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The Matrix Reloaded

This movie was pretty good overall, but I say that as the opening of my analysis, not the conclusion. Be forewarned, this movie absolutely assaults the senses with violence; but that's nothing new and should be expected for a Summer Blockbuster.

My analysis of the first movie could be encapsulated by writing that it was a sci-fi version of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. At base, it was the same story as the Truman Show with pinch more of the cynicism ala Alice in Wonderland and a lot of martial arts and special effects thrown in the mix.

The Matrix Reloaded is an allegory of Western religion in general and Judeo-Christianity in particular.

What makes me say that the Matrix Reloaded is an allegory of Christianity? Let me count the ways.

  1. In this movie, Neo continues his role as "The One." He's the chosen one, and in this movie we find out that the Architect of the Matrix chose him to fulfill this purpose. Neo therefore is supposed to fulfill a Jesus-like role of saving humanity. He does this through the sacrifice of love and the perpetuation of a system by which people continue to be able to get hurt.


    2. Neo/The One

  2. There is the visual representation of The Architect which is a thinly-veiled traditional, modern, western, neo-Christian and Protestant version of God The Father. He's a white man, clothed in white, with a white beard. I have to hand it to the writers/director though. At least this was an honest allegory and the writers didn't take the politically-correct-but-sickningly-predictable tack of putting forth a black man (Morgan Freeman in Bruce Almighty), a black woman (Whoopi Goldberg in the recent Muppet movie), or a white female (Alanis Morisette in Dogma).


    3. The Actor playing The Architect

  3. There's Seraph who protects the Oracle. Seraphim are the highest order of angels in the celestial hierarchy, which was debated at length during the times of medieval Christianity. The topic of the angel hierarchy served as a sort of ecclesiastic mental football for bored and powerful priests. In case you were wondering, the fact that Seraph character fights Neo coincides with Christian views of this level of angel since the Archangels are warriors for God, and the Seraphim are actually higher up the food chain thus have those powers and attributes plus more.


    4. The Seraph fighting Neo

  4. The Oracle and Morpheus function as Old Testament-type characters. It is interesting that both character names have Greek origins, but this is also insightful since a good chunk of modern Christianity is actually a syncretic fusion of Greek/Roman/western paganism and Judism.
    • Morpheus (Greek god of dreams) is a John The Baptist-like character preparing the way for the One.
    • The Oracle may actually be a playing the role of the Serpent in the Old Testament tempting Neo with red candy (think of the apple of the Old Testament.) This Oracle is a very sympathetic, nurturing, charismatic Devil, but none-the-less a version or side of the Devil to be found in Christianity. The serpent was, after all, in the Garden; part of the fabric of the closed system. The serpent's role is to tempt and create the choice by which Neo's free will can be expressed. If I'm not mistaken, in the movie Neo accepts the candy, but doesn't eat it. Similarly, at the end of the movie he understands his role as The One, but rejects the system that is perpetuated by it. This is what differentiates Neo (new) from Adam (the first).


    The Oracle offering Neo the candy

  5. Zion. Zion is the term for an idyllic version of Jerusalem: God's city on earth. It is where the chosen people live. Interestingly in the Matrix, we find out that this is where approx 1% of the population lives -- the ones who reject the Matrix. That's a little askew compared to modern Christianity, but it may find a parallel in Kabbalism which is a mystical sect of Judaism adhered-to and understood only by a few. Proffered here is a reiteration of the Platonic Cave analogy. Don't forget that there are different stages of enlightenment. Understood that way, the debate over whether or not Zion is another matrix is moot. Simply put: in Christianity anyone who accepts Jesus is saved, more enlightenment doesn't mean that you're saved any more.


    6. Zion

  6. Adam Lein wrote "The Architect also reveals that the first Matrix was a failure due to its 'perfect-ness', which ultimately is not perfect because it did not account for the fact that suffering is part of life and that the inherent flaws in an environment are what make it successful. " He's on to something, and that something is again an allegory of the central "mystery" of Christianity. In Christianity, it is a benevolent, omnicient, and omnipotent God that -depite all this power- allows bad things to happen to good people. By accepting The One/The Son you accept this perpetual cycle of pain, destruction, enlightenment and freedom. You become a prisoner to the cycle just like Persephone, the greek goddess of the underworld.


Persephone

The Matrix Reloaded's main take-away is the idea that belief in The One perpetuates the system. Extrapolated to Christianity, it insinuates that true enlightenment is rejection of system entirely. Rejection of Jesus/savior role. Rejection of all of the false systems of oppression. Turn instead into the New man: the man who rejects the Architect/Creator's sick system of control and instead bases his meaning in life on Love.

So, the question is: will the writers eschew Western religion/Christianity for the third installment? Anything less than a really thought-provoking ending and they could degrade the main thrust of the movie, making enlightenment look like a booby prize for suckers. If they get too religious, they could easily turn the movie into a smaltzy (if somewhat Apocalyptic) morality play. My guess is that the third installment of the Matrix trilogy will continue in Neo's Dante-esque exploration through the rings of Hell (done), to Purgatory (in progress), then he will continue on to Heaven. Dante's Heaven included his idea of the multifoliate rose, and his poetry about the rose happened to have a lot of similarities to his poetry about Beatrice (the love of his life). The question is what will the Matrix's version of heaven look like? My gut-reaction is that it will probably look a lot like the Garden of Eden, and Neo's physical expression of love (Trinity) will be a big part of the description of Love as a place. But then again, maybe not. The writers seem to be having some fun turning Christianity on it's ear, so the other thought that I had is that the third installment of the movie will be an Ayn Rand-ian/Galt-ian version of a harmonious, meritocracy marked by unabashed individualism without a need to be 'connected' to the higher source/purpose since that source can be found within.

I'm interested in seeing the next movie. Very interested.

 

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