#The Matrix And Philosophy Sparknotes Movie Ascending To#
#The Matrix And Philosophy Sparknotes Series Have Been#

The Matrix world is therefore dominated by a ruling archon or demiurge, the Architect, which is also directly from masonic and perennial philosophy. Indeed, the basic philosophical premises that drive major plot points would be nearly incomprehensible without a little background understanding of Buddhism and Buddhist doctrines.No end to the religious parallels found in the filmHis influential book Race Matters (1993) lamented what he saw as the spiritual impoverishment of the African American underclass and critically examined the. Although the presence of Christian themes is strong in The Matrix, the influence of Buddhism is equally powerful and evident.

The Matrix And Philosophy Sparknotes Movie Ascending To

There are names like Trinity and Zion. My own personal Jesus Christ.'There is no end to the biblical parallels that have been found. Neo, the ace computer hacker, hands a valuable disk over to a caller.'Hallelujah!' is the response. For those who don't take a Bible to the cinema with them, Mark 3:11 reads, 'Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, 'You are the Son of God!''Another is right at the beginning. The hull of their ship bears a plate reading 'Mark III No. He even ends the movie ascending to heaven.Then there are the little clues scattered across the film.

Instead people just need to be liberated from illusion, which seems more Buddhist than Christian - although no allegory is perfect, so maybe we shouldn't read too much into that.More seriously, there is no God in charge. Others question that though, because some pretty essential elements of Christianity are missing.For a start, there is no idea of sin, repentance, or forgiveness in The Matrix. What does The Matrix 'believe'?Many see it as a Christian allegory, which is natural enough because it draws so much on the life of Jesus. After a while though, the parallels start to get rather debatable, and more to the point nerdish.The truth is that The Matrix is a pot pourri - you can't pin it to any one religious systemBut where the jury is really out is on the spiritual message of the film.

The Wachowski brothers have taken ingredients from various spiritual recipes in our melting-pot world, and made something all their own. He is in a scorched earth, far grimmer and more solid than the Matrix, and he is not supposed to escape this one, but to liberate it.And this brings us back to Christianity again, which claims that the world is basically good, though spoiled, and should not be escaped but repaired.So where does this leave us? The truth (with a small t) is that The Matrix is a pot pourri.You can't pin it to any one religious system. Both Buddhists and Gnostics hope to escape it into a good, peaceful, disembodied existence (or non-existence even), but when Neo escapes the Matrix he is not in Nirvana or heaven. Instead of saving us from sin, he came to give us true 'knowledge' which frees us from the material world.And this issue of the material world is a crucial one. In the second century, many Gnostics embraced the story of Jesus, but changed the meaning. Again, this is more Buddhist than Christian, and so some scholars argue that the film is actually a Buddhist myth in Christian clothing.Still others - and we're getting a tad obscure here for the moment - say the film is Gnostic.

It is to bring lots of different religious images and ideas, throw them together, and see what a good story they can make. Far more controversial is that, as Neo says in his closing speech, we are called to live a life free from all rules.But the real point of all the religion in The Matrix is not to preach a sermon. 'Open your eyes to the spiritual dimension of life.'Another, equally uncontroversial, is that like Neo and unlike Cypher we should prefer uncomfortable truth to comforting illusion. 'Wake up' is one that every religion would agree with. It does make a few points.

The Matrix And Philosophy Sparknotes Series Have Been

Its design is to entertain - and it does that stupendously.While there certainly are religious parallels in The Matrix, exactly what they are won't become fully clear until all three films in the series have been released. It is not a Christian film, it is a Sci-Fi film with a Chrisitan message of hope at its core. But the film can only be an allegory for Christianity. The message is a message of hope and that is basically a Christian message. What is actually real? Do the people around you actually exist or are you the only actual living creature living in a world of your own imagining?'You take the blue pill, you wake up in your bed, and believe, whatever you want to believe.'Nah, I still say it's about 'guns, lots of guns'.The Christian Rhetoric in the original Matrix film was quite clear.

You don't disappear or go to some Buddhist 'heaven'. Once this is realised, clinging and aversion are eradicated, and ignorance dissolves - meaning no more rebirth. Could that be the God reference? Genesis starts - 'In the beginning.'At its most fundamental, Buddhism is about cutting through the illusion of a true, independent, and inherently existing Self, and our attachment to same. You just aren't going to make a film as good as The Matrix.It could just be a liberal sprinkling of random religious mythology to get us all talking.There is a slight reference to God in the first film, quote Morpheus: 'In the beginning there was one who could change The Matrix to how he saw fit.' This is said before proclaiming a return by a Saviour. Why bother guys? Seriously. To everyone except other film-makers.

We need to ask more questions and seek the answers!I haven't seen the sequel yet but the original film's concept of reality is probably based on one of Descartes' arguments in philosophy (which is 400 years old).As a Muslim, the one thing from the original Matrix I found to be in alignment with my religion was the amazing scene when Keanu actually 'wakes up' and sees the world for what it is. It is great to see that one of our main forms of escapism is making us more aware of our spirituality. Any ideas, anyone?Our society seems too afraid to 'open our eyes' to the spiritual dimension in life. Yet, she seems to me to be the most enigmatic, unexplained character so far. Then again, if he hadn't taken some kind of backward step, there'd be no illusion for us all to watch when the sequel opens.Talking of religious parallels in the pot pourri, the Oracle (from ancient Greek theology)didn't get a mention. Maybe he started believing his own press, ie that he really is God.

Karl Marx once sad that religion is opium to the people meaning that the people can be controlled and oppressed by religion. Remember in the first film when Neo chooses the green pill and is taken into a room where he is wired up to go into the Matrix, one of the other characters says.and I feel this is a classic line 'grab your seat Dorothy, Kansas is about to go bye bye'The Matrix can be seen as an anti-religious movie. Look at Zion, and look at Neo's name 'Mr Anderson' the root 'Ander' evokes 'Andros' which means 'Man' in Greek, so 'Anderson' becomes 'The Son of Man' which is what the Jewish call their Messiah, the one that will liberate them from their enmeies by means of force.What about all the Alice in Wonderland references? The pills, the tunnel, the white rabbit, the mirror, alternative realities.I think there are a lot of similarities with The Wizard of Oz and Frank Baum was a Theosophist and they were psuedo gnostics. Hence, we should use our time here wisely and not get too caught up in material things or idle life but excel in prayer and spirituality to realise that this life is merely a stepping stone and a test prior to what comes after.It's not about Christians, it's more about Jewish. It will pass us by in the blink of an eye.

The Matrix is, though, superb high quality opium.To me, The Matrix, is a film about an open mind.