The scene in “The Matrix” where Cipher meets with Agent Smith for dinner says a lot about American identity and hyper reality. Cipher has already been unplugged from the real world and experienced the truth of the present real world. He has essentially escaped hyper reality and all of its simulated norms of modern life. Once he is in the real world and exposed to the truth, he desperately wants to be plugged back into the matrix and be blind to the truth once again. In his dinner with the agent, he eats a steak and says even though he knows the steak does not really exist, he still enjoys eating it. He concludes this thought by declaring that ignorance is bliss. Cipher would rather be a part of the fake world of the matrix (hyper reality) where he can believe this world is real rather than be a part of the real world and live his life knowing the truth of the world. During this dinner, Cipher agrees to give Morpheus up to Agent Smith in exchange for the brainwashing of his mind and a high-ranking place in the matrix. He is so desperate to get away from the grimness of the real world that he is willing to risk his friends life just so he can live in ignorance and be “important” in a world that does not even truly exist. This scene demonstrates the greed of humans as well as their need for comfort and a feeling of security, despite the consequences.
This dinner scene also demonstrates American’s ignorance and skewed view of the world. When Cipher is describing to Agent Smith how he would like his life to be in the matrix once his mind knowledge of the real world is erased, he says he would like to be someone important, like an actor. The fact that Cipher considers actors to be some of the most important people in society shows that American’s are caught up in pop culture and celebrities and stories and lives that are not even real. He could have said
I want to be someone important, like a cancer researcher,” which would have a significant and meaningful impact on other people’s lives, but instead he picks some famous job title that is seemingly important to him, but in reality does not really do much for humanity or a good cause. The pure fact that actors’ jobs are to portray a person or role that is not real shows that Cipher wants to get as far away from reality as possible. Being an actor in the matrix is like portraying someone fake in an already fake world. In American society, people are constantly following the lives of actors and other celebrities, even though their lives do not at all effect the average person. The only reason people are interested in their every move is because they want to escape their own lives and focus on other people’s portrayed lives through tabloids and TV shows and other simulacra.