When Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump used a reference from The Matrix to promote conservative policies, Matrix co-creator Lilly Wachowski chimed in to say, “Fuck both of you.” It all began earlier today, when Elon Musk tweeted out the words, “Take the red pill.” On its face, this is an allusion to an early scene in 1999’s The Matrix. The character of Neo (Keanu Reeves) is offered a choice between a red pill and a blue pill, which represent facing reality or returning to the pleasant illusions of a computer simulation. But the phrase has accumulated charged political meanings over the years. In many internet communities, “taking the red pill” is a euphemism for a conservative political awakening, and TheRedPill is the name of a notorious misogynist subreddit. Right-wing figures in...