A Comparison of the Representation of the Future of The...

A Comparison of the Representation of the Future of The Matrix and Planet of the Apes Sci-fi films were born in the aftermath of the industrial and scientific revolutions of the 19th century. The first motion picture from this genre was ‘Le Voyage Dans La Lune’, a Georges Meties production from 1902. This is regarded as the first sci-fi film; the one that set the standard for the genre and to what most of the future sci-fi movies would aspire to in someway. Le Voyage includes astronauts, spaceships, space travel, extraterrestrials, all these common†¦show more content†¦In The Matrix, we see the direct reality of this. The world as we know it is being controlled by a higher power, of which we are ignorant. In this case, the higher power is science and technology that has conquered and almost obliterated mankind a s a result of mankind abusing its powers. Man grew too big for its boots. In comparison, POTA shows the results and aftermath of this, it’s what the real world in The Matrix (the real world that is within the story of The Matrix) would be 3000 years into the future if you like. Mankind has destroyed itself, all the scientific and technological development has caused civilisation to go backwards, possibly as a result of it falling into the wrong hands. To show the common ethos of The Matrix and POTA, the two films should be compared to another couple of films from within the genre, to clearly show their similarity and affinity to the genre. ‘Things To Come’ (William Cameron Menzies, 1936) was the first million pound British film, based on a HG Wells novel, and a milestone in the sci-fi genre. The film is set 10 years into the future, 1946, and a thirty year war begins which leaves the world half dead from disease and shell shock. In its place a ‘new order’ rises, governed by one technocratic regime. There are obvious connections to both films, most notably to POTA. We don’t know what caused the