The first time and every time thereafter that I watched M1, the main theme/answer that I got out of "What is the Matrix?" is religion . While, yes, the movies have many philisophical and religious references, themes, and underlying storylines, etc., one theme, which happens to be a very anti-religious theme, stands out in my mind as the most obvious message that the Brothers were trying to get across. The Matrix itself is a metaphor for religion, not specifically any religion, but i like to take it as Christian just for my own interest. Imagine a world enslaved. A world were the majority of human beings spend all of their lives brainwashed and convinced of a lie. Yep, just like the Matrix. In this world, there are rules, or commandments and biblical dogma, there are agents keeping order while trying to keep free humans from "corrupting" those enslaved, or the clergymen who police the world for heretics in order to keep the christians docile and believing, there are free humans that can look at the Matrix as code on a screen, or atheists who can see religion for what it truly is, and there is a creater called the Architect who has created the lie that continues to enslave billions, or the creator of religion/"God". The humans in pods, christians or believers of whatever else, are bound in their little world to rules they believe to be the truth, and cannot grasp with their feeble minds the idea of a "real" world, or a place were there exists no god, no supernatural keeper and father-figure of the universe. The only people that exit the Matrix, christian faith, are those that are shown the truth by free humans, atheists, before agents, priests, can say "No, no, don't be silly, of course the Matrix (religion) is real!" Just as in the world of the Matrix, here, humans are basically grown, not born, to become christians. From birth they are forcefed garbage until it becomes all that they know. Similarly, Neo is NOT a christ-figure, except for the fact that he stands as savior of his people. Only this savior stands to destroy all that is law-giving and enslaving. Not make-believe silliness. He stands to create a world "without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries," the real world. The non-religious, non-supernatural B.S. world. All of these themes are so blatantly represented in the Matrix movies, and yet there are still people who confuse themselves by saying, "The Architect is the devil," and whatever else they get from it. Does the devil, in mythology, create order? No, that is "God"'s job. Does the devil enslave? No, that is "God"'s job. Does the devil has anything to lose if those that are enslaved to the "word of god" suddenly see the truth? No, but "God" does. Not only would the Architect lose the believers in the matrix, he would also lose his "source of power," and where is any religion without a cult following? Anyone with me?
I'm not buying your theory that the matrix is a metaphor for religion. Your idea is too inconsistent with the films' overall message: sacrificial love. The only true love there is is sacrificial love, and the movies dwell on this incessantly.
As for your idea, it reeks of agnosticism. For those who have no faith in God, I only hope their faith in nothingness is perfect. Wherever doubt dwells, the mind should be moved to action to find out the source of the doubt; in other words, we are programmed to seek the truth in all things.
It is my firm belief that the matrix is a paradigm of truth--the deeper you look into that truth, the more of it you will find. The same holds for religious truth.
I think the reason most people who are atheist have not found God is because of the same reason a burgular has not found a policeman. . . (to quote H.L. Mencken (I think?))
Dude, I'm not pointing any fingers or questioning anyone's faith, so chill. I am not saying that there is a god or gods and we just need to get away from it because it is evil, or subconsciously I am subservient to a figment of my imagination and it's only a matter of time until I 'bow down.' My theory about the theme of the matrix has nothing to do with the idea of atheism or agnosticism or anything that christians would like to label it. Plain and simple: religion is control, just like the "matrix." Here, replace the word "matrix" with the word "religion" every time it appears in the movie:
MORPHEUS:
When [religion] was first built, there was a man born inside
who had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake
[religion] as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of
us, taught us the truth : 'As long as [religion] exists, the
human race will never be free.' After he died, the Oracle
prophesied his return, and that his coming would hail the
destruction of [religion], end the war, bring freedom to
our people. That is why there are those of us who have spent
our entire lives searching [religion], looking for him. I
did what I did because...I believe that search is over.
Read also this excerpt from an article by James Pryor that encompasses my point exactly on why religion is mind decay, but why you'll never think so because you've been told all your life it's a good thing. (The full article is at the Matrix website).
WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT LIVING IN THE MATRIX?
James Pryor
There's a natural, simple thought that the movie The Matrix encourages. This is that there's something bad about being inside the Matrix. That is, there's an important respect in which people inside the Matrix are worse off than people outside it. Of course, most people inside the Matrix are ignorant of the fact that they're in this bad situation . They falsely believe they're in the good situation. Despite that, they are still worse off than people who really are in the good situation.
I said this is a natural, simple thought. When we look more closely, though, this natural, simple thought starts to get very complicated and unclear. Many questions arise.
First question: Who is the Matrix supposed to be bad for? Is life inside the Matrix only bad for people like Trinity and Neo who have experienced life outside? Or is it also bad for all the ordinary Joes who've never been outside, and have no clue that their present lives are rife with illusion ? The movie does seem to suggest that there's something bad about life in the Matrix even for these ordinary Joes. It may be difficult to face up to the grim realities outside the Matrix, but the movie does present this as a choice worth making. It encourages the viewer to sympathize with Neo's choice to take the red pill. The character Cypher who chooses to reinsert himself into the Matrix is not portrayed very sympathetically. And at the end of the movie, Neo seems to be embarking on a crusade to free more people from the Matrix.
"The Matrix" is not about Neo and Morpheus trying to persuade the humatons inside the matrix [relgion] to 'dissent from the holy lord.' The are trying to break free the hold that this artificial control has on their minds. Religion is a fraud, and so is the matrix. There will always be people like me trying to help people like you. Actually, to end this, I give you another quote from Morpheus:
Morpheus : The Matrix [religion] is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around. What do you see? Business people, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged [taught the truth]. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it. [that's you ]
I'm not questioning your "faith," I'm teaching you the truth.
"Do you believe you're fighting for something, for more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is, do you even know? Is it freedom or truth, perhaps peace - could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson, vagaries of perception. Temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose."
Must of hit pretty close to the mark to get you so riled up, eh?
I do not dispute your ideas, nor do I impugn them; however, if you are searching for truth as you claim to be doing, then you must include all possibilities of that truth. On what grounds do you dispute religion--let's be specific and say God--as a form of mind decay? You attack all levels of faith with your generally acerbic statement without realizing why you are even doing it.
I agree with you that the films do provoke some serious thought on the nature of reality, love, life, death and God, but I see them through a different lens than you do. I have been where you are today, so I ask you if you have ever been where am today? I was once agnostic with a slight tinge of atheism until I realized that no matter how much knowledge I acquired, it could still never answer the fundamental questions without God. I continue to avow that the Matrix films are more "religious" than most care to admit.
If you really claim to be searching for the truth, 303, or if you are convinced that you have found it, then I would recommend you read Peter Kreeft's Handbook of Christian Apologetics --especially the chapters on paganism and atheism. He proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that agnosticism, atheism, etc. are are illogical and simply incompatible to our universe. I must add that he does all of this without a single reference to any scripture.
If you prefer, we can continue this discussion elsewhere, but I feel others may be introduced to it via our discussion.
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As to my signature: "Only the educated are free," it has many layers and levels of meaning, especially when you learn a little about Epictetus and why he said it.
And finally, if the moderators are going to close threads arbitrarily (as they did on M3 alternate endings) then perhaps I and others can continue our discussions--which are all pertinent according to the thread Religion and symbolism--elsewhere where we will not be subject to such blatant censorship on the grounds of ideology.
01-22-2004 05:39 PM
