The Matrix – Over-Zealous Fans and Hero Worship
There are too many zealous fanzines on the web devoted to The Matrix and its sequels, and these are not fan sites that dissect CGI or allow you to download doctored photos of Keanu Reeves. Such obvious surface obsessions are no longer the norm. Instead, these new sites cater to a much more frightening fantasy.
They foretell of the "depth" within The Matrix: the great religious teachings, the deep philosophies, the hidden Christ elements. And, it is true that The Matrix essentially scraped the loose and pliant first layer of skin from Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism to create the aura of mystic machinery in the film. However, let's face it, all resemblances to Christ figures---living or dead---is purely incidental. But, such easy-to-digest philosophy allows the average film viewer to feel that he "gets" what he considers a "deep" philosophy.
Let's just avoid the whole joke about packaging "deep" philosophy in two-hour chunks of shiny latex-laden kung fu. It's been done.
But, essentially, I don't believe that the "deep" religiosity of the flick is the true motivation of most devotees. Such vapidity is merely a convenient cover for something much more selfish: The idea that any typical American slacker will be plucked free from his lackluster, lazy existence and converted into the Messiah without any real effort----just a few kick-ass computer games shoved into the back of his head and he's all set to save the world.
It's the ultimate fantasy for our couch potato hordes. Even I comprehend the adrenaline rush that half-ass Messiahness can create: All power, no effort.
Additionally, maybe there are other factors that contribute to our American slacker relating to the major characters of The Matrix. Besides the nice no-step route to simple saviorness, there are other bonuses to this job.
Maybe those who find The Matrix deep and philosophical are really just interested in the strange fact that the "enlightened" get to wear sexy, perfectly tailored black clothing and sunglasses that would cost more than my Ford Ranger if they weren't blipped from the nothingness of a "loading" program. That's really the only reason I can personally see for converting an entertaining, but plot-flawed, flick like The Matrix into a set of life philosophies: When you're enlightened, baby, you look good.
Neither Buddha nor Christ ever had the duds to compete with Neo. So, we've got an easy route to Messiahness and a kick-ass wardrobe.
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Let us begin with the comparison of The Matrix with Plato’s Excerpt The Allegory of the Cave and Descartes Excerpt Meditation I. All of these readings seem to have characters that are in a world made of illusions and dreams. Deception is also very prominent in these stories; the characters are being deceived by what they see and by the world around them. In these stories, it is essential for the characters to uncover the truth about what is the true reality. In The Matrix Neo was told that the world he thought was real was actually nothing more than a virtual world made up by a computer program. He was not aware of the real world until he took a red pill, this awoken Neo from his dream state and allowed him to see beyond what he thought was true. Neo experienced different emotions after taking the pill. He experiences denial, confusion, and fear but finally ...
Let me briefly explain a simplified plot of The Matrix. The story centers around a computer-generated world that has been created to hide the truth from humans. In this world people are kept in slavery without their knowledge. This world is designed to simulate the peak of human civilization which had been destroyed by nuclear war. The majority of the world's population is oblivious to the fact that their world is digital rather than real, and they continue living out their daily lives without questioning their reality. The main character, Neo, is a matrix-bound human who knows that something is not right with the world he lives in, and is eager to learn the truth. He is offered the truth from a character named Morpheus, who proclaims that Neo is “the One” (chosen one) who will eventually destroy the Matrix, thereby setting the humans “free.” For this to happen, Neo must first overcome the Sentient Program agents who can jump into anyone's digital body. They are the Gate Keepers and hold the keys to The Matrix.
Robert B. Edgerton is an anthropologist with interests in psychological and medical anthropology. His early work was focused on individual adaptation to differing ecological conditions on the one hand and mental retardation on the other. His interests in mental retardation led to books such as The Cloak of Competence, which will be analyzed in this paper and Lives in Process. His ecological interests produced The Individual in Cultural Adaptation, followed by Rules, Exceptions and Social Order. He then turned his attention to studies of deviant behavior (Alone Together) and mental illness (Changing Perspectives in Mental Illness with S. Plog).
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The character Cypher prefers to be kept in the matrix, because to him, the ignorance he has of samsara is better than enlightenment. He would rather enjoy his desires knowing fully well that they are not real. There is also a scene in the movie where neo is eating his first meal out of the matrix, where the food looks like snot and he’s wearing rags for clothes. These play on the ideas Buddha taught know as the Middle Way, which is to not allow indulgence to distract them from their work. In the movie, Morpheus asks neo “how do you define real? If you’re talking about your senses that you feel, taste, smell or see, then all you’re talking about are electrical signals interpreted by your brain. A major similarity between Buddhism and the Matrix is that they both emphasize that humans are not aware of the true reality before them. That human’s are blind to the real nature of this world and they must find a way to enlighten themselves. The movie emphasizes the Buddhist ideal that we must let go of our self; we have to stop giving in to our desires and to not trust our perceptions simply through our
The Matrix, directed by the Wachowski brothers, a film about the journey of Neo discovering the real and simulation world, revolves around how he is “The One” destined to save mankind. As critics may say that The Matrix is either an action packed movie containing philosophy or a philosophical movie containing action, critics also miss the fact that it could possibly be considered as a religious themed movie because it contains a plethora of Biblical references, such as symbolic evidence. In Gregory Bassham’s article, “The Religion of The Matrix and Problems of Pluralism”, he discusses how the film contains Christian themes, non-Christian themes, and lastly, religious pluralism. The rhetorical
In one of Plato’s works called The Allegory of the Cave he goes over what it means to get higher knowledge and the path you have to take to get to this higher knowledge. Plato also goes over how this higher knowledge or enlightenment will affect people and how they act. He ties this all together through what he calls the cave. Plato tells Glaucon a sort of story about how the cave works and what the people within the cave have to do to get to the enlightenment. A while down the road the Wachowski siblings with the help of Warner Brothers Studios made a movie titled The Matrix. This movie follows the came concept that Plato does in the cave. With saying that the world that Neo (the main character) was living in was in fact not real but a made
The movie, "The Matrix," parallels Platos's Allegory Of The Cave in a number of ways. Similar to the prisoners of the cave, the humans trapped in the matrix (the cave) only see what the machines (the modern day puppet-handlers) want them to see. They are tricked into believing that what they hear in the cave and see before them is the true reality that exists. Furthermore, they accept what their senses are telling them and they believe that what they are experiencing is all that really exists--nothing more.
This student of Philosophy now sees the movie The Matrix in a whole new way after gaining an understanding of some of the underlying philosophical concepts that the writers of the movie used to develop an intriguing and well thought out plot. Some of the philosophical concepts were clear, while others were only hinted at and most likely overlooked by those unfamiliar with those concepts, as was this student when the movie first came out in theaters all those many years ago. In this part of the essay we will take a look at the obvious and not so obvious concepts of: what exactly is the Matrix and how does it related to both Descartes and Plato, can we trust our own senses once we understand what the Matrix is, and how Neo taking the Red Pill is symbolic of the beginning of the journey out of Pl...
Deep within the cave the prisoners are chained by their necks and have a limited view of reality. Around them, by the distant light of the fire, they only see shadows and outlines of people or objects. From their conclusions of what they may think is real, are false. “The Matrix” parallels Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” in a number of ways. Similar to the prisoners of the cave the humans trapped in the modern day puppet-handlers (the machines) want them to see. In the movie, Neo is a computer hacker, and on day he suddenly realizes that his world is fake, by finding out the truth after he was released from the pod. Neo discovers that what he has been presented with his entire life is only reflections or merely shadows of the truth. The theme is recognized throughout the movie as we see many objects, as well as Neo, reflected in other objects. The puppet-handlers (the machines) represent what Plato calls the influential and powerful members of society. The objects making the shadows in “The Allegory of the Cave” are also creating a false conclusion for the prisoners. In “The Matrix” the puppet-handle...
The Matrix is a sci-fi action film about a computer hacker named Neo that has been brought into another world deemed “the matrix.” The Matrix is a prime example of cinematography. The film uses many different types of cinematography such as mise-en-scene, special effects, and camera shots to make it interesting and entertaining to the audience guiding their attention to the important aspects of the film.
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If you’ve ever had deja vu or felt that something about the world was just off, then you might just be living in the Matrix, a digital reality. At least, that is the case in the movie The Matrix directed by the Wachowski brothers. This movie, released March 1st 1999, takes place in a very distant future after a war between humanity and machines with artificial intelligence. A young man named Thomas Anderson, who goes by Neo in his nightlife as a hacker, discovers that the world is not all he thought it to be. Neo learns the truth about his world and what he has to do to save it in this action packed science fiction film.