8. Keanu Reeves's Homework For The Film - Jean Baudrillards Simulacra And Simulation Makes An Appearance
When Morpheus first explains to Neo the nature of the Matrix, he uses the expression, Welcome, to the desert of the real. Paraphrasing the writing of Jean Baudrillards Simulacra and Simulation, it touches on a subject which was close to the Wachowskis' hearts - so close, in fact, they gave it to Keahu Reeves as essential reading material before he read the script. A copy of Simulacra and Simulation fittingly appears in the movie, owned by none other than Thomas Anderson, who might well have developed his inkling for the true nature of reality from this book, setting him on the path to his encounter with Morpheus and all that follows. In an early scene shortly before he sets out to the nightclub, Neo takes a copy of Baudrillard's book and opens it to reveal a secret compartment hidden inside. It could be said that the central point of the book - the reduction of the world to signs and symbols - is manifested only moments later, as Neo spots the white rabbit on the woman's shoulder, leading him down the hole.
