I am posting part of a paper I wrote for a college class. My company put me back through college and it was a Catholic/Jesuit university so we had to take a couple of religion classes for the degree....
anyhow, it was my final paper for a religion in America class....
the thesis was technology and religion in American culture.....I included The Matrix as one of the films to illustrate my point....
"Another film, The Matrix, illustrates how technology affects American freedoms, as well as affirms American religious culture. It mixes both American Christian and metaphysical ideologies. The protagonist, Neo, learns he is has been living in a dream world where his body and the bodies of millions of humans have been used to power a computer matrix that controls the world. Morpheus brings him out of this dream world. Morpheus describes the matrix as “the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.” He continues mixing the Protestant belief of original sin and the metaphysical focus on the mind with: “You are a slave Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Born into a prison that you cannot smell, or taste, or touch. A prison for you mind.” Again, technology is regarded as evil as artificial intelligence has taken control of the world and imprisoned the minds of human beings.
The character, Neo, illustrates the affect of the American religious culture. Neo is a modern Jesus figure. He is a software programmer by day and a hacker/cracker by night.
Another character in the film describes him like this: “Hallelulah. You’re my savior man. My own personal Jesus Christ.” After he is “reborn,” or taken from the clutches of the matrix, he is described as “the One”-- someone who will restore the human race and bring them into Zion. The theme of millennialism is apparent as those who are taken out of the matrix are called “Children of Zion.” They believe that “the One” will destroy the matrix and allow them to return to Zion located in the center of the earth. Like Jesus Christ, Neo dies and then is resurrected. After he is resurrected, he sets out to free the minds of other humans caught in the matrix. He tells the matrix:
“I don’t know the future. I didn’t come here to tell you how
this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it is going
to begin…I’m going to show these people what you don’t want
them to see. I am going to show them a world without you—
a world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries,
a world where anything is possible.”
Like a metaphysical master or teacher, he sets out to free human minds of restraint and negative thought. The soundtrack also illustrates anti-technology sentiment and urges people to think for themselves like American metaphysicians.
The song “Wake Up” by the rock group “Rage Against the Machine” plays directly after Neo threatens the matrix. Rage against the Machine exhibits the Protestant code of activism. Even though they challenge the American religious and political structure, they utilize something that the American religious culture allows: activism. In “Wake Up,” they describe America as “the land of hypocrisy.” They bash American culture with:
“Movements come and movements go
Leaders speak, movements cease
When all their heads are flown
‘Cause all these punks got bullet in their heads
Departments of police, the judges, the feds
Networks at work, keepin’ people calm
You know they went after King
When he spoke out on Vietnam
He turned the power to the have-nots
And then came the shot
The networks at work, keeping people calm
Ya know they murdered X
And tried to blame it on Islam
He turned the power to the have-nots
And then came the shot"
Here they bring out the hypocrisy of a country, America, which encourages democracy and freedom of speech, yet when anyone leads a movement challenging American culture, they are assassinated. They give the examples of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in the 1960’s—a time of great American activism. With “networks at work, keeping’ people calm,” Rage says that technology serves as a means to keep citizens placated and blind to what is actually going on around them."
sowhatsthetruth said this in post #1 : After he is “reborn,” or taken from the clutches of the matrix, he is described as “the One”-- someone who will restore the human race and bring them into Zion.
The famous pod flush, where Neo is released by the "picker", he shoots down the tube, and gets slammed into the water.
Some have seen this as Neo's babtism, right before he is "born again" into the real world.
I can't take all credit, I spent many months in the Matrix threads. So much time, I can't remember what I found on my own and what others saw and I read.
There are many many christians references in the Matrix, I need to go get some refreshers, but just off the top of my head,
the licence tag on the car that agent smith drives is from Isaiah, and says "Behold I create the Smith", etc. etc.
I'll try to find the rest of the verse. The car tag says IS then the verse numbers.
In Reloaded, one of the ship names is the Logos, which of course is the greek name for the Word, (Jesus aka spokesman, revelatory thought).
the hovercraft in M1 is the NEBAKANEZER, which is the gentile king of the old testament that had the dream that daniel imterpeted.
Cypher is a bastardization of lucifer. Cypher is also the Judas of the movie, who betrays the Neo/christ character.
Zion, the city of the humans is from the bible.
I could go on, but I should go get some refreshers first, so I don't mess this up.
"Trinity" also has Biblical connotations.....she also can be likened to the Bride of Christ as she is in love with Neo, the Jesus figure.
By the way, my avatar is Trinity/Carrie Anne Moss....I just didn't want an obvious Trinity avatar.
Thanks for the refreshers.
I have probably watched the Matrix at least 100 times, literally.
I haven't purchased the last two movies, but I saw them in the theatre.
One day I'll go buy the other two.
You know, I thought that was carrie ann moss and almost asked, but it has a strange color to it, like an old painting from the 1500's, real artsy look, so I thought it was the madonna or something and didn't want to insult you by calling Mary, trinity.
Course, Neo dying and becoming super powerful in M1 was the ultimate christ reference.
And mopheus's lessons on faith, "don't think you can, know you can."
01-17-2005 12:09 AM
