The other day, I was pretty baffled by a statement Elon Musk made at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Referring to his actions with the new Department of Government Efficiency, he compared his work to “fighting the Matrix.” As a huge fan of the 1999 film “The Matrix,” I was incredibly confused. In case you haven’t seen it (check it out, it’s amazing), the film depicts a fake world inside a computer simulation created by evil machines to enslave and extract energy from humanity. The film’s characters learn the world around them is an illusion and try to escape so they can free humanity from the machines’ control. Crucially, the heroes in the film need to work in secret since the machines are trying to hunt down and kill them.
In the world of “The Matrix,” a political figure would never be able to openly decry the simulation on stage — so what did Musk mean?
Musk is not even the only right-wing figure to reference the film. Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist and influencer, has also proclaimed himself a “victim” of the Matrix and began selling an online course called “The Real World” to help men “escape.” Even before that, right-wingers have invoked “The Matrix” term “red pill” to refer to their conservative awakening, a reference to a famous scene in which the protagonist Neo ingests a red pill that allows him to see the world around him for what it is. The term has also garnered specifically misogynistic connotations, with subreddit r/TheRedPill being equated with the “manosphere” — hinged on male supremacy, anti-feminism and sexual difference.
So why does the right identify so much with the film? What does invoking these references mean for the ideologies and influence of these essential figures?
Their allusions may seem innocent at first, akin to brave actors fighting against a corrupt government or society. But under the surface, comparisons like these lay the groundwork for an openly fascist society where critical thinking falls to the wayside of dogma from charismatic leaders. In his essay “Ur-Fascism,” Italian philosopher Umberto Eco defines fascism with 14 essential elements, many of which are echoed in right-wing Matrix rhetoric. Eco warns against the “obsession with a plot,” in which fascists will stoke fear in society with claims of an internal threat. Musk claimed he was “screwing with things that are not supposed to be messed with” in his fight against the Matrix, spreading the idea that there was some corrupt internal government force threatening America, though it’s definitely not him.
In reality, Musk’s DOGE has mainly targeted federal humanitarian aid and garnered controversy for illegally accessing Americans’ sensitive data. Musk painted programs he disagreed with as threatening to bolster his image when no real threat existed. Tate is also guilty of this self-righteousness. After the Florida government announced its investigation into Tate for alleged trafficking and abuse of women, Tate tweeted, “The Matrix is attacking me.” In other words, he alludes to a fabricated conspiracy against him — the alleged victim — to maintain support as his horrific crimes are being uncovered.
Both men use “The Matrix” analogies to garner support, painting themselves as lone heroic figures battling against secretive forces of evil buried internally that only they can recognize. In reality, they seek solely to further their own goals.
Another crucial point Eco makes is that fascists will paint an enemy that is “at the same time too strong and too weak.” This is made explicit by Musk referencing the film at the conference. He characterizes the threat as it is in the film: a giant and inescapable conspiracy. However, he is able to fight against it with only a small group of employees. The “conspiracy” he is fighting against is both a deep conspiracy that has secretly defined the rules of government for a long time and one that can be easily “deleted” by him being in office, “screwing” around and cutting government budgets. And this “secret conspiracy” has always made its actions — specifically DOGE’s domain, government spending — public.
The power of Musk’s opposing force changes depending on what he needs to convince people of, a clue that we should not take his assessment seriously.
Both Musk and Tate also use film terminology to make arguments that make them guilty of Eco’s definition of George Orwell’s “Newspeak.” This is a language that encourages an impoverished vocabulary. With limited terminology, listeners are discouraged from thinking critically about what leaders are saying and vocalizing concerns. Likewise, while Musk and Tate characterize their enemies as simply the shortcut “the Matrix,” they can scare the public without elaborating on the actual threat or providing evidence. They neither go into specifics on what the threat they are facing is or why it is dangerous to us, instead characterizing it as a scary movie villain many are familiar with — one whose entire power rests on its indefinability and inability to be pointed at on a map.
By practicing “Newspeak,” the audience is encouraged to assess whatever group Musk or Tate is targeting based on the cultural perception of the movie villain rather than actual evidence of the threat’s existence. It also serves to trivialize real issues like corruption, turning them into power fantasies initiated by charismatic figures to avoid actual fixes in favor of entrenching their own popularity. Following this logic, either person could claim a group is The Matrix and go after them with public support without ever needing to substantiate their claim, a dangerously slippery slope.
People connect with the film’s story because it gives them hope of resistance in a world where they are powerless. The heroes of the film still triumph even when their whole reality is against them. If we see ourselves as Neo, then any threat seems beatable. This can be true for any of us. But “red-pilled” men may feel compelled to take on the film’s terminology in their fight against the cultural force of feminism, which is much more difficult to fight than a politician or organization, painting themselves and their beliefs as a noble, against-all-odds cause.
However, we as citizens must be wary of these types of arguments and references. Anyone can ironically use comparisons like these to “The Matrix” or anything else as a manipulation tactic. This is not to say that Elon Musk or Andrew Tate are perfect exemplars of fascist ideology, but in a time of misinformation and fear, it is more important than ever to pay close attention to those using fearmongering to get us to follow their lead, especially those in power.
Or maybe I’m just working for the Matrix. I would be saying all of this then, wouldn’t I?
Kevin O’Connell is a freshman majoring in political science.
Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the staff editorial.