It´s true that Baudrillard HATED The Matrix?

Abe Sapien · #1 06-01-2003, 12:43 PM

nt.

bonzer · #2 06-01-2003, 01:01 PM

The widely quoted view that he did seems to stem from a 24/05/2002 New York Times piece by Brent Staples (reproduced on this site):

Quote:

The French philosopher Jean Baudrillard seemed to fight off a yawn when I asked him recently about the celebrity that has come to him through "The Matrix," a futuristic cyber-thriller that hit the screen three years ago and became one of the hottest movies of all time. Before this movie, Mr. Baudrillard's dense little book "Simulacra and Simulation" was studied mainly by cloistered graduate students and theory-heads. Because "The Matrix" cribbed from the book for its dialogue and gave a full-screen shot of the title, "Simulacra and Simulation" has become a cult hit, even though it is difficult to pronounce and not easy to read. The book's profile is likely to rise even higher when the first of two sequels hits the screen next year.
Most writers would swoon over product placement like this. But Mr. Baudrillard was unimpressed when we conversed by e-mail recently. He noted that the film's "borrowings" from his work "stemmed mostly from misunderstandings" and suggested that no movie could ever do justice to the themes of this book.

Tangent · #3 06-01-2003, 02:10 PM

Quote:

He noted that the film's "borrowings" from his work "stemmed mostly from misunderstandings" and suggested that no movie could ever do justice to the themes of this book.

Sounds like something a French philosopher would say.