Tonda Lynn Ansley andVadim Mieseges, who both murdered their landlords, avoided prison by claiming they were living in a non-reality. IT IS DIFFICULT to even comprehend," said Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen H. MacKay, as she read Cooke the sentence for the Feb. 17 murders of Margaret R. Cooke, 56, and Paul C. Cooke, 51. of the Dixie Wednesday, October 1, 2003 Joshua Cooke's mother Margaret Cooke watched her son aim a shot. So does this doc make us stop and say Whoa, or roll our eyes and say Dude? Cooke was a huge fan of the movie, and his attorneys were preparing to use The Matrix defense to argue that he didnt think he was actually doing anything wrong because the world is just a simulation. One is a speech that the sci-fi novelist Philip K. Dickresponsible for the likes of Minority Report and The Man in the High Castlegave in 1977 outlining his belief in the existence of computer-programmed reality. Its essentially part of an insanity defense. whether Ansley "had" to shoot her landlady in the head because of this crazy belief. And Will There Be A Season 2? We say brutal with a capital 'B.'". A series of. The sequence ends with Cookes digital environment dissipating into pixels after he commits his crime. Joshua Cooke's lawyers were going to attempt this defense in 2003 in his trial for the murder of his adoptive parents, before he pleaded guilty. Frustratingly, Ascher is content to merely flirt with compelling ideas about religion, science and technology while indulging massive amounts of woo-woo horse puckey. "When it was released, 'The Matrix' may have been the most compelling and popular illustration of the idea because it capitalized on new CGI technology and special effects that were not available to filmmakers in the past," Adam Lankford, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama, told, Before Cooke went to trial, a court-appointed psychologist stated he "harbored a bona fide belief that he was living in the virtual reality of 'The Matrix, the, in 2003. The sad truth is that many insanity defenses have a valid basis in the law, It wasnt anything like I had seen in The Matrix. A defendant using this defense claims that they committed a crime because they believed that they were in a simulated world (the Matrix), and not in the real world. Who knows. 1,830, This story has been shared 1,458 times. trial, Ansley claimed that she thought her landlady was part of a conspiracy to He uses certain pieces of culture (pop and otherwise) as guideposts throughout the film. It touches on the case of Joshua Cooke, a 19-year-old who murdered his adoptive parents with a shotgun in 2003 in Virginia. He was happy to tell his story, because he's been spending his jail time trying to work on himself and become a better person, and reach out to troubled kids like he was. The director broke through with the 2012 cult favorite, Room 237, a deep dive into Stanley Kubricks The Shining and the fans who study every frame of that horror classic. For defense attorneys, part of the insanity defense is typically arguing that your client couldnt distinguish right from wrong. Is 'The Little Mermaid' Streaming on Disney+ or Netflix? However, as In the end, Cooke took legal responsibility for the murders, ditching the defense and pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of using a gun in a felony. "I'm over 18. The Matrix Defence: Directed by Simon Egan. will find you, if you want it to." "They commit a lot of crimes in The Matrix, she told police following her arrest,ABC News reported in 2003. The Matrix, had nothing to do with Cookes case, Horan said. And Who Is The New Antler Queen? that prevents him from being able to tell right from wrong. arguing that you shouldnt go to prison for your crimes because you genuinely were living in a simulated reality when you committed them. For instance, let's take the case of Tonda Ansley, the Ohio woman who thought her SoThe Matrix defense is mostly about establishing someones disturbed mental state and helping them get sent to an institution rather than prison; it doesnt actually argue that the person isnt responsible for what they did because a movie or gamemadethem commit the crime. Malvo, then just a teen, told FBI agents that The Matrix holds the key to understanding him, according to the Globe. Lets just say that Ascher giving a platform to crazy interpretations of a work of art even when they tie into popular moronic conspiracy theories about the Apollo moon landing is far more tenable and palatable than his giving a platform to crazy interpretations of actual existence. Cooke's story throws those discussions into relief. "The Matrix films offer several themes that could be attractive to many viewers: that their dissatisfaction with their life is to blame on powerful and manipulative forces, that escape is possible, and that fighting back will be empowering and heroic," Lankford told Oxygen.com. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! By Gina Tron February 5, 2021, 12:07 PM ET The main through line in Glitch is a 1977 speech by sci-fi author Philip K. Dick in which he speaks in depth about simulation theory, and it provides Ascher a springboard to explore the idea that were all plugged into an artificial computerized reality, an idea popularized by The Matrix. Reportedly, Malvo has been He tried enlisting in the Marine Corps but was rejected twice, even after laser surgery to correct his eye sight which Cooke thought was the reason he was rejected. even the Matrix defense. granddaddy of them all was John Hinckley's successful "Jody Foster" defense in his He was arrested that evening. 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Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving face each other in a scene from Andy and Larry Wachowski's 1999 movie The Matrix. However, perhaps the Eventually, he too was found guilty of murder. A critic asked:Why did he chose to depict the talking heads in this form? He specifically told 911 officers that he would not be armed when police came to his house, because he did not want to be shot. Are we supposed to take this seriously? It was a dramatic and instantaneous paradigm shift in his life., "Matrix Killer" Joshua Cooke is currently serving a forty-year prison sentence for murdering his adoptive parents. To be clear, none of the subjects featured in A Glitch in the Matrix have ventured down those particular rabbit holes, but through Joshua Cookes story and Dicks increasingly-paranoid lecture, it hints at how fun obsessions with the implications of simulation theory can give way to something darker. What Movies Will It Remind You Of? When police officers arrived, Cooke was standing in the driveway, drinking a soda, police said. Some defenses dopoint toviolence in entertainment as the cause of crime, but thats very difficult to prove. After meeting twice with Cooke, Fierro's expert witness, Dr. David Shostak diagnosed the 20-year-old with "simple schizophrenia." Lankford added that the themes of this movie,in which morality is blurred,is appealing as a defense. When youre accused of a crime and taken to court, you and your lawyer can come up with all sorts of creative ways to defend yourself. The Matrixfilms offer several themes that could be attractive to many viewers: that their dissatisfaction with their life is to blame on powerful and manipulative forces, that escape is possible, and that fighting back will be empowering and heroic, Lankford said. In the case of Glitch, he specifically tracks how simulation theory gradually emerged out of the realm of scientific discussion and into pop culture, where it was absorbed by storytellers like Philip K. Dick and the Wachowskis and then passed along to consumers, some of whom were all too eager to buy into the idea that theyre the only conscious individuals living in a computer rendering of a world otherwise populated by non-player characters. Courtroom observers expected Fierro to highlight elements of The Matrix during Wednesdays sentencing hearing, and in June, the attorney promised that defense would be discussed during sentencing. are likely to be as unsuccessful as my sister's next boyfriend. Beyond that, several of his subjects are well-spoken to avoid the impression of a conspiracy theory pileup, including philosophy professor Nick Bostrom, whose 2003 essay Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? remains a cornerstone of simulation theory advocates. But in addition to that, it is a brutality. COOKE PLED GUILTY to the murder and firearms charges on June 24, 2003, with the agreement that sentencing would remain within state guidelines. Experts explain what the Jim Carrey film got right and wrong about reality TV. Mani Fierro, one of Cooke's defense attorneys stated on a 2003 episode of "The O'Reilly Factor" that his "client was obsessed with the movie 'The Matrix,'", . admissible. In fact, as a whole, insanity defenses But I think its also a very fair question: Does it appeal mostly to nerdy, white, cisgendered, heterosexual American white guys for a reason?. ", Furthermore, he said there is no clear evidence that suggests that movies of any kind influence violent behavior. He became a ward of the Ohio state foster care system, Fierro said, staying in the system for five years before he and biological sister Tiffany were adopted by Paul and Margaret Cooke on Aug. 11, 1989. However, nowadays, the defense is being used as a loophole for anyone "I guess you know the rest," he says. Not usually, but as University of Alabama criminal justice professor Adam Lankford tells Oxygen.com, that doesn't stop people from. "She heard popping sounds, a number of popping sounds, and the phone dropped to the floor," said Horan during Cooke's June hearing. A family member tells them to 'stop playing the victim', How real is 'The Truman Show'? His rambling assemblage of voices zig and zag, with some observations more engrossing than others, but they create the collective impression of how a single outrageous assertion can gain traction through the number of voices who back it up. That was on the big board of ideas when we started the movie, but it didn't wind up being a topic that we wound up covering, Ascher says of the specific connection between Neos red pills, and redpilling a phrase thats become increasingly popular in conservative circles. Ascher zips through a dizzying montage of video games and virtual reality as Musk puts the pieces together in clips taken from his interviews: Digital experiences continue to grow more photorealistic, suggesting they will eventually become indistinguishable from our reality. Despite the title, Ascher was not interested in making a Room 237 but for The Matrix. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Director Rodney Ascher was attending a VR party, using an Oculus headset, at this year's largely virtual Sundance Film Festival when he was asked a question about his new documentary that he found "pretty ridiculous," given the context. Ann Elizabeth Cooke, Paul Cooke's sister, said Paul and Margaret introduced their adopted son and daughter at their parents 50th wedding anniversary, held at their Oakton house. A 2003 Boston Globe piece dramatically set the scene: Josh Cooke doesn't remember what he was thinking at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 17, when he went up to his room after eating dinner with his parents. Well, mostly anyway. Sundance: "Room 237" director Rodney Ascher makes a strangely credible case that nothing around us is real. The movie, to my eye, maybe just gave him an avatar for his delusions. trial for murdering his parents. The term simulation theory was coined in its modern sense in a 2003 essay by philosopher Nick Bostrom, who makes an appearance in A Glitch in the Matrix. Where Was 'The Little Mermaid' 2023 Filmed? "Whatever his motive was, he killed them in cold blood.. To rebut Fierro's claim that Josh had been abused by Paul and Margaret Cooke, Horan read Tiffany Cooke's letter to the court, at the hearing. The Matrix doesn't make you do it," said Horan. Hinckley's lawyers blamed the influence of "Taxi Driver," which involves a man trying to assassinate a political candidate to impress a woman. The unfathomable aspect of a year that fundamentally changed human life would seem relevant to any reality-versus-fantasy assessment, but A Glitch in the Matrix doesnt touch the pandemic. into another apartment complex instead. At the time, some reviewers including a few of Kubricks collaborators assumed that Ascher was endorsing some of the wild theories his subjects invented, but the larger point of both that movie and A Glitch in the Matrix is obsession in its many different forms. The purpose of the insanity defense is to allow for alternative punishment for those The Orphan Accused of Hiding Her Age Will Tell Her Side in a New Doc, Kelly Ripa Complains That Her NYC Neighborhood "Smells Like Marijuana" by "8 a.m." on 'Live': "Why Are You High Already? "When it was released, 'The Matrix' may have been the most compelling and popular illustration of the idea because it capitalized on new CGI technology and special effects that were not available to filmmakers in the past," Adam Lankford, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama, told Oxygen.com. Maybe, but it aint easy. While the Wachowskis arent interviewed for the film, the impact and influence of The Matrix is a regular topic of discussion amongst Aschers subjects, who range from scientists and armchair enthusiasts. Need help finding something to watch? The avatar-guys share all kinds of kooky anecdotes about synchronicities and improbable occurrences that made them believe were all complex programs plugged into a machine. Matrix defense. "I just kinda looked over at my `Matrix' poster," he says, "and then I looked over at my gun.". Tiffany said to him, "Josh, what are you doing? Starring Keanu Reeves as Neo, a computer programmer transformed into a messianic freedom fighter, The Matrix blends . Dick then gavea 1977 speech detailing the theory. Speaking with Ascher on the phone from prison, the now-36-year-old describes the events of that night in a clear and almost disconnected manner, describing his past selfs actions as if hes watching them play out in a video game. Some voices have quite the megaphone. Millions and millions of people have seen it and not killed anybody." made him chop up his landlady. A series of murders in the United States suggests some people have been unable to distinguish between the two. Tonda Lynn Ansley and Vadim Mieseges, who both murdered their landlords, avoided prison by claiming they were living in a non-reality. The second prong of my new insanity test is that, even if insane, the defendant must While Ascher casts a wide net, A Glitch in the Matrix works quite well as an overview of the various epistemological questions it raises. So instead, Ascher at his team recreated Cooke's home using photogrammetry software. [O]ver recent decades the trends have been going in opposite directions, with violence increasing in entertainment content but decreasing in society, said Lankford, which suggests there is no simple cause and effect relationship overall.. You When I look at Joshuas story, the real issues are a lack of mental health care in public schools and lax gun control more than The Matrix. After the phone dropped, Joshua Cooke picked up the phone, according to Horan. At This story has been shared 16,495 times. Come along for the ride! 3,388, This story has been shared 1,830 times. In fact, it's even rumored that Washington, D.C. Its ever so slightly easier when Ascher feeds us a clip of Neil deGrasse Tyson saying its hard to argue against simulation theory, then back to being less easy when Elon Musk touts the theory. ". It doesnt blow minds as much as it feels like a blown opportunity. detailing the theory. "A Glitch in the Matrix" doesn't shy from the dark side, as it builds to a prolonged disturbing sequence recounting the history of the "Matrix Defense" of Joshua Cooke, who murdered his. And a 1993 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode also featured people trapped inside a simulation. That same year, Lee Boyd Malvo, who along with John Allen Muhammad, killed 10 people in sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C. areaover a three-week period, blamed the movie for his actions. Maybe it was trying to suggest what it was like for him to reflect back on this again and again on this. If their clients also believed they were being controlled by the U.S. government or the CIA, for example as other mentally ill criminals have claimed in the past that is harder to use because most people would be expected to know that violence against the government or its agencies is wrong, even if you disagree with them. The defense mirrors the so-called "Taxi Driver" defense of John Hinckley, who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981 in order to impress Jodie Foster, who appeared in that1976 Martin Scorsese film. "That was the outing of Tiffany and Josh to all of their friends," Ann Cooke said. Earlier this month, an Ohio woman, Tonda Lynn Ansley, was found not guilty by reason sniper Lee Boyd Malvo may attempt the Matrix defense. successful. A Glitch in the Matrix premiered in the Midnight section of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Starring Keanu Reeves as Neo, a computer programmer transformed into a messianic freedom fighter, The Matrix blends science fiction with conspiracy thriller conventions and outlandish martial arts created with groundbreaking digital techniques. How to Stream Online, Stream It Or Skip It: 'Painting With John' Season 3 on Max, Where The Inimitable John Lurie Is Artist, Ringmaster, Musician And Philosopher. With the advent of the computer, this morphed into the notion that the world is in fact a computer-based illusion. And, of course, there's The Matrix. I'm definitely going to get the death penalty for this," Cooke said, in the taped call to 911. wrong) is equally easy to satisfy. In fact its a hallmark of science fiction, from the first Twilight Zoneback in the 60s to the new one managed byJordan Peele. #SIOSI. In addition to talking to experts and delving into the pop culture that reflects this viewpoint, Ascher speaks with subjects who subscribe to this belief. Judge MacKay sentenced Cooke to two concurrent 32-year sentences, one for each murder, plus three years for use of a firearm in Paul Cooke's murder and five years for use of a firearm in Margaret Cooke's murder. (Cooke ended up pleading guilty.) Now, perhaps my solution isn't the best answer but in the immortal words of Trinity card." I pray to God that one day he will forgive me.". Because Dick is a public figure whose biography is well-known, we can appreciate his theories better within the context of his personal struggles with mental illness (suicide attempts, violent incidents, etc.). And Ascher will give them all kinds of screen time in his movie, at the expense of thoughtfully analytic people like Pothast and Bostram. "It was as if it was a low grade on an English test," Shostak said. So these lawyers might be prone to emphasize the influence of The Matrixbecause it frames violence as morally justified. That's where you go to sleep at night and they drug you and take you somewhere else and then they bring you back and put you in bed and when you wake up, you think that it's a bad dream.. But so many people, whether you engage with simulation theory or not, lives at least somewhat virtually these days. The Oxygenarticle comes out around the same time asGlitch in the Matrix, a new film that explores the 2003 case of 19-year old Joshua Cooke. "It's kind of playing with the contrast of reality and unreality in digital communications," Ascher says. Oh, and then we clench our teeth through the sequence with the guy who step-by-step narrates how he murdered his parents in a weirdly detached tone, the scene illustrated like a first-person-shooter video game. (modern). POLICE WERE ALERTED to trouble at the Cookes house on Adel Road in Oakton this past February, when Joshua Cooke called 911 to tell police what he had done. Since the 1960s, science-fiction authors have written stories about humans being trapped in such simulations. The movies concluding moments imply a powerful means of dealing with a future that could be fake: The world might be different from what we see, but its worth a shot anyway. For instance, it doesn't discuss how simulation theory relates to dangerous current conspiracy theories in politics, though Ascher knows that's relevant, nor does it go into the idea of "red pilling." Fierro talked with Joshua Cooke's biological grandmother in July, after she received Cooke's adoption records from Ohio. He said Cooke, whom he described as "compliant, well-behaved and somewhat naive," would have trouble understanding the severity of his action. In 2002, Tonda Lynn Ansley shot and killed her landlord and employer, Sherry Lee Corbet, and claimed she didnt think she was committing murder because this wasnt reality. 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(It came after its completion; the movie was originally set to premiere at festivals before lockdowns occurred.) 16,495, This story has been shared 7,652 times. With Kenneth Cranham. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba. He remembers what he was listening to on his headphones "Bodies," by metal drones Drowning Pool and what he did. We dont know a thing about Aschers eyewitnesses, including what they look like, but their commentary gives us a general sense of paranoia and narcissism. Now it's. "Joshua Cooke began life at a disadvantage," Fierro said. ", Drew Barrymore Opens Up About How Her Time In Rehab May Have Influenced The Drew Barrymore Show In Emotional Blog Post. "I just shot my parents, just blew them away with a shotgun," Cooke said, in a taped 911 call that Horan played during Cooke's plea hearing on June 24. never been quite right.". It's essentially part of an insanity defense. 6,789, This story has been shared 6,257 times. Theres a moment where Joshua talks about that night and mentions how he was playing violent video games, and I was tempted to cut it, because I dont want to be that person who argues that video games cause real-life violence. "He's just obsessed with it," Cooke's defence attorney, Rachel Fierro, told the Washington Post. ends. Sign up here for our weekly Streamail newsletter to get streaming recommendations delivered straight to your inbox. people who voted for Ruben as the American Idol (you know Clay did a better job in Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Or is it supposed to be ridiculous? brainwash and kill her. To establish "real craziness," expert opinions would no longer be "I guess a million people have seen The Matrix, maybe three have committed crimes. up in the Matrix and jurors are buying it. they were Halle Berry's 2002 Oscar dress. And he also knows how certain concepts introduced in The Matrix most notably the red pill that Neo takes to wake up from his virtual slumber have been adopted and recontextualzied by groups outside of the realm of simulation theory. The compendium of voices in A Glitch in the Matrix assert with such confidence that the world doesnt exist that even skeptics might give it some thought. Later that evening, he descended into the basement of his familys Virginia home and fatally shot both of his adoptive parents with a 12-gauge shotgun, and then called the police to confess his crime. Given the handful of these defenses that have emerged in murder cases, Warner Bros. Pictures issued a statement in 2003, saying that "any attempt to link these crimes with a motion picture [] is disturbing and irresponsible," the, "The Matrix films offer several themes that could be attractive to many viewers: that their dissatisfaction with their life is to blame on powerful and manipulative forces, that escape is possible, and that fighting back will be empowering and heroic," Lankford told, Along with influencing countless fans who are psychologically healthy, it's not surprising that these movies might influence some severely mentally ill people as well. In February, he shot his father and mother in the basement of their home and then called the police. In other words, the defendant's Rather than going through Neo's journey, he let his interviewees pick out what spoke to them about the story. And the defense surprisingly worked for a few lucky. 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While"The Matrix movie franchise is decidedlyfiction, some criminal suspectshave used themetaphysical concepts put forth in the films to try to justify their crimes, and in doing so, have turnedcourtrooms into a cinematic arena of their own. : This is where well compare Glitch to Room 237, where folks on the wackiness spectrum espouse their heavily overanalytical theories about secret meanings in Stanley Kubricks The Shining. You can put down this article now and continue That was maybe a reservation I had about his story, Ascher admits. Its an amazing coincidence, Ascher says of the timing, adding that he started work on his documentary long before the franchise announced its return. Dick then gave. 4,456, This story has been shared 3,639 times. Of course, the irony is that different people have different ideas about what the real world really means, and the implications of accepting the red pill. The Matrix defense is a legal defense based on the premise of the film franchise The Matrix, in which reality is a computer generation and the real world is different from what reality is popularly perceived to be. Stream It or Skip It: 'Wedding Season' on Hallmark, Where Three Weddings Are Better than One, Lets Get Loud! Cookes lawyers ended up not going down this route, but that wasnt the only time the idea came up. Or you can continue reading I want to offer you the same option. Ansley was found innocent by reason of insanity, so in a way, The Matrixdefense worked for her. The musings of Aschers subjects range from Descartes and Neo to Philip K. Dick and Elon Musk, as they map out the evolution of the simulation theory and how it became such a vast source of speculation. "It is hard to imagine a more brutal killing," said Commonwealths Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr., during Joshua Cooke's sentencing, Wednesday, Oct. 1. While Malvo pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, his attorneys seemed to focus more on how video games affected him. from the original Matrix. While that particular era the 1990s and early 2000s was known for turning to movies and video games as causation for murder, "over recent decades the trends have been going in opposite directions, with violence increasing in entertainment content but decreasing in society which suggests there is no simple cause and effect relationship overall.". Its an open question of whether I didn't reach out far away enough from my own comfort zone to find people with wildly different experiences who also believed in it. The answer in this case is obviously "No." Regardless of whether the defendant believes that they were living within a simulated world, this defense has been used in cases where the accused were sent to mental-care facilities instead of prisons: This article about a criminal law topic is a stub. Ohio woman Tonda Lynn Ansley shot her landlord and employer, Sherry Lee Corbet, to death in 2002 and then began talking about The Matrix, alluding to the idea that she didnt think she was actually committing murder in reality. There are places A Glitch in the Matrix doesn't go. A Glitch in the Matrix doesnt shy from the dark side, as it builds to a prolonged disturbing sequence recounting the history of the Matrix Defense of Joshua Cooke, who murdered his parents after watching The Matrix a few too many times. The idea posits that of three . Others around the time, however, succeeded in pleading insanity using The Matrix defense, landing them in mental health treatmentfacilitiesrather than prisons following murders. produce testimony from his grandmother and at least one uncle saying, "That boy has Ascher builds his foundation around fascinating archival material from a 1977 lecture delivered by Phillip K. Dick, five years before his death, where he made the unequivocal assertion that We are living in a computer-simulated reality as a disbelieving crowd looked on. "THERE ARE DEFINITE mental health problems, no doubt about that," Horan said, after the case. Chicks. Given the handful of these defenses that have emerged in murder cases, Warner Bros. Pictures issued a statement in 2003, saying that "any attempt to link these crimes with a motion picture [] is disturbing and irresponsible," the Boston Globe reported. 7,652, This story has been shared 6,789 times. Shostak met twice with Cooke and diagnosed him with "simple schizophrenia," a condition listed in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual II a catalog of psychiatric disorders published in 1968 but not included in editions of the book updated since 1980. Dr. Nadine S. Fakhran and a court-appointed forensic team at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center concluded a month-long evaluation of Cooke the first week in June. Kenny Smith, pastor of First Baptist Church of Vienna. Should we try to get past this silliness and listen to what they have to say? In this scene, Neo (Reeves) fights the computerized Agent Smith (Weaving). "So the idea of, in a very raw and real and human way, visualizing what the real stakes are of that disconnect from reality, especially since it's especially apparent these days, it's probably always happening, that thinking of some people as less than others or disagreeing about basic facts has led to all sort of horrors and violence and catastrophemaybe Joshua's story can sort of prompt conversations or point out toward others. Somebody call Room Rater, please! The Book of Solutions Review: When Did the Talented Michel Gondry Become the Worlds Most Annoying Filmmaker? Is this a coincidence? Real life was so much more horrific.. They seem like nice enough guys who maybe think too much and probably wouldnt cross any moral boundaries, but is Ascher implying that their next steps may be like Cookes? The Gist: It begins with a Skype interview with a digital avatar that looks like Lion-O from Thundercats crossed with Ronald McDonald atop a real person in a slightly disheveled room with cardboard boxes and laundry piled in the corner. Rachel M. Fierro, Cookes defense attorney, told the court that the case known as "The Matrix Case" was a tragedy in every sense of the word., "I guess that is true, true for a lot of people," Horan said, during closing remarks. 3,480, This story has been shared 3,388 times. In May2000, after gunning his landlord down, he skinned and dismembered her body before dumping her in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the Boston Globe reported. The same thing applies to our legal system. The so-called simulation theory has floated around in various forms for millennia, but became more pronounced after the success The Matrix encouraged many viewers to question the reality of their surroundings. Cooke hung up on his sister. "He was a two and a half foot space alien with unblinking eyes, and I was a mummy," Ascher recalls. All Rights Reserved. I would like to see an orange fish in the next 10 minutes. One of the attractions of The Matrix, the film whose sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, opens in Britain next week, was its blending of fantasy and reality. psychiatric community, every American suffers from some form of mental disease. 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