PDA

Bekijk Volledige Versie : The Matrix is really about religion



lennart
14-05-03, 14:03
The sequel to The Matrix is being keenly awaited by many of the film's fans - geeks, sci-fi addicts, as well as those who just love stylish violence. But also lining up outside cinemas will be those who see the film as a work about religion.

In a quiet moment in The Matrix, our hero Neo talks with one of his new crewmates, Cypher. Neo is still getting used to the news that all he ever knew was an illusion fed into his head by the computers who now enslave humanity, and that according to the leader Morpheus he is The One destined to deliver us.

"Did he tell you why you're here?" asks Cypher.

Neo nods.

"Jesus! What a mindjob! So you're here to save the world."

It turns out that Cypher is right on all three counts. Yes, Neo has to save humankind. Yes, it is a job for the mind over computer-simulated matter. And yes, he is Jesus.

Deeply symbolic

In most Hollywood movies it would be ridiculous to pick out hidden meanings in such throwaway lines. But The Matrix is not most Hollywood movies. Dazzled by the stupendous effects, the sci-fi story, the kung fu and the "guns, lots of guns", it is easy to miss the fact that The Matrix is also a spiritual film, saturated with religious symbolism.

Neo's mission, foretold by prophets, is to reveal the truth that will set humankind free. And if that's not messianic enough for you, he gives his life for others and then rises from the dead more powerful than ever. He even ends the movie ascending to heaven.

Then there are the little clues scattered across the film. The hull of their ship bears a plate reading "Mark III No. 11". 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!'"

Parallels

Another is right at the beginning. Neo, the ace computer hacker, hands a valuable disk over to a caller.

"Hallelujah!" is the response. "You're my saviour, man. My own personal Jesus Christ."

There is no end to the biblical parallels that have been found. There are names like Trinity and Zion. There is a baptism and a betrayal. After a while though, the parallels start to get rather debatable, and more to the point nerdish.

But where the jury is really out is on the spiritual message of the film. 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. Others question that though, because some pretty essential elements of Christianity are missing.

No God

For a start, there is no idea of sin, repentance, or forgiveness in The Matrix. 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. Instead their lives are ruled by "fate". 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. In the second century, many Gnostics embraced the story of Jesus, but changed the meaning. 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. 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. 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.

Melting pot

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. The Wachowski brothers have taken ingredients from various spiritual recipes in our melting-pot world, and made something all their own. Good luck to them.

In fact it's hard to pin the film down to saying anything very much by way of a clear spiritual message. It does make a few points. "Wake up" is one that every religion would agree with. "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 (<-voor de moraalridders). Far more controversial is that, as Neo says in his closing speech, we are called to live a life free from all rules. (<- Go NEO!)

But the real point of all the religion in The Matrix is not to preach a sermon. It is to bring lots of different religious images and ideas, throw them together, and see what a good story they can make. Which is what they do. In a culture that is often thought to have lost interest in religion, The Matrix shows how compelling it can be.

Dragon_Khan
14-05-03, 14:15
Die scène waarin een oude mevrouw de waarzegster is, die had ook iets spiritueels.

Ze zei iets van:

"Pas op je gaat die vaas omstoten".

En Neo stoote hem dus om.

Ze had dus de toekomst voorspelt, maar was de vaas ook gevallen als ze hed niet had gezegd dat ie zou vallen?

*Dat had ook wel iets spiritueels*

mrz
14-05-03, 14:41
Ik snap die hele heissa over een crimineel die allah zou heten in reloaded ook niet hierom. Ik bedoel serial experiments lain, neon genesis, of zelfs star wars allemaal zelfde laken en pak. Allemaal reclame voor de koran :p


Another, equally uncontroversial, is that like Neo and unlike Cypher we should prefer uncomfortable truth to comforting illusion (<-voor de moraalridders). Far more controversial is that, as Neo says in his closing speech, we are called to live a life free from all rules. (<- Go NEO!)

Lol noem mij moraalridder maar ik geloof dat er maar weinig mensen zijn die mijn waarheid comfortabel vinden, nu jij weer lennart ;)

De Rode Roos
14-05-03, 15:31
Matrix Reloaded wordt een te gekke film.

lennart
14-05-03, 15:33
Geplaatst door mrz

Lol noem mij moraalridder maar ik geloof dat er maar weinig mensen zijn die mijn waarheid comfortabel vinden, nu jij weer lennart ;)

Ik hoor het liefst jouw waarheid, al snap ik die nou niet altijd.

manc
14-05-03, 15:51
Geplaatst door De Rode Roos
Matrix Reloaded wordt een te gekke film. Mij zwagertje gaat er zelfs helemaal voor naar Antwerpen om daar de premiere te bekijken in die Megabios.... :maf:

Vriend
14-05-03, 16:36
THE MATRIX IS EEN STRIPPENBOEK SERIE DAT VERFILMD IS.

WANNEER GAAN WE DISCUSSIEREN OVER BATMAN EN SUPERMAN

mrz
14-05-03, 17:12
Spiderman en Donnie Darko :D

Daar hebben we slashdot voor toch?

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/05/13/153220&mode=thread&tid=188&tid=97

Vriend
14-05-03, 17:32
Ik vind Batman zelf behoorlijk spiritueel.Zijn duistere op wraak beluste motieven voor het zoeken naar gerechtigheid duiden erop dat hij wellicht zelf in een gevecht verwikkeld is met zijn innerlijke zoektocht naar het goede en het kwade.


Who is....Batman...


Ik?


Jij?


De wereld misschien?


Mijn homosexuele overbuurman?