Why Dying In The Matrix Kills People In Real Life

Why does dying in the matrix kill people in the real world? The 1999 cult classic, The Matrix, draws heavily from Jean Baudrillard’s 1981 philosophical treatise, Simulacra and Simulation, which delves deep into the notions of how objective reality has been replaced with subjective tokens or symbols, creating a “desert of the real.”

With the emergence of the Redpill movement, which was helmed by those who were able to awaken themselves to the horrors of the real world, it became common for Zion operatives to plug themselves into the matrix in order to free as many humans as possible. Once aboard Morpheus’ ship, the Nebuchadnezzar, Neo experiences newfound freedom and a deeper understanding of the nature of reality, understanding the need to hack into the simulated world in order to subvert it from within. While explaining the inner workings of the matrix, Morpheus warns Neo that injury in the simulated world would inadvertently impact their bodies in the real world as well, which could also lead to death in the real world.

The reason why the matrix is able to kill people in the real world can be attributed to an innate psychosomatic response, which is an inevitable result of psychological stimuli. It is important to note that jacking into the matrix involves plugging the wires deep into one’s neural pathways, which increases the probability of psychosomatic association. For instance, when The Matrix’s hero, Neo, is injured within the matrix, his body aboard the Nebuchadnezzar starts to bruise and bleed as well, mainly because the human brain has been conditioned from birth to believe that simulated feedbacks within the artificial construct of the matrix is real.

This has been exemplified time and again throughout The Matrix trilogy and The Matrix Comics, wherein people connected to the matrix have been able to alter their body temperature and blood pressure, even manifesting tumors under situations of duress. Apart from this, deep-rooted psycho-social conditioning is difficult to overcome, even for those who are seemingly free from the illusions of the artificial computer-simulated world. The brain’s neural pathways react to fight-or-flight situations in a visceral manner, without managing to make a distinction between the real and the hyperreal. Hence, when one is injured or killed within the matrix, their bodies in the real world are directly affected due to the instinctual and involuntary response of the human brain.

Moreover, it is crucial to note that the artificial world in The Matrix is a painstakingly-designed and intricate one, one that mirrors reality in uncomfortable ways. When redpills are engaged in high-intensity scenarios involving the body’s flight-or-fight response, it is easy, rather inevitable, to succumb to wounds or even death in the real world. It is precisely because Neo is able to de-condition deep-rooted ancestral memory and evolve beyond his instinctive psychosomatic response, that he is able to slow down bullets and come back from the dead despite being shot inside the matrix. It would take a superhuman mental effort, along with the intrinsic powers of “the One” to be able to defy this programming, something only Neo can do so far within the film’s labyrinthine framework.

About The Author

Debopriyaa Dutta
(328 Articles Published)

Apart from being a features writer and critic at ScreenRant, Debopriyaa is a news writer at /Film. She is also a contributor to High on Films & Fansided, and an editor at Digital Mafia Talkies. Her poetry has been published in a wide array of journals, such as Gideon Poetry, White Noise Magazine, and Literaria. Find her on Twitter @angelusatani.

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