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Thursday, April 22, 2004
Passion's Overrated Anyway...
Ugh, another early start. And it's pouring outside. Bleh. I'll live though. ~_^
Last night I was thinking about The Matrix (as I often do) and specifically, I was thinking about the religious symbolism involved.
Everyone already knows about the whole "Neo is Jesus" thing. Of course, Neo isn't literally Jesus, but he is the "savior of mankind". Well, sort of. Those who have seen all three movies (but especially the first two) know that the prophecy which dealt with The One was false.
Of course, Neo does end up saving mankind in that ironic twist. So he is literally mankind's savior, in a manner of speaking. But not quite in the way that Morpheus and others had first anticipated.
I mention this because there has been some talk about the nihilist aspects to The Matrix. But there's an angle that may or may not have been discussed, which I considered last night.
It's the idea that The Matrix, as a story, deliberately makes an effort to reveal organized religion as another form of control (much like the Matrix itself).
The Matrix is the only reality that Neo understands at the beginning. But then along comes Morpheus, who "shows him the light", so to speak. He reveals to Neo that the Matrix is a fabricated world and that the "real world" is the true reality.
At this point, Morpheus is much like a minister in the church. He acts as a guide for Neo, a guide who is apparently very wise and who can lead Neo down the path to truth.
Morpheus explains what the Matrix is and he essentially "preaches" to Neo about perception versus reality, in an attempt to convince Neo that the Matrix is a prison and that Zion is where true freedom can be found.
It's sort of like saying that the life you now know is wrong and that the life I'm telling you about is the truth; to me, it closely mirrors some kind of religeous indoctrination.
But wait. At the end of Reloaded, the truth is revealed.
The "prophecy" that Morpheus believes so strongly in, is actually yet another layer of control, beyond the Matrix itself. Morpheus discovers that his life's work -- to find the One -- has simply been part of a carefully orchestrated process, intended to perpetuate the existence of the Matrix itself.
Morpheus is completely crushed when Neo tells him the truth; that the prophecy was a lie and that Zion itself is actually part of the system of control. Zion -- man's only place of freedom and refuge -- isn't actually any of these things. It doesn't represent freedom or protection at all. It exists because the machines allow it to exist. And they periodically destroy it and allow it to start over; the whole thing is an elaborate and entirely logical plot, with one aim; to keep mankind under control.
It seems to me that this is one of the messages in the trilogy. Even though Neo is symbolically portrayed as Jesus, there is a very nihilist approach to the whole question of control. Morpheus was like a minister who suddenly discovered that his religion is a lie and that his Messiah is actually a regular man and not a silver bullet who will set mankind free.
When considering this, I found that it was an interesting conclusion. I like the fact that in one sense, The Matrix borrows heavily from religion (and from positive aspects of religion) to develop its story, while on the other hand, it apparently slaps religion in the face -- perhaps it's telling those of us who are religious to "wake up" and look beyond our perceived reality or truth.
Reality versus perception. It's an interesting topic, for sure.
Anyway, I should probably apologize if that little ramble of mine was in any way incoherent or something -- I've had barely any sleep, as a result of the awfully hot weather down here (freak weather for this time of year, apparently). But this idea was on my mind...and it had to be put somewhere.
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