US killers blame 'The Matrix' for shootings

[Drizzt]

US killers blame 'The Matrix' for shootings
By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles
19 May 2003


Call it the Matrix Defence. WhileThe Matrix Reloaded, the second installment of the hit science fiction series, is breaking box office records around the world, lawyers around the United States are starting to use a novel excuse for people – especially young, mentally disturbed people – who commit murder.

Essentially the line is: I can't be guilty, because this isn't reality and we live in a computer-simulated world just like the one depicted in the film.

It is being used by Josh Cooke, 19, from Virginia, who calmly shot his parents in their family basement in February and then phoned police to say what he had done. In two other recent cases, one in Ohio and the other in San Francisco, defendants have been found not guilty by reason of insanity after claiming they thought they were living in the Matrix.

It is not unusual for violent criminals to identify with popular culture – bank robbers often take inspiration from heist movies like Point Blank, and there is evidence that the destroyers of the World Trade Centre were fans of Independence Day – but The Matrix appears to have a special hold.

The Matrix Reloaded took $93.3m (£59m) in the US in its opening weekend, the biggest to date for an R-certificate film – which requires an adult to accompany under-17s. It opens in Britain tomorrow.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=407532

 

[Coronach]

Lets see Hollywood get behind a ban on this topic...

Mike

 

[Skibane]

this isn't reality and we live in a computer-simulated world

Some of the world's major religions have a similar theme: The physical world is illusionary and temporary, while the spirtual world is the true reality. Of course, most religions also include a "commmit murder and go to Hell" clause that helps thwart this kind of defense...

 

[Telperion]

Essentially the line is: I can't be guilty, because this isn't reality and we live in a computer-simulated world just like the one depicted in the film.

I'm sure he'll enjoy his computer-simulated cell then...

 

[rock jock]

Some of the world's major religions have a similar theme: The physical world is illusionary and temporary, while the spirtual world is the true reality

As far as Christianity is concerned, the physical world may be described as temporary, but never "illusionary". The Matrix, however, does have a religious ring to it. It is a quite intriguing story, but a story nonetheless. I wonder at what point these dimwits realize that.

 

[Justin]

Essentially the line is: I can't be guilty, because this isn't reality and we live in a computer-simulated world just like the one depicted in the film.

I will personally buy a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts for anyone who can prove this in a court of law.



What a load of unmitigated, stinking crap!

 

[12.7x99mm]

 

[general]

I will personally buy a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts for anyone who can prove this in a court of law.

this isn't reality and we live in a computer-simulated world

In a REAL world court of law or.........
MMMMMM donuts...

 

[tyme]

[blockquote] It is not unusual for violent criminals to identify with popular culture – bank robbers often take inspiration from heist movies like Point Blank...[/blockquote]
Uhh... was Point Blank about bank robberies? I've never seen either "Point Blank" movie, but I think he means Point Break.

 

[Mk VII]

in a bygone age they would have said "the Devil made me do it". Now that no one believes in God or the Devil anymore they have to find something else.

 

[TarpleyG]

rock jock,

I don't think Christianity was the religion being referred to there. Probably one of the eastern religions.

GT

 

[KPersimmon]

I don't think Christianity was the religion being referred to there. Probably one of the eastern religions.

From what I've read, the Matrix is supposed to have a "Buddhistic" theme, although true Buddhism has always had a strong moral/ethical base in addition to its spirituality. (This means it has nothing in common with Hollywood! )

If you think about it, The Matrix might refer to the illusory/fantasy world generated by the motion picture industry, and "The One" could easily refer to the Ultimate Movie Superhero who is able to dodge bullets and fight equally imaginary baddies like a one-man Marine platoon. So, IMO, the joke is on those silly few who might think The Matrix actually has some sort of "spiritual" theme, when it's nothing more than multi-million-dollar-making entertainment.

As to the "Matrix Defense," are we really surprised when publicity-hungry attorneys use such lame excuses in defending sociopaths, who are never going to admit responsibility for their criminal actions anyway?

 

[Greg L]

I will personally buy a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts for anyone who can prove this in a court of law.

Is this an offshoot of the Twinkie defense?

Greg

 

[rock jock]

Oh.

On another note, I always wondered why the Wachoski Bros. used so many Biblical names in the Matrix series. Anyway, my opinion is that people this far removed from rational thought were gonna go off the deep end eventually anyway. The Matrix just provided a convenient backdrop for their delusional break.

 

[Soap]

Why don't criminals ever say, "I did it all because of reading Paradise Lost and I thought we were in a war with Heaven and Hell!"

 

[Feanaro]

Zen, which is considered a religion by some, holds that this world is pretty much a "dream". And that any other world, reality or plane of existance is also but a dream.

Anyways, I've heard much better insanity excuses.

 

[braindead0]

All forms of Buddhism (that I'm aware of, Mahayana, Theravada, Zen, Hinayana) and most offshoots (and I believe Hinduism as well) believe that the real world (samsara) is illusory yet it has a purpose in perfecting your (spirit, morals, soul, whatever you want to call it). Whatever karma you generated via deeds in 'the real world' will be used to judge you in the bardos (limbo, afterlife..etc).

So yeah, you can do anything you want but there are consequences.. You'd probably be reborn as that which you hate the most ;-)

 

[Justin]

Mmmm...Twinkies...

The Matrix movies are rife with religious and philosophical references ranging from Christianity, to Buddhism, to Socrates. To say that The Matrix movies are 'just another action flick' is kind of like saying that a McClaren F1 is 'just another car.'

 

[Mute]

Well then, we're not really executing the POS either. It's all an illusion so he's only being fried in the Matrix.

 

[Feanaro]

Good point.

 

[Dannyboy]

Why don't criminals ever say, "I did it all because of reading Paradise Lost and I thought we were in a war with Heaven and Hell!"

This is easy. It's because they all missed out on the Derek Zoolander School for Kids Who Can't Read Good...and Stuff. And besides, it's soooo much easier to watch a movie than to go and do something like read.

 

[bobs1066]

Didn't Steven Wright say one time that he was worried because someone had broken into his house and replaced everything he owned with exact duplicates?

 

[BerettaNut92]

When he's sitting in his simulated cell, I wonder if he can have people download Pong to him to pass the time.

 

[Standing Wolf]

It's always somebody else's fault.

 

[El Tejon]

That's it! Cancel tonight I'm going right now! Betcha I don't hurt anyone tomorrow either.