Introduction: William G. Doty, The Deeper We Go, the More Complex and Sophisticated the Franchise Seems, and the Dizzier We Feel. Issues treated in this volume; contexts of looking at the franchise.; Jacking In to Issues of Gender and Race; 1. Martina Lipp, Welcome to the Sexual Spectacle: The Female Heroes in the Franchise. Perhaps it is time for a retelling of heroic mythology that does not masculinize the female hero.; 2. C. Richard King and David J. Leonard, Is Neo White? Reading Race; Watching the Trilogy. Ignoring the racial message of the franchise only reinforces old abuses of power.; Cultural and Religious Implications. 3. Richard R. Jones, Religion, Community, and Revitalization: Why Cinematic Myth Resonates. The roles of religious symbolism in an entertainment culture.; 4. Bruce Isaacs and Theodore Louis Trost, Story, Product, Franchise: Images of Postmodern Cinema. A postmodernist redemption myth with a control-freak messianic hero.; 5. John Shelton Lawrence, Fascist Redemption or Democratic Hope? Embedded political values smack largely of American fascism.; 6. Frances Flannery-Dailey and Rachel L. Wagner, Stopping Bullets: Constructions of Bliss and Problems of Violence. The various religious themes do not overcome a reliance upon violent means.; Theorizing Cyberworlds; 7. Michael Sexson, The Deja vu Glitch in the Matrix Trilogy. Literal versus ironic readings of the reality of our matrix.; 8. Stephanie J. Wilhelm and Matthew Kapell, Visions of Hope, Freedom of Choice, and the Alleviation of Social Misery: A Pragmatic Reading of the Matrix Franchise. This is neither a postmodern or modern franchise, but one that hopes for a better future for all.; 9. Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, Biomorph: The Posthuman Thing. Machine plus human plus computer software: things, they are a-changing.; The Games and Ethics of Simulation; 10. Timothy Mizelle and Elizabeth Baker, Strange Volutions: The Matrix Franchise as a Post-Human Memento Mori. Lessons about free will and choice in the new theatre of dynamic cinema.; 11. Russell Blackford, Try the Blue Pill: What's Wrong with Life in a Simulation? The choice of the blue pill satisfies philosophical teachings; Conclusion; Matthew Kapell, At the Edge of the World, Again. From Star Wars to the newest franchise using many more mediations. Perhaps it is an allegory of a new aesthetic.; Appendix: Getting with the Program/s of the Franchise - Users'; Information; 1 List of items in the franchise, with abbreviations used in this book; 2 Glossary of names and terms in the franchise; 3 Useful Internet sites; 4 Recommended bibliography; Index.
