The Matrix, the hardest and most challenging film to do a film literature study on. While my other friends are studying Bend it Like Beckham I’m still trying to find my head around this whole Matrix film.
So how many times have you watched this movie? I have seen it twice now and have gained a deeper knowledge of the plot with my English class, thank goodness or I’m going to be stuck when it comes time to do my exams. Science Fiction is not my cup of coffee (hehehe I don’t like tea!) so when I learnt that the Matrix was going to be my class’s film study, I cried!! (Jokes) I was really looking forward to studying Bend it Like Becks. Then we started watching the film and I was just sitting there going “Oh my goodness Alaina what is going on?” I didn’t have a clue what was happening in the film. Then we watched it a second time and now I think know what is going on, and let me say the Wachowski brothers have made an exceptional film.
So you seen it a million times and still don’t know what is going on??
Let me explain with my essay answer on the film when asked the question “Describe the main challenge to a major character in your text and explain, giving detailed examples, how the character responded to this challenge.”
The Matrix directed by the Wachowski brothers is a film of science fiction. The Matrix is a fake world whereby human minds are pacified because their bodies are enslaved to AI. Their bodies are enslaved because when AI was trying to take over the world humans believed that the sun was the only source of energy that the AI had to run on, therefore they blew up the sun believing they’d destroy the AI race. By taking this action the AI were clever and started to acquire heat energy from humans, the only source of energy left on the face of the earth. The humans were constructed into a power plant. They were placed into pods and their minds were placed in the Matrix. Their minds were placed in the Matrix so that the humans wouldn’t have the ability to get out of the pods; their minds were trapped in a false world. Thomas A. Anderson was enslaved until he was freed by the Morpheus and his freedom fighters; the only people living ‘freely’, in Zion – a place next to the core of the earth.
When Thomas was given his rebirth by Morpheus his main challenge was coming to terms with the truth. The truth being that the Matrix is just a computerised programme used to pacify humans, and that Zion was the only inhabitancy of ‘free’ human life on earth. By Morpheus, Thomas was given the name Neo. The name Neo is an anagram for ‘One’ and it also suggests that he is an individual, not like when he was known as Thomas, which was generic sounding suggesting conformity which he is not. Neo found the truth a challenge to accept. He didn’t know how to accept it and initially he wasn’t sure of it. He responded by placing faith in Morpheus’ hands because of his confusedness. Neo gradually changed, as he was educated about reality. It took a long time for Neo to realise about reality, as this was his major challenge. Whenever he was faced with something new that bewildered him he recoiled. This is highlighted when Tank one of the freedom fighters plugs Neo back into the Matrix to load skills such as karate into Neo’s mind; this would help Neo and his later quest for victory against the AI. When Neo is unplugged from the Matrix after his karate skills are loaded he vomits which highlights the fact that Neo finds it a challenge to accept the Matrix for what it is. He rejected its existence and purpose until he is becomes familiar with it.
Another truth was that Neo was believed by Morpheus to be ‘the One’. The One, who has the ability to extinguish the Matrix, put it to an end. Morpheus, the chief of the freedom fighters, had been looking for Neo most of his life, so when Neo found out that he wasn’t the one when the Oracle prophesied “Sorry kiddo, not in this life anyway, ” it was a major challenge within the challenge of truth. By hearing what the Oracle had to say Neo found it really hard coming to terms that he still was the One. He found it hard because Morpheus, who believed without doubt that Neo was the One, was always around Neo. This challenge for yet another truth is exhausted when Neo tries to tell Trinity, another freedom fighter, what the Oracle prophesied. Trinity emphasizes when explaining to Neo that Morpheus has bottomless faith that he truly is ‘the One’.
Neo finds that he is the One when he starts to believe. He is the One when Trinity resurrects him after being shot down by Agent Smith who is an AI in the Matrix. Therefore the Oracle prophesied truly because when she said “Sorry kiddo, not in this life anyway, ” in response to Neo asking her if he is the One, she was right. He wasn’t the One in his first life; he was the One in his second life when resurrected. He is the One because he finally has faith in himself; he responds by finally accepting the challenge of truth. This is shown in the film when he gets up from being shot and stops the bullets that are once again coming for him. Neo raises his hand when the bullets come flying then all of a sudden the bullets stop and drop to the ground, emphasizing Neo’s power to destroy the AI and emphasizing that Neo is ‘the One’.
Is that explained enough for you?
This film brings up a lot of themes or ideas. Here’s a very short summarised list of some of them
The importance of truth. This is highlighted when Cypher says to Neo “Ignorance is Bliss.” Cypher believes that he’d rather be in the Matrix than in Zion.
The Bible. I go to a Catholic school therefore I am taught about the Christian connections to the Matrix, not the Hindu connections.
The Trinity is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the film this is represented through Trinity herself and the union of Neo, Trinity and Morpheus, 3 people!
John the Baptist is portrayed as Morpheus in the Matrix. Morpheus is more honoured to met Neo rather than Neo is more honoured to meet Morpheus, same with John the Baptist and Jesus.
When Neo or shall I say Thomas is freed from his pod he goes shooting down a tunnel into water. Above him appears the holy trinity in the form of three lights, he also bobs in the water three times which represents his rebirth through christening.
Jesus was called the One and so is Neo
The resurrection of Neo and Jesus
- The creation of AI. This film renders a perceptive towards the creation of AI. Personally I don’t believe in Artificial Intelligence because I don’t see how technology can be more advanced than the human itself. When new technologies are invented or developed it is all because of the human input, therefore how can AI have a denser intelligence than humans if humans were the ones who invented AI? And if humans had technology to blow up the sun in the film then surely they would’ve had technology to destroy AI. Agree??