Four-week class held at the Movie Madness Miniplex!
Even before The Matrix series creators Lana and Lilly Wachowski came out as trans, hot takes on the layered allegorical meanings of the film franchise abounded — and since then, hot takes about the transness of this saga have proliferated even more. In this class, we’ll go behind the takes and dive deep into all things trans in The Matrix. We’ll read and explore material from the trans creators of the films, and speculate about why it took Keanu until Movie 4 to realize that it’s… kinda trans. In addition to exploring gender allegories galore, we’ll take the four films of The Matrix as a set of unfolding layers in a puzzle box about reality, destiny, programming and free will, a set of movies that uniquely asks us for our analysis, detailed attention and, of course, a self-reflexive questioning of what we believe to be true about our experiences as consumers of mediated realities, and as gendered beings.
Classes will be held at the Movie Madness Miniplex (4320 SE Belmont), followed by an instructor-led discussion. Classes will be held Wednesdays in May at 7:00pm. Proof of vaccination is required for all students and instructors. Masks are welcome but not required.
Tuition is $75 for the four-week class, $60 for Hollywood Theatre and Movie Madness Members. Class size will be limited to 18.
This class will be taught by Max Swanson, a nonfiction/experimental filmmaker/performer, writer, educator, and organizer based in Portland, OR. They currently teach at NW Doc and PSU, and work as a freelance story consultant. They are also a co-producer of the local drag and art collaborative Max & Mars Present.