If you had to chose one movie from the last 20 years which sums up science fiction cinema, chances are you'd go for The Matrix. Few other movies have left such an enduring impact on popular culture, whether it's the fashionable dark, brooding clothing and moody sunglasses or the underlying philosophical questioning of the nature of reality and the idea that our perception of the world is manipulated by powerful unseen forces. The Matrix is clearly indebted to other media - and this is the first thing that the directors, the Wachowskis, would agree with. From the frenetic action cinema of Hong Kohg - notably John Woo - to Japanese animation (reportedly the Wachowskis screened Ghost in the Shell to give producers at Warner Bros an idea of the kind of film they were looking to make), The Matrix is the sum of many parts; inspirations drawn from everything from popular culture to literature concerning the question of artificial intelligence. Naturally for a film in which the nature of reality forms the central thesis, the filmmakers were more than keen to reflect this ambiguity in subtle ways, and throughout The Matrix there are numerous nods to other references and points of influence, not to mention a few more light-hearted asides. Here are 12 such easter eggs contained in The Matrix you may well have missed, discrete little touches which make the film all the more impressive once you've spotted them.
12. Neo Meets The Oracle Accompanied By Duke Ellington's "I'm Beginning To See The Light"
By the time Neo comes to encounter the Oracle, he is already well on the way to the path of illumination, awakening to his true potential both within and outside of the Matrix. The red pill handed to him by Morpheus was clearly the catalyst which awoke him from his deception, but the Oracle is a figure who takes things one step further, shedding light on his true purpose. The scene in which he finally meets her is underpinned wonderfully by the use of music - Duke Ellington's I'm Beginning to See the Light plays ever so subtly in the background, underscoring perfectly the condition of Neo's plight and his ever-growing self-awareness. It's a great example of how music can act discreetly - almost subconsciously - on the audience, and one which plenty of people may have missed entirely.
