10 Simulation Theory Themed Movies and TV Shows to Question Your Reality

Are we living in a simulation? Of course, not. But we all have that one friend who crazily believes in the idea that we actually live in a simulation. If you don't have that friend, you must be that one. It's not totally absurd if we think about the fact that people are indeed inclined to question everything and ask questions about everything from a very early age. 

Where did we come? How did we come to exist? Who created the universe? Where will we go? Is there someone else watching us, over the clouds? Everyone has different answers to these questions. And for some people, the answer is that we live in a simulation. This means that your whole life is fake and everything is made up and nothing is that important. Yeah, it sounds scary. But once again, it's not true. 

SEE ALSO: IF THE UNIVERSE IS A SIMULATION, SHOULD YOU CARE?

However; still the idea of living in a simulation is thrilling and terrifying at the same time. And maybe that's why we enjoy fiction about simulation a lot. So, here are 10 suggestions for everyone who enjoys watching about simulation theory.

1. The Matrix (1999)

Matrix is one of the cult movies about the simulation theory. It almost has everything you would want from a movie with the simulation theory theme. It has someone who learns that his whole life has been a lie, it has great action scenes, great fighting scenes, a gang who fights against the system, a good-looking lead actor and more. I mean, who would look for more in a movie?

Probably you already saw The Matrix and you think like "Wow, Matrix, really? So original, loser." But it would be unfair if it didn't make it to the list. And if you're new to the simulation theory, and haven't seen the Matrix yet, what are you waiting for?

2. The Truman Show (1998)

An insurance salesman, Truman, enjoys his life. He has a nice life, in a nice neighborhood with a nice wife. But one day he finds out that his life is actually a tv show. Everything happened in his life was fake, even his parents, his wife. And he sets his mind to run away from this fake situation.

This movie isn't a regular simulation theory movie with high-technology but the whole situation sounds like the most horrible thing that can happen to anyone in the world. If you were to find yourself in the same situation, what would you do? 

3. Source Code (2011)

A soldier wakes up in someone else's body, in a train to find a bomber within 8 minutes. It's a vicious circle and until he finds the bomber, he goes through the same things. And if you wonder if he finally finds who the bomber is, you should watch the movie.

It's a pretty exciting movie from the beginning to the end, since within every 8 minutes he comes closer to find the bomber but the train explodes again and again until he finally finds the bomber. And it never gets boring!

4. Inception (2010)

Is it the reality or is it a dream? After a while, you lose track. Inception is a classic, with a thief who enters people's dreams to steal corporate secrets. In the movie, everyone who enters the dreams has a gadget with which they can understand if it's the reality or a dream. But, the end of the movie still confuses everyone who saw the movie. What do you think? Was it a dream or real life?

5. The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

In The Thirteenth Floor, there's a computer scientist that owns a virtual reality simulation of 1937 Los Angeles, and people in this "reality" aren't aware of the fact that they're not real, and computer programs instead. But when the owner, Hannon Fuller dies, Douglas Hall who is the heir to the company finds himself in a complicated situation only to find out his world is one of the thousands of virtual worlds. What a bummer it must be to find out that your world isn't different than the virtual reality that you created!

6. eXistenZ (1999)

In the near future, where virtual reality game consoles are popular, a game designer creates a game called "eXistenZ." It sounds great when you think about actually "living" and "experiencing" the games but, it's not that cool, at least in the movie. What if you lose your reality after a while and not be able to tell if you're still in the game, or in real life. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

7. Ready Player One (2018)

Maybe, living in another reality, in which you're freer and more independent is not that bad. In Ready Player One, people in 2045 usually go into the virtual reality universe called OASIS to escape from their real lives. And when the creator of OASIS dies, his avatar Anorak in the virtual reality announces a game.

In this game, the first person who'll find the Golden Easter Egg will be the new owner of OASIS. Yeah, it sounds good so far, but is it, really? You have to watch the movie to find out. 

8. Dark City (1998)

Imagine that you live in a city without a Sun and without any daylight which is controlled by a group called "Strangers." This group is also a pretty scary one that can actually change anything on your mind.

One day, John Murdoch wakes up in a hotel room and he finds out that he's wanted for a couple of murders, but he can't remember anything. He tries to solve the mystery, and this is where his path crosses with "Strangers" and their evil world. If you like mysterious sci-fi movies, you'll absolutely love this one.

9. Black Mirror (2011-)

• San Junipero (Season 3, Episode 4)
• Hang the DJ (Season 4, Episode 4)
• Playtest (Season 3, Episode 2)

Black Mirror is a tv show that's been mesmerizing us since 2011. Every episode of it is another sci-fi heaven for sci-fi lovers out there. However, since we're talking about simulation themed movies and tv shows, you can see 3 episodes of Black Mirror with the simulation theme. The first one, San Junipero, is about a simulated beach town called San Junipero, where elder people can visit and deceased people can live with their younger selves' bodies. We watch the sweet relationship between Yorkie and Kelly. 

Hang the DJ episode shows us a society in which people are matched into relationships with expiration dates. Amy and Frank only get 12 hours to spend together, however; they realize that they're in love so they revolt against the system. In the end... No, don't worry, not going to spoil the end, just go and watch the episode. 

In Playtest, Cooper is traveling around the world and when he's in London, his money in his credit card for his return trip is spent by someone else so he looks for short-term jobs to make money to go back home. He finds a job in a video game company SaitoGemu, and he finds himself in an endless game. 

10. Westworld (2016-)

Westworld is a theme park in an unknown time in the future and the "hosts" which are androids inside the simulated town, are programmed to do whatever guests want to do with them, and they can't physically harm the human guests. But this system starts to change after robots begin to malfunction. The series is based on a 1973 movie with the same name.