Analysis The Matrix And The Circular Ruins

1660 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The circular ruins

Samuel Rogers
The Matrix and “The Circular Ruins”

In this paper, I will be describing the theme of the demiurge which appears in The Matrix by the Wachowski Brothers and in the story “The Circular Ruins” by Jorge Luis Borges. In doing this I will develop an argument about it, and interpret it in the two texts in detail. I will also compare the visual text with the literary text, as well as talk about what writing can do that film cannot and vice versa. I will also cover how the artist use their respective media. The theme that I will covering is that of the demiurge. This idea appears in much of the content that we have covered in the class. A demiurge is seen as a half godly figure that creates the material world. This idea comes from Gnosticism, which is the belief that the material world is creation of the devil or some similar being. This paper argues the possibility that a demiurge could exist. The possibilities of what the material world could look like when it is created by a demiurge are endless. Some examples of a demiurge creating the material world show up in both The Matrix, as well as in “The Circular Ruins.”
The …show more content…

The movie is about an individual name Neo who is in the search for a thing called the Matrix. As the movie develops, he is introduced to Morpheus. Morpheus comes in and asks Neo if he wants to know the actual truth. Morpheus was clear to Neo that what he would learn would change everything that he thought he knew. So, of course Neo was enticed by this. His curiosity drove him to know the entire truth. What Neo finds out is this Matrix that he has been searching for is what he precedes to be his reality. Not only that, but it is everyone’s reality. The Matrix is a reality within an individual’s mind. This reality was created by robots that took over the world. These robots trapped the human race and are using them for a never-ending energy

Show More
Related

  • Biblical References in The Matrix

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Matrix series is much more than an action-packed sci-fi thriller. After one view of this film for the second and third time, we start to notice a great deal of symbolism. This symbolism starts to paint a completely different picture than the images of humans battling machines. It is a religious story, with symbols deeply set in the Christian faith. The Matrix contains religious symbolism through its four main characters, Morpheus, Neo, Trinity and Cypher. In that each character personifies the “Father,” the “Son,” “Satan,” and the “Holy Spirit” of the Christian beliefs only shown through the amazing performances of the actors. A critic by the name of Shawn Levy said "The Matrix slams you back in your chair, pops open your eyes and leaves your jaw hanging slack in amazement."(metacritic.com)

    Read More

  • Plato's Allegory of a Cave, Wachowski's Matrix, and Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time

    1562 Words  | 4 Pages

    Plato's Allegory of a Cave, Wachowski's Matrix, and Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time

    Read More

  • Compare The Allegory Of The Cave And The Matrix

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    In one of Plato’s works called The Allegory of the Cave he goes over what it means to get higher knowledge and the path you have to take to get to this higher knowledge. Plato also goes over how this higher knowledge or enlightenment will affect people and how they act. He ties this all together through what he calls the cave. Plato tells Glaucon a sort of story about how the cave works and what the people within the cave have to do to get to the enlightenment. A while down the road the Wachowski siblings with the help of Warner Brothers Studios made a movie titled The Matrix. This movie follows the came concept that Plato does in the cave. With saying that the world that Neo (the main character) was living in was in fact not real but a made

    Read More

  • Parallels between The Movie, The Matrix and Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

    2216 Words  | 5 Pages

    The movie, "The Matrix," parallels Platos's Allegory Of The Cave in a number of ways. Similar to the prisoners of the cave, the humans trapped in the matrix (the cave) only see what the machines (the modern day puppet-handlers) want them to see. They are tricked into believing that what they hear in the cave and see before them is the true reality that exists. Furthermore, they accept what their senses are telling them and they believe that what they are experiencing is all that really exists--nothing more.

    Read More

  • Event Horizon Thesis

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    A race of ancient beings hold the only weapon capable of destroying an interstellar force of pure evil that emerges every 5000 years. This weapon happens to be a young woman named LeeLoo, the career launching point for indie actress Mila Jovovich, who was recently genetically re-built with a 3D printer (how eerily relevant) and proceeds to crash into the hover-taxi of special forces veteran Korben Dallas played by exploding movie star Bruce Willis. With the comedy relief of Chris Tucker playing out-of-control radio DJ Ruby Rohd and a mish-mash of influences from 1970's and '80's graphic magazine Heavy Metal, the cult hit Blade Runner, and of course Star Wars is laden throughout The Fifth Element but the story itself is holy original and a wonderful experience.The Matrix changed cinema forever and it's influence can be seen in almost any action movie made today. A Star Wars for the digital age, The Matrix launched Keanu Reeves to super-stardom for his portrayal of Neo, an ordinary computer hacker who learns that he may be the savior of mankind. With the old wizard mentor Morpheus played by Laurence Fishborne guiding Neo through "The desert of the Real" this movie truly captures the imagination during the beginning of the Digital Age, introduces many interesting philosophical questions, and remains a cinematic classic to this

    Read More

  • Cartesian and Platonic Philosophical Themes in The Matrix

    2052 Words  | 5 Pages

    This student of Philosophy now sees the movie The Matrix in a whole new way after gaining an understanding of some of the underlying philosophical concepts that the writers of the movie used to develop an intriguing and well thought out plot. Some of the philosophical concepts were clear, while others were only hinted at and most likely overlooked by those unfamiliar with those concepts, as was this student when the movie first came out in theaters all those many years ago. In this part of the essay we will take a look at the obvious and not so obvious concepts of: what exactly is the Matrix and how does it related to both Descartes and Plato, can we trust our own senses once we understand what the Matrix is, and how Neo taking the Red Pill is symbolic of the beginning of the journey out of Pl...

    Read More

  • Allegory of the Cave vs The Matrix

    1462 Words  | 3 Pages

    Deep within the cave the prisoners are chained by their necks and have a limited view of reality. Around them, by the distant light of the fire, they only see shadows and outlines of people or objects. From their conclusions of what they may think is real, are false. “The Matrix” parallels Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” in a number of ways. Similar to the prisoners of the cave the humans trapped in the modern day puppet-handlers (the machines) want them to see. In the movie, Neo is a computer hacker, and on day he suddenly realizes that his world is fake, by finding out the truth after he was released from the pod. Neo discovers that what he has been presented with his entire life is only reflections or merely shadows of the truth. The theme is recognized throughout the movie as we see many objects, as well as Neo, reflected in other objects. The puppet-handlers (the machines) represent what Plato calls the influential and powerful members of society. The objects making the shadows in “The Allegory of the Cave” are also creating a false conclusion for the prisoners. In “The Matrix” the puppet-handle...

    Read More

  • Comparing The Matrix and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the movie, The Matrix there are many similarities with the book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? One similarity is that of the matrices in both works. The movie has a matrix of dreams. According to the movie, humans are dreaming. Dreaming means that the reality humans think of, is not reality. The reality humans think of, is a dream. Confusing, isn t? An easier way of understanding this matrix is to think of human dreams. When humans experience dreams, it is not perceived as a dream until the dream ends. The movie exemplifies humans in the dream state of mind, similar to the dreaming stage. Neo is exposed to his real matrix. The matrix outside of his perceptual reality. He is able to perform with an incredible flexibility and high speed thinking. He is no longer dreaming, or as Neo called it, living. Neo has waken up. The book shares this matrix as well.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes in the Film The Matrix

    2401 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Matrix is considered by many people to be a cyberpunk triumph. Declan McCullagh from wired.com writes: "When Neo/Reeves wakes up from his VR slumber and unplugs from The Matrix, he joins a ragtag band of rebels led by the charismatic Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne). Their plan: To overthrow the artificial intelligences that have robbed humanity of reality" (McCullagh). Entertainment weekly also sees The Matrix as a movie about rebellion against oppression: "Neo is, of course, The One, the prophesied leader of the oppressed who will lead the people of Zion (an underground city populated by the last free humans) from bondage--but only if he can believe in himself and trust in the power of love" (Bernadin).

    Read More

  • The Bible Vs. The Matrix

    1992 Words  | 4 Pages

    Let me briefly explain a simplified plot of The Matrix. The story centers around a computer-generated world that has been created to hide the truth from humans. In this world people are kept in slavery without their knowledge. This world is designed to simulate the peak of human civilization which had been destroyed by nuclear war. The majority of the world's population is oblivious to the fact that their world is digital rather than real, and they continue living out their daily lives without questioning their reality. The main character, Neo, is a matrix-bound human who knows that something is not right with the world he lives in, and is eager to learn the truth. He is offered the truth from a character named Morpheus, who proclaims that Neo is “the One” (chosen one) who will eventually destroy the Matrix, thereby setting the humans “free.” For this to happen, Neo must first overcome the Sentient Program agents who can jump into anyone's digital body. They are the Gate Keepers and hold the keys to The Matrix.

    Read More

  • Ideology and Reality in the Movie, The Matrix

    2251 Words  | 5 Pages

    The matrix, as presented in the eponymous film, operates as an Althusserian Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). The Matrix1 presents a world in which "the state [as] a 'machine' of repression" is made literal where robots rule the land (Althusser 68). It is true that they rule by force (sentinels and agents) and these constitute the Repressive State Apparatus, but their primary force of subjugation is the matrix, their ISA. The film traces the path of one man, Neo, in his painful progress from the ideology of the matrix to the "real world," or the ideology of the "real."2

    Read More

  • Epistemology In The Matrix

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Matrix, directed by the Wachowski sisters, is a film that discusses free will, artificial intelligence and poses a question: ‘How do we know that our world is real?’ This question is covered in the philosophical branch of epistemology. Epistemology is a component of philosophy that is concerned with the theory of knowledge. The exploration of reality is referenced in the film when Neo discovers he has been living in an artificial world called ‘The Matrix’. He is shocked to learn that the world in which he grew up is a computer program that simulates reality. The questioning of knowledge and its irreversibility provoked by The Matrix invites the audience to wonder whether their own world is an imitation of true reality, thus making it a

    Read More

  • Fate And Freewill In The Matrix

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Matrix, once being released was a world-famous film that involved a lot of thinking and the ability to interpret complex ideas. However, these two topics of fate and freewill were creatively and smartly submerged in this film. The pill, jujitsu and Oracle scene were three main examples of the effect this all had on The Matrix, however there were a few others scattered throughout the film. It remained to be quite a mysterious concept but gradually as more in-depth thoughts came to mind, it seemed to be quite interesting. By exploring these themes it forces us to think if we are in a Matrix and what are reaction would be like if we were to find out that the world we lived in was a fake, never our true reality.

    Read More

  • Pipilotti Rist and Virtual Utopia

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    The formal characteristics of the work are crucial in their produced effect upon the audience. It is a four panel screen landscape, whose size of 7354 cubic meters is made referent in the title. Despite its monumental size, the work does not function as an oppressive weapon but rather a positive force, one that is able to free us from our inhibitions. Rist frequently experiments with the various ways in which video can be projected onto surfaces. Though she does not push the technical boundaries of the video medium medium, she nonetheless pushes the limits within video projection. Requiring seven different projectors to be linked seamlessly, her work is a technical achievement for this feat alone. A large circular couch occupies the center of the exhibition space. Its shape is meant to be reminiscent of the human iris, but also bring to mind the iris of the camera as well.

    Read More

  • The Matrix

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Matrix is a science fiction movie about artificial intelligence computers replacing mankind. I believe that this movie is a common type of display from the media is common paranoia so that they can get a reaction from people and sell their story. In the case of The Matrix, the movie dazzles people with awesome special effects using modern computer technology, which I find ironic. I find it self-conflicting and hypocritical for the media to use modern computer technology for their own good to show people how bad technology is. Amy Bruckman and Howard Rheingold would probably find this movie interesting in that it disagrees and agrees with certain aspects about their beliefs about the use of computers.

    Read More

More about Analysis The Matrix And The Circular Ruins

Open Document