Begin Transmission: The trans allegories of The Matrix

by Tilly Bridges, Jacyln Moore (Foreword)

Trans woman and screenwriter Tilly Bridges takes you through the trans allegories of the Matrix franchise, with deep dives into The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Animatrix, The Matrix Revolutions , and The Matrix Resurrections , tracking one person’s transition journey - from Thomas Anderson, to Neo... to Trinity.

Each movie’s allegory is deeply layered, building from movie to movie, and speaks to a different aspect of trans existence. You’ll learn how color is used to convey more than you realize, how Neo’s psyche is personified in the people around him, how no other mass media franchise speaks as truly, deeply, and honestly to the trans experience, and exactly why these movies are beloved and vital to the trans community (and their cis allies).

Free your mind, and see just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Genres: Nonfiction, Queer, Transgender, Gender, LGBT

186 pages, Hardcover

First published June 28, 2023

About the author

Tilly and her wife Susan are a writing and producing team who've been making award-winning scripted podcasts at pendantaudio.com for over a decade, and six of their shows were in Apple Podcasts top 60 all-time most popular scripted sci-fi podcasts. They’re writing for MONSTER HIGH, were head writers for the 2021 HUGO AWARDS, and are head writers of the 2023 NEBULA AWARDS. Their sci-fi comic KILLSWITCH is available now in trade paperback. They also write for the STAR TREK ADVENTURES and FALLOUT role-playing games. As a married trans woman/cis woman team, their stories explore personal identity and how we're all shaped by society, writing scripts that are fun, hope-fueled sci-fi with a sprinkle of comedy.

Reviews

[Angie Trerotola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transmission Received- A must read for cis allies

I will admit I am only a quarter way through the book as I write this but I had to pause to write this review. I just finished Tilly's section on The Matrix (The First Movie) and I'm impressed that The Wachowski Sisters managed to create such an amazing film franchise that actually was an allegory this whole time of discovery, transition, and self actualization.

What I have liked so far is how Tilly breaks down characters and what they stand for at the beginning of each section, time stamps the moment she's discussing and then, relates it to her own experience finally coming out as an adult. So as she goes through the entire movie she brings back and builds on the context she gave you at the beginning so you can understand the allegories that the Wachowksi sisters have left behind.

I'll admit, when I first saw the description I was skeptical too. A quarter of the way through I'm a believer. I also believe that Tilly's book is the ONE. It is the perfect book for people who never have taken an Anthropology class or have simply bought into the idea that only two genders can exist. Tilly makes it utterly impossible to distinguish the Matrix from the societal norms that took root with the expansion of a few empires across the planet in the past five centuries.

This book is perfect for people who already like the movies but can't understand why suddenly politicians are passing laws left and right or for people who remain neutral because they think it doesn't affect them...or worse...those who think everyone is making a big deal out of nothing.

There finally is a framework to understand what my transgender and nonbinary friends experience in a way that makes it click for me as someone who appreciates Sci Fi.

So like Morpheus says, "If you are not one of us, you are one of them."

If the last couple of months haven't explained to you what "one of them" refers to... I'll make it clear. Every single human alive has the choice to be on the right side of history and do actions that quantify as actionable allyship.

Or they can choose to remain part of a society that systematically and brutally oppresses anyone outside the norm.

The Nazis started with the LGBTQIA+ community in 1933. History often rhymes.
The time has come to decide if I were living during the Holocaust, what would I have done?

So take the blue pill and scroll by this incredibly detailed analysis of one of the only media franchises that has successfully been about transgenderism hiding in plain sight...or take the red pill and understand why us wearing rainbows and say we support pride hasn't been enough by buying this book.

Let this be the red pill that wakes you up so you can stand up for justice.

P.S. Watch the movies first if you haven't. Read the books. Then watch again. I plan to in pieces. Mostly because I love the Matrix and now I know why!!!
Thank you Tilly for doing the work in such a way I can do more of the work now myself so I can be more like a literal Tank with my privilege for my friends who are on their way to becoming Trinity.

[JT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, whether you’re cis, trans, or figuring it out

[Thiliel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look, I watched the movies as an egg. And now I watch them again with the trans lens on and wow the red pill really hits. It's kind of amazing that they managed to "pass" this as a major action movie at that time but still all that subliminal shit is RIGHT THERE. I laughed in the cinema at the love scene with trinity in the second movie back then bc it was so over the top but it makes so much sense now. 😭

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not the biggest fan of the Matrix. Bullet time was amazing, but action films, guns, and explosions don't draw me in. The movie didn't make sense to me either. But with several trans folk in my family, I have been on a journey to learn about trans experience from those who experience it: in this case, Tilly Bridges and the Wachowski sisters.

The form of the book is a scene-by-scene breakdown of each of the four Matrix movies in order, analyzing the trans allegories of each film. I watched each movie with my family and then read each section afterward. Although Bridges follows a thread of trans themes through each film, she notes that her reading does not exhaust the themes of the movies. The test of any allegorical reading is if the work makes more sense after hearing it than before. By the time I got to Matrix Resurrections, I had gotten pretty good at picking up the themes, but I appreciated reading about ones that I missed.

To be clear, this is not a dry academic analysis of themes. Instead, Bridges invites the reader on a journey, to follow the white rabbit with her. Early on, she calls out the experience of gender euphoria as something which both trans and cis people experience: "it's elation, joy, happiness at being yourself, being at home in your body, feeling absolutely and totally you" (46). I'm learning to recognize such moments in my life: wearing a colorful bucket hat, colorful polos, or colorful socks (I basically love color). She asks cis people to reflect on the harms the gender binary has done to them, and graciously welcomes allies in rejecting the bigotry and narrowness of a reduced way of looking at the world.

As a cis het man, I have experienced a lifetime of threats and bullying caused because I transgressed some gender norm. From being called gay in grade school for singing in the Christmas play, to being bullied because I didn't like fighting or sports. I remember a roommate in grad school calling me out because I valued becoming a father over having an important career. I even caught some flak at work because I blogged about seeing the Barbie movie (a movie, by the way, which Bridges points out on her Trans Tuesdays podcast and blog deliberately follows the template of The Matrix).

So, thanks to Tilly Bridges for publishing this book and allowing me to benefit from her experiences, to learn from her reading of The Matrix movies, and to accompany me in understanding this strange world we live in.

[Gwendolyn Reese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hardly ever leave a review, but I really loved this book... Granted, as a trans woman and a huge fan of the Matrix franchise, my critical distance is minimal. That said, this book helped me enjoy and appreciate the films in a new and deeply moving way I didn't expect. I knew the films were (at least in part) trans allegories, but I didn't have a sense of the depth of those allegories or how intricately they were woven into every aspect of the film. Bridges does a wonderful job of laying everything out, prompting scenes that hark back to earlier ones and flagging things one should keep an eye out for later. A few interpretations might seem like a bit of a leap, but that's no different from any other film commentary I've read. I wish this could be downloaded into the brain of every person who's ever seen the Matrix - that's my wish for this Trans Day of Visibility. Thank you, Tilly!

[Gleth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Matrix films (Matrix, Reloaded, Revolutions, Animatrix and Resurrection) have always been known to be Trans allegories. In this book you get taken through all the films, with timestamps, showing just how layered and deep those allegories go (all the way down the rabbit hole, and then some). The book is well written and easy to read, and shows just how society hurts everyone, not just those of us who are Trans, when Trans people are not allowed to be themselves.

The films are a call to arms, a mirror for your dreams, and a rainbow of emotions to open your mind. Let this book guide you though them to a greater understanding of their genius.

[Jordan Thayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book would have benefitted from some buy in from the studio, to allow for the inclusion of still frames, especially when things like color and framing are discussed. Without that, it feels a bit like the RiffTrax equivalent of a film theory discussion of a movie. With the movies off major streaming services at the moment, I had to dig out the DVDs to actually read the book meaningfully.

I think it reads a little too much into some of the things in the films, but given my unfamiliarity with film & literary analysis, maybe that's common for the genre. As a "here is how another trans person experienced this property that was also profound for me", it's really excellent.

[Correl Roush · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't help rocketing through it, highlighting and scribbling all over. Tilly really hammers home how incredibly strong and pervasive the allegories really are. There's little (and big!) stuff I hadn't even noticed in the films, and I was floored by even the stuff I did catch just seeing it all together from an unflinchingly trans perspective.

Tilly's conversational tone and time-stamping of each bit of the three movies makes you feel like you're watching them all over again alongside an enthusiastic and super insightful friend!

Definitely pick this one up!

[M Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was absolutely fascinating! I watched the Matrix movies a long time ago but had never heard of these themes and explanations. The author does a great job both laying out the examples and parallels minute by minute while also giving great (and witty) commentary along the way.

I received a complimentary finished copy in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts are my own.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

YES! Tilly Bridges does an amazing job of reclaiming these films and allowing them to be seen and understood the way they are supposed to be! I found her personal anecdotes surrounding her own journey to be a nice touch.

[Davina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d give it 6 stars if I could. I consumed the audiobook, read by the author, and her passion is very clear. It’s absolutely fantastic. Being able to see my own journey played out on screen makes real so much of my own experience and those shared by my friends. Brava!

[Jennifer Baratta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal job Tilly Bridges! You are a phenomenal writer and person. Read this book. Read this book! Thank you Tilly!

[Foxglow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting!

[mexiwitchreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book 3.5 ⭐️ While this book is not something I would usually pick up. I received an Arc for my honest review. I will say I did learn from it. It was a very interesting point of view of the matrix movies. One of the biggest things I took from it is the struggle that the Trans community endures. Not only do they deal with the struggle of society not accepting them but I learned that they themselves struggle to accept their true self. Something no one should ever have to go through. I don’t think I will see the matrix movies the same now and not in a bad way.

[J.D. Cunegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've heard the argument that the Matrix films are transgender allegories before (and tended to believe them, considering the siblings who created this franchise are now out trans women), but it wasn't until I read Tilly Bridges' Begin Transmission that the depth and the breadth of the allegory was so engrained in the material.

This book is not mere theory, with examples sprinkled here and there; the author takes you, almost literally second by second, through the four main films and the animated shorts to show you in all the exact ways, large and small, these movies are trans movies. Not mere allegory, but trans films made by trans people for trans people.

I came across the first movie on TV the other night and, having read that chapter of this book, it was almost like watching the film through new eyes. Even as a cisgender male, the signs were clear as day once I knew what to look for (beyond the surface-level allegory). While I didn't care for the first two sequels and haven't yet seen the newest one, my interest is piqued with this knowledge.

Most importantly, though, in a time where anti-trans violence is at its most abundant and abhorrent (both physical violence and the violence of structure), it's vital to have trans voices speaking up for and in defense of trans stories. Because stories are how we relate to each other, especially those whose life experiences we might not necessarily understand. If the trans community is to be protected and respected and even celebrated, their voices must also be protected and respected and celebrated -- and that's what Begin Transmission is all about.

To this day, these films are the most visible trans narratives we have. And for that reason alone, this book is a necessity for anyone either in the community or supportive of it.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll never watch any of The Matrix movies in the same way again. This book clarified exactly why the franchise is for the trans community and our allies, through being by the Wachowski sisters.

Read this and join me in forever seeing doubt, fear & truth instead of blue, yellow & red. Why? You’ll have to read to find out 😉