2021.10.7

     Today, we concentrated on the movie called "Meatrix" that is inspired by "Matrix".

     In the first activity, I summarized and explained what the movie was about to my team members. As the movie was full of plot twists, it was hard to describe the flow of the story in words. However, this became an opportunity to reflect and reinterpret the amazing yet complex storyline. I personally loved the movie because although the genre is science fiction, it had a strong message that connects to real-world situations. The most connectable and striking part was when Neo chooses the red pill that shows the truth over the blue pill that leaves you ignorant as you are. This actually became a meme and made red pill a metaphor for "waking up".

     Firstly, education played a role as a red pill in Venezuela. Venezuela is known as a welfare state located in South America. However, it used to have terrible welfare. Before, the literacy rate was 70% which means 30% were unable to read and write. It went up to 98% after educational innovation happened and that made Venezuelan people realize that the world wasn’t the way we thought it was. People took action to improve the situation and that made education and hospital free.

     Secondly, "Meatrix" is a short flash animation that undercover the dark truth of farming and industrial agricultural practices. I was really blown away by how the movie made a good arrangement of the original plot and conveyed its message accurately while being funny and entertaining. After laughing, dopamine would secrete and memory power goes up. So the production put shocking and significant information after the comedy scene. This technique connects with what Mr. Paterson taught us about the presentation last year. Many media are sponsored by food companies that produce meat-related commodities and it was impossible to advertise the Meatrix in these media. I believe media should tell the truth when it matters to many people’s lives no matter the ownership.

     Lastly, we talked about how Meatrix and other organization doesn’t put Japanese translation. This can be explained by Japanese people’s tendency to stay in the middle and be moderate as possible. This culture's root goes back hundreds of years ago, but now it is Reiwa. I think that it is time to change from the younger generation. How about devising more education?

     Conclusively, Meatrix is deeply connected with what I have been studying in SGH. It was a hugely effective way to spread veganism. I believe it absolutely became a red pill for people who had been imagining a “family farm” and encouraged them for animal-free food life.