What is the Red Pill?

[Eds. warning: Plot spoiler to the movie, The Matrix.]

The terms “Red Pill” and “Blue Pill” are derived from the 1999 film, The Matrix. Although it’s a little dated, it is a really good film that I would encourage everyone to see. It depicts an analogy of our modern world being enslaved to the control of a machine-generated dream world. This viewpoint has become a fundamental concept in the Manosphere, as well as other neoreactionary communities, such as the Alt-Right, the Men’s Right’s Movement and Conspiracy Theorists.

In the film, the main character Neo is offered the choice between a red pill and a blue pill by the rebel leader, Morpheus. The red pill would free him from the delusions of the Matrix, and allow him to escape into the real world, whereas the blue pill would erase his critical doubts and usher him back to the tolerably comfortable, simulated reality of the Matrix. Being bravely curious, and having his share of doubts about the organization and purpose of the Matrix, Neo chooses to take the red pill, and the rest of the movie tells the dirty story of how Neo finds the “truth of reality”, which turns out to be a much harsher and more difficult life than he expected.

Moreover, ever since The Matrix was released, the red pill and its opposite, the blue pill, have become popular cultural symbols representing the respective choice between:

• Knowledge, freedom and the often painful truth of reality (red pill)
• Falsehood, security and the blissful ignorance of illusion (blue pill)

The Red Pill community identifies the experience of embracing difficult truths with the former, hence the name.

Men join the Red Pill community for a wide variety of reasons, and they all have different outcomes as their personal goals, so it is misleading to call the Red Pill a social movement. Nevertheless, it is widely agreed that the vast majority of Red Pill men, at present, share the following concerns.

• The debasement of marriage, and the destruction of the nuclear family, in the context of modern culture.
• The effects of 40+ years of feminism on western social intercourse, society and law.

In addition, a good majority of Red Pill men have the following interests.

• Making themselves better men, and improving their opportunities in life, and their significant relationships by doing so.
• The solidarity and support of fellow Red Pillers, especially those who are “waking up” to the harsh reality of Red Pill truths. (Many thanks to all the bloggers who spend countless hours doing research, reading, writing and commenting for the benefit of our fellow men.)

Because the Red Pill tends to focus on the study and dissemination of knowledge that was considered esoteric not more than 15 years ago, it would be more accurate to call the Red Pill an awareness movement. A formal (and non-biased) description is yet to be developed.

The Red Pill has no religious affiliation, but in fact, many leading Red Pill bloggers in the Manosphere, and their followers, are Protestants and Catholics. This is no coincidence, because Christianity is taking a huge hit from modern feminist culture. Additionally, from the Biblical viewpoint, the whole concept of the matrix fits seamlessly into the Christian belief that “the whole world is held under the sway of the Evil One”. (1^st John 5:19)

Red Pill concepts are largely based on imminently observable praxeology in various forms (the study of human conduct), and utilizes inductive, rational analyses to arrive at revised theories of the modern socio-political reality. Christian Red Pillers also find that the Bible contains truths relevant to Red Pill thinking. Ironically, many secular Red Pillers will agree with certain Biblically based truths, for instance, the belief that the Biblical model of marriage is the best (when it can be achieved).

It is widely believed that many of the core concepts, especially those pertaining to female behaviors, and the concept of “Game”, were first discovered by the Pick Up Artist (PUA) industry during the first decade of the 21^st century. (For more info on the history, read Donal Graeme’s account.) Although many PUA’s have endorsed the Red Pill, the vast majority of Red Pillers’ are just regular Joe’s, not PUA’s. Furthermore, there is no direct ideological link between the two communities, other than the fact that a few former PUA’s are now active proponents of the Red Pill.

Most of the antagonistic arguments against the Red Pill wake up call, fall into one of the following three arguments.

1. Red Pill awareness leads men to hate women.
2. Red Pill awareness leads men to form a victim mentality.
3. Red Pill truths offer no practical solutions for the problems presented through Red Pill awareness.

The Red Pill responses to these arguments are discussed here.

Fundamental Red Pill Concepts

Rollo Tomassi has compiled a living, working constitution of the basic premises of Red Pill awareness. This is a good place to start.

Once you understand the basics, it comes time for you to choose to take either the red pill or the blue pill. If you want to choose the red pill, then you can move on to study the 3 R’s of masculine education (Roissy, Rollo, Roosh), and “then you will see just how far down the rabbit hole goes”.

[Eds. note: These sites are hardcore men’s spaces, consisting of crassness, political incorrectness, sexual content and language. Once you have digested a few of the posts within, you have basically swallowed the Red Pill. So be warned!]

On the other hand, if you prefer to take the blue pill, then please close this browser window, turn on the television, and go to the matrix’s primetime propaganda mouthpiece – your favorite news channel! Alternatives to worshipping CNN etc. include things like gossiping with your neighbors, browsing Facebook, attending any American school system, following any outlet of the Hollywood entertainment industry, and believing whatever religious leaders preach. There is one exception – you must not read the Bible for yourself. Reading the Bible poses some risk to encountering Red Pill truths. Instead, go back to believing whatever you want to believe from among the cafeteria of indulgences offered by the world.

The Application of Red Pill Truth

No body of knowledge has much value without practical applications. Red Pill society has a lot of issues on the table, each receiving various degrees of enthusiasm, but perhaps two of the most ubiquitous applications of Red Pill truths are in the form of Frame and Game.  These are briefly discussed as follows.

Frame

Frame, which is a term coined by the Red Pill community, is difficult to define in certain terms, as it means something different for each person. But basically, it means that you have developed your own opinions, values and mindsets, which are inherently true to your personhood, and which also bring you a sense of self respect. Frame is analogous to strategy. The phrase, “to maintain frame”, means to hold your mind, values and self-concept consistent, in spite of peer pressure, emotional entanglements, arguments and other contradictions posed by the external world. The concept of maintaining frame is also validated by the Bible. (See Ephesians 4:14, James 1:6-8.)

Another meaning of Frame relates to the ideas of a “structure” and a “support system”, meaning, your system of beliefs, and how truthful, strong and solid they are. (Or, how solid you are in them.) Tapping into the Manosphere, reading a few blogs, and participating in the discussion, is a powerful way to check and refine your own frame each day. If you’re a Christian, then reading the Bible is also important towards this end.

For a fuller description of Frame, please see the page entitled, ‘What is Frame?‘

The development of Frame is best done in the context of Game, which is described in the next section.

Manosphere blogs which offer many dialectics, viewpoints and narratives for developing Frame include the following.

Secular Framers

• Black Label Logic
• The Rational Male

Christian Framers

• Christianity and Masculinity
• Sigma Frame

Game

Game is the practical application and the efficacious expression of one’s Frame within a social environment. Game is analogous to tactics. Game is what makes you a knowable, interesting and likeable person to others. Game could also be interpreted as a collection of interpersonal artistic social skills, which are used to create a repertoire of emotions and impressions in others, and is done as a way to draw boundaries, protect one’s interests, and elicit desired responses, such as respect, from others. When a man’s Game is effective, it commands social approval and admiration from others.

To have an inspiring Game going on, one must not only have a reliable Frame in place, but he must also develop a corresponding style of expression, an assortment of attitudes, and a bit of character. Confidence and determination is an integral part of a successful Game, and fortunately, these qualities can be garnered through the continued practice and development of one’s Game.

There is a lot more to be said about Game, but again, each man has his own concept. You will have to decide for yourself what Frame and Game mean to you, on your own Red Pill journey.

Red Pill blogs focusing primarily on Game include…

Secular Gamers

• Alpha Game
• Chateau Heartiste
• Illimitable Men

Christian Gamers

• Saving Eve

The Chronicles

There is another genre of Manosphere authors who I call the Chroniclers. They report on current news, society, scientific reports and other developments worthy of interest. They also discuss how these situations and events signal shifts in the culture and modern society. Chronicle blogs are especially useful for building Frame and keeping one’s Game current.

Secular Chroniclers

• Boxer’s Male Privilege Zone
• Freedom from the Gynocracy
• Jim’s Blog

Christian Chroniclers

• Dalrock
• Things That We Have Heard and Known

The Aggregators

There are a very limited number of webpages that have attempted to compile a small library of topics within a list of clickable links. Unfortunately, since 2015, many of the better ones have been deleted or have not been maintained.

• Complete Red Pill Course for Married Men
• Infogalactic – A Red Pill version of Wikipedia, free from the redactions of the Matrix
• The Manosphere

[Eds. note: Many of the sites listed above cover all three blog interests (i.e. Frame, Game and Chronicles), and thus, may not fall neatly into the categories mentioned. Especially, many Manosphere blogs attempt to cover both Frame and Game in a comprehensive manner. But overall, the large majority of the posts on each site tend to fall under the genre listed.]

Conclusions

It’s very important for a man to know what he believes, and how to express those beliefs in words, and in an appropriate and convincing way. Of course, your personal Frame of mind is not a given. It must be learned and developed.

Once you’ve swallowed the Red Pill, you will need a lot of Information, Insight and Inspiration (I³) to build and maintain your mental frame. You must uncover what it is that you truly value, desire, and believe. You must experience challenges and test yourself to see if what you believe is truly accurate. Finally, you must work, read, study and dialogue with other men, in order to find the words to express yourself.

Nevertheless, I strongly encourage you to start with whatever Frame you currently have, and use it to build your Game. Practice this every day, at every opportunity within your social circles. Especially if you’re young, this will help you get a faster start off the lineup, and you will see the realization of your confidence, character, and desire much earlier in life.

For example, when I was younger, I made it a point to talk to every female that came across my path. If I didn’t have a talk at least 5 minutes long with at least 5 guys and 5 women a day, I would go out and try to get that number before I retired for the night. By the way, I talked to ANY female – beautiful, ugly, fat, thin, old, young, rich, poor, smart, dumb, slutty, not so slutty, white, black, purple, yellow, republicans, democrats, athletic girls with hard bodies, girls in swimwear, goth chicks, geek girls, single, married, divorced, “it’s complicated” (whatever)… anybody! I didn’t go into it with the mind to get laid, I just wanted to build my Frame, and hone my Game.

I hope this page has provided you with a useful summary of the Red Pill, so that you can decide where you want to go from here.

If anyone would like to suggest additional blogs not listed here, I would be grateful.

All the best!

Σ Frame

Related

• Chateau Heartiste: The Difference Between Game And The Red Pill (December 24, 2014)
• Lexet: Why I am Red Pill (November 16, 2018)
• Christianity and Masculinity: Red Pills and Blue Pills (January 30, 2019)