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.

In the movie “Smoke Signals,” the scene where Arnold leaves his home and family for good demonstrates his existential crisis resulting from the deep guilt of accidentally killing his friend. After the fire that he starts kills Thomas’ parents, Arnold cuts his hair off. As an Indian, his hair is a symbol of respect and his heritage. Cutting it all off shows that he has does something to lose respect for himself and does not deserve respect from his people. He also becomes a violent alcoholic because he is so tortured by this guilty secret. He drunkenly hits his young son, Victor, in the face when he accidentally spills his beer. In the last scene when he leaves, he goes speeding away in his truck. When little Victor runs after him and jumps on the back of the truck, Arnold stops the truck, gets out, and hugs his son crying, then puts him down and drives away for good. This tearful embrace symbolizes a deep inner crisis. These conflicting actions of angrily driving away for good and stopping to tearfully hug his son one last time show that he does not wish to abandon his family. He cares deeply for them, but needs to sort out his inner struggle and forgive himself before he can return and be a loving, adequate husband and father. He is running away not because he does not love his family anymore, but because he does not know or like who he is or what he has become. By running away from his home and his family, he is hoping to run away from his problems, forget his past mistakes and past life, and find himself spiritually in another place. He cannot be around his loved ones anymore for fear he might hurt them even more than he already has. He has already killed his friends in a fire and physically abused his wife and child. Arlene, Arnold’s wife, lets him go and holds Victor so he cannot chase after his father. Even if she still loves him, she hates how distant and angry he has become. She screams and allows him to leave her because she feels it is in her whole family’s best interest. She holds Victor back because she loves him and wants his father to leave not because she thinks Arnold does not love Victor, but because she knows he must re-discover himself and his happiness before he can be a good father to their child. She also has had enough with his alcoholism and how it effects their family. We see this in the scene where Victor angrily smashes all of the beers after seeing his parents belligerently drunk. Arlene is overcome with sadness that they have hurt their son and anger that they have disappointed him. She screams at Arnold and kicks the bed he is sleeping in and tells him “No more! We can’t do this anymore.” As Victor gets older, Arlene stops drinking but Arnold continues to drink more and more. She tries desperately to stop him from taking money from her purse to buy booze and he strikes her hard in the face. She does not give up and stands up and yells “hit me again,” showing that no matter how much he bullies her, she will never give in and support his destructive habits. Her family is more important to her.

The last scene in “Planet of the Apes” makes a strong statement about American’s ideology of consumerism. In this revealing and tragic scene, Taylor rides off with Nova into the “Forbidden Zone” and discovers the statue of liberty, half buried and in ruins. This indicated that this strange planet he has landed on is not a strange planet at all, but a post-humanistic earth. Upon this devastating realization, Taylor drops to his knees and pounds the ground screaming “We finally really did it. You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you! God damn you all to hell!” He determines that the past human population wrecked planet earth. Americans are greedy and take what they need and want regardless of the long term effects. Dr. Zaius even claims that one of the reasons why he kept the truth of the human-dominated past a secret is because humans eat up everything they encounter. This is the reason why the earth was destroyed. All of its natural resources were drained and polluted because of human greed. Humans are responsible for their own downfall. They became virtually extinct and now exist only as animal-like barbaric mute creatures who are dominated, hunted, and enslaved by different species of monkeys. Taylor’s statement that they “blew it up” suggests the possibility that there was another world war of some sort and humans blew up the earth with nuclear bombs. Now it is just a wasteland, all thanks to the stubbornness and greed of humanity and, more specifically, Americans. Rather than try and solve their problems in a civilized manner, they decided to go to war and set off bombs that would lead to the destruction of the planet and the downfall of man.
In addition to showing American greed and consumerism, this final scene also shows American’s stereotypical gender roles. Nova was given to Taylor as a gift, just as an inanimate object would be given as a gift. She was intended to be used as a sexual object and for the purpose of mating. The fact that she cannot speak symbolizes the oppression and belittling of women and their opinions. The fact that a female is involuntarily given to a male shows the males superiority as well as his sexual power over her. Nova blindly follows Taylor, even though she has no idea who he is or where he is going. She must leave her home and her people and go with him to the “forbidden zone.” Throughout the movie, Taylor is the one who protects her and helps her escape etc. She is portrayed as an invalid incapable of fending for herself. This displays and example of the stereotypical notion that women are helpless and cannot survive without a man to take care of them. She has a constant blank look on her face as if she were always completely clueless of what is going on. While Taylor is practically on his knees weeping for the downfall of his people, Nova sits staring blankly at the statue, knowing and feeling nothing as far as we can tell. This scene portrays stereotypical gender roles of American men and women at the time.