The Matrix - getting picky (spoilers)

[Vella_Malachite]

Just a thing I've noticed...

For anyone who has watched the Matrix, you will know that Neo has muscular atrophy when he exits the Matrix for the first time.
We also know that when he fights agents in the Matrix, blood comes out of his mouth in the real world.

So how come the mind has the power to open wounds on one's body, but not to build muscles by the same power?

Any suggestions, anyone?

Yes, this is a very minor technical point, but it bugs me all the same...

[Winterwind]

Hmm... interesting thought.

I'd like to point out that, while blood comes out of his mouth, he does not receive the same wounds he suffers in the Matrix. So I would assume it is actually some sort of feedback or so, that damages his body under extreme situations in the Matrix. At least, that's kinda what would happen in other cyberpunk settings like Neuromancer or ShadowRun. And, after all, blood coming out of one's mouth is Hollywoodese for nondescript internal damage.

[Green Bean]

Just to be clear, I'm not a medical expert, but I think it can be explained by the connection with the brain. I mean, if things like strokes and aneurysms can cause physical problems, then blood from the mouth is possible. Muscles, on the other hand, actually require movement to avoid atrophy.

Or, here's an alternate theory in case that what I just said isn't medically sound. The machines aren't big on their pod-people moving around, and thus along with their nutrient injections, bluepills get a nice big dose of chemicals that destroy muscle tissue to minimize the chance of escaping even if they manage to free their mind.

[Hawriel]

Neo was thrashing around in the chare he was in. If you can compare being plugged into the matrix like being in a dream. If the dreamer or net runner is responding to somthing that causes stress that would transfer to moving the meat body. Just think how many times have you waken up thrashing? I myself woke up once when my fist was 1 inch from the wall I was throwing a right hook at. Dogs run in their sleep. So why was neo bleeding? psycho sematic responce, like being hypnotised into thinking a pen is a hot poker, or he really got hit very hard in the matrix and Neo reacted physicly with his meat body. Simple reason...he bit his tongue or cheek.

[Nerd-o-rama]

All the stupidity in The Matrix, and this is what you choose to pick on?

Anyway, the blood from the mouth is caused, not by psychosomatic injury, but simply by having too much going on in his brain at once. He was practically having a stroke. Or he bit his tongue, that makes slightly more sense.

[Arang]

The rebels' Matrix feed seemed like a pretty hack solution, too. Those arm wires have to have been good for something, right?

[Brickwall]

Hey, here's an answer: it's stupid movie producers. I'm sure they just thought, "Hey, he's getting hurt, technically, so blood should be coming out of his mouth, cuz it looks cool."

Doy.

[Archonic Energy]

i know the answer...


it's in the Script!

[SurlySeraph]

In the Matrix pods, you can't move around. You're stuck in the fetal position with wires sticking out of you. Even if you twitch around, you can't move enough to actually build muscle.

At least, that's my theory.

[CrazedGoblin]

A Wizard did it!

[dehro]

All the stupidity in The Matrix, and this is what you choose to pick on?

Anyway, the blood from the mouth is caused, not by psychosomatic injury, but simply by having too much going on in his brain at once. He was practically having a stroke. Or he bit his tongue, that makes slightly more sense.

that, and a bunch of nondescript needle-like intruding mechanical devices are plugged into him, most of them in body parts that have no truck with similar aggressions... exchanging informations between the matrix and the real world through electricity, burning proteines and...??? ..not healthy, whatever way you look at it.
who knows what these plugs do to those folks, internally??

[averagejoe]

It never seemed like anyone ever actually got injured, though, besides being dead. I think the mouth blood thing just so Neo could know about being injured after coming back to his body.

You know what bugs me? The whole concept surrounding the Matrix (not the movie, the thingy that was in the movie) breaks the laws of thermodynamics. Hard.

Still enjoyed the movie, though. :smalltongue:

[Closet_Skeleton]

You know what bugs me? The whole concept surrounding the Matrix (not the movie, the thingy that was in the movie) breaks the laws of thermodynamics. Hard.

That's not the whole concept of the matrix. That's just the dumbed down explanation they put into the movie at the last moment.

The original idea was that the machines didn't want to wipe out humanity and decieded to use them as a giant computer. The stupid power plant idea is due to executive meddling.

[JadedDM]

The Matrix is over 8 years old...I don't think you have to worry about adding spoiler disclaimers anymore. :smallsmile:

[averagejoe]

That's not the whole concept of the matrix. That's just the dumbed down explanation they put into the movie at the last moment.

The original idea was that the machines didn't want to wipe out humanity and decieded to use them as a giant computer. The stupid power plant idea is due to executive meddling.

See, that makes more sense. (But possibly only because I know much more about thermodynamics than I do about computers! :smalltongue: ) Either way, that is an interesting piece of information that I did not know.

[Vella_Malachite]

Hmmm...some good arguments there...but in response to the argument that he bit his tongue or something, there is a description by Morpheus "Your mind makes it real". Direct quote. So, [repeats original question]. Yes, you couldn't build muscle while in the Matrix in the real world, but by that token, you shouldn't spit blood either.

Yes, I do pick this because, out of all the stupidity, this bugs me the most.

[landadmiral]

I've come to 1 of 2 conclusions and am unsure just which it is about the bloody mouth:

1- He bit his tongue
2- Reverse nose bleed

anyone know which?

[....]

Neo was a nerdy wuss who never moved. His muscles would be atrophied even if he hadn't been in the Matrix!

[bosssmiley]

So, [repeats original question]. Yes, you couldn't build muscle while in the Matrix in the real world, but by that token, you shouldn't spit blood either.

While he was in the pod Neo didn't know he was in the Matrix. It was only after he was awakened that he learnt that the one can affect the other.

"I saw them liquify the dead to feed them to the living" as the tide of glutinous gel washes over podbaby - still the worst nightmare fuel imagery in the whole film

[Nerd-o-rama]

Hmmm...some good arguments there...but in response to the argument that he bit his tongue or something, there is a description by Morpheus "Your mind makes it real". Direct quote. So, [repeats original question]. Yes, you couldn't build muscle while in the Matrix in the real world, but by that token, you shouldn't spit blood either.

Yes, I do pick this because, out of all the stupidity, this bugs me the most.
"Your mind makes it real" refers to psychosomatic death only, I think. It's not a question of your body responding to actions your mind thinks it's taking, just a question of you being as dead as you think you are.

[Vella_Malachite]

Hmmm...I shall have to watch 'The Matrix' again to see if it does only apply to psychosomatic death. I'll get back to you.