In Search of the Horizon: Utopia in the Truman Show and the Matrix

2012 ◽  
pp. 192-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine Pratt
Keyword(s):  
The Matrix ◽  
The Truman Show

scholarly journals The Gnostic Trope in Contemporary Media Culture

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 295-315
Author(s):  
Pavel Nosachev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Mass Culture ◽  
Media Culture ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Suitable Tool ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
The Truman Show

The article applies the Gnostic trope as the most suitable tool for analyzing religious components of contemporary mass culture. Christopher Partridge’s theory of occulture serves as a methodological framework. The Gnostic trope includes the following elements: the idea that our world is a prison created for the torment of man; that it is controlled by the evil Creator of this world — the demiurge; that some exceptional persons, the Gnostics, are able to unravel the deceptive nature of reality and offer gnosis — a kind of extra‑rational experience. The way this trope functions is illustrated by examples of the writers such as L. Darell, F. Dick, and V. Pelevin; a rapper Oxymiron; the movies such as “The Matrix” or “The Truman Show”. The article offers an explanation of the popularity of the Gnostic trope. Сurrent global trends and the spread of digital culture led to general uncertainty and disorientation, and people feel imprisoned in a sort of panopticon, as described by Michel Foucault. The Gnostic trope means an attempt to personalize this impersonal power by identifying it with the demiurge.

scholarly journals Of course it is (the delusion that's really true)

2010 ◽  
Vol 197 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-140
Author(s):  
Peter Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Total Recall ◽  
John Nash ◽  
Hollywood Film ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
The Truman Show

William Burroughs described the paranoid man as one ‘who knows a little of what's going on’. In that rare beast, a mainstream Hollywood film that portrays schizophrenia with humanity and without a murder, A Beautiful Mind (2001), John Nash (Russell Crowe) irritates his wife when he says he heard the garbage truck outside at night. He has been hospitalised with psychosis and in that movie convention much imitated in life, anything he says must be taken as fantasy, unless proven otherwise. But the garbage guys are outside and thus begins a process where she (and the audience) begin to trust and identify with Nash again. This is the exception that proves the rule. When a filmic character with mental illness reports the ‘unfortunate event’ on which the film turns, nobody believes him/her: The Couch Trip (1988), Twelve Monkeys (1995), Independence Day (1996), Conspiracy Theory (1997) and K-Pax (2001) all milk this conceit for its full comic potential. Director Alan J. Pakula's paranoid trilogy Klute (1971), The Parallax View (1974) and All the President's Men (1975) project the angst of the unbelieved onto a battered American audience, reeling from Vietnam and Nixon. A flavour of paranoia excites modern science fiction (Total Recall, 1990 and the Matrix trilogy, 1999–2003), and infuses the contemporary celebrity film, The Truman Show (1998).

Crystalloid Inclusions in Hepatocyte Mitochondria and Their Similarity to Cytoplasmic Crystalloids

1974 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 198-199
Author(s):  
Odell T. Minick ◽  
Hidejiro Yokoo
Keyword(s):  
Liver Disease ◽  
Alcoholic Liver Disease ◽  
Special Interest ◽  
Structural Variations ◽  
Mitochondrial Alterations ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Crystalloid Inclusions ◽  
Liver Biopsies

Mitochondrial alterations were studied in 25 liver biopsies from patients with alcoholic liver disease. Of special interest were the morphologic resemblance of certain fine structural variations in mitochondria and crystalloid inclusions. Four types of alterations within mitochondria were found that seemed to relate to cytoplasmic crystalloids.Type 1 alteration consisted of localized groups of cristae, usually oriented in the long direction of the organelle (Fig. 1A). In this plane they appeared serrated at the periphery with blind endings in the matrix. Other sections revealed a system of equally-spaced diagonal lines lengthwise in the mitochondrion with cristae protruding from both ends (Fig. 1B). Profiles of this inclusion were not unlike tangential cuts of a crystalloid structure frequently seen in enlarged mitochondria described below.

Coherency loss in γ' precipitates in nickel-base superalloy

1983 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 244-245
Author(s):  
R. A. Ricks ◽  
Angus J. Porter
Keyword(s):  
Lattice Mismatch ◽  
Lattice Parameter ◽  
Nickel Base Superalloy ◽  
Large Size ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Nimonic 80A ◽  
Interfacial Dislocations ◽  
Nickel Base ◽  
Coherency Loss ◽  
Nimonic 115

During a recent investigation concerning the growth of γ' precipitates in nickel-base superalloys it was observed that the sign of the lattice mismatch between the coherent particles and the matrix (γ) was important in determining the ease with which matrix dislocations could be incorporated into the interface to relieve coherency strains. Thus alloys with a negative misfit (ie. the γ' lattice parameter was smaller than the matrix) could lose coherency easily and γ/γ' interfaces would exhibit regularly spaced networks of dislocations, as shown in figure 1 for the case of Nimonic 115 (misfit = -0.15%). In contrast, γ' particles in alloys with a positive misfit could grow to a large size and not show any such dislocation arrangements in the interface, thus indicating that coherency had not been lost. Figure 2 depicts a large γ' precipitate in Nimonic 80A (misfit = +0.32%) showing few interfacial dislocations.

Influence of Heat Treatments on Microstructures in an Fe-Co-V Alloy

1974 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 512-513
Author(s):  
S. Mahajan ◽  
M. R. Pinnel ◽  
J. E. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Single Phase ◽  
Alloy Composition ◽  
Supersaturated Solid Solution ◽  
Cell Formation ◽  
Heat Treatments ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Iced Brine ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Bcc Structure

The microstructural changes in an Fe-Co-V alloy (composition by wt.%: 2.97 V, 48.70 Co, 47.34 Fe and balance impurities, such as C, P and Ni) resulting from different heat treatments have been evaluated by optical metallography and transmission electron microscopy. Results indicate that, on air cooling or quenching into iced-brine from the high temperature single phase ϒ (fcc) field, vanadium can be retained in a supersaturated solid solution (α2) which has bcc structure. For the range of cooling rates employed, a portion of the material appears to undergo the γ-α2 transformation massively and the remainder martensitically. Figure 1 shows dislocation topology in a region that may have transformed martensitically. Dislocations are homogeneously distributed throughout the matrix, and there is no evidence for cell formation. The majority of the dislocations project along the projections of <111> vectors onto the (111) plane, implying that they are predominantly of screw character.

Heterogeneity of Size and Distribution of Intramembrane Particles in the Plasma Membrane of Yeast

1977 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 596-597
Author(s):  
E. Keyhani
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Candida Utilis ◽  
Synthetic Medium ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Translational Diffusion ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Intramembrane Particles ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Water Cell

The matrix of biological membranes consists of a lipid bilayer into which proteins or protein aggregates are intercalated. Freeze-fracture techni- ques permit these proteins, perhaps in association with lipids, to be visualized in the hydrophobic regions of the membrane. Thus, numerous intramembrane particles (IMP) have been found on the fracture faces of membranes from a wide variety of cells (1-3). A recognized property of IMP is their tendency to form aggregates in response to changes in experi- mental conditions (4,5), perhaps as a result of translational diffusion through the viscous plane of the membrane. The purpose of this communica- tion is to describe the distribution and size of IMP in the plasma membrane of yeast (Candida utilis).Yeast cells (ATCC 8205) were grown in synthetic medium (6), and then harvested after 16 hours of culture, and washed twice in distilled water. Cell pellets were suspended in growth medium supplemented with 30% glycerol and incubated for 30 minutes at 0°C, centrifuged, and prepared for freeze-fracture, as described earlier (2,3).

Electron microscopy and diffraction studies of polyimides

1983 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 28-29
Author(s):  
O.C. de Hodgins ◽  
K. R. Lawless ◽  
R. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Inert Atmosphere ◽  
Polyimide Films ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscope ◽  
Diffraction Patterns ◽  
Polymeric Samples

Commercial polyimide films have shown to be homogeneous on a scale of 5 to 200 nm. The observation of Skybond (SKB) 705 and PI5878 was carried out by using a Philips 400, 120 KeV STEM. The objective was to elucidate the structural features of the polymeric samples. The specimens were spun and cured at stepped temperatures in an inert atmosphere and cooled slowly for eight hours. TEM micrographs showed heterogeneities (or nodular structures) generally on a scale of 100 nm for PI5878 and approximately 40 nm for SKB 705, present in large volume fractions of both specimens. See Figures 1 and 2. It is possible that the nodulus observed may be associated with surface effects and the structure of the polymers be regarded as random amorphous arrays. Diffraction patterns of the matrix and the nodular areas showed different amorphous ring patterns in both materials. The specimens were viewed in both bright and dark fields using a high resolution electron microscope which provided magnifications of 100,000X or more on the photographic plates if desired.

Organisation in the Structure of the Cytoplasmic Ground Substance

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 627-639
Author(s):  
K.R. Porter
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Golgi Complex ◽  
Random Distribution ◽  
Ground Substance ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Cell Processes ◽  
Cytoplasmic Ground Substance

Most types of cells are known from their structure and overall form to possess a characteristic organization. In some instances this is evident in the non-random disposition of organelles and such system subunits as cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum or the Golgi complex. In others it appears in the distribution and orientation of cytoplasmic fibrils. And in yet others the organization finds expression in the non-random distribution and orientation of microtubules, especially as found in highly anisometric cells and cell processes. The impression is unavoidable that in none of these cases is the organization achieved without the involvement of the cytoplasmic ground substance (CGS) or matrix. This impression is based on the fact that a matrix is present and that in all instances these formed structures, whether membranelimited or filamentous, are suspended in it. In some well-known instances, as in arrays of microtubules which make up axonemes and axostyles, the matrix resolves itself into bridges (and spokes) between the microtubules, bridges which are in some cases very regularly disposed and uniform in size (Mcintosh, 1973; Bloodgood and Miller, 1974; Warner and Satir, 1974).

Electrolytic Isolation of Twin-Type Shock Deformation Structures

1967 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 318-319
Author(s):  
F. I. Grace ◽  
L. E. Murr
Keyword(s):  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
Thin Foil ◽  
Electrolyte Composition ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Average Current Density ◽  
Electron Transmission ◽  
Deformation Structures ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Average Current ◽  
Specimen Edge

During the course of electron transmission investigations of the deformation structures associated with shock-loaded thin foil specimens of 70/30 brass, it was observed that in a number of instances preferential etching occurred along grain boundaries; and that the degree of etching appeared to depend upon the various experimental conditions prevailing during electropolishing. These included the electrolyte composition, the average current density, and the temperature in the vicinity of the specimen. In the specific case of 70/30 brass shock-loaded at pressures in the range 200-400 kilobars, the predominant mode of deformation was observed to be twin-type faults which in several cases exhibited preferential etching similar to that observed along grain boundaries. A novel feature of this particular phenomenon was that in certain cases, especially for twins located in the vicinity of the specimen edge, the etching or preferential electropolishing literally isolated these structures from the matrix.

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