Today we watched The Animatrix and discussed the concept of cult objects.

Having never seen The Matrix, I watched the shorts with a virtual lack of knowledge about the franchise. It’s interesting, though, that despite knowing nothing about The Matrix, I was still consciously attempting to make links between the original franchise and The Animatrix.

I think this is due to the fact that The Matrix such a cult phenomenon. As it is so well known, even those of us who haven’t seen The Matrix know general concepts of the films, whether that is basic plot points or themes. Therefore, I’m consciously attempting to link that limited knowledge to what I’m viewing in The Animatrix.

If The Matrix lacked this cult following, I think I would have been more likely to view The Animatrix  shorts as stand alone stories. However the knowledge of the larger cinematic universe prompts the viewer to make links between the various elements of the overall, transmedia story.