<Li> Knowledge, freedom and the (sometimes painful) truth of reality (red pill) </Li> <Li> Falsehood, security and the blissful ignorance of illusion (blue pill) </Li> <P> The terms, popularized in science fiction culture, are derived from the 1999 film The Matrix . In the film, the main character Neo is offered the choice between a red pill and a blue pill by rebel leader Morpheus . The red pill would free him from the enslaving control of the machine - generated dream world and allow him to escape into the real world, but living the "truth of reality" is harsher and more difficult; on the other hand, the blue pill would lead him back to stay in the comfortable simulated reality of the Matrix . </P> <P> In politics and culture, the red pill analogy is used by numerous ideological groups, generally those with political center or conservative viewpoints . These groups include the Men's rights movement, Gamer Gate, and the Men Going Their Own Way movement, among others . </P>

What does the blue pill do in the matrix