Rahpooye Honar/Performing Arts

Rahpooye Honar/Performing Arts

The Crisis of Meaning in Neoliberal Societies from Byung-Chul Han’s Perspective: A Study of The Matrix Film

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 PhD Candidate in Philosophy of Art, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor and Faculty Member, Department of Philosophy, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
3 Assistant Professor and Faculty of Philosophy Department, North Tehran Azad University
Abstract
This study, focusing on the ideas of Byung-Chul Han, the contemporary German-Korean philosopher, analyzes the crisis of meaning in neoliberal societies and explores its reflection in the film The Matrix. The central question is how the neoliberal structure and its technological mechanisms have led to the disintegration of life’s meaning and human identity, and how this condition is represented narratively and symbolically in The Matrix. According to Han, neoliberalism, relying on mechanisms such as self-exploitation, extreme transparency, dataism, and the dominance of digital psychopolitics, deprives the human subject of authentic meaning and entraps them in a process of consumerism, excessive competition, and isolation. Under these circumstances, meaning is reduced from an inner, interpersonal, or ethical phenomenon to quantitative, subjective, and market-driven data. The research employs a descriptive-analytical method based on qualitative content analysis of the film. The Matrix, as a prominent example of conceptual cinema, provides a symbolic framework to represent this crisis. The film challenges notions of reality, freedom, and identity, replacing embodied human experience with a virtual space. The character Neo symbolizes the rebellious subject who detaches from the data-driven regime and embarks on a search for meaning. The findings indicate that The Matrix, beyond being a science-fiction work, functions as a cinematic reflection of neoliberal society, depicting the crisis of meaning in relation to digital exploitation, the illusion of freedom, and the collapse of boundaries between reality and illusion. This analysis contributes to the understanding of the relationship between contemporary philosophy and cultural representations in cinema.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 03 August 2025

  • Receive Date 06 June 2025
  • Accept Date 03 August 2025