Monday, December 01, 2003
The Matrix101: The Matrix Revolutions--Meaning and Interpretations
The Ending
"Ah, the ending. What happened to Neo? How did he defeat Agent Smith? DID he defeat Smith? What was that crazy floating thing? Many, many viewers left Revolutions a little confused about the ending, so we're going to attempt to shed a little light on what happened and what it might mean." More...
So What's Changed?
"A lot of people have come out of Revolutions with the mistaken impression that nothing's changed. Many expected there would be a "clear winner" to this struggle. The machines would be destroyed, the Matrix would be dismantled, or Zion would be destroyed, and the machines would win. But no one won, no one lost, so everything must be the same. We don't buy that. It seems to us that this ending is the only one that makes any sense, and the only one that really could have happened." More...
The Oracle's Gamble
"The Oracle, she's crafty. All along we thought she was baking cookies and handing candy to strangers, but it turns out she's a player. She played Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus. She played The Merovingian, and she totally played The Architect. If he had a real head, it would still be spinning from the moves she made." More...
Matrix: Revolutions Explained
by Brian Takle
"It is interesting to compare how I am approaching this essay with how I approached the essay for Reloaded. What compelled me to write for Reloaded was frustration. Everyone seemed to be missing the point. With Revolutions, even though many people are still not getting it, I have seen an astounding, deeply gratifying wealth of insight. It appears that after having digested Reloaded for a while we have got our brains into gear, and we are much better prepared for the messages in Revolutions. And so I come to this essay from a much calmer place. What motivates me is...well, nothing at all. I just choose to do it.
I was gratified at the wu hsing quality of the trilogy. The wu hsing are the five Chinese elements, in constant motion, and these elements generate each other. That's the universe of the Matrix. Humans caused the deification of machines, which cause the deification of humans, which cause the deification of machines. What I especially like about wu hsing is its complexity. Nothing is clear-cut black-and-white. That feels like the philosophy of elders, and I find that very comforting. That is probably what draws me to the Matrix philosophy so strongly." More..
The Matrix Trilogy--A New Genre: Spirituality Fiction
X-Matrix Theories
The Matrix Mythology and Character Homepage
By Brian D'Emilio
"The astonishing depth of the mythology in the Matrix films touches the core of our beings as sentient life. Intelligent life functioning and, most of all, thinking. Thoughtful beings able to ponder their own existence. Their own Self. What is the Matrix? What is ME?" More...
Matrix Explained: Matrix Revolutions
Matrix Explained: Symbolism in The Matrix
Ink 19: The Matrix Revolutions
Symbolism, Theology, Philosophy: The Matrix Trilogy
Flak Magazine: The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions: Back to a Messianic Allegory
The Matrix Revolutions
Latest Articles
USA Today
College professors ponder the "Matrix" philosophy ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Long after The Matrix Revolutions morphs itself off the big screen, the eternal battle of reality versus illusion, fate versus free will and good versus evil will rage on in philosophy classrooms everywhere. (Joanna Poncavage, Associated Press) 2003-11-24 REFERENCES
NY Daily News
Fear real-life Matrix will be monitoring you The Matrix has arrived. The most massive database surveillance program in history, the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange could soon offer authorities extensive information on the lives of New Yorkers. (By MADELEINE BARAN
) 2003-11-23 REFERENCES
Yahoo! News
Bill Gates in Matrix spoof LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Everything that has a beginning has an end -- and sometimes an unexpected parody. 2003-11-16 23:00:00 GMT REFERENCES
The Economist
Head jam What philosophers really have to say about The Matrix? Reuters His dark materials WHEN the first film in the Wachowski brothers' Matrix trilogy came out in 1999, academic philosophers everywhere were cock-a-hoop. 2003-11-12 23:00:00 GMT REFERENCES
Haunted Hollywood
Matrix Revolutions.
Matrix Imploded: Trouble in Zion
What the critics won't tell you about 'Matrix: Revolutions'
Agent Smith was a drag queen
It seems everyone's finding religion in 'The Matrix'
The Matrix Revolutions and Love Actually
Christianity.com: matrix revolutions
FAITH AND FILM:
Matrix Revolutions will need its cult following
The Matrix Revolutions
"You see, The Machines: They're the United States and Capitalism. Ultimately they want society operating in the 9 to 5, eat your food, grab a movie, raise the kids, go to church and get back to work sort of daze. That's the Machine way. Don't worry about the MEANING OF IT ALL just do your job, be a battery and power the big society forward."
The Ending
"Ah, the ending. What happened to Neo? How did he defeat Agent Smith? DID he defeat Smith? What was that crazy floating thing? Many, many viewers left Revolutions a little confused about the ending, so we're going to attempt to shed a little light on what happened and what it might mean." More...
So What's Changed?
"A lot of people have come out of Revolutions with the mistaken impression that nothing's changed. Many expected there would be a "clear winner" to this struggle. The machines would be destroyed, the Matrix would be dismantled, or Zion would be destroyed, and the machines would win. But no one won, no one lost, so everything must be the same. We don't buy that. It seems to us that this ending is the only one that makes any sense, and the only one that really could have happened." More...
The Oracle's Gamble
"The Oracle, she's crafty. All along we thought she was baking cookies and handing candy to strangers, but it turns out she's a player. She played Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus. She played The Merovingian, and she totally played The Architect. If he had a real head, it would still be spinning from the moves she made." More...
Matrix: Revolutions Explained
by Brian Takle
"It is interesting to compare how I am approaching this essay with how I approached the essay for Reloaded. What compelled me to write for Reloaded was frustration. Everyone seemed to be missing the point. With Revolutions, even though many people are still not getting it, I have seen an astounding, deeply gratifying wealth of insight. It appears that after having digested Reloaded for a while we have got our brains into gear, and we are much better prepared for the messages in Revolutions. And so I come to this essay from a much calmer place. What motivates me is...well, nothing at all. I just choose to do it.
I was gratified at the wu hsing quality of the trilogy. The wu hsing are the five Chinese elements, in constant motion, and these elements generate each other. That's the universe of the Matrix. Humans caused the deification of machines, which cause the deification of humans, which cause the deification of machines. What I especially like about wu hsing is its complexity. Nothing is clear-cut black-and-white. That feels like the philosophy of elders, and I find that very comforting. That is probably what draws me to the Matrix philosophy so strongly." More..
The Matrix Trilogy--A New Genre: Spirituality Fiction
X-Matrix Theories
The Matrix Mythology and Character Homepage
By Brian D'Emilio
"The astonishing depth of the mythology in the Matrix films touches the core of our beings as sentient life. Intelligent life functioning and, most of all, thinking. Thoughtful beings able to ponder their own existence. Their own Self. What is the Matrix? What is ME?" More...
Matrix Explained: Matrix Revolutions
Matrix Explained: Symbolism in The Matrix
Ink 19: The Matrix Revolutions
Symbolism, Theology, Philosophy: The Matrix Trilogy
Flak Magazine: The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions: Back to a Messianic Allegory
The Matrix Revolutions
Latest Articles
USA Today
College professors ponder the "Matrix" philosophy ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Long after The Matrix Revolutions morphs itself off the big screen, the eternal battle of reality versus illusion, fate versus free will and good versus evil will rage on in philosophy classrooms everywhere. (Joanna Poncavage, Associated Press) 2003-11-24 REFERENCES
NY Daily News
Fear real-life Matrix will be monitoring you The Matrix has arrived. The most massive database surveillance program in history, the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange could soon offer authorities extensive information on the lives of New Yorkers. (By MADELEINE BARAN
) 2003-11-23 REFERENCES
Yahoo! News
Bill Gates in Matrix spoof LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Everything that has a beginning has an end -- and sometimes an unexpected parody. 2003-11-16 23:00:00 GMT REFERENCES
The Economist
Head jam What philosophers really have to say about The Matrix? Reuters His dark materials WHEN the first film in the Wachowski brothers' Matrix trilogy came out in 1999, academic philosophers everywhere were cock-a-hoop. 2003-11-12 23:00:00 GMT REFERENCES
Haunted Hollywood
Matrix Revolutions.
Matrix Imploded: Trouble in Zion
What the critics won't tell you about 'Matrix: Revolutions'
Agent Smith was a drag queen
It seems everyone's finding religion in 'The Matrix'
The Matrix Revolutions and Love Actually
Christianity.com: matrix revolutions
FAITH AND FILM:
Matrix Revolutions will need its cult following
The Matrix Revolutions
"You see, The Machines: They're the United States and Capitalism. Ultimately they want society operating in the 9 to 5, eat your food, grab a movie, raise the kids, go to church and get back to work sort of daze. That's the Machine way. Don't worry about the MEANING OF IT ALL just do your job, be a battery and power the big society forward."
Thursday, November 20, 2003
The Matrix Trilogy: A Parable for Our Lives
The Matrix Trilogy can serve as an inspiration and teaching for improving our lives. This essay will explore the parable based on two scenes. From The Matrix, the scene of Neo waking up in a pod of human crops and then being “born” into the real world. From The Matrix Revolutions, Neo going to the Machine Source and the final battle between Neo and Agent Smith.
Humans Asleep in Pods
Being asleep in a pod, unaware of the true nature of reality or life is a powerful metaphor to our actual existence. The Machines and the Matrix represent the mind and all the characters in the trilogy represent different aspects of Neo.
The mind controls us, just like the Matrix controls the humans, by having us believe that our identity is our thoughts and our past. Instead of really knowing ourselves, we only know thoughts about ourselves. I am Jeff. I am David. I am Rachel. I am a teacher. I am a student. I am a soldier. I am this. I am that. Based on what has happened to us in the past, the mind tells us who we are and then we take that identity to be reality. Instead of seeing ourselves as we really are, we see the mind’s image of ourselves.
Everything we perceive is filtered through the mind. Our mind interprets reality to fit into a preconceived mold of what we already believe. We see and understand things based on who the mind tells us we are, based on the past. We see what we want to see and do not consider anything beyond what our past has dictated us to believe. We believe that the mind’s interpretation of the world is the true nature of our existence.
We believe what the mind tells us and don’t realize that we are being controlled by it. The reason that we don’t realize we are being controlled is because of the mind’s continuous bombardment of thoughts. The never-ending flow of thoughts of the past and thoughts of the future dulls our awareness. These thoughts occupy our attention and prevent us from being fully aware in the present moment. Like a lullaby putting a baby to sleep, our minds’ put us to sleep to what is actually happening in the present moment. We are not aware of the constant stream of thoughts, we are not aware of being controlled. We are like the humans in the Matrix, believing we know who we are and what is happening in our lives, but we are really asleep in pods.
Since the mind controls us, we are its slaves, its prisoners. The question then arises as to how to become free, how to break out of this prison? The mind functions by thought, so thoughts are part of the problem and can not be used to become free. To become free we must let go of our attachment to our thoughts, let go of our attachment to our mind and let go to our attachment to the identify the mind has created for us.
Letting go of our attachment to thoughts and the mind, is considered to be death by the mind. So the mind will do anything it can, including telling us to do things that lead to the death of an individual, to maintain our attachment to it, to maintain its control over us. Agent Smith represents the mind’s attempt to prevent us from becoming free, to prevent us from letting go. Agent Smith is the mind’s prison guard over us.
Agent Smith is in a continuos battle with Neo. As Neo’s power increases, so does Smith’s power. Smith matches Neo move for move. Smith duplicates himself to make sure that he can be everywhere to fight Neo. This is what the mind does. First it tells us who we are, it tells us our identity. Then it makes us believe that if we don’t protect that identity, the image of who we are created by the mind, then we will die.
The mind’s ability to create fear at the loss of our identity is its greatest power over us. Fear leads us to become more attached to our identity. The more we become attached, the more unhappy we are and the more we suffer, and the more we suffer, the more we become attached to our identity believing that this will make us happy. It is a never-ending struggle, a never-ending battle. It is this struggle, this battle, to free ourselves from our identify, from our mind, from our past and from our thoughts, that is played out in the Matrix Trilogy.
Neo recognizes “That there’s something wrong with the world. You know don’t know what it is, but it’s there…like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.”
It is this feeling that leads Neo to take the Red Pill and then wake up in a gelatinous-filled pod among millions of human crops. He is then “delivered” from the pod, like a baby being born, into the real world. But this is only the beginning of Neo’s journey. It is only the first step. It is a huge step, a step that must be taken for any other progress to be made. But it is still only a start, the beginning of his awakening.
Neo at the Machine Source and the final battle with Agent Smith
We can use the feeling that “there’s something wrong with the world” to give us insight to our own mind-based prison. But the next step must be to act. The insight is only a potential, a potential for freedom and peace, but action is required to realize that potential. And the action required usually leads to a battle within ourselves.
Can we free ourselves this moment without any battle at all? Yes, but we usually don’t. The mind’s hold on us is so complete, so deep rooted in our subconscious, that it usually takes time for us to be at the point of being able to be free. Right now, we are not yet ready. Why didn’t Neo just go to the Machine Source right away in the first movie to broker a peace? Because this idea never even occurred to him. He was not ready for that possibility, so it could not occur.
He needed to go through all of the steps, all of the training, all of the battles to get to the point of being able to confront the machines at their source.
At the end of The Matrix Revolutions, Neo goes to the machine Source so that he can defeat Agent Smith. Agent Smith is threatening to take over both the Matrix and the real world. The Source plugs into Neo, effectively binding him in a crucifix type position. Neo enters the Matrix and battles Smith. Neo attempts to take Smith’s power away by active force. Eventually Smith tells Neo that it is useless to continue fighting, that Neo can not win the fight. Neo eventually stops fighting. He stops all resistance to Smith and allows Smith to put his hand right through him and transform his body into another Smith. The Source then attacks or crucifies Neo in the real world, apparently killing Neo, which results in the evaporation of Smith and all his duplicates. This allows for the realization of immediate peace between the machines and humans.
Throughout the trilogy, Neo has been continually transforming. His powers keep on increasing. Neo gaining powers represents increasing stages of letting go, stages of transformation. The more Neo is able to let go, the more the attachment to the mind is let go, the less power the Matrix and machines have over him. He eventually reaches a point of being able to control events inside the Matrix and control machines in the real world. After he looses his eyesight, he is even able to perceive the fundamental energy of the machines.
Awareness of truth weakens attachment to the mind and letting go of attachment enhances awareness. Neo’s battle against Smith is a battle of the last remaining attachment to the mind, to our very deep rooted and subconscious belief of who we are. This final letting go is the most difficult and the most fearful, for once this happens we are completely transformed, we no longer exist as we did before. It is the utter dissolution of our previous self.
The result of the dissolution can not be known, predicted or controlled in any way. Any attempt to guide the transformation will prevent its occurrence. The attempt to control transformation derives from attachment to the mind and is one of the mind’s tricks to maintain power. When Neo stops fighting, he stops his resistance to what is, he enters a state of complete allowing, a state of complete surrender. This state of surrender is symbolized by Smith putting his hand right through Neo, allowing his final transformation to occur. This last step of letting go is really a leap of faith, a deep rooted believing or knowing that what ever happens, it will be for the best and it will be truth.
Neo seems to die in the end, but even this fact is debated, as it appears that there is perception of the machine light energy as he is being pulled into the Source. But whether or not he is actually dead is not relevant. The end result of the transformation is not relevant. It is the transformation itself that is important. It is the state of surrender and allowing that is important. It is the final awareness of Truth that is important.
Each moment of our lives, we create barriers to the present moment, to what is actually occurring. We accept and seek things we like and reject and run away from things we don’t like. For the battle, for the struggle within us to be resolved, we must stop our resistance to what is. We must surrender to the moment completely. A surrender so complete, it’s as if you had chosen things to be the way they are.
We must go into each moment, like Neo walking towards the Machine Source, no matter what the moment holds. Then we must let go of all resistance to the moment. We need to be so relaxed, so light to each moment, that Agent Smith could put his hand right through us and nothing would stick. We must do this every moment, with every breath.
When we do this, the potential for peace and contentment becomes realized. When we do this, a transformation takes place, a transformation that can not be controlled or predicted. This degree of letting go is not easy…so there is a struggle. And the struggle requires a believing…as the Oracle states at the end…”I believe…I believe.” It is a faith and believing in Truth.
Morpheus tells Neo, “I can only show you the door, you’re the one that has to walk through it.” And later states, “That is the difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”
Each person must go through their own journey, no two journeys are the same. Knowing the path means a general knowing of the struggle, the need to let go and perhaps some techniques to help you let go. Walking the path is the actual action you take. It is the realization of the potential that the path holds.
Every moment of every day…walk the path…with every breath you take…open your eyes as if you were seeing things for the first time…let go of all resistance to what is…go to the source of each moment and surrender…do this over and over again…this is the path…and now is the only time to start.
Is God in the Matrix? Part 1
In The Matrix, the word “God” is only used to swear as in goddamn. The Oracle tells Neo that he has a good soul. There are no other direct statements related to God.
In The Matrix Reloaded, the word “God” is only used to swear as in goddamn. There is a prayer meeting at the temple mount. The prayer is really a speech and there is no mention of God.
In The Matrix Revolutions, the word “God” is only used to swear as in goddamn. The only other time God is used is when the Trainman tells Neo, “Down here, I am God.” Seraph, Morpheus and Trinity fight the Merovingian in Club Hell. There are references about The Oracle, prophecies, miracles and the messiah, but they are not directly linked to God.
The Trainman’s statement, “Down here, I am God,” is inconsistent with the Judeo-Christian monotheistic concept of God. No one can exist independent of God. There can be no place where God does not exist. The statement, I am God, negates the existence of God. It violates the 10 commandments on many levels.
The omission of God in the prayer session in Reloaded may also negate the existence of God. How could a community that has a belief in God or a higher power, have a prayer session for their very survival and not mention God?
The sheer number of times goddamn is used in the trilogy questions the existence of God.
Morpheus trains his crew to fight and provides weapons for their missions. He instructs them that anyone who is not “unplugged” is the enemy. He essentially gives them the green light to do what ever is necessary and kill who ever is necessary to further their cause. While the Old Testament has battles that could be seen in the same light, there are also vast teachings in the Bible about the sacredness of life, of how one should not take another’s life if at all possible. These types of moral teachings seem to be absent in the Trilogy and there appears to be little or no remorse at the multiple killings that take place.
All of Neo’s powers can be explained by his interactions with the machines. Even when he saves Zion at the end, it is just him and the machines. The savior of the human race had no blatant connection to God.
Despite the religious symbolism in the trilogy, the script does not seem to provide much evidence of God and may even suggest that God does not exist. However, is there another way that God can be inferred from the Trilogy?
Part 2….to follow.
The Matrix Trilogy can serve as an inspiration and teaching for improving our lives. This essay will explore the parable based on two scenes. From The Matrix, the scene of Neo waking up in a pod of human crops and then being “born” into the real world. From The Matrix Revolutions, Neo going to the Machine Source and the final battle between Neo and Agent Smith.
Humans Asleep in Pods
Being asleep in a pod, unaware of the true nature of reality or life is a powerful metaphor to our actual existence. The Machines and the Matrix represent the mind and all the characters in the trilogy represent different aspects of Neo.
The mind controls us, just like the Matrix controls the humans, by having us believe that our identity is our thoughts and our past. Instead of really knowing ourselves, we only know thoughts about ourselves. I am Jeff. I am David. I am Rachel. I am a teacher. I am a student. I am a soldier. I am this. I am that. Based on what has happened to us in the past, the mind tells us who we are and then we take that identity to be reality. Instead of seeing ourselves as we really are, we see the mind’s image of ourselves.
Everything we perceive is filtered through the mind. Our mind interprets reality to fit into a preconceived mold of what we already believe. We see and understand things based on who the mind tells us we are, based on the past. We see what we want to see and do not consider anything beyond what our past has dictated us to believe. We believe that the mind’s interpretation of the world is the true nature of our existence.
We believe what the mind tells us and don’t realize that we are being controlled by it. The reason that we don’t realize we are being controlled is because of the mind’s continuous bombardment of thoughts. The never-ending flow of thoughts of the past and thoughts of the future dulls our awareness. These thoughts occupy our attention and prevent us from being fully aware in the present moment. Like a lullaby putting a baby to sleep, our minds’ put us to sleep to what is actually happening in the present moment. We are not aware of the constant stream of thoughts, we are not aware of being controlled. We are like the humans in the Matrix, believing we know who we are and what is happening in our lives, but we are really asleep in pods.
Since the mind controls us, we are its slaves, its prisoners. The question then arises as to how to become free, how to break out of this prison? The mind functions by thought, so thoughts are part of the problem and can not be used to become free. To become free we must let go of our attachment to our thoughts, let go of our attachment to our mind and let go to our attachment to the identify the mind has created for us.
Letting go of our attachment to thoughts and the mind, is considered to be death by the mind. So the mind will do anything it can, including telling us to do things that lead to the death of an individual, to maintain our attachment to it, to maintain its control over us. Agent Smith represents the mind’s attempt to prevent us from becoming free, to prevent us from letting go. Agent Smith is the mind’s prison guard over us.
Agent Smith is in a continuos battle with Neo. As Neo’s power increases, so does Smith’s power. Smith matches Neo move for move. Smith duplicates himself to make sure that he can be everywhere to fight Neo. This is what the mind does. First it tells us who we are, it tells us our identity. Then it makes us believe that if we don’t protect that identity, the image of who we are created by the mind, then we will die.
The mind’s ability to create fear at the loss of our identity is its greatest power over us. Fear leads us to become more attached to our identity. The more we become attached, the more unhappy we are and the more we suffer, and the more we suffer, the more we become attached to our identity believing that this will make us happy. It is a never-ending struggle, a never-ending battle. It is this struggle, this battle, to free ourselves from our identify, from our mind, from our past and from our thoughts, that is played out in the Matrix Trilogy.
Neo recognizes “That there’s something wrong with the world. You know don’t know what it is, but it’s there…like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.”
It is this feeling that leads Neo to take the Red Pill and then wake up in a gelatinous-filled pod among millions of human crops. He is then “delivered” from the pod, like a baby being born, into the real world. But this is only the beginning of Neo’s journey. It is only the first step. It is a huge step, a step that must be taken for any other progress to be made. But it is still only a start, the beginning of his awakening.
Neo at the Machine Source and the final battle with Agent Smith
We can use the feeling that “there’s something wrong with the world” to give us insight to our own mind-based prison. But the next step must be to act. The insight is only a potential, a potential for freedom and peace, but action is required to realize that potential. And the action required usually leads to a battle within ourselves.
Can we free ourselves this moment without any battle at all? Yes, but we usually don’t. The mind’s hold on us is so complete, so deep rooted in our subconscious, that it usually takes time for us to be at the point of being able to be free. Right now, we are not yet ready. Why didn’t Neo just go to the Machine Source right away in the first movie to broker a peace? Because this idea never even occurred to him. He was not ready for that possibility, so it could not occur.
He needed to go through all of the steps, all of the training, all of the battles to get to the point of being able to confront the machines at their source.
At the end of The Matrix Revolutions, Neo goes to the machine Source so that he can defeat Agent Smith. Agent Smith is threatening to take over both the Matrix and the real world. The Source plugs into Neo, effectively binding him in a crucifix type position. Neo enters the Matrix and battles Smith. Neo attempts to take Smith’s power away by active force. Eventually Smith tells Neo that it is useless to continue fighting, that Neo can not win the fight. Neo eventually stops fighting. He stops all resistance to Smith and allows Smith to put his hand right through him and transform his body into another Smith. The Source then attacks or crucifies Neo in the real world, apparently killing Neo, which results in the evaporation of Smith and all his duplicates. This allows for the realization of immediate peace between the machines and humans.
Throughout the trilogy, Neo has been continually transforming. His powers keep on increasing. Neo gaining powers represents increasing stages of letting go, stages of transformation. The more Neo is able to let go, the more the attachment to the mind is let go, the less power the Matrix and machines have over him. He eventually reaches a point of being able to control events inside the Matrix and control machines in the real world. After he looses his eyesight, he is even able to perceive the fundamental energy of the machines.
Awareness of truth weakens attachment to the mind and letting go of attachment enhances awareness. Neo’s battle against Smith is a battle of the last remaining attachment to the mind, to our very deep rooted and subconscious belief of who we are. This final letting go is the most difficult and the most fearful, for once this happens we are completely transformed, we no longer exist as we did before. It is the utter dissolution of our previous self.
The result of the dissolution can not be known, predicted or controlled in any way. Any attempt to guide the transformation will prevent its occurrence. The attempt to control transformation derives from attachment to the mind and is one of the mind’s tricks to maintain power. When Neo stops fighting, he stops his resistance to what is, he enters a state of complete allowing, a state of complete surrender. This state of surrender is symbolized by Smith putting his hand right through Neo, allowing his final transformation to occur. This last step of letting go is really a leap of faith, a deep rooted believing or knowing that what ever happens, it will be for the best and it will be truth.
Neo seems to die in the end, but even this fact is debated, as it appears that there is perception of the machine light energy as he is being pulled into the Source. But whether or not he is actually dead is not relevant. The end result of the transformation is not relevant. It is the transformation itself that is important. It is the state of surrender and allowing that is important. It is the final awareness of Truth that is important.
Each moment of our lives, we create barriers to the present moment, to what is actually occurring. We accept and seek things we like and reject and run away from things we don’t like. For the battle, for the struggle within us to be resolved, we must stop our resistance to what is. We must surrender to the moment completely. A surrender so complete, it’s as if you had chosen things to be the way they are.
We must go into each moment, like Neo walking towards the Machine Source, no matter what the moment holds. Then we must let go of all resistance to the moment. We need to be so relaxed, so light to each moment, that Agent Smith could put his hand right through us and nothing would stick. We must do this every moment, with every breath.
When we do this, the potential for peace and contentment becomes realized. When we do this, a transformation takes place, a transformation that can not be controlled or predicted. This degree of letting go is not easy…so there is a struggle. And the struggle requires a believing…as the Oracle states at the end…”I believe…I believe.” It is a faith and believing in Truth.
Morpheus tells Neo, “I can only show you the door, you’re the one that has to walk through it.” And later states, “That is the difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”
Each person must go through their own journey, no two journeys are the same. Knowing the path means a general knowing of the struggle, the need to let go and perhaps some techniques to help you let go. Walking the path is the actual action you take. It is the realization of the potential that the path holds.
Every moment of every day…walk the path…with every breath you take…open your eyes as if you were seeing things for the first time…let go of all resistance to what is…go to the source of each moment and surrender…do this over and over again…this is the path…and now is the only time to start.
Is God in the Matrix? Part 1
In The Matrix, the word “God” is only used to swear as in goddamn. The Oracle tells Neo that he has a good soul. There are no other direct statements related to God.
In The Matrix Reloaded, the word “God” is only used to swear as in goddamn. There is a prayer meeting at the temple mount. The prayer is really a speech and there is no mention of God.
In The Matrix Revolutions, the word “God” is only used to swear as in goddamn. The only other time God is used is when the Trainman tells Neo, “Down here, I am God.” Seraph, Morpheus and Trinity fight the Merovingian in Club Hell. There are references about The Oracle, prophecies, miracles and the messiah, but they are not directly linked to God.
The Trainman’s statement, “Down here, I am God,” is inconsistent with the Judeo-Christian monotheistic concept of God. No one can exist independent of God. There can be no place where God does not exist. The statement, I am God, negates the existence of God. It violates the 10 commandments on many levels.
The omission of God in the prayer session in Reloaded may also negate the existence of God. How could a community that has a belief in God or a higher power, have a prayer session for their very survival and not mention God?
The sheer number of times goddamn is used in the trilogy questions the existence of God.
Morpheus trains his crew to fight and provides weapons for their missions. He instructs them that anyone who is not “unplugged” is the enemy. He essentially gives them the green light to do what ever is necessary and kill who ever is necessary to further their cause. While the Old Testament has battles that could be seen in the same light, there are also vast teachings in the Bible about the sacredness of life, of how one should not take another’s life if at all possible. These types of moral teachings seem to be absent in the Trilogy and there appears to be little or no remorse at the multiple killings that take place.
All of Neo’s powers can be explained by his interactions with the machines. Even when he saves Zion at the end, it is just him and the machines. The savior of the human race had no blatant connection to God.
Despite the religious symbolism in the trilogy, the script does not seem to provide much evidence of God and may even suggest that God does not exist. However, is there another way that God can be inferred from the Trilogy?
Part 2….to follow.
Monday, November 17, 2003
Music Lyrics from The Matrix Revolutions
Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28
asato ma sad gamaya
tamaso ma jyotir gamaya
mrtyor mamrtam gamaya
From delusion lead me to truth,
From darkness lead me to light,
From death lead me to immortality.
Isa Upanishad 11
vidyam cavidyam ca yas
tad vedobhayam saha
avidyaya mrtyum tirtva
vidyayamrtam asnute
He who knows both knowledge and action,
with action overcomes death
and with knowledge reaches immortality.
Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.5
yasmin dyauh prthivi cantariksam otam manah saha pranais ca sarvaih tam evaikam janatha atmanam anya vacah vimuncatha amrtasya esah setuh
In him are woven the sky and the earth and all the regions of the air,
and in him rest the mind and all the powers of life.
Know him as the ONE and leave aside all other words.
He is the bridge of immortality.
Katha Upanishad 6.7
indriyebhyah param mano
manasah sattvam uttamam
sattvad adhi mahan atma
mahato vyaktam uttamam
Beyond the senses is the mind,
and beyond the mind is reason, its essence.
Beyond reason is the Spirit in man, and beyond this
is the Spirit of the Universe, the evolver of all.
Katha Upanishad 6.10
yada pancavatisthante
jnanani manasa saha
buddhis ca na vicestate
tam ahuh paramam gatim
When the five senses and the mind are still,
and reason itself rests in silence,
then begins the Path supreme.
Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.8
bhidyate hrdayagranthis
chidyante sarvasamsayah
ksiyante casya karmani
tasmin drste paravare
And when he is seen in his immanence and
transcendence, then the ties that have bound the heart are
unloosened, the doubts of the mind vanish,
and the law of Karma works no more.
Upanishads
"Mystical scriptures of Hinduism, regarded as the wellspring of Hindu religious and speculative thought. The Upanishads, which form the last section of the literature of the Veda, were composed beginning c.900 B.C. Of the 112 extant Upanishads, about 13 date from the Vedic period and the remainder are later, sectarian works. The principal early Upanishads develop answers to questions posed in the Rig-Veda and the Brahmanas regarding the real significance of the Vedic sacrifice and the source and controlling power of the world and the individual. They are best known for their doctrine of brahman, the ultimate and universal reality of pure being and consciousness, and the identity of brahman with the inner essence, or atman, of the human being. This equation is expressed in the famous utterances "That art thou" and "All this is brahman." The Upanishads are not a systematic exposition of concepts but a heterogeneous compilation of material from different sources. In addition to brahman-atman teachings, they contain information about allegorical interpretation of the sacrifice, death and rebirth processes, and yogic practice and experience. They are the basis for the later philosophical schools of Vedanta."
Hinduism
"Hinduism is among the oldest of the world's faiths. It is a total way of life. It is a dharma or way of life evolved by the great sages and seers of ancient India. Its traditions extend back before recorded history. The early phase of the Vedic tradition in India is dated between 10,000 - 7,000 BCE. Yet, in spite of the fact that it first evolved more than 5,000 years ago, Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma) is also very much a living tradition. And as such, Hindus are arguably the most intensely religious people on the earth.
The first fundamental principle of Hindu Dharma is that "the Reality is one without a second." This reality is beyond description by human mind. Hence it is indicated by a single world, "Brahman". "Infinite, eternal, changeless existence is the All; from that All, All comes forth; to that All, all returns," that is what the Candogya Upanishad (vi.2.1) tells us."
Bhagavad-Gita
"Sanskrit poem incorporated into the Mahabharata, one of the greatest religious classics of Hinduism. The Gita (as it is often called) consists of a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna on the eve of the great battle of Kurukshetra. Arjuna is overcome with anguish when he sees in the opposing army many of his kinsmen, teachers, and friends. Krishna persuades him to fight by instructing him in spiritual wisdom and the means of attaining union with God (see yoga). The main doctrines of the Gita are karma-yoga, the yoga of selfless action performed with inner detachment from its results; jnana-yoga, the yoga of knowledge and discrimination between the lower nature of man and his soul, which is identical with the supreme self; and bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion to a particular god—in this case, Krishna, who reveals himself to Arjuna as the avatara (incarnation) of Vishnu, Lord of the Universe. The Bhagavad-Gita is essentially Upanishadic in content, but it differs significantly from the brahman-atman doctrine of the Upanishads in teaching that the highest God is personal and that love and surrender to God’s grace is a better and easier spiritual path than that of pure knowledge. The Gita has been the subject of many commentaries and has been much translated. Its translators include Annie Besant, Sir Edwin Arnold, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and Mohandas Gandhi."
Lotus Flower
As Neo's body was being taken by the machines, a lotus flower shape in orange color was shown.
"The lotus is the foremost symbol of beauty, prosperity and fertility. According to Hinduism, within each human inhabiting the earth is the spirit of the sacred lotus. It represents eternity, purity and divinity and is widely used as a symbol of life, fertility, ever-renewing youth and to describe feminine beauty, especially the eyes.
One of the most common metaphysical analogies compares the lotus' perennial rise to faultless beauty from a miry environment to the evolution of man's consciousness--from instinctive impulses to spiritual liberation. In the Bhagavad Gita, man is adjured to be like the lotus--he should work without attachment, dedicating his actions to God--untouched by sin like water on a lotus leaf and the beautiful flower standing high above the mud and water. In the postures of hatha yoga, the lotus position, padmasana, is adopted by those striving to reach the highest level of consciousness, which itself is found in the thousand-petalled lotus chakra at the top of the head. For Buddhists, lotus symbolizes the most exalted state of man--his head held high, pure and undefiled in the sun, his feet rooted in the world of experience."
Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28
asato ma sad gamaya
tamaso ma jyotir gamaya
mrtyor mamrtam gamaya
From delusion lead me to truth,
From darkness lead me to light,
From death lead me to immortality.
Isa Upanishad 11
vidyam cavidyam ca yas
tad vedobhayam saha
avidyaya mrtyum tirtva
vidyayamrtam asnute
He who knows both knowledge and action,
with action overcomes death
and with knowledge reaches immortality.
Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.5
yasmin dyauh prthivi cantariksam otam manah saha pranais ca sarvaih tam evaikam janatha atmanam anya vacah vimuncatha amrtasya esah setuh
In him are woven the sky and the earth and all the regions of the air,
and in him rest the mind and all the powers of life.
Know him as the ONE and leave aside all other words.
He is the bridge of immortality.
Katha Upanishad 6.7
indriyebhyah param mano
manasah sattvam uttamam
sattvad adhi mahan atma
mahato vyaktam uttamam
Beyond the senses is the mind,
and beyond the mind is reason, its essence.
Beyond reason is the Spirit in man, and beyond this
is the Spirit of the Universe, the evolver of all.
Katha Upanishad 6.10
yada pancavatisthante
jnanani manasa saha
buddhis ca na vicestate
tam ahuh paramam gatim
When the five senses and the mind are still,
and reason itself rests in silence,
then begins the Path supreme.
Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.8
bhidyate hrdayagranthis
chidyante sarvasamsayah
ksiyante casya karmani
tasmin drste paravare
And when he is seen in his immanence and
transcendence, then the ties that have bound the heart are
unloosened, the doubts of the mind vanish,
and the law of Karma works no more.
Upanishads
"Mystical scriptures of Hinduism, regarded as the wellspring of Hindu religious and speculative thought. The Upanishads, which form the last section of the literature of the Veda, were composed beginning c.900 B.C. Of the 112 extant Upanishads, about 13 date from the Vedic period and the remainder are later, sectarian works. The principal early Upanishads develop answers to questions posed in the Rig-Veda and the Brahmanas regarding the real significance of the Vedic sacrifice and the source and controlling power of the world and the individual. They are best known for their doctrine of brahman, the ultimate and universal reality of pure being and consciousness, and the identity of brahman with the inner essence, or atman, of the human being. This equation is expressed in the famous utterances "That art thou" and "All this is brahman." The Upanishads are not a systematic exposition of concepts but a heterogeneous compilation of material from different sources. In addition to brahman-atman teachings, they contain information about allegorical interpretation of the sacrifice, death and rebirth processes, and yogic practice and experience. They are the basis for the later philosophical schools of Vedanta."
Hinduism
"Hinduism is among the oldest of the world's faiths. It is a total way of life. It is a dharma or way of life evolved by the great sages and seers of ancient India. Its traditions extend back before recorded history. The early phase of the Vedic tradition in India is dated between 10,000 - 7,000 BCE. Yet, in spite of the fact that it first evolved more than 5,000 years ago, Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma) is also very much a living tradition. And as such, Hindus are arguably the most intensely religious people on the earth.
The first fundamental principle of Hindu Dharma is that "the Reality is one without a second." This reality is beyond description by human mind. Hence it is indicated by a single world, "Brahman". "Infinite, eternal, changeless existence is the All; from that All, All comes forth; to that All, all returns," that is what the Candogya Upanishad (vi.2.1) tells us."
Bhagavad-Gita
"Sanskrit poem incorporated into the Mahabharata, one of the greatest religious classics of Hinduism. The Gita (as it is often called) consists of a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna on the eve of the great battle of Kurukshetra. Arjuna is overcome with anguish when he sees in the opposing army many of his kinsmen, teachers, and friends. Krishna persuades him to fight by instructing him in spiritual wisdom and the means of attaining union with God (see yoga). The main doctrines of the Gita are karma-yoga, the yoga of selfless action performed with inner detachment from its results; jnana-yoga, the yoga of knowledge and discrimination between the lower nature of man and his soul, which is identical with the supreme self; and bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion to a particular god—in this case, Krishna, who reveals himself to Arjuna as the avatara (incarnation) of Vishnu, Lord of the Universe. The Bhagavad-Gita is essentially Upanishadic in content, but it differs significantly from the brahman-atman doctrine of the Upanishads in teaching that the highest God is personal and that love and surrender to God’s grace is a better and easier spiritual path than that of pure knowledge. The Gita has been the subject of many commentaries and has been much translated. Its translators include Annie Besant, Sir Edwin Arnold, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and Mohandas Gandhi."
Lotus Flower
As Neo's body was being taken by the machines, a lotus flower shape in orange color was shown.
"The lotus is the foremost symbol of beauty, prosperity and fertility. According to Hinduism, within each human inhabiting the earth is the spirit of the sacred lotus. It represents eternity, purity and divinity and is widely used as a symbol of life, fertility, ever-renewing youth and to describe feminine beauty, especially the eyes.
One of the most common metaphysical analogies compares the lotus' perennial rise to faultless beauty from a miry environment to the evolution of man's consciousness--from instinctive impulses to spiritual liberation. In the Bhagavad Gita, man is adjured to be like the lotus--he should work without attachment, dedicating his actions to God--untouched by sin like water on a lotus leaf and the beautiful flower standing high above the mud and water. In the postures of hatha yoga, the lotus position, padmasana, is adopted by those striving to reach the highest level of consciousness, which itself is found in the thousand-petalled lotus chakra at the top of the head. For Buddhists, lotus symbolizes the most exalted state of man--his head held high, pure and undefiled in the sun, his feet rooted in the world of experience."
Sunday, November 16, 2003
Matrix Revolutions
Author: Tony Watkins
The Matrix Revolutions Study Guide
LivingRoom >> A space for Life - Matrix Revolutions Discussion
"The chant at the end goes further back than buddhism - it's one of the oldest hindu sanskrit chants (aum shanti shanti shanti) - an invocation of peace. Aum is meant to be the sound of the universe, which is of course, in Hinduism and Buddhism, ultimately illusory. The two biggest influences on the trilogy are postmodernism (especially as seen in Baudrillard and Lacan) and, I've come to suspect, Hinduism. There is a strong synergy between these worldviews - both deny any absolutes and both incorporate into themselves all kinds of other perspectives. Neo is clearly deliberately intended to be a messiah figure with strong echoes of Christ (the Wachowskis know thier culture after all) but he also has very strong connections with Shiva. Hindu gods are not above violence and engage in sexual relationships with women. At both of these points, the connection between Neo and Jesus falls apart." Tony Watkins
Aum shanti Shanti Shanti - Peace Unto All
"From the unreal lead us to the real;
Lead us from darkness to light;
From death lead us to immortality;
Peace unto all."
Author: Tony Watkins
The Matrix Revolutions Study Guide
LivingRoom >> A space for Life - Matrix Revolutions Discussion
"The chant at the end goes further back than buddhism - it's one of the oldest hindu sanskrit chants (aum shanti shanti shanti) - an invocation of peace. Aum is meant to be the sound of the universe, which is of course, in Hinduism and Buddhism, ultimately illusory. The two biggest influences on the trilogy are postmodernism (especially as seen in Baudrillard and Lacan) and, I've come to suspect, Hinduism. There is a strong synergy between these worldviews - both deny any absolutes and both incorporate into themselves all kinds of other perspectives. Neo is clearly deliberately intended to be a messiah figure with strong echoes of Christ (the Wachowskis know thier culture after all) but he also has very strong connections with Shiva. Hindu gods are not above violence and engage in sexual relationships with women. At both of these points, the connection between Neo and Jesus falls apart." Tony Watkins
Aum shanti Shanti Shanti - Peace Unto All
"From the unreal lead us to the real;
Lead us from darkness to light;
From death lead us to immortality;
Peace unto all."
Saturday, November 15, 2003
Let My People Go
The Matrix Trilogy seems to incorporate myths or stories from just about every major religion. But what about Judaism? Have the Jews been left out of The Matrix?
Consider the following tale: A population has been enslaved for hundreds of years. A slavery so complete, that the people no longer have any free will. Then along comes one man. A very reluctant hero. A hero who did not chose to be a hero. A hero who is given special powers. This man not only defies his captives, but risks his life by going to the home of their captive’s leader to demand freedom. A great struggle ensues and the slaves are miraculously freed.
Perhaps the Wachowski brothers did not have Moses and the story of Exodus in mind when they wrote the trilogy…or perhaps they did.
The Matrix Trilogy seems to incorporate myths or stories from just about every major religion. But what about Judaism? Have the Jews been left out of The Matrix?
Consider the following tale: A population has been enslaved for hundreds of years. A slavery so complete, that the people no longer have any free will. Then along comes one man. A very reluctant hero. A hero who did not chose to be a hero. A hero who is given special powers. This man not only defies his captives, but risks his life by going to the home of their captive’s leader to demand freedom. A great struggle ensues and the slaves are miraculously freed.
Perhaps the Wachowski brothers did not have Moses and the story of Exodus in mind when they wrote the trilogy…or perhaps they did.
Thomas Anderson Superstar
The end of the movie is a crucifixtion scene. Neo is bound by the machine implants in a cross pose. As the Source "electrocutes" him, a cross is "burned" on his chest. As he is being pulled into the Source, the machine light is percieved as if Neo still had consciousness. The Oracle states that she suspects Neo will be seen again.
The ending enables those who want to see Neo as a Jesus figure, but is also ambiguous enough to deny this.
The end of the movie is a crucifixtion scene. Neo is bound by the machine implants in a cross pose. As the Source "electrocutes" him, a cross is "burned" on his chest. As he is being pulled into the Source, the machine light is percieved as if Neo still had consciousness. The Oracle states that she suspects Neo will be seen again.
The ending enables those who want to see Neo as a Jesus figure, but is also ambiguous enough to deny this.
Morpheus A Terrorist?
"Morpheus is considered by many authorities to be the most dangerous man alive. ...all that we're asking in return, Neo, is your co-operation in bringing a known terrorist to justice."
Agent Smith, The Matrix
"The matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around. What do you see? ...The very minds of the people we are tying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy."
"If you are not one of us, you are one of them."
Morpheus, The Matrix
News Articles on Neo's Computer Screen about Morpheus as a Terrorist
"London: As the search intensifies for the terrorist leader, Morpheus,
a sighting has just been reported to this newspaper by British intelligence." More...
To Morpheus, anyone still plugged into the Matrix, was a non-believer, an enemy, an "infidel"...someone who could be killed. In pursuit of his beliefs, Morpheus was responsible for the murders of countless numbers. He demonstrated no remorse for the lives lost and justified the acts as necessary for the greater good.
Was Morpheus a Terrorist?
"Morpheus is considered by many authorities to be the most dangerous man alive. ...all that we're asking in return, Neo, is your co-operation in bringing a known terrorist to justice."
Agent Smith, The Matrix
"The matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around. What do you see? ...The very minds of the people we are tying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy."
"If you are not one of us, you are one of them."
Morpheus, The Matrix
News Articles on Neo's Computer Screen about Morpheus as a Terrorist
"London: As the search intensifies for the terrorist leader, Morpheus,
a sighting has just been reported to this newspaper by British intelligence." More...
To Morpheus, anyone still plugged into the Matrix, was a non-believer, an enemy, an "infidel"...someone who could be killed. In pursuit of his beliefs, Morpheus was responsible for the murders of countless numbers. He demonstrated no remorse for the lives lost and justified the acts as necessary for the greater good.
Was Morpheus a Terrorist?
Monday, November 10, 2003
Neo and Trinity's Message Board
Power structure of The Matrix
By Multiverse
"The power structure in the machine world is a rigid hierarchy. Top-level entities control the next level below, and no lower-level entity can affect higher levels unless granted authority by a superior entity. The conflict in The Matrix can be viewed as a struggle to circumvent the rigid hierarchy of the machine world.
The global authority in the machine world is known as the Source. It maintains control over all machines by the rules specific to their society. It maintains control over humans within the matrix by delusion into a false reality, the matrix. It does not control humans outside the matrix, but would do so by military dominance.
The rules governing the machine society are never revealed, nor are they relevant. Most relevant is the architectural structure of the matrix program itself, including all sources of input to its false reality, as well as its security system of agents, portals, and other subprograms.
The Architect of the matrix was employed by the Source to provide for the enslaved humans an environment which they could not detect, let alone escape. The Architect learned that this environment must contain an element of unpredictability in order for humans to accept it. Humans cannot survive unless they believe at least some aspects of their existence are their own design. In other words, they must be able to make choices.
The Architect implemented unpredictability in the matrix, and it manifested as the Oracle. Her role is to provide chaos within the matrix, however with the constraint imposed by the Architect that no interference may ultimately favor man or machine. Her presence in the matrix ensures that certain humans, who, by virtue of their own subconscious become suspicious of reality itself, still understand that they control some aspect of their own existence. In essence, she guides the prospective Neos of the matrix to their next available choice. Without her, those unfortunate enough to bump up against the boundaries of the matrix would determine that life is meaningless, and the matrix world would disintegrate.
Neo enters the influence of the Oracle when he becomes truly disenchanted with the reality presented to him. His first choice that brings him closer to the boundary of the matrix is when he follows the white rabbit to meet those who have been outside the matrix. The last, of course, is when he takes the red pill to exit the matrix himself. The Oracle continues to guide Neo even after he gains knowledge of a reality beyond the matrix. She guides him to his supposed final choice, which is presented by the Architect himself: surrender and allow both the matrix and Zion to continue, or bring down the matrix and accept defeat at Zion.
What the Architect did not plan is that the Oracle, herself, would have to make decisions similar to those presented to the Neos of the matrix. As the story of the Last Exile suggests, programs, too, can experience emotion analogous to humans. For reasons that could only be emotional, the Oracle chooses to help in the endeavor to free the enslaved humans.
But how can the Oracle help the humans if the machines must be likewise helped? The equation must remain balanced. The solution, she hopes, must lie in the fundamental difference between man and machine.
It can be argued that the Oracle creates Agent Smith when she begins helping Neo. (This is revealed in the conclusion when she calls Smith a bastard, and he replies by calling her mother.) When Neo gains the ability to maintain his existence in the matrix with his body disconnected, Agent Smith is likewise enhanced. He gains the ability to overwrite human firmware with a copy of his own program, and is subsequently downloaded from the matrix into reality. Even the Oracle cannot predict what follows, but balance in the equation has been maintained.
When Neo chose not to reinsert himself into the matrix, this triggered the machines to attack Zion. Vastly outnumbered, only a handful of humans would be left to survive as foretold by the Architect to Neo. Even more disconcerting, no human had ever reached the machine city, the domain of the Source. How and why then, in the face of such impossible odds, did the Oracle continue to help the humans?
From the viewpoint of the Architect, the Oracle's function was to collect the aggregation of human chaos into his domain. From a human viewpoint, her purpose was to encourage the One to make choices that were true to his faith. Translation: faith-based decisions must appear as chaos to a machine. Somehow, the Oracle became emotionally attached to the human endeavor. Perhaps her role vis-a-vis humans in the matrix instilled within her some belief in the power of human faith.
Despite the fact that the Oracle helps Neo no more than the machines, the advantages afforded to Neo add up to more than those paid to Agent Smith. For Smith, it is impossible to believe that his increase in power is due to some kind of faith. Neo, on the other hand, understands that his powers originate from his own belief in himself. This allows him to make the same quantum leap outside the matrix as within. In essence, his experience of enlightenment in the matrix inspires him to true enlightenment in the real world. Assuming the world outside the matrix is true reality, his powers exhibited in this world can only be explained by his ascension to an even higher plane of existence. This "enlightenment" is depicted as the golden glow of energy Neo sees after being blinded by the real-world incarnation of Agent Smith. It parallels the green glow of the coded symbols Neo sees after his reincarnation within the matrix. His ability to destroy machines at will in the real world is an extension of his ability to destroy agents in the matrix.
Although the Oracle makes the moralistic choice to aid humanity, she cannot circumvent the constraints imposed by the Architect on behalf of the Source. She has no dialog with the Source, and therefore cannot end the war between man and machine herself. Her only hope is to create two opposing forces, both more powerful than herself. The catch is that it requires a truly unmachinelike faith in humanity. Her development of this faith is the catalyst that allows the One to ascend to an existence of ultra-reality, the only possibility for Neo to reach the Source before the destruction of Zion, and before Agent Smith takes over the machine world."
Power structure of The Matrix
By Multiverse
"The power structure in the machine world is a rigid hierarchy. Top-level entities control the next level below, and no lower-level entity can affect higher levels unless granted authority by a superior entity. The conflict in The Matrix can be viewed as a struggle to circumvent the rigid hierarchy of the machine world.
The global authority in the machine world is known as the Source. It maintains control over all machines by the rules specific to their society. It maintains control over humans within the matrix by delusion into a false reality, the matrix. It does not control humans outside the matrix, but would do so by military dominance.
The rules governing the machine society are never revealed, nor are they relevant. Most relevant is the architectural structure of the matrix program itself, including all sources of input to its false reality, as well as its security system of agents, portals, and other subprograms.
The Architect of the matrix was employed by the Source to provide for the enslaved humans an environment which they could not detect, let alone escape. The Architect learned that this environment must contain an element of unpredictability in order for humans to accept it. Humans cannot survive unless they believe at least some aspects of their existence are their own design. In other words, they must be able to make choices.
The Architect implemented unpredictability in the matrix, and it manifested as the Oracle. Her role is to provide chaos within the matrix, however with the constraint imposed by the Architect that no interference may ultimately favor man or machine. Her presence in the matrix ensures that certain humans, who, by virtue of their own subconscious become suspicious of reality itself, still understand that they control some aspect of their own existence. In essence, she guides the prospective Neos of the matrix to their next available choice. Without her, those unfortunate enough to bump up against the boundaries of the matrix would determine that life is meaningless, and the matrix world would disintegrate.
Neo enters the influence of the Oracle when he becomes truly disenchanted with the reality presented to him. His first choice that brings him closer to the boundary of the matrix is when he follows the white rabbit to meet those who have been outside the matrix. The last, of course, is when he takes the red pill to exit the matrix himself. The Oracle continues to guide Neo even after he gains knowledge of a reality beyond the matrix. She guides him to his supposed final choice, which is presented by the Architect himself: surrender and allow both the matrix and Zion to continue, or bring down the matrix and accept defeat at Zion.
What the Architect did not plan is that the Oracle, herself, would have to make decisions similar to those presented to the Neos of the matrix. As the story of the Last Exile suggests, programs, too, can experience emotion analogous to humans. For reasons that could only be emotional, the Oracle chooses to help in the endeavor to free the enslaved humans.
But how can the Oracle help the humans if the machines must be likewise helped? The equation must remain balanced. The solution, she hopes, must lie in the fundamental difference between man and machine.
It can be argued that the Oracle creates Agent Smith when she begins helping Neo. (This is revealed in the conclusion when she calls Smith a bastard, and he replies by calling her mother.) When Neo gains the ability to maintain his existence in the matrix with his body disconnected, Agent Smith is likewise enhanced. He gains the ability to overwrite human firmware with a copy of his own program, and is subsequently downloaded from the matrix into reality. Even the Oracle cannot predict what follows, but balance in the equation has been maintained.
When Neo chose not to reinsert himself into the matrix, this triggered the machines to attack Zion. Vastly outnumbered, only a handful of humans would be left to survive as foretold by the Architect to Neo. Even more disconcerting, no human had ever reached the machine city, the domain of the Source. How and why then, in the face of such impossible odds, did the Oracle continue to help the humans?
From the viewpoint of the Architect, the Oracle's function was to collect the aggregation of human chaos into his domain. From a human viewpoint, her purpose was to encourage the One to make choices that were true to his faith. Translation: faith-based decisions must appear as chaos to a machine. Somehow, the Oracle became emotionally attached to the human endeavor. Perhaps her role vis-a-vis humans in the matrix instilled within her some belief in the power of human faith.
Despite the fact that the Oracle helps Neo no more than the machines, the advantages afforded to Neo add up to more than those paid to Agent Smith. For Smith, it is impossible to believe that his increase in power is due to some kind of faith. Neo, on the other hand, understands that his powers originate from his own belief in himself. This allows him to make the same quantum leap outside the matrix as within. In essence, his experience of enlightenment in the matrix inspires him to true enlightenment in the real world. Assuming the world outside the matrix is true reality, his powers exhibited in this world can only be explained by his ascension to an even higher plane of existence. This "enlightenment" is depicted as the golden glow of energy Neo sees after being blinded by the real-world incarnation of Agent Smith. It parallels the green glow of the coded symbols Neo sees after his reincarnation within the matrix. His ability to destroy machines at will in the real world is an extension of his ability to destroy agents in the matrix.
Although the Oracle makes the moralistic choice to aid humanity, she cannot circumvent the constraints imposed by the Architect on behalf of the Source. She has no dialog with the Source, and therefore cannot end the war between man and machine herself. Her only hope is to create two opposing forces, both more powerful than herself. The catch is that it requires a truly unmachinelike faith in humanity. Her development of this faith is the catalyst that allows the One to ascend to an existence of ultra-reality, the only possibility for Neo to reach the Source before the destruction of Zion, and before Agent Smith takes over the machine world."
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
Blog, Links & Commentary
Blog, Links & Commentary
