The Matrix

On Sunday arvo I finally curled up on the couch to watch The Matrix with Wayne and Dad as Mum did the ironing. I’d heard about the film years ago when dressing up for a “Gaidai” Matrix get-together in my darks and leather jacket, and then decided that I definitely wanted to see it when I heard afresh about certain biblical themes intertwined in the plot in my theology class this semester.

The Matrix is about Thomas "Neo" Anderson (Keanu Reeves), a software designer / hacker, who is plagued by disturbing occurrences that are hard for him to merely pass off as mere nightmares. In search for an answer to his questions, he encounters the mysterious "Morpheus" and his band of rebels who try to convince Neo that the world as he knows it is little more than an elaborate computer simulation, and that Neo is "the One" - a liberator prophesied to free humanity from its bondage.

Interpretations of The Matrix differ widely. To give you a taste of the content discussed by film critics I’ve cut and paste parts of a review by Steven D. Greydanus titled “Is The Matrix Gnostic or Christian?” (http://www.decentfilms.com/sections/articles/2554). He highlights some of the Christian and biblical references, concluding that The Matrix isn’t really a Christian allegory, any more than it is a gnostic fable.

...In the world of The Matrix, men are "born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch." Then comes "the One," the promised deliverer who will overcome mankind’s enemy and liberate the human race from bondage. Morpheus has been foretold that he will find this figure of prophecy; and, like John the Baptist heralding Jesus as the Lamb of God, Morpheus recognizes Neo to be the One.

"Neo" has two meanings: It’s the Greek word for "new," but it’s also an anagram for "one." Like Christ, the New Adam, the Chosen One, Neo freely gives himself up to save another, going to face his enemies alone. He "dies," comes back to life transformed with greater power and authority, and, in the film’s final shot, ascends into heaven, where he prepares for the coming liberation of humanity...

...There are other resonances with Christianity. The "fallen" world of the Matrix, we learn, was preceded by a "perfect," paradisaical simulation-world "where none suffered, where everyone would be happy." But its first inhabitants rejected this blissful environment, leading to the creation of the more familiar Matrix-world. This back-story both echoes the doctrine of the fall and also suggests the impossibility of putting fallen man back into a paradisaical setting...

...There’s also a sort of metaphorical birth-incarnation scene, when Neo first leaves the disembodied world of the Matrix and enters the physical world. Neo awakens in the "womb" of the fluid-filled pod in which his body has grown, is severed from umbilical-cord-like connective lines, and is flushed down a birth-canal-like chute.

Still other biblical references include the name of humanity’s last refuge, "Zion," and the name of Morpheus’s ship, the Nebuchadnezzar (perhaps signifying Morpheus’s crew as "exiles" awaiting a deliverer)...

I found the film’s Christian references intriguing, identifying closely with Neo's quest for the truth and experience of being re-born to see all things anew. However, worked into the basic story of a Messiah coming to save an enslaved humanity is a touch of Eastern religion, a fair amount of profanity (including using Christ's name), and a heavy dose of violence. To those not likely to be offended by the language and violence, I highly recommend this film. It was great!!!