Alright, I've been watching clips of The Matrix recently for the first time. (Yes, I'm one of five who have never seen the movie.) And I got curious about one early on question faced with Neo: The Blue Pill, or the Red Pill? If no one has any idea what the hell I'm talking about, the red pill is basically waking up and seeing reality as it is. Getting away from life as you know it and removing the "blinders" if you will and seeing what the world really is and continue with all the hell that you've seen of reality so far. The blue pill is basically you continue with whatever fantasy you live in or non-reality you live in and forget every truth that you've seen to convince you that what you live in is fake. You wake up as it was a dream. That was the whole thing in the Matrix, I'm just curious as a lot of people have been debating it on Youtube, does this concept apply to real life and how? If so, which one would you pick?
It'd depend on what fantasy was I living in and what details that other black guy that isn't Samuel L. Jackson tells me about the reality. Honestly, if my life right now in the real world was the fantasy and the reality was the one from the movie, but I wasn't a chosen one? I'd probably stick to the fantasy. I probably would stick to the fantasy if I was the chosen one, **** that responsibility.
Blugh, I can't stand hard dualities. Life's not that simple, it's never that simple. Besides, how do we know the Red Pill wasn't the fantasy, elaborately crafted by a band of bitter "intellectuals" upset with the state of the world, who wanted to find themselves above it and validate their own dark, fatalistic worldviews? ...sry 4 wearing my heart on my sleeve :x
The Shonen Hero™ in me wants to say the Red Pill, but the practical side of me is going with Blue Pill. Going back to what Bueno and Nova brought up, what defines the fantasy and what defines the reality? If the reality is the one from the movie, then I'd probably stay in the fantasy. If the reality is similar to our own, but with its own nuances or free of the nuances present in our own, I'd be more likely to take it. And, I mean, it also depends on your own levels of content. Life is never going to be a 100% joyful experience, but if you like what you have and like what you're working to make, why should you be forced to give that away? "Ignorance is bliss" is a very true to us as people, but in this case it depends on what level of ignorance are we speaking of. If it's negative behaviors or ideas you're perpetuating that are directly or indirectly hurting other people, you need to face the reality. If it's something that has the potential to shatter either your life or the lives of other people around you, the Blue Pill may very well be the better option.
There is no difference between the dream world the real world. If you will be happier in the dream, live in the dream. I would probably choose to know the truth because I value freedom, but become a fighter/hacker in the Matrix like Neo did because I would not want to live in a world as simple and barbaric as the real one after having such a great adventure as living in The Matrix.
I would take the red pill because, given that choice, I couldn't not find out (if that makes sense 0.o). If I took the blue pill then sure I would think it was all a dream but in that moment when I am aware then I just couldn't face living a lie. My sense of curiousity and need to know the truth would make me take the red pill. Plus, if I was in the normal world and had a dream like that, part of me would wonder "imagine if that was real".
Blue pill. While I was watching the movie, I wanted Neo to take the blue pill. If you're happy in the fantasy world, stay there. Sure you won't know the 'absolute truth' of everything that happens in the world, but if you're happy, why should you throw the things that have made you happy in your life for a little bit of truth in what looked like a very unappealing real world. So I say blue pill.
Spoiler To answer one piece of OP that has been mostly looked over, I don't think this can translate into real life. You could learn about something, and then back away instead of learning more (a pretty common defensive reflex), but the blue pill takes that a step further. You don't just choose to ignore a subject, you forget that there is a subject to be ignored. Or in terms of the movie metaphor; you don't simply fail to see the depths of the rabbit hole, you forget that there is a rabbit hole. As for the choice I would make, it would probably be the red pill. I'm too big on knowing things to intentionally forget something (unless maybe it was for the good of people outside myself). And I usually have strong ethics, so I can't simply standby in a plight like the one in the movie. Though I would highly question how helpful I could possibly be.
I' m still not sure why the sequels get so much hate, I liked them even more. I' d take the red pill, and then I' d stick the blue one up Morpheus' ass. Yay truth, **** dogma.
Given the choice currently, I'd take the red pill and pray that whatever I wake up to is more exciting. This life is too dull. No magic, no vampires, no unicorns ... boring. Given that this world was the dream I'd choose to wake up anyhow, regardless of what was awaiting me on the other side. I'd have no attachments, no ties if I found out this was a dream because ... well it's a dream, it's fake. Considering this world is horrible in more ways than I find myself to be comfortable with ... I'd take that chance. -Nights
