The Matrix (1999) is probably the most famous example of a movie illustrating philosophy.
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But as Jerry Goodenough says in Film as Philosophy, Total Recall (1990) is perhaps a better example of this kind of movie. Though Total Recall displays in general the same philosophical problems as The Matrix, it’s presentation is a bit different and the movie is a little less known.
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Total Recall follows a man that buys a memory implant so that he can take a trip to Mars in his mind. But soon things go wrong and neither he or we are really sure if what he is experiencing is real or not.
Total Recall presents at least two philosophical problems:
First, it presents the problem of the nature of experience. In the film a company sells memories of experiences. This is a example of a famous philosophical concept introduced by Robert Nozick, called the Experience Machine, and deals wih the idea if we would be given the chance – would we want to be hooked up to a machine that would present us with the perfect life instead of living out our mundane lives as they really are? Is it better to be a happy pig than a sad Socrates?
Secondly, it presents the problem of reality and the nature of knowledge. This is a example of René Descartes’ concept of “cogito ergo sum” (e. “I think, therefore I am”) where he concludes that he can doubt all of his senses and the only thing that can be truly real is thought.
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As shown in this clip, if we doubt our own senses, it can be very difficult to determine if the things we are seeing are real or not.
