WORK AND WEALTH
In the film, Thomas Anderson or Neo is not an all-good-encompassing protagonist. He is an anti-hero. Thomas Anderson is depicted as a successful software engineer at a top software company. His alter-ego Neo is a hacker attempting to figure out the Matrix. In the early scenes of the film, Neo lives in a rather small room in a dilapidated building. Not only does he have a full-time job, but he sells illegal software as a side-hustle. In the film, he hides a disk within the book “Simulacra and Simulation'' by Jean Bualdrilled. According to the 2010BSA annual report on piracy, the global economy lost $58.8 billion from software privacy. Neo is only adding to the problem of software piracy. It is predicted that it will take until 2049 for the average piracy rate among today's emerging economies to fall in line with that of today's developed economies.
Neo’s day-to-day life as Thomas Anderson suffers the same problems as modern software engineers. After Neo consumes the red pill, he undergoes several headaches. He goes to work late and his boss pulls him aside. He reprimands Neo for his tardiness. Neo gets reminded that it is unacceptable behavior at the top software company he works at and he is very close to losing his job. Neo apologizes and proceeds to work at his desk. Neo is clearly capable of greater things shown with his interest in the truth behind the matrix, yet he suffers from the same mundane problems the average office worker endures.
While Neo and Morpheus are on the way to meet the Oracle, Neo reminisces in the car at a restaurant he used to go to eat. Morpheus reminds him that nothing within the matrix is real and Neo becomes disheartened. Although nothing really exists, Neo shares a good memory within the matrix to us the audience. Neo clearly doesn’t have flexible work hours and not the best living conditions based on his skill set. His lifestyle parallels his opinion on work life balance. He sleeps at his computer finding anything linking to the matrix. Neo only cares about the truth and sacrifices his lifestyle and job. He doesn’t live a balanced life but Neo is passionate about finding the truth behind the matrix.
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Reavis Conner, Kathleen, and Richard P. Rumelt. “Software Piracy: An Analysis of Protection Strategies.” Management Science, vol. 37, no. 2, 1991, pp. 125–139., https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.37.2.125.
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Gregory, Abigail, and Susan Milner. “Editorial: Work-Life Balance: A Matter of Choice?” Gender, Work & Organization, vol. 16, no. 1, 2009, pp. 1–13., https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2008.00429.x.
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​“Eighth Annual Global Software Piracy Study: BSA: The Software Alliance.” BSA, https://www.bsa.org/reports/eighth-annual-global-software-piracy-study.
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https://erickimphotography.com/blog/2018/06/06/part-1-matrix-philosophy-and-cinematography/
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https://savethecat.com/about-the-beats/examples-of-great-set-ups-and-how-they-pay-off
