Why The Matrix?

“All I’m offering is the truth.  Nothing more.” - Morpheus
“What truth?” - Neo

I happen to have a lot of favorite movies which I like for various reasons, but my all-time favorite is the Matrix Trilogy.  Personally, I could do without all the cursing and sex scenes, however the concepts that were presented through this incredible multi-part story are practically indespensible.  In my opinion the Wachowski brothers are geniuses in their own right.

The Trilogy resonated with me, as it did with hundreds of thousands of others, on multiple levels.  I even remember someone refering to the 1st installment specifically and the Trilogy in general as the sole cinematic event that completely redefined how movies and television are made.  Before The Matrix - B.C.  After The Matrix - A.D.  You get the point.  And whether you felt like Keanue Reaves (or any other thespian in the movie) could act or not, you could not deny the feeling that somehow history was being made.

I was so much a fan of the 1st Matrix film (saw it more than seven times in the theaters) that my brother told me, “If you knew the Bible as much as you know lines from The Matrix, that would be something.”  Ouch!  A keen observation on his part, considering that I was and still am a Christian.  I’d better make note of that (we’ll talk about that at another time).

But what is it about motion pictures that can bypass the gridlocks in our brains and open us up to concepts and truths (and lies) in ways that other modes of communication can’t?  First of all, a movie uses at least four modes of communication -which I will list but won’t go into in this blog - another conversation for another time.  VISUAL.  VERBAL.  MUSICAL.  IMAGINATION.  Do a quick study and you’ll discover statistics supporting the impact of this persuasive power.  Just think about the stories you love and how they, in some way, influenced every facet of your life.

It starts with Morpheus.  “Let me tell you why you are here.  You’re here because you know something.  What you know you can’t explain but you fell it.  You’ve felt it your entire life, felt that something is wrong with the world.  You don’t know what, but it’s there like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.  It is this feeling that brought you to me.  Do you know what I’m talking about?”

“The Matrix?” Neo responds.

“Do you want to know what it is?”  Morpheus asks.  “The Matrix is everywhere, it’s all around us, here even in this room… it’s the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.”
“What truth?”  Neo is really curious now.
“That you are a slave, Neo.  Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, kept inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch.  A prison for your mind.” Morpheus.

Why is it easier for so many to believe fantasy more than reality?  Perhaps fantasy sheds a light on the nature of reality that is often overlooked or avoided.  Perhaps it is the sense of safety that fantasy offers - where we can retreat from a boring, seemingly meaningless or harsh life and delve into a new existence.

Like everyone else… The Matrix movie resonated so much with me and with others, I believe, because we’ve all felt like we have been trapped in an invisible prison.  Songs and countless peoms and stories have been written, sung and expounded upon about this trapped feeling and the fear of never being set free.  Many of us feel trapped by family and friends, jobs and careers, neighborhoods and society, religious institutions and governments - but more so I believe that we feel trapped within the confines of our own flesh: low self-esteem, insecurities, unbreakable habits, secret sins and unspeakable fears.  We’ve all wanted to break free of the Matrix that constrains us - and the thought that somehow we are unknowingly imprisoned, exploited and manipulated is extremely unsettling.

So the idea and concept of genuine freedom is inviting.  If we think deeply and honestly, we will realize that many of us believe we are free… but it is merely a “surface” type of freedom.  The Matrix Trilogy deals with this issue as it peels away multiple layers… Systems of Control - revealing congruent paths of oppression. 

The greatest lie that the Matrix survives on is the lie that is told to every member of humanity: “You…are…free.” 

No uprising.  No real search by the masses for genuine meaning and purpose.  Why would you need to search if you were already free?

“Ah… Ignorance is bliss…”  Cypher says these words with such presumed satisfaction that it almost drips off of his lips like honey - almost making us believe what he is saying to be true.  But is it?  The Matrix Trilogy exposes a sad fact of life - many of us, most of us, do not live real lives… we only imagine our lives while we are asleep.

On the Matrix Revisited DVD (behind the scenes) some fans talk about how the movie affected them.  One individual told of a fan-fiction story (fans write their own stories based on the framework of the film) where the idea for the Matrix Trilogy was given to the Wachowski brothers by a extra-dimensional Being from Space.  This Being gave the idea because it wanted humanity to know that we were still trapped in our containment pods - like in the movie.

As Morpheus would say, “Ironically, this is not far from the truth.”

What if were were enslaved to a System and were not aware of it?  How would we secure our freedom? (I write about this in my book, Transition: Breaking Through the Barriers)

“It is the question that drives us, the question that brought you here.  You know the question just as I did… The answer is out there, Neo.  It’s looking for you and it will find you, if you want it to.” - Trinity 

Let me know what you think.

-Allen Paul Weaver III -