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The Gospel According to Neo
Xel writes "Josh Burek, writer for The Christian Science Monitor and A.K.A. the guy who sits 4 cubicles from me, has written an excellent essay on religion in The Matrix: The Gospel According to Neo. Sure, this topic has been covered ad nauseum, but it's refreshing to see such a thoughful examination aimed not at geeks alone but a broader, more traditional, and more traditionally religious audience. It also has a nice little glossary at the end where even pasty-faced and vinyl-clad Matrix worshippers may find some easter eggs they didnt know."
I believe that there's symbolism in the film, but come on, that's stretching it just a bit. You can find non-existant messages in anything if you look hard enough. Just like assassination predictions in Moby Dick.
All this time... I thought it was just a really good movie...
Soemtimes I think people just get stuck in the "willing suspension of disbelief" and forget that its just a movie... im not looking for a religious revolution, I just want to see Neo kick some machine ass...
But I will be watching on opening day... I already have tickets...
Fire in the hands of the village idiot is no tool, but a weapon of mass destruction
Ooops.
Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
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There's also a fair amount of Buddhism mixed in the Matrix ... more specifically the idea that the world is not real, and that anybody can find enlightenment through belief. But I guess since we don't have a "Buddhist Science Monitor" in this country we get a lot more observations on Christian "Wester Religion" themes. There's a good essay about Buddhism, Gnosticism and Christianity on the Matrix website...
this is a movie that ... captures people's intellectual imagination.
With dialog like "Noone can be told what the Matrix is", "Woah", and "I know Kung Fu" it's no wonder everyone's in an intellectual tiffy over it. And let us not forget that whole brilliant monologue on weather chicken tastes like chicken.
The Matrix rocks, but it's a silly sci fi super action movie-not some kind of brilliantly thought out metaphor for reality. I'm reminded of my English teach in HS telling me how every noun in every book is a symbol for humanity and her struggles. Come on people, the people who wrote that script were just making a good movie, not sending us a message. That said, I still have opening day tickets.
"Probably the toughest time in anyone's life is when you have to murder a loved one because they're the devil." -Philips
Matrix's storyline which projects the world as a simulation is very similar to what Eastern philosophies say. Eastern religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism treat the world as Mayajaal or web of deceit/temptation/unreal things. To realise one's true potential a person needs to only break mental barriers is also theorised by Eastern philosophies.
Sure there's Christian symbolism all over the place in The Matrix. Take Neo's name for example:
Neo Anderson
Neo = New
Ander = Man
Which translates to 'New Son of Man'.
What did Christ call himself? The Son of Man.
But then again, there's also Bhuddist imagry and as was mentioned the main theme is based on Plato's Cave.
BTW: My wife attended a talk by Leonard Sweet several months back and he claimed that he is one of the spiritual consultants for The Matrix movies. That would explain where the Christian imagry came from.
The whole concept of a savior and other ideas mentioned in the article are universal themes, of which both Jesus and Neo are examples. It only seems to Christians like Neo is "Christ like" because they were first exposed to these universal themes through the Jesus example. If Christians whorshipped, for example, Moses instead of Jesus, this article would have been all about how Neo was "Moses like".
have you read any of the documents we base our government on? not to say theyre right, but bush is by far not the first to want that. our nation was founded by protestants. at least try to hide your stupidity
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Seems to me that the history of the 20th century suggests that the most dangerous thing in the world is people who think they have the key to making life for everybody a little slice of heaven.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
Meh.
A young man's "one of the oldest stories" is an older man's cliche.
When I need my dollops of Greek Tragedy (or Christian Philosophy or Buddhist Revelation or Qaballah Interpretation or Zoroastrian Interior Design) I think I'll look in directions other than the Brothers Wachowski or, um, Lawrence Fishburne for my enlightenment.
Why must we always cloak our guilty pleasures in layers of "meaning?" (Probably something to do with our Judaeo-Christian mores, but I'll leave that to the armchair theologians and film-makers to posit upon...)
Gimme Carrie-Ann, vinyl trenchcoats, automatic weapons, a hundred Agent Smiths, some wacked out over-the-top Martial Arts, and a big tub of p-corn and I'm happy to suspend my belief. Just don't expect me to gain any insight into my Belief in the process.
Having read the CSM sporadically over the past few years, they definitely have more "family" oriented articles and the occasional "do the right thing" article which to me, at least (your run of the mill liberal agnostic minority) find preachy and annoying. I guess it's just relative.
I'd love to meet the first guy who thought to time that.
His name is Zach Staenberg. He edited the first Matrix movie. He's been on record in several interviews saying that the 72 second thing was very much deliberate.
Actually, though the people who came over here were protestants, the actual founding fathers of America were Deists or Atheists. They were attempting to form a non-religious system of government, escaping the tyranny of a faith-based monarchy. Although the words "creator" and whatnot are mentioned within the Declaration, it by no means says anything about having to have this country ruled by christians only...*shudder*. That would be a scary day...oh wait...the Bush cabinet...
~~ Everyone run! All has been found out!
It seems like the people who think that The Matrix has some revolutionary or revealing philosophy are always the same ones who deride me whenever I mention that they might enjoy reading some of the classic works of philosophy from Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, etc. These, and many other philosophers, were the basis for the main ideas presented in The Matrix and delve into the topics in a much more in depth fashion.
Could it just be the typical geek fashion to write off something as worthless if it is not exciting or doesn't have any practical application? I don't know, but I encourage any of you who have shrugged off philosophy but find interest in the philosophy found in The Matrix to try out reading some real philosophy. Philosophy may change the way you view the world and--more importantly--make you think about the world.
Besides the philosophy in The Matrix, there are other geek appealing topics in philosophy. For example, you can find AI in philosophy, and I don't mean from some research paper written by some cognative scientist at MIT. What it means 'to think' and to 'be conscience' have been thought about by some of the most profound thinkers in human history thousands of years ago.
If you are in college, I would recommend taking an introductory survey course in philosophy. If taking courses is not your thing, try reading some of the philosophy books put out by Penguin Classics. Their books generally have understandable translations, provide historical context where needed, and have explainations for the more difficult readings.
Christian groups like to talk about "The Matrix" and "The Lord of the Rings" because they're very popular movies that include a lot of religious symbolism and draw on theology for their themes and stories. This is well and good. It's always hard to get people to talk about religion when they're not in the habit of it, especially when they're not very informed on the facts of Christianity or any other major religion.
What I have problems with is when people hold up these films as proof of their creators' intentions to promote particular religions. The "Star Wars" films have been accused, off and on, of promoting "New Age" religion and spirituality. "The Matrix" relies on Buddhist beliefs and themes as much as Christian ones, if not more. And I still can't understand why the Christian right touts "The Lord of the Rings" as a brilliantly disguised retelling of the Gospels (which it wasn't) while the "Harry Potter" books are vilified for encouraging witchcraft and occult interests (which they aren't).
All of these are works of fiction, not of faith. They use a variety of religious themes together to make their story more interesting to viewers, often in ways that's not immediately obvious. But religious sorts should be careful to take these stories as they are and not assume too much about the creators' intents.
What, as opposed to the happy shiny people that are running around now?
Disclaimer: MINAA (Mummy! I'm Not An Animal!)
Don't confuse ethics with religious dogma. There are plenty of occurrences of murder, theft, looting and rape that are *motivated* by religious beliefs. It can make peoples lives unbearable, as much as giving others hope. Many other people (most athiests in fact) will continue to make decisions based on an ethical framework with the good of the individual and society in mind. With no need for deities.
So...religion is, like, the opiate of the masses or something.
--
bachiatari na torisetsu o yome!
Quite the contrary - in a well crafted piece of work, 2 or 3 times is enough to plant the seed, without beating the audience over the head. Personally, I think it's a marvelous writing job to incorporate so many different religious/philosophical elements into a coherent whole. It'll keep people talking about this for a looooooooong time...
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More recent films, from "Signs" to "Contact" have used a sci-fi setting to discuss serious questions of faith.
Why is this true? Because science and religion are closely entwined--if not the same thing. They are both the search for the truth. There is a reason so many scientific discoveries were made by priests and monks
At some point, the major religions lost the bit about the search, and decided the truth had been found. I think science, as Contact points out, must also acknowledge that not everything is knowable.
This is what is what's is so disturbing about "the origin of the species through evolution" and "creationism" debate where it seems each considers the other "blasphemous". They aren't really so mutually exclusive.
So close and yet so far from the world's perfect ID number
I mean, come on. There are plenty of people who do not believe in God who seem to believe that Not Believing in God is the One True Path, and that everyone else is a poor sheep who have strayed from the Truth. I see this as no different from someone who believes in a God and that all others should come and see the Truth. The atheist believes in nothing, while the other believes in a supernatural being. It's still belief, and it's still invoking a suggestion of superiority due to that belief, as well as making the assumption that what is true for you must be true for everyone.
Let people believe what they want as long as they do not interfere with others abilities to believe what they want. What someone believes, in the end, is not important. Only the actions taken based on that belief. Attack poor actions - not beliefs.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
...and it was Extreme and Fresh, Dog.
Have you seen MTV's adds for MTV? It does a fair amount of preaching to the converted.
The message they offer kids isn't only, "Get your entertainment here! Hurry, while it's hot." They preach that the kids can not only make a difference, but that the future lies in their hands. Maybe a glowing box telling kids that they're the chosen people isn't as religious as a burning bush without endorsments, but it appeals to the same aspect of humanity: A hope for a better tomorrow.
Campbell's thesis is not particularly religious, but rather that groups of people create similar myths. Campbell, like Jung, arrives at this conclusion through comparative mythology.
That the same archetypes should emerge in the dominant storytelling medium of the day--sci fi movies--is not surprising. Believe it or not, Hollywood draws heavily on Joe Campbell, all the time . Even the fact that Hollywood stories are so formulaic is evidence of this: there's always The Hero, The Trickster, The Seductress, The Higher Power, etc. It's the very familiarity of these archetypes that make these modern-day myths so compelling.
Most Hollywood movies, however, stay within the conventions of the archetypes and their stories, rather than raising questions about art, artifice, consciousness, myth and reality. Hollywood movies work within dramatic and myth-making conventions, whereas The Matrix is about getting behind and beyond the masks, which is what is so fascinating about it. The Matrix chooses Gnostic Christian forms for its own mask, rather than the forms we're more familiar with from schul , catechism class, Sunday School, etc. The choice of gnostic forms allows them to get much closer to eastern philosophies, while dodging doctrinal disputes. Skillful means, grasshopper.
One thing I was surprised to see undiscussed in the CSM article was really the central theme of the Matrix, and also the unifying principle in all religions: compassion. The AI simulacra, The Smiths, lack compassion, and his is what makes them, and the artificial world they have constructed, so inhuman, so terrifying and so inhumane.
The "is it live, or is it Memorex" debate is begging the question, really. It duss jusn't matter. Also, I wish that they'd used Peter Gabriel's song Mercy Street just once.
That's quite possibly the lamest thing I've ever heard. Why follow the teachings of some guy? Are you so weak and stupid you can't figure out right and wrong yourself?
Jack Valenti and Orrin Hatch will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
"Those who hold beliefs based on observations and deduction do not see it as faith. That is one of the points made in the Matrix (Sorry to wander back on topic.)"
When you're speaking of things beyond the realm of observation, you can't make any deductions. It may be that there is nothing beyond the realm of observation, but that unknowable by definition.
Following you back onto the topic however, I have to disagree that thats one of the points of the movie. Trusting observation (ie the senses) is what keeps you in the matrix. Those who escape the matrix are following a vague feeling of discontent...listening to their intuition. Its suggesting a reality beyond appearances.
But I guess that's what art's about, and sometimes narrowminded people aren't going to change no matter what you show them.
-Says the speaker....
You have to come up with definitive proof of everything before you can make a blanket statement like that. Organized religion is not wrong, as it seems that you yourself subscribe to one of them. Just becuase it is "anti-religion" does not mean that it is itself, a religion.
Learn that religion takes something called "faith," which basically means that you have to hold the belief without having definitive proof. There is no definitive proof that God exists, yet there is none that says he doesn't. There is no definitive proof that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and one with God at the same time. There is no definitive proof that we evolved from single-celled organisms.
There is only philosophies and hypothesis based upon them. You cannot make it otherwise. ...If only such narrowminded people could only realize...
You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
This man speaks sense. I think the Wachowski brothers did intend for some philosophical and theological elements perhaps to enhance the story, but the claim that their changing of the WB logo, which is from the Greek for "word", corrupts the "word" of the Gospel of John...utter baloney.
Also, I'm not entirely convinced that the "Matrix" is the "womb" from which Neo (a/k/a Jesus Christ) is reborn, as opposed to the definition mathematicians and computer scientists would be familiar with.
Finally, where's Pontius Pilate in all this? I thought that would be an easy one to figure out. Maybe they couldn't figure out a numerological correlation with the letters in character names and somehow tie it to the Romans or Satan or something. How about the smoking Oracle lady? Tank? Switch? They're all important characters. Typical "religion logic" -- leave out the things you can't explain.
I'm not saying the article is all crap (I found some of it interesting), just that people come up with some pretty silly explanations "proving" how everything is about Holy Holy Jesus. (sorry about the flamage)
Someone tell this man to pull his tongue out of his cheek. I'm afraid he may have ruptured something.
In other news, I doubt WB would listen to any petition of this type, especially since they AREN'T distributing the film. The WB is for Wachowzski (sp) Brothers.
IAALS.