“It’s some revisionist horseshit from a fading director”. Significati transgender e cultura popolare: il caso Matrix

This essay analyzes the online debate on the transgender interpretation of The Matrix (The Matrix, 1999, Lana and Lilly Wachowski; The Matrix Reloaded, 2003; The Matrix Revolutions, 2003) as it has been proposed by Netflix on its channels on X/Twitter and Youtube. The second paragraph presents the main content published by the platform and how it is derived from previous sources (books, sites, articles by transgender activists). The third paragraph analyzes the arguments contained in the comments by Youtube and X/Twitter users in response to the transgender interpretation of the Matrix. A perspective is offered in which the clash between those in favor and those against this transgender interpretation is joined by a typology of viewers inclined to discuss what value popular culture has for them and how to interpret/evaluate it. In the fourth section, the entire debate is interpreted in light of one specific aspect: the need to reformulate the ideas of political-strategic value of popular culture and cultural hegemony. The conclusions return to the relationship between identity and pluralist interpretations/uses of the Matrix in particular and pop products in general. In conclusion, it is argued that in terms of cultural policy the pluralist approach should be preferred to the reductionist approach.