The political philosophy of "The Matrix" / Seoul philosophy discussion group

> > > THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF THE MATRIX FILM UNIVERSE and the tragic nature of politics < < <

The above is the discussion topic for the Sunday, March 15, 2026 meeting.

See below for: preparation materials (required, recommended, and optional); discussion questions; and group introduction.

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[Preparation materials]

Attendees at the March 15 session should be familiar with the following, amounting to two to three hours' preparation time:

(1.) [Required] -- Watch the animated short animated film "The Second Renaissance" (2003; 18-minute run-time). It is available in four parts on Youtube (one, two, three, four). Paik uses "The Second Renaissance" as the basis of much of his discussion (see 2.). "Second Renaissance" is a prequel to the three "Matrix" films of 1999-2003, giving the backstory that takes our real-existing world to the world of The Matrix.

(2.) [Required] -- In Peter Paik's book From Utopia to Apocalypse (2010), read the first half of Chapter 4, pgs. 123-153 in the text (pgs. 34-41 in the PDF) (access the book in PDF form here). The first half of Chapter 4 is Paik's discussion of the political-philosophy themes or lessons we may draw from The Matrix universe.

(3.) [Recommended] -- Read the Introduction to the Peter Paik book, pgs. 1-23 in the text (pgs.3-8 in the PDF).

(4.) [Optional] -- Familiarize yourself with the critiques of modern and postmodern liberal political order.made by: Slavoj Zizek, Eric Voegelin, Terry Eagleton, and John Gray. These four thinkers are mentioned often in Paik's Matrix commentary.

(5.) [Optional] -- Watch (or re-watch) the first three "Matrix" feature films: The Matrix (1999; 2h15m); The Matrix Reloaded (2003; 2h18m); The Matrix Revolutions (2003; 2h9m). (The 2021 film Matrix Resurrections came out long after the Paik text.)

(6.) [Recommended] -- Although watching the Matrix series feature-films is NOT necessary to participate meaningfully in this discussion, you should be familiar with the outline of the premise and story/plot. Paik's commentary does not heavily rely on the movies. and his in-text explanations of the plot is sufficient for the purposes of this study.

You may the Paik book, Utopia to Apocalypse: Science Fiction and the Politics of Catastrophe, here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sog5CIipIvfgvOhwxQYZ-dBhg3gALFkM/view

(NOTE: A few more optional reading materials, especially by Eagleton, Zizek, Voegelin, and/or John Gray or about their ideas, may be uploaded here later. -- Feb 25 update.)

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[Discussion Questions]

These are a few questions to think through before the meeting, to guide discussion. (Subject to being updated.)

Considering the text below, reflect on the following questions:

TEXT: "The political helplenssness stemming from the sense that there is no alternative to liberal capitalism is reflected in the realm of culture, contends Zizek, as the incapacity to compose a credible and coherent narrative about revolutionary change: 'the narrative failure, the impossibility of constructing a "good story"' reveals a 'more fundamental social failure'." (Paik [2010], p.126).

(1.) What does a "good story" mean to you?

(2.) Is The Matrix a "good story"?

(3.) Why doesn't Zizek think The Matrix is a good story?

(4.) How does our incapacity to tell a "good story," along the line of The Matrix, reflect our political helplessness?

(5.) Are we, in our liberal capitalistic system, in fact trapped in some kind of real-life "Matrix," incapable of even imagining an escape from such a paradigm?

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[Group introduction]

Greetings!

In the spring of 2026, we are reviving an in-person, English-language philosophy discussion group in Seoul. The working name of our group is "The Philosopher's Pebble."

THIS SESSION: The Sunday, March 15, 2026 meeting (3:30 to 5:30pm) will be this group's second meeting in this form.

WHO: All interested persons who can discuss philosophical ideas in English are welcome to join. We have a core group of several people off "Meetup" that participates. We are welcome to outsiders.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Each gathering will be organized around a specific topic for discussion. (The March 15 topic deals with the political philosophy of "The Matrix.")

Attendees are asked to prepare by reading, listening, and/or watching material, generally to be at around 1.5 to 3 hours' worth of your time, and announced well in advance. (For our sessions in 2026, we are going through the book From Utopia to Apocalypse by Peter Paik, 2010.)

WHAT YOU NEED TO BE/DO: There is no need to be an expert. There is a need to be someone interested in good-faith open discussion and mutual learning!

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Get in touch and join us!

-- Peter J., on behalf of the organizers.