Nuance of Being Human - Residual Self Image
In 1999, The Matrix was released. I did not see it in theaters in the first wave. I remember basically everyone at school trying to figure out the meaning of “the battery” scene and finer points of the overall message. I went with some friends the second weekend the movie was out and I LOVED the scene where Morpheus explains the Matric to Neo. I understood this part of the movie right away. The concept of people being used as power was novel and scary and fascinating in a morbid “never want to experience that” kind of way.
As the years have gone by, I’ve pulled more meaning from this scene and this movie. It starts when Morpheus tells Neo that he no longer has the plugs in his arms, his clothes have changed and he is now what they call a “Residual Self Image”. The scene itself gets weird when Morpheus asks Neo “How do you define real?”. This is an interesting question but not part of what I want to discuss today.
How do we see ourselves?
I think about this quite often because I feel like I’ve had to dress in specific ways for my job and to exist in society in order to meet the standards set by society. That which is acceptable in the workplace and that which will blend in with expectations while running errands. What’s great about this scene is you see the expression on Neo’s face where a “lifetime” of being dressed a certain way, he has just found out was a function of the world he lived in rather than the way he would prefer to be dressed. Even in this simulation where Morpheus and Neo are talking, the clothing we see Neo wearing is on par with 90s expectations.
Cut to the first time Neo goes into the Matrix, his mind freed of prior expectations and we see a new version of the main character.
The jacket is longer and tailored while he is taking in what was once his home. He has not fully reached the true version of himself but the influence of the people who now make up his family is clear. Morpheus and Trinity have longer lines in their clothing. Morpheus wears the tie for a bit of color that fits the character and makes him stand out as “the boss”. The lesson is that self-image, when the constraints of society and circumstance are removed becomes influenced by those around us and decided on by self-choice.
Why We Are Here?
I was scrolling Reddit and I came across this post where a young girl is given a wig made of her mother’s hair. The girl is a burn victim and from my limited knowledge of burn damage, the kind of burns scars we can see would suggest her hair follicles were damaged. As she is given the wig, and before she puts the wig on; she gives who I believe is her mom a hug. I watch this and I think about what residual self-image means to everyone. This girl has been given a gift that many of us take for granted. Not the gift of hair, but the gift to mold our appearance to fit our own self-image.
It is a powerful lesson to see what self-image means to someone who has had full access to residual self-image taken away. Who are the other people in the world who have taken their residual self-image taken away? What kind of pain does this cause?
This is not just a call to be aware of the residual self-image of others but to be aware of your own. It’s difficult to be the one who wants to stand out amongst the crowd with off-standard dress but how much happier would you be if you took the opportunity to live the way you saw yourself? The stories of people who dress in the regency clothing that matches who they are and living a life like you’re in the 1950s are inspiring to me. I’m not settled on a personal self-image but I love the suits of the early 20th century and the top hats and fedoras of the late 19th century and into the 1940s. I also like vivid colors and using my clothes and accessories to stand out. Currently, my socks and vests are the most colorful items of clothing I have. I also live in a climate that does not match the long wool jackets and coats I would love to wear all the time. That really just sounds like an excuse.
People have an internal vision of themselves. That vision is influenced by culture and the people they keep in their company. Humanity needs to think about what our residual self-image means to ourselves and be cognizant of the pain others carry when held back from being part of or the full version of that self-image. Residual Self-Image and the freedom to exist in your self-image is its own privilege. We are responsible for providing what we can, in the form of a wig or coat or understanding that we are all different in self-image and all the same in the comfort of living in our self-image.
CHR;)
