Keanu Reeves Opens Up About Matrix Movies “Red Pill” Metaphor Co-Opted By Alt-Right: “It Doesn’t Sound That Great To Me”

In a recent interview with the Guardian, Keanu Reeves shared his thoughts on the Matrix movies’ metaphors twisted by the Alt-Right to fuel distrust of government and media.

Keanu Reeves (Neo) starred in The Matrix, in which he uncovers humanity lost in a war with machines they created long ago and is now living in a computer simulation created to enslave them. He then joins members of the human resistance against the Machines in the real world.

One of the most iconic scenes in the film sees Morpheus (a member of the human resistance) offer Neo the choice of a blue pill or a red pill. Neo can pop the blue pill and return to life blissfully unaware of the matrix, the simulated world. Or take the red pill, accept reality, and rise against the tyranny of the machines.

Over the years, the red pill theory has been exploited by far-right populism, which positions itself as anti-government. Fuelling the distrust in government, alt-right, used red-pill theory to launch attacks on multiculturalism, feminism, globalization and immigration.

Per BBC, the alt-right red pill theory was popularized by former US President Donald Trump and his supporters. Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who at the time was a White House senior adviser, quote-tweeted billionaire Elon Musk to say she had consumed the red pill.

In a recent interview with the Guardian, while promoting a collaboration on a novel written by China Miéville, Keanu Reeves was asked his thoughts on the Matrix movie metaphors being co-opted by the alt-right.

Reeves replied, “It doesn’t sound that great to me?” Then: “But I don’t know. It’s art, right? So I don’t know. I mean, it’s like … yeah. I guess people … yeah. Take it and run with it …”

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