MIM Notes ***

MIM Notes 284 · July 1, 2003 · Page 1

MIM Notes

July 1, 2003, Nº 284

The Official Newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM)

Free

INSIDE: Ford Boycott * News from prisoners * Una Página en Español...

On the web: www.etext.info/Politics/MIM

ix weeks after George Bush

declared major combat in Iraq

over, ambushes and search-and-

destroy operations involving thousands of

Amerikan troops continue--and the

Amerikans have yet to find any proof that

Iraq had weapons of mass destruction

(WMDs), the ostensible reason for the

ground invasion. Bourgeois media and

Democratic Party publicists are now

making a lot of noise about Bush's shaky

(and in some cases fabricated) evidence

of Iraqi WMDs--never mind that others

had made these same arguments long

before the war.

Before the war, these same media put

Colin Powell's speech to the United

Nations laying out the U.$. government's

tired old excuses for invasion on page one

and buried criticism of Powell's sources

deep inside the paper. Apparently now

that the war is a done deal it is safe to

score some partisan points.

MIM does not claim to know whether

Saddam Hussein had WMDs in April of

this year or not. Part of our criticism of

capitalism is that it creates governments

that carry out military operations in secret

and withhold or twist important

Much Ado About

Weapons of Mass Destruction

HOUSANDS

SAY

ATRIOT

LOS ANGELES, 30 May

ore than 3,100 signatures

opposing Patriot Act II were

delivered to Senator Barbara

Boxer's office as MIM, RAIL and other

members of the "Stop Patriot Act II

Coalition" rallied outside. Patriot Act II

(a.k.a. "The Domestic Security

Enhancement Act") is a proposal from

Attorney General John Ashcroft which

would give the executive branch of the

Federal Government "sweeping new

powers to increase domestic intelligence

gathering" (1) and curtail rights which the

bourgeois authors of the Amerikan

Constitution made part of the highest law

of the land, exactly so that they could not

be waived by corrupt and dishonest

people in government in the name of

momentary "security."(2)

RAIL brought a stack of signs bearing

anti-Patriot Act slogans. Protestors

gobbled these up, and a few came with

signs of their own. Cars honked in support

as protestors waved their signs and got

signatures from the downtown lunchtime

crowd. The proportion of passers-by who

had not heard of Patriot Act II was higher

than at anti-war rallies, so a new

informational pamphlet by a RAIL

comrade came in handy.(3)

A reporter from a pro-Korean-

reunification website attended the rally,

commenting that Patriot Act II would

have a chilling effect on political debate

in the United $tates. North Korea is part

of George Bush's "Axis of Evil," she

pointed out, so under the loose guidelines

in Patriot Act II advocates of peaceful

Korean reunification could be jailed as

"terrorists."

A representative from Barbara Boxer's

office who had earlier made an

appointment to discuss the petition failed

to appear.

MIM started collecting signatures

against Patriot Act II in February, just

after the draft proposal was posted on

the internet. Several weeks later, MIM

and RAIL joined Kabataang maka

Bayan-USA (Pro-People Youth), Asians

for Jericho & Mumia, Comite pro-

Democracia en Mexico, and BAYAN

information to gain military advantage.

Our opposition to the war in Iraq does

not depend on whether Iraq had weapons

of mass destruction or not, or whether

Bush lied about what he knew or not.

Conservative Michael Novak, writing

in the National Review in an attempt to

exonerate Bush, only makes our point.

"[T]he public has not been made aware

of how small a set of objects the U.S. is

now looking for. In January, Hans Blix

ILM

MAKES

MONEY

THE

OLD

FASHIONED

WAY

The Matrix Re-Loaded (2003)
Andy and Larry Wachowski, dirs.

We were very worried that this sequel

to the original "Matrix" would lose too

much or change directions too much. As

we read the critics describe all the action

scenes and sex, we realized before it

opened that this part II would make much

money. After making the original, the

directors deserved to make a lot of money

and gain influence the Amerikkkan way

with sex, romance and violence. The

combination of dance, martial arts and

special effects is once again trend-setting

and we won't mention it again in this

review.

Rebutting the critics

We defend the Wachowski brothers

against some critics who nitpicked this

and that about superheroes. In contrast

with most comic strips and Hollywood

directors exploiting the idea of superhero,

the Wachowskis show us how Neo came

to be from an ordinary humyn step-by-

step. Granted, Neo arrives in the future

Matrix sequel puts the message on pause

after humyns have learned how to do a

lot of things they cannot do now, most

importantly, loading computer information

into the backs of their necks.

Most superheroes in the arts arise out

of pure philosophical idealism and

individualism. In "Re-

Loaded," we learn that

Neo can see all the

subcomponent parts of

the Matrix and thus we

are not surprised that he

can fly--the most

criticized aspect of the

film. We're also not

surprised that he

chooses to fight the 100

agent Smiths to learn

about them instead of

just flying away. The

enemy does the same

thing to him--arranging

fights just to learn

something. Odd threads

At the heroes' dinner

with one of the enemy

computer programs, we

learn perhaps some of

the rationale behind Trinity's name. The

enemy starts by greeting Morpheus, then

Neo and finally adds Trinity. It becomes

clear that without her there would not be

three.

Continued on page 9...

Continued on page 4...

Continued on page 7...

MIM Notes 284 · July 1, 2003 · Page 2

What is MIM?

The Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) is the collection of existing or emerging

Maoist internationalist parties in the English-speaking imperialist countries and their English-

speaking internal semi-colonies, as well as the existing or emerging Maoist Internationalist
parties in Belgium, France and Quebec and the existing or emerging Spanish-speaking
Maoist Internationalist parties of Aztlan, Puerto Rico and other territories of the U.$. Empire.

MIM Notes is the newspaper of MIM. Notas Rojas is the newspaper of the Spanish-speaking
parties or emerging parties of MIM. MIM upholds the revolutionary communist ideology
of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and is an internationalist organization that works from the

vantage point of the Third World proletariat. MIM struggles to end the oppression of all
groups over other groups: classes, genders, nations. MIM knows this is only possibly by
building public opinion to seize power through armed struggle. Revolution is a reality for

North America as the military becomes over-extended in the government's attempts to
maintain world hegemony. MIM differs from other communist parties on three main
questions: (1) MIM holds that after the proletariat seizes power in socialist revolution, the

potential exists for capitalist restoration under the leadership of a new bourgeoisie within
the communist party itself. In the case of the USSR, the bourgeoisie seized power after the
death of Stalin in 1953; in China, it was after Mao's death and the overthrow of the "Gang

of Four" in 1976. (2) MIM upholds the Chinese Cultural Revolution as the farthest advance
of communism in humyn history. (3) As Marx, Engels and Lenin formulated and MIM has
reiterated through materialist analysis, imperialism extracts super-profits from the Third

World and in part uses this wealth to buy off whole populations of oppressor nation so-
called workers. These so-called workers bought off by imperialism form a new petty-
bourgeoisie called the labor aristocracy. These classes are not the principal vehicles to

advance Maoism within those countries because their standards of living depend on
imperialism. At this time, imperialist super-profits create this situation in the Canada, Quebec,
the United $tates, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Italy, Switzerland,

Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Israel, Sweden and Denmark. MIM accepts people as
members who agree on these basic principles and accept democratic centralism, the system
of majority rule, on other questions of party line.

"The theory of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin is universally applicable. We should

regard it not as dogma, but as a guide to action. Studying it is not merely a matter of

learning terms and phrases, but of learning Marxism-Leninism as the science of revolution."

- Mao Zedong, Selected Works, Vol. II, p. 208.

Editor, MC206; Production, MC12

Letters

MIM Notes

The Official Newsletter of The Maoist Internationalist Movement

ISSN 1540-8817

MIM Notes is the bi-weekly newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist Movement. MIM

Notes is the official Party voice; more complete statements are published in our journal,
MIM Theory. Material in MIM Notes is the Party's position unless noted. MIM Notes
accepts submissions and critiques from anyone. The editors reserve the right to edit
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Glamorizing war

I tried following the news about the

war, but to be honest, all of the "USA the

benevolent" rhetoric being rammed down

people's throats is sickening. And just the

fact that the news is so one-sided is

indicative that the truth is not... otherwise

why would they have to lie about it? I'm

not sure how it's being presented to the

rest of the U.S., but all the mainstream

media I've been seeing is that way, and I

have a very strong suspicion it's like than

even for out there. I guess as always the

only way people really get to see the truth

is if they intentionally go out looking for

it... otherwise it's the "USA the

benevolent" cookie cut-outs that gets put

on the primetown news. And did I hear

this right? Somebody came up with a

theme song for the war? It must have

been difficult but somehow they found a

way to make war glamorous.

--a Pennsylvania prisoner,

5 April 2003

What good are
petitions?

Internet reader: I apologize for sounding

like a pessimist, but I don't see how

gathering signatures helps ANY cause.

they're going to do what they're going to

do regardless of what we want as a

majority in anything. They're not going

to give up power they've already taken

from us, they may make it appear that

they do from time to time, but they don't.

MIM reponds: We will be delivering

the online petition signatures together with

those we gather on paper (3100 and

counting) to federal representatives. It is

getting much harder for congresspeople

to ignore opposition to the USA Patriot

Act & Patriot Act II now that close to

100 U.$. communities have passed

resolutions condemning the

unconstitutionality of the USAPA, and we

are making more noise about PAII.

The USAPA passed both houses of

congress within hours of their

introduction. That's why it is so important

to voice opposition to the Patriot Act II

now. MIM is also not the only organization

working on this. From basic advocates

of the U.$. constitution like the Bill of

Rights Defense Committee to the civil

libertarians in the ACLU, to the anti-war/

peace activists who are working on

getting city council resolutions passed to

block enforcement of the USA Patriot

Act, there is a broad range of people allied

against this civil-liberties-stripping,

privacy-invading, due-process-denying

legislation.

Internet reader: I wish I could be as

optimistic as you about all this. But like I

said, they're going to do what they're

going to do. If you stop their legislation

here, they'll slip it into something else.

As a matter of fact, the amount of

publicity and resistance that's being

generated over this legislation, makes me

wonder if they're not using it as a

diversion to slip in the real nightmare

while everyone's making such a fuss over

this. The only thing those bastards in

Washington understand is violence.

Unfortunately, it seems that's become the

only attention getter around the world. I

don't want this legislation any more than

you do, but then, there's a massive

amount of legislation that's been put into

effect in just the last few years that pretty

much deny us the essential rights this bill

does. And with all the corruption in the

local judicial entities, your rights don't

really mean much anyway. If you ain't

got no witnesses, you ain't got no rights.

I do wish you the best of luck and hope

you don't beat your head too hard against

this block wall. I'll just keep collecting

my firepower and wait `til they label me

a terrorist.

MIM: From a long-term perspective,

MIM agrees with you that violence is the

only language Amerika understands. We

would go farther and say that it is the

only language the Amerikan people

understand, not just the government.

After all, the U.$. armed Saddam Hussein

throughout the 1980s, essentially created

Osama bin Laden by arming the

mujahedeen against the Soviet presence

in Afghanistan, and oversees the daily

humiliation of the Palestinian people both

from Washington and from its bases in

Saudi Arabia. Yet the populace that

sponsors this activity can't be bothered

to show concern for the Middle East until

after 9/11. (e.g., see http://www.etext.info/

P o l i t i c s / M I M / m n / s e p t 1 1 2 0 0 1 /

sept112001.html and the rest of the http:/

/www.etext.info/Politics/MIM/mn/

sept112001/ page)

But we disagree that these rights don't

really mean much anyway. The right to

speak out and criticize our government is

central to our ability to organize. This is

especially true for those of us who think

the current U.$. govt. is long past doing

the people of the world any good. The

right not to be arrested in secret is real,

and arguable in court, as is the right not

to be searched or tapped without a

warrant. As a practical matter, these are

rights we can defend.

MIM Notes 284 · July 1, 2003 · Page 3

by MC5

May 22, 2003

Before the Iraq War intensified with a

ground invasion by U.$. troops, England

was preparing to join the Euro, the

common currency of its European

neighbors. Thanks in large part to war-

mongering in connection to France and

Iraq, now the wind of public opinion is

blowing against England's joining the

Euro; even though only 8% of the English

believe that they will never join the

Euro.(1)

Granted, the Iraq War put off major

public discussions of major issues like the

Euro. The expectation had been that

England would discuss and vote on the

issue this year or next.

The latest sign of how the rulers wish

this decision to be shrouded is that Prime

Minister Tony Blair met with four or five

ministers of his cabinet individually and

others in groups.(1) Presumably some

matters are so private, with some

ministers having so much more to say

that this procedure became public. The

image created suggests one of hedging

bets and taking information from various

sources and angles, especially since most

ministers are supposedly pro-Euro. If any

minister said something blunt in public it

could cause the financial markets to spin

wildly. At this moment, the dollar is

especially subject to a total collapse if

someone should be rather rash.

In truth, the hubbub about the Euro is

one of the more difficult and important

issues facing the imperialists. For a long

time, bourgeois economists have been

talking about how the dollar holds an

advantage over other currencies traded,

because the dollar is the universal

currency, the index currency so-to-speak.

Governments globally hold their foreign

currency reserves in dollars and they often

conduct trade among each other in dollars.

This practice is one-of-a-kind in the world

and causes a demand for the U.$. dollar

currency which causes its price to rise

against other currencies.

The first salvo to prop up the dollar after

the occupation of Iraq was simple. The

English equivalent of treasurer said he

opposed joining the Euro. Rather than be

too brash, and as is typical in the financial

world, the British rulers followed up with

take-backs to soften the blow.(2)

Next we heard reports aimed at English

nationalism that England's unemployment

rate and growth rate are better than in

the part of Europe using the Euro.(3)

Unless the English imperialists really

believe Rumsfeld's idea about "old

Europe" just not being able to do better

than "tag along" with the United $tates,

we do not expect this argument to hold

water very long. In fact, some would

argue by moving to convert to Euros now

when England has a good situation would

mean at least a temporary advantage,

because it would secure whatever

advantages of the current exchange rate

there are to Britain. It was in reference

to this whole debate, that the various

leaders of the various factions said they

Brit moves on Euro reveal fears of economic disaster

May 31, 2003

San Francisco

Activists protested at a Ford Motor

Company dealership kicking off a national

campaign demanding that Ford live up to

its pledge to make cleaner vehicles.

Rainforest Action Network, Global

Exchange and Bluewater Network

hosted the demonstration, hanging a big

banner from the roof of the Ford building

and placing bodybags (inhabited by

people) in front of the dealership to

represent the deaths to people and the

environment at the hands of the Ford

corporate practices.

MIM agrees with the protestors'

message that capitalist corporations like

Ford must be held responsible for the

global destruction they wreak.

Environmental reforms which have

proletarian content are possible under

capitalism--witness international

regulation of ozone levels.(1) However,

such reforms are tenuous. Capitalists will

not make changes unless they see short-

term profit in them (which they will

sometimes due to competitive pressure).

Furthermore, because black markets

thrive under capitalism where cash is

unlimited and can purchase unlimited

goods, there is a strong attraction to

getting around environmental regulations

in capitalism.

A banal example of such a black market

is the sale of high-volume flush toilets in

areas where water-saving toilets are

mandated. Just as with SUVs, this is a

case of people with lots of cash creating

a demand for a luxury good (detrimental

to society at large). Where such harmful

luxury goods are banned, profit-hungry

capitalists risking punishment to meet that

demand. Socialism attacks this problem

from several directions infeasible under

capitalism. It regulates production; it

regulates money supply and controls

inequalities in income; and it carries out

mass education campaigns without having

to worry about offending some capitalist

profiting from a harmful product.

According to speakers at the rally, Ford

has the least fuel efficient cars of all car

manufacturers and their average fuel

efficiency is now worse than it was in

1980. Their current president, Bill Ford,

came in posing as an environmentalist

and promising to make Ford a global

environmental leader, but while he lives

in a solar home, his company is the worst

Ford boycott demonstrates failure of capitalism

Continued on page 9...

Continued on page 8...

by a prisoner in California

In July 2002, police officers in

Inglewood, California were videotaped

brutalizing a teenager. Two officers now

face criminal charges for this attack.

Incidents of police brutality are not

isolated. Within the community of law

enforcement, such outrageous conduct is

a rite of passage and a fact of life. Nearly

all scandals involving police misconduct

end up stifled and downplayed by defense

attorneys. When the lawyers take over,

the big picture becomes lost in the frame-

by-frame recantation of what seems like

an act of unmistakable criminality.

Defense attorney John Barnett has

already begun to bring doubt into the

minds of the jury pool. His explanation is

very simple: Inglewood Police Officer

Jeremy Morris was defending himself

from someone who grabbed his crotch.

In other words, this is the story behind

which a skilled attorney can launch a

meritorious defense for an obviously guilty

client.

Mr. Barnett is an expert in creating

doubt in the minds of jurors. In the case

of motorist Rodney King he was able to

convince an all-white jury the beating of

Mr. King was justified -- despite the

videotape. And he is ready to do so again

because he understands that people

simply do not want to believe the truth

when a well thought out lie is much easier

to digest.

Law enforcement takes violence very

serious, with some cops being more prone

towards violence than others. Yet, in the

case of beating a suspect, they are simply

not willing to hold themselves to the same

legal standards they are empowered to

enforce. In their minds, they are above

the law.

When I see an episode of police

brutality I do not need to have the incident

explained to me by a defense attorney,

prosecutor, police spokesperson, or some

so-called expert on such matters. For

those of us who grew up on the streets,

getting beat up by the cops was often one

of our rites of passage into adulthood --

with our bumps and bruises, cuts and

injuries, being our red badges of courage.

Absent a group confession by conscience-

laden officers, or an unforeseen video

camera, cops simply have little about

which to worry in cases of abusing their

arrestees.

I find it lamentable and grow weary of

seeing police brutality on the news, then

to have an array of persons going on

record trying to justify or downplay an

obviously troubling problem. I know from

being somewhat expert in such matters,

that if I am a skinny, mentally challenged,

16 year old kid--and handcuffed as

well--I am not a threat to anyone. In such

a situation--and I have been at the

receiving end of similar beatings--one

cannot be in a more vulnerable position.

The fact that Donovan Jackson was

outnumbered and handcuffed renders

what Officer Morris did to him

unacceptable in any situation. This was

the act of a coward.

[Of course, from MIM's perspective,

even if the young man had grabbed the

officer's crotch, it could be seen as a

justifiable act of self-defense. Morris had

already singled this young Black man out

for harassment, shackled him, and thrown

him on the hood of a car. Officer Morris

thought his badge--and the gun at his

hip--gave him the authority to pick a fight

without repercussions. He and the system

which gives cops the power to act as an

occupying army are to blame if this young

man did not respond to Morris' aggression

by turning the other cheek.]

To claim the acts of Officer Morris

were justified, prompted by the

unproveable acts of a skinny, handcuffed

minor is preposterous. Police brutality is

alive and well in drug war-torn America.

And until we dismantle the criminal

injustice system, which enforces the

imperialist system of national oppression

in Amerika, police brutality will continue.

Inglewood police beating: a rite of passage

Is Donovan Jackson

the next

Rodney King?

MIM Notes 284 · July 1, 2003 · Page 4

by mim108@mim.org

The State of Texas, like many other

states, is having a budget crunch resulting

from the recession and decline in tax

income. Texas is trying to make up for a

$9.9 billion budget shortfall without raising

taxes.(1)

As a result, the governor has asked the

Texas Department of Criminal Justice

(TDCJ) to cut 7% from their $5.1 billion

budget for the current fiscal year, and

maybe 9% from next year's budget. The

TDCJ is looking for more places to pack

in prisoners on a smaller budget. As of

February, the prison system was growing

by 500 prisoners per month (5,500

incoming, 5,000 released per month), with

a total of 147,565. Officially, the system

was at 97.5% capacity. (1)

So what will they cut? Prisoners have

already reported to MIM some effects

of budget cuts. As one prisoner wrote in

February, "We're lucky to get a piece of

meat around here; they're cutting back

on everything, such as vocational

programs, GED for prisoners, food,

clothes, bath towels, soap, medical needs,

family phone calls, pictures during visits,

commissary privileges, recreation time,

gym time, television time, and time to eat

the little food they do care to serve."

A closer look at the budget and

proposed cuts reveals a lot about the

priorities of Amerikan injustice. One

proposal is, "Eliminating college courses,

vocational training and job placement

programs." Obviously, that would be self-

defeating IF the goal of the system was

to help prisoners turn their lives around

and improve the opportunities--which of

course it is not. However, even that

draconian cut would only save the system

$2.2 million--a tiny fraction of what they

need to cut--which just shows how little

the system invests in that approach in the

first place.(2)

Although Texas makes extensive use

of slave labor in its prison system, the

system does not exist primarily to make

labor profits. In fact, according to the most

recent detailed budget we could find

online, for fiscal year 2000, the prison

system recorded $55.2 million in

"correctional industry receipts,"

compared to $2.1 billion coming from the

state's general revenue fund.(3) Sales

from Texas Correctional Industries to

other state agencies apparently grew to

$80 million by FY 2002.(4) That is money

the TDCJ makes selling prisoner labor.

They also save unreported millions of

dollars from prisoner labor doing the work

of running the prisons and supporting the

prisoners: maintaining vehicles,

transporting freight, warehousing, laundry,

food, and so on.

But the fact remains that most of the

money to run the gulags comes from tax

revenues. That's why the lieutenant

governor and the head of the pardons and

parole board gingerly raised the possibility

of increasing the rate of paroling

prisoners, while insisting that would only

be done as a last resort, if it could be done

"safely."(1) They would like to make up

the budget by cutting education and health

care for prisoners, but if they can't, they

might have to shrink the system.

If the system were a money-maker, they

would be trying to increase the number

of prisoners, not considering a decrease.

The Amerikan prison system does make

money for some capitalists, politicians,

and labor aristocrats. But it is primarily a

means of national oppression and social

control, not profit- making. As such, in

addition to being one of the biggest

institutions of oppression in world history,

it is also one more wasteful burden

generated by imperialism's short-sighted,

self-interested global rule.

Notes:

1. Houston Chronicle 20 Feb 2003, p.

A19.

2. Associated Press in Amarillo Globe-

News 8 Feb 2003.

3. TDCJ FY 2000 Agency Budget,

http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/finance/

budget/TDCJ-FY2000-Budget.pdf

4. TDCJ FY 2002 Statistical Summary,

http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/publications/

e x e c u t i v e / s t a t _ s u m m a r y _ f y 0 2 /

stat_summ ary_fy02_toc.htm

Texas prison budget cuts expose priorities

The Animatrix (2003)
Various directors
Warner Home Video

Review by MC206

7 June 2003

The nine animated shorts in the

Animatrix explore themes from the

Matrix movies and give some important

backstory, including a history of how

humyns enslaved the intelligent machines

that later overthrew and enslaved

humyns.(1) Refreshingly--and in keeping

with the style of the movies--none of the

shorts by various directors adopt the

cutesy Disney look. Instead, styles range

from impressionistic watercolors to

realistic computer graphics to jarring

expressionistic sketches (e.g. Peter

Chung of "Aeon Flux" fame directed the

final short).

Thematically, the Animatrix is closer to

the first film than the second (see our

reviews here (2) and here (3)). Several

shorts emphasize self-sacrifice for the

common good ("The Final Flight of the

Osiris" and "Program"); several

emphasize the choice between truth in

the depressing real world or individualist

stupor in the dream world of the matrix

("Kid's Story," "World Record" and

"Program"); and several emphasize the

organized (and justified) distrust of the

cells fighting the matrix ("Detective

Story" and "Program"), just as the first

movie showed Trinity's crew frisking

Neo for bugs at gunpoint.

Aside from some exposition left out of

the movies ("The Final Flight of the

Osiris" and "Kid's Story"), the Animatrix

raises several new ideas, two of which

we briefly discuss here. First, "The

Second Renaissance" puts an interesting

new twist on the old quasi-Luddite sci-fi

"the machines have taken over" story.

At some point after the intelligent

machines began to resist exploitation by

humyns and humyns consequently carried

out anti-machine pogroms, humyn

governments banish the machines to a

country of their own (ironically in the

"birthplace of civilization" i.e. what is now

Iraq). However, due to a combination of

anti-machine chauvinism and good-old-

fashioned capitalist competition--the

machines flood the world market with

hyper-cheap goods--humyn governments

decide to nuke the machine nation. This

leads to the war that the humyns end up

losing catastrophically--in large part

because they keep reaching for bigger

and bigger weapons.

Second, "Matriculation" hints at the

possibility of post-"Matrix" machine-

humyn cooperation, although it also

suggests that humyns aren't quite up to

the task yet, perhaps because they still

see intelligent machines as their servants

or because they still harbor anti-machine

prejudices.

It's tough to say whether these shorts

would pack any political or philosophical

punch on their own. But in the context of

the other Matrix films, they stir up some

provocative images and leave the viewer

with something to think about.

Notes

1. You can watch four of the shorts for

free at www.intothematrix.com.

2. http://www.etext.info/Politics/MIM/

movies/review.php?f=long/matrix.txt

3. http://www.etext.info/Politics/MIM/

movies/long/matrixreloaded.html

Matrix sequel puts the

message on pause

On the other hand, regarding any

parallel to the Catholic trinity, at the end

of the movie, we see conflict between

Neo and Morpheus as Neo spills the bad

news that he did not inevitably defeat the

whole Matrix as Morpheus thought;

although he still has 24 hours --

presumably in Matrix III-- to do the job.

In fact, much to our delight, "Re-

Loaded" put any fantasies about

"oracles" and fate in their proper place.

Even the Oracle is connected to computer

programs. It turns out that not all

computer programs are completely

compatible with each other. The only

question Neo has to deal with is whether

or not the Oracle is a plot against humyns

by the machines or not.

In place of the question of fate, the

Wachowski brothers now give us the

question of causality or "why we do what

we do." Unfortunately, the enemy seems

to be the rational side in this movie, and

Neo takes up the role of the irrational

humyn in denial, as the enemy computer

Architect points out.

In the past, Neo denied that the humyn

was a source of heat energy used in a

vast system controlled by robots. He

thought his choices in the Matrix were

real. However, Neo learned to surpass

that attitude of his and accept the truth

about the Matrix. In part III, we are

hoping Neo can learn something from the

enemy in Part II and advance yet further

in the spiral of development. Neo's

choices

In part I, Neo chose to sacrifice himself

to save Morpheus for the good of his

species. It turned out that he survived his

altruism. In part II, he gave up the good

of the species for his love Trinity. One

could say he made the same choice in

Part I, because in both cases he chose

the individual he knew over the

abstraction. On the other hand, in Part I,

he believed the abstraction false, because

the Oracle told him he was not "The

One." Hence, he never chose between

the abstraction and Morpheus. He simply

made an altruistic act toward the species

by trying to save Morpheus at the cost of

what he thought would be his own life. In

fact, by sacrificing his own life he was

choosing "the abstraction" of the greater

good of the species.

The focus on sex and romance in "Re-

Loaded" is definitely a downer. Neo

chooses his sexual love above everything

else and that seems to be merged into

some vestigial Christian imagery.

We are not unhappy with how Neo

looked inside Trinity as a mass of electrons

to save her life. The fact that he does so

in connection to love and not as an

ordinary duty in combat is what distresses

us. It leaves us wondering if he would

not make the same effort for others

caught in the Matrix. One fellow, the

Keymaker shot by enemies in the Matrix

before Trinity is not so fortunate: Neo

leaves him for dead.

There was at least one critic who did

not like the fact that "Re-Loaded" called

on some Christian imagery only to make

Zion into one writhing dance and sex

party. In contrast, we were thankful for

the juxtaposition of the short prayer,

Morpheus's fairly grounded speech, and

the ensuing sex and sexy dancing.

Morpheus makes a speech to the

masses of Zion in which he says he has

confidence in face of a massive robot

attack, because humyns have been

fighting the machines for a long time and

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MIM Notes 284 · July 1, 2003 · Page 5

they are still alive, not because of any

belief that he has regarding prophecies.

Thus while Morpheus is zealous, he

proves sober-minded.

Under-discussed themes

There were a few points that critics I

read did not seem to cover. One

interesting point is the title of the movie,

which makes some sense in light of Neo's

discussion with the Matrix architect.

Computers keep re-loading altered

software in order to control humyns better.

Neo's enemies get better in fighting and

systems of control expand and vary.

The most important point that seems to

have passed by the critics is that Neo ends

the movie fighting outside the matrix. He

stops robot warriors in their tracks. Trinity

picks up Neo in a coma--outside the

Matrix--and says she cannot explain

what happened.

Perhaps we are in for some

explanations of how what Neo learned in

the Matrix world is now changing his

corporeal self outside the brain connected

to the Matrix. In a few months, in part

III, we will know.

This does not have to be the only review

of "Re-Loaded." Send us your communist

ideas about the "Matrix."

--May 18, 2003

"Matrix Reloaded:
The Album" (2003)

Various artists
Warner Bros.

by mim3@mim.org

June 9, 2003

Our favorite track on this album is the

Rage against the Machine "Calm Like a

Bomb" song. Fittingly, considering Matrix

Reloaded's vestigial Christian imagery

and paeans to Zion, there is also a Christian

rock track by P.O.D. titled "Sleeping

Awake." We also hear the music for the

dancing and sex scenes in the movie in

close proximity to the religious imagery--

which we appreciate as the conscious

intention of the film directors.

The Dave Matthews Band treats us to

an image of people having sex while the

world is ending. That sums up the Neo

and Trinity love scene pretty accurately.

The whole CD easily could have gone

off the apocalyptic Christian deep-end,

but instead it often substitutes sex where

spiritual lift-off would occur in the mind

of the more Bible-prone.

We should also mention Marilyn

Manson's abuse of the public in the song

"This is the new shit." It's about the

predictability of sex, parties, violence and

rebels and could be seen as mocking

himself, the movie and the audience.

Despite these songs with lyrics

mentioned above the most important part

of the album is instrumental music. When

the robots attack Morpheus's ship with a

thud, the "thud" is actually music.

Likewise, when the masses are dancing

after a Zion sermon, there is instrumental

music.

After one sees a movie like "Matrix

Reloaded," each of the songs on an album

like this one conjures up specific images.

In such a context, we Maoists favor the

use of instrumental music. In contrast,

playing instrumental music today from

composers hundreds of years ago usually

ends up supporting reactionary ideas,

because the context is missing or reflects

the pre-occupations of the rising

bourgeoisie or the petty-bourgeoisie in

their day hundreds of years ago.

The problem with all instrumental music

occurs when it becomes detached from

its original context and distributed for

money or other reasons unconnected to

its original purpose. The fact that people

can make money or use music to pacify

various people in various different

situations is not the fault of composers,

but such a truth should be the assumption

of all composers.

To act as if instrumental music has no

politics and hence no context is to aid the

money-making abilities of those trying to

profit from original artistic work. It is

above all the bourgeoisie that wants to<