Woah. This movie has altered my life perspectives. It has made me rethink my
paradigms, delve deeper into scripture, and covet black dusters. There is far
too much to say about this movie to do it here. I will summarize as best I can
then leave you with a few links that will keep you tumbling down the rabbit
hole.The cast for the movie is amazing. Someone to
emulate, someone to draw wisdom from and someone to dream about. You pick which
ones do what for you. This movie had the action, the lighting, the intelligence,
the acting, the music, and some of the most quotable lines. But you know all
this.
The philosophies...what a superb job of interweaving western
and eastern philosophies without trampling either too badly. After all, a
parable can only go so far. This movie manages to take them pretty far, though,
and yet it is done so masterfully that you don't have to feel badly about
missing any or all of them. The layers peel like paint on a hundred year old
house, but from a distance you see just the top layer.
I feel like
the main theme of the movie is faith...faith in absolute truth without physical
evidence. Morpheus asks, "What is reality? How do you define reality?" But I
think you could use the word 'truth' here and have the same meaning for the
movie. Neo is asked to 'free his mind' from the constraints of the physical
world that he understands and accept the 'truth' that he can bend reality, that
he is, when in the construct, able to bend or break many physical laws. Parallel
that to putting your faith in God, whom you don't see and whose power is beyond
comprehension. Great parallel, huh? There is so much more, though. Are you
beginning to believe?
Further paralleling Christian scripture, you
have a death and resurrection scene, (actually, there are three, 2 of them
include a baptism,) disciples who don't really know what to think, John the
Baptist, prophesies, a lesson in sacrificial love, demons, Judas Iscariat, three
temptations in the desert, a reference to the 2 lives we live, one physical the
other not, and oh so much more.
Now, what's really going to bake
your noodle is that the movie is so loaded with spiritual references, a majority
of them Judeo/Christian themes, that finding them all is nearly impossible.
There is Neo ('the one' who is to save us), Trinity, the Nebuchadnezzar
(literally, "Nebo, protect the crown"...Nebo was the Babylonian God of Wisdom
who later acknowledged God's power and goodness. There is more, but, not here.)
These are but a few of the obvious things. There is so much more that theses
have been composed. Very good ones, too. My two favorites are The
Matrix: Cyberpunk Parable? and Generation Exile and Neo
Restoration: A Study of Messianic Hope in The Matrix. There are many
others, but these are the most comprehensive and well
thought-out.
If you're interested, I have the DVD
script in html form. I also have put together an 86 page document that
includes Cyberpunk Parable along with my own comments...this one is nice because
it is in the order of the movie, so you can follow along with the DVD and catch
the references as they happen. I also added things like what names mean, what
each characters part in the parable is, tidbits about the making of the movie,
etc. If you're interested, let me
know. I'm working on combining them with the script, but it will take
me a while. Remember, I can only show you the door. You will have to go through
that door and see make up your own mind.
list!
