at the effects our oil rigs are having on the ocean, how our fossil fuels are killing the atmosphere and warming our planet, and how we destroy the land that we live on in order to build skyscrapers and buildings that look nice, like the palm tree islands that were man-made in Dubai, which had a disastrous effect on the ocean and land there.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that people need suffering and misery. I think the first “perfect” matrix didn’t work because it just wasn’t realistic. Humans have definitely come to expect that the world isn’t perfect, so when given a world without struggle or strife they will reject it. We are naturally inclined to desire some sort of challenge, something that relies on imperfection but not necessarily “suffering” or “misery”. Humans not liking the “perfect” matrix world is not the same as humans requiring “suffering and misery” to live. And of course, humans don’t like these things, either. Many people have the mentality that a bit of struggle is necessary and expected no matter how you live life (“you can’t have a rainbow without rain” or something similar), but we still do strive to create less suffering. Over time we have gotten better at this; child mortality rates used to be very high, for example. A mother of eight children might expect to lose at least three. But now she wouldn’t expect to lose any. Advances in medical technology have made this possible. People also create and donate to charities to help others and reduce the amount of suffering in the world.
ReplyDeleteNo, humanity isn’t a virus. I definitely agree that other animals have a certain equilibrium with nature that we unfortunately do not, but we can’t ignore the fact that humans have a conscience about that. Although we have used and abused Earth’s natural resources, we don’t actually want to- and many people are actively trying to put an end to this poor relationship with the Earth. The Earth also created us, unlike a body to a virus, and most people seem to be in agreement that more harmony with it would be a good thing. Our aim isn’t simply to suck resources and energy from the Earth and move on to a new planet; we have a conscience and an emotional connection with our planet.
Bailey M.
1. Do you agree w/ Agent Smith that humankind's reality depends upon suffering and misery? Why or why not?
ReplyDelete*talk of eating disorders and self harm, please do no read if it might trigger*
I do think many people depend on the feeling of suffering, but for a motley of reasons. Some people cause self destruction, believing that is what they deserve. For example, purposefully not eating. This can start as a want to be more stereotypically pretty. The feeling of not being satisfied with one's looks to the point of stopping basic human needs is already a way of suffering, but not eating can also be used as a way to bring pain upon oneself, turning into a punishment. No one is forcing someone with anorexia to starve themselves, it is a disorder that makes the person want to suffer for a goal.
To step away from eating disorders and other disorders that force self sabotage and therefore suffering at the hands of oneself, I think the yin and yang of living is what makes it enjoyable.To think of it like this, I would not be happy with the sun if it never rained. I simply would not know anything else so I would not be grateful for a nice day. Having the possibility of rain is what makes having a nice day so enjoyable. Without sadness, happiness can not exist, because there are no conflicting feelings to make being happy so special or to compare against.
“All sunshine and no rain makes a desert.” From an Arab Proverb
2. Does mankind act like a virus in the way we consume resources and destroy our living space? Why or why not?
I think we act like a predator species trying to survive. The agent stated that mammals live in a mutually beneficial relationship with their environment, never destroying it like we have, but that is false. It happens so often that we have a name for it, an invasive species. To look at humans and animals together is not necessarily the same, since humans have conscious and have been evolved to a certain point, and yet we act at base levels, so in this case, I will only be looking at the nature of people without the thoughts of a consciousness and instead only a base survival instinct. Like all successful species, people try to get resources and repopulate, and we have been very successful, that is why our success has driven other things to extinction. To classify us as a virus is false, as we are doing as all animals have. What we are might not be good for the Earth, but we are successful as a species, having survived and evolved for this long. We do consume and destroy living space, not as a virus, but as a predator species does to survive and populate.
Lily D.
While agent smith’s perspective as thought up by the Wachowski sisters is certainly interesting, but also incredibly pessimistic. I find myself agreeing with bits and pieces of his overall overview on the world and am generally conflicted on my view of him. It’s odd to find yourself agreeing, even a little bit, with the villain.
ReplyDeleteHis first point about human kind being dependent on misery and suffering I immediately disagree with, but when I think a little bit more it is not completely false. I don’t think humans enjoy misery and suffering, but I do think it’s almost a necessary evil to put the world in perspective. If everything was sunshine and rainbows we wouldn’t appreciate the nice things in life because we would have nothing to compare it to. The idea that we define our reality through misery and suffering is a glass half-empty outlook which I think many of us have. I don’t think everyone is like this, and I also don’t think this is such a negative thing as agent smith does which is where we differ.
His next point about humanity is also interesting. I can’t help but be at least partially convinced of his idea of humankind being a virus when I think about what we’ve done to the planet and so many different species of animals. The planet is dying and we still have incredible reluctance to do anything about it, and the endangered species list gains news guests all the time. Elephants are an example of our selfishness, we know they are endangered yet there are many poachers willing to kill them for their tusks so they can make money and/or satisfy their needs without regards to the other creatures we share the planet with. I don’t think humanity is completely bad, there are of course those fighting these tendencies but it’s hard to deny our insatiable need for consumption with fast fashion and capitalism and it’s effects on everything else on this planet we share.
ReplyDelete1. I feel that I do agree with Agent Smith. If we lived in a perfect, completely flawless world, I feel like everyday would be the same. It would be repetitive and too much perfection is bound to have people go crazy. While it sounds depressing, it’s kind of true that humankind’s reality depends upon suffering and misery. Us humans have to go through hardships in order to learn and cope with them. Difficult times ultimately make us stronger in the end. Our lives should not all be suffering and misery but I do feel like as we all go through unfortunate experiences, it makes us bigger people and creates variety in our life.
2. I wasn’t sure when I first read this question what my answer would be, but the more I thought about it, the more I’m positive that my answer is yes. Humans treat our planet like it’s one big garbage bag. As I’m writing this, I’m driving home from Chicago and it’s really astonishing the amount of litter there is on the highway. People don’t realize that every piece of litter contributes to the deterioration of our planet. And we consume so many things which also is destroying our planet. We buy and buy and buy and eventually, everything ends up in landfills or in the ocean. Humankind is toxic. When we received the news of this pandemic that’s been looming over our lives for the past few years, some of us did nothing to help stop the spread of it. People didn’t wear masks, didn’t get their vaccines and only made things much worse, which leads to millions of deaths around the world. Humans can be heartless and selfish creatures which is why I truly do believe that we do all act like a huge virus that is slowly working to destroy the world.
1. Personally I do not agree with him. I believe that human reality depends on those moments in between misery, plague, and poverty. The few moments of happiness in life. So far what I have seen of life has not been the best of everyone on earth, but it is also far from the worst and even still I lead a pretty depressing existence. But it’s the few moments in between that keep (at least me) going. For me it’s when I’m sitting by myself and thinking of something funny, or when I’m with my friends and we’re all chatting and laughing about stuff that’s happened. It’s different for each person. As pessimistic and negative as I have the tendency to believe I think that in any situation no matter how bleak there has to be something to make you smile or laugh that keeps you going. But I believe the reason that the first matrix didn’t work is not because as humans we understand to some degree that anything perfect simply isn’t real. Doesn’t matter if it’s good or not.
ReplyDelete2. Unfortunately here he does have a bit of a point. I’m sure that someone else can probably find millions of examples as to why this isn’t true. But from my experience in life, it often feels like it is. The problem about human curiosity is that it leads us to these new things, but then we all have to go see it. That’s why now Mount Everest is covered in trash. If you climb to the top, there is just a pile of trash. The world is an absolute overheated mess and it’s all our faults. At this point as the dominant species on this earth we are just bleeding resources and squandering the environment to do it. You can see the amount of the amazon that has been cut down from space (I’m like 90% sure don’t quote me. Google is not giving me helpful results).
-Emma Moskovitz
I don't think humankind depends on misery and suffering but I also don't think we could live in a world of pure bliss and happiness. In our current reality, we live in a world full of problems but also happiness. I think humans will always need some type of balance between problems/suffering and happiness/peace. In the matrix it says that our primitive cerebrum kept waking the humans up. I think that could be due to the fact that our primal instincts to keep humans alive stemmed from us having to constantly solve problems in order to survive and not just living happily. Another theory for why humankind did not work in a world of pure happiness comes from the good place tv show. I recently started and binged the show. Toward the end it shows that the good place was “to perfect '' and after some time the humans' brains became much better because they were living in a perfect environment with everything they could ever wish for.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the agent's view of humans as a virus. I wouldn't normally phrase it that way because humans do sometimes improve their living space and the term virus is quite harsh. But some Humans do ruin their environment whether they realize it or not. For example pollution, Humans caused pollution by using dangerous gasses, building factories, and simply littering. When you think about it, people live in an area, eat from the area, and use the area's resources. If the area becomes inhabitable or simply not to the person's liking we move and use resources from a new area. Viruses enter a person/computer, make it “sick” and then leave to another host. I think the people that don't act like viruses are the ones growing/creating their own resources like farmers. I do think humans can improve but they do in some ways act like viruses toward their living area.
Oli M.
I don’t think we humans are dependent on misery, but I do think it plays a major role in our lives. In certain scenarios, instead of thinking about positive outcomes, people often think about how their lives will be negatively affected in the end. I understand when you’re making decisions you have to consider both sides, but you shouldn’t live your life mainly thinking negatively. If we also consider what the world would be like if we were all dependent on happiness, then it would be weird. It brings us back to the one philosophical idea that we require balance in our lives. We require the balance of happiness and misery. You can learn from both of them and that is one way to evolve as a human.
ReplyDeleteIn the point that humans act as a virus, I do agree. We take over in areas until there is nothing left. But also a virus in the sense of the energy you spread. If you walk around with negative energy it can radiate to others. Not only do actions bounce off of each other but so does the way people carry themselves. In the sense of actions, take plastic for example. Someone came up with plastic and people were like “Wow! Genius idea!” We continued to use plastic but now we have polluted our own world with this product that we created. Another example to point out would be abandoned homes, etc. Us as people build these homes, live in them, and leave them with no care. When you leave multiple homes it causes an abandoned neighborhood that has undergone no care. In this, we are infecting our own environment because we take and destroy what we have.
1. No, I do not necessarily agree with the statement that humankind’s reality depends upon suffering and misery. I do think that humans need some suffering and misery to balance out the good because what is good without the bad? But saying that humankind’s reality depends upon it is taking it a little too far. I found it interesting that Agent Smith mentioned that the original version of The Matrix was a perfect world for humans but it failed because they wouldn’t accept it. I think this happened because it was not balanced out properly and humans couldn’t appreciate all of the good without bad to counteract it.
ReplyDelete2. In a way, yes humans do kind of act like a virus they way we consume resources and destroy our living space. I only somewhat agree with this because of how we destroy ecosystems and often put our own needs and priorities over the life and preservation of animals and plants that we share our planet with. We are also slowly ruining the Earth because of our selfishness and invasiveness which correlates to a virus. But, I do not fully agree with that statement that humankind is like a virus because viruses (like Covid) spread rapidly with no empathy or care for anything in their way. Even though some humans are definitely like this, I feel like there is some hope in humanity and we are not all like this.
Max Kepler