The View that Religious Imagery and the Theme of Alice in Wonderland in the Matrix Successfully Represents the Development of the Narrative

The View that Religious Imagery and the Theme of Alice in Wonderland in the Matrix Successfully Represents the Development of the Narrative

Religious imagery is an important theme in the Matrix because it has a

lot of messages that are important for understanding the film.

Christianity is a major religion referred to numerous times although

there is a blend of Buddhism along with it, for example many of the

names used are religious figures or meanings. Trinity means the

joining of the three characters Morpheous, Neo and trinity (Father,

Son and the Holy Spirit). Neo is an anagram of one. Neo is

continuously referred to at ‘the one’ (The Son of God). Morpheous’

ship is called the Nebuchadnezzar in the old testament, the king of

Babylon was called Nebuchadnezzar and he defeated the Egyptians,

captured Jerusalem and restored Babylon to its glory. Noticeably the

crew refer to their home as Zion ( heaven).

When Neo goes to visit The Oracle she gives him some cookies; this

refers to Delphic Oracle who was a woman in Ancient Greek times who

gave honey and barley cakes to those who asked for her advice.

When Neo looks into the cracked mirror in a over the shoulder shot in

the tumbling down the rabbit hole scene it is referring to Buddhism;

in the Buddhist religion mirrors are important because they need

reflection in order to free oneself. At the end of the film Neo is

resurrected by Trinity just as Jesus ‘the one’ was resurrected by God.

Alice in Wonderland is referred to because it is comparing Neo to

Alice – who doesn’t know where she is when she enters the dream world

of Wonderland and Neo when he enters the Matrix and doesn’t know what

is happening to him.

At the start of the film when Neo is asleep at his computer it

exclaims ‘follow the white rabbit…’ this is a blend of post-modern

concepts- blending religion with literature. When Neo is vulnerable

and excited at the prospect of his journey of self-discovery but it is

also referring to Alice in Wonderland as this also is important to the