Matrix Keanu

04/01/19 • 61 min

In this episode, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Matrix with an extended analysis of Keanu Reeves’ character Neo across all 3 films in the franchise: The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). We talk about the Wachowski’s masterpiece as a culmination of Keanu Reeves’ career to date and the series’ legendary status in popular culture.

Previous Episode

Romantic Keanu

In this episode, we discuss A Walk in the Clouds (1995) and Feeling Minnesota (1996). The duality of Romantic Keanu is evident in these two films: one has an abundance of sentiment and the other, an absolute dearth. However, both films feature good guy Keanu saving the damsel in distress, often at his own peril, and the complex emotions from him that we have come to love. Lani Rich (chipperish.com) joins us to talk about the story structure of romances.

Next Episode

Teammate Keanu

In this episode, we talk about Keanu Reeves’ venture into sports comedies between Matrix movies, including The Replacements (2000) and Hardball (2001). Both movies are loosely based on true events, establishing characters that are both dynamic and cliché. We talk about how Keanu talks back to the sports comedy genre, the use of specific songs in both films, and his ever present reluctant hero, which manifests in a complicated representation of the White Savior.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Lorraine Branham, Dean of the Newhouse School at Syracuse University who passed on April 2. She was a wonderful captain who led our team over the past decade through some very trying times for the media industry.

It’s been an honor sharing the field of battle with you.