Free Guy, the Matrix, and the Modern Education System: How Society Creates NPCs for the New World Order
The 2021 film Free Guy presents a powerful metaphor for modern society, particularly the role of education, media, and technology in shaping passive, obedient citizens—Non-Player Characters (NPCs) who never question the system. The film echoes themes from The Matrix, The Truman Show, Ready Player One, and video games like Grand Theft Auto and Fortnite.
But beneath the surface, Free Guy serves as a wake-up call, illustrating how the education system, media, and corporate interests condition people into a simulated reality, preventing them from thinking critically and resisting control. This process ultimately leads to the surrender of personal freedom, making people willing to take “the mark of the beast”—the ultimate form of digital and economic slavery.
Free Guy & The NPC Phenomenon: The Mindless Masses
In Free Guy, the protagonist, Guy, begins as an NPC (Non-Player Character), a background character in an open-world video game resembling Grand Theft Auto. He goes through the same routine every day, follows orders, and never questions his reality. This is a perfect analogy for how most people live today—trapped in a system where they are taught to comply, consume, and never question authority.
“You wake up. You put on a shirt. You eat some food. You go to work. You come home. You sleep. Repeat.” —Free Guy
This cycle mirrors real-world societal conditioning:
- People are raised to follow instructions without questioning.
- Schools teach obedience, not independent thought.
- The media creates a false sense of reality, keeping people distracted.
- The corporate system ensures that individuals work, consume, and never wake up.
In essence, the average person in modern society is an NPC, programmed by schools, media, and government to serve the ruling elite.
The Education System: Creating NPCs for the Oligarchy
“The general population doesn’t know what’s happening, and it doesn’t even know that it doesn’t know.” — Noam Chomsky
Modern education is not designed to create thinkers, inventors, or revolutionaries. Instead, it creates:
- Workers, not entrepreneurs
- Followers, not leaders
- Obedient citizens, not free thinkers
A. Indoctrination Over Independent Thought
From an early age, children are taught to:
- Memorize and regurgitate information, rather than question it.
- Obey authority figures without critical analysis.
- Fear failure, ensuring they never take risks or challenge the system.
This mirrors The Matrix, where Neo realizes that reality is a simulation designed to keep people enslaved. Schools, like the Matrix, exist to condition students into the system rather than help them break free from it.
“The problem isn’t that Johnny can’t think. The problem is that Johnny doesn’t know what thinking is; he confuses it with feelings.” — Thomas Sowell
B. Education as a System of Control
Just like NPCs in Free Guy are programmed to follow predictable patterns, modern education creates a population that accepts authority without resistance.
How does the education system turn people into NPCs?
- By suppressing critical thinking – Questioning authority is discouraged.
- By rewarding compliance – Those who obey get good grades, those who resist are punished.
- By focusing on memorization over creativity – Students are taught what to think, not how to think.
- By removing real-world skills – Schools do not teach financial literacy, self-sufficiency, or entrepreneurship.
- By pushing social conformity – Any deviation from the norm is labeled as rebellious or dangerous.
In Ready Player One, the main character, Wade Watts, lives in a virtual reality world to escape his bleak existence. Similarly, modern education conditions people to accept their servitude rather than fight for freedom.
The Truman Show Effect: Living in a Fake Reality
“We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.” — The Truman Show
Like Truman in The Truman Show, most people do not realize they are living in a controlled environment. Instead of a literal TV show, our reality is shaped by government propaganda, corporate influence, and digital manipulation.
- The Media Creates Illusions – Just as Truman was manipulated by a fake world, modern news, entertainment, and advertising control people’s perceptions.
- Education Keeps People in the Dark – Truman never knew there was a world beyond his town, just as people are taught not to question mainstream narratives.
- Social Pressure Enforces Compliance – Just like Truman’s friends and family pressured him to stay, modern society shames and ridicules those who seek truth.
The end goal of this manipulation? To make people so exhausted, confused, and dependent that they willingly surrender their freedom to a global system of control.
The Mark of the Beast: Digital Enslavement
“HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security.” — Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The ultimate goal of mass indoctrination is to make people accept control willingly. This is where the Mark of the Beast comes into play—a system of total financial, digital, and ideological control.
A. The Endgame: Totalitarian Control Through Technology
As Free Guy suggests, the world is moving toward a fully digital, controlled environment, where everything is monitored, and free will is eliminated.
The Mark of the Beast system will include:
- Cashless Economy – Total financial control through digital currency.
- Mass Surveillance – Everything from facial recognition to social credit scores.
- Mandatory Compliance – If you do not submit, you will be banned from the system.
In The Matrix, Morpheus explains that most people are so dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it. This is true today—many will accept technocratic control because they have been trained to fear independence.
Breaking Free: Becoming the Hero of Your Own Story
“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” — Sigmund Freud
Just as Guy in Free Guy wakes up and takes control of his life, individuals must reject the NPC mindset and embrace true freedom.
How to Escape the NPC System
- Think Critically – Question mainstream narratives and seek alternative perspectives.
- Reject Digital Enslavement – Avoid becoming dependent on technology that monitors and controls you.
- Educate Yourself – True education is self-directed, not dictated by institutions.
- Build Real-World Skills – Self-sufficiency is the key to independence.
- Strengthen Morality & Faith – A strong moral foundation helps resist manipulation.
Conclusion: Choose Freedom Over Comfort
The battle between freedom and control is not new. From The Matrix to Free Guy, we see the same fundamental question:
Will you remain an NPC, or will you wake up and take control of your destiny?
The world is being transformed into a digital prison, where people trade their freedom for convenience. However, the choice remains ours—to reject the programming and reclaim our sovereignty.
The real question is: Will you wake up in time?
