Reality is perception, but everyone has a different view of the world around them. Who's to say that what they are seeing, touching, hearing, and tasting is what everyone else is sensing or what they should be sensing. Not only will everyone have a different take on reality but no one will ever truly grasp the truth because individual perspectives are limited by range of vision and perception. The Matrix by the Wachowski Brothers shows how individual people are limited in their ability to see reality by the systems they are a part of.
The Wachowski brothers used many methods to show that reality is limited by perception throughout the entire movie. They blend dream sequences together with awakenings to show that no one can really differentiate between reality and fantasy. For instance Neo is often made to believe that things are figments of his imagination by the matrix. They use his limited perceptions to make him think that he is only dreaming whenever they can not get him to help them and they need him dismiss what happened. This shows the audience that it can be impossible to separate reality from fiction if you are amerced in a system that limits your perception. The Wachowski brothers often use mirrors, cameras and televisions to show how reality can be limited. By using mirrors they show that we can only see what is provided for us. We cannot see outside the boundaries of these things and so perception is limited and our reality is limited and unless you look beyond the information that is handed to you, it will always be limited. The crew of the Nebuchadnezzar is free from the matrix, so they can see around the mirrors and catch a glimpse of the unlimited so they can do extraordinary things.
The most prominent example of this is all people that are connected to the matrix have to abide by its most basic rules. These rules are not challenged by anyone because their whole live they are told that that these rules cannot be broken.