The Matrix is the war between man and machine, and the possibility that reality is a deception. In a sense, the Matrix is a constant struggle of identity and reality. This struggle of identity and reality is based around the character of Thomas Anderson, an ordinary person living a mundane life.
Thomas Anderson has two separate lives and much of the dual life is lived by contrast. By day, he works as a program writer at a respectable software company, and by night, he lives the life of a hacker, alias Neo. Throughout the film, Neo is engulfed in a constant struggle of finding himself, his purpose, and also what reality actually is. Though he lives two separate lives, he finds himself wishing for another.
The identity and reality that Neo faces all begins with the famous choice given upon his encounter with Morpheus, “the red pill or the blue pill?” This question poses a very difficult decision for Neo. Should he take the blue pill and live without knowing the truth and who he actually is, or should he take the red pill and discover the truth and figure out what his life is really all about. The film as a whole and especially this particular scene is deeply compelling. On one hand you have everyone you love and everything that you have built your life upon, though being fed with false sensory information by a giant virtual reality computer called the Matrix. On the other, you are promised only truth. Is it better to live in a harsh reality or a comfortable fantasy? How could a choice possibly be made? In essence, the choice is one that is between truth and happiness, and Neo hungered for the truth. Neither living as a hacker nor working for a company would suffice. Neo wanted to find his “true” identity, and he does so through...
... middle of paper ...
...ix, it was important to view and analyze key scenes where the concept of self-identity and Neo’s relationship and expression with world came under scrutiny. The world of the matrix, what Neo believed to be the 'real' world is presented in sharp contrasts between light and dark. In our world today humans are faced with the same identity and reality struggles. These struggles may not be as exaggerated and far-fetched as Neo's, but in essence they are just as difficult. When I look at my peers or even within myself, I see the struggle that comes when making choices; will the choices lead to the right path or to the wrong? By making these choices, will it ultimately change an individual’s identity? I believe that the choices we make define who we are and what will become of us. Some of us keep one life a secret, and one life visible for others to see, just as Neo did.
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.
Our identities are constantly evolving throughout our lives to adapt to certain people and environments. Lars Fr. H. Svendsen states “Self-identity is inextricably bound up with the identity of the surroundings” One’s morals and characteristics are forever changing and these self resolutions are influenced by the encompassing aspects of life such as significant events, environmental revolutions and one’s relationship with another. Due to factors sometimes beyond our control, one’s self prowess is merely an expression of their own prior experiences which conclusively preserve and maintain a state of fluctuation for one’s character. A similar concept is evident in the film ‘The Sapphires’
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
entertainment, and countless others. All of these matrices are related with each other and with specific operations of individuals. The book and the movie demonstrate the interaction of multiple matrices, from single to multi-dimesional. It shows the destruction and the development of systems and the impact of one individual on the largest matrix, the human race.
The protagonist Thomas Anderson in the series is one of billions of humans connected to the Matrix, he is a quiet programmer for the "respectable software company" Metacortex. Thomas Anderson is the character in the movie whose later alias becomes “Neo”. Which an anagram for “the one” a name that is most profound parallel to the Bible. Coincidence I think not. Neo is the Christ-figure in The Matrix who is sent to liberate men from their fallen and enslaved state Zion that is the last human city on earth, paralleling the Zion of the Bible. Morpheus and other believers herald him as the “One.” Neo or Christ sets humans free from the matrix or sin as agent Smith who in terms is Satan. Neo has a resurrection scene at the end of the first installment of The Matrix. In this scene Smith kills him, and his coming back to life serves as a testament to his power, and sets the stage for Neo’s final sacrifice at the end of the third movie. It is the scene at the end of the trilogy when Neo makes his Christ-like death. After this sacrifice, Neo is lifted into the sky, the same way one might describe Christ’s resurrection. Neo's performance was so good that famous hollywood director Quienten
...’s threat to the whole system. Neo sacrificed his life in order to kill Smith, and that way he could liberate Zion from the machines. With this scene, the Wachowski brothers brought us back to the allusion made on the first movie of Neo being “Jesus Christ.” All of these events were made posible because Neo knew that Zion believed in him, therefore he felt that he had to do something. Because of Morpheus and Zion’s faith in him, he did all the posible to accomplish his purpose in life.
Identity is primarily described primarily as what makes a person who they are. While it is seen as an individual asset, one’s identity can be shaped and persuaded not only by life experiences, but by society as well. Bryan Stevenson speaks on several controversial issues and proclaims certain societal problems and the typical behaviors noticed in response to them. How one approaches the issues that are spoken about may expose their true identity. Stevenson argues that how one reacts to racial inequality within the criminal justice system may regulate their identity. In addition to that, how dealing with the nation’s history may force a growth on one’s identity, eventually bringing peace and acceptance to the nation. Lastly, how one views the
The movie "Matrix" is drawn from an image created almost twenty-four hundred years ago by the greek philosopher, Plato in his work, ''Allegory of the Cave''.The Matrix is a 1999 American-Australian film written and directed by the Wachowski brothers. Plato, the creator of the Allegory of the Cave was a famous philosopher who was taught by the father of philosophy Socrates. Plato was explaining the perciption of reality from others views to his disciple Aristotle. The Matrix and the Allegory of the Cave share a simmilar relationship where both views the perciption of reality, but the Matrix is a revised modern perciption of the cave. In this comparison essay I am going to explain the similarities and deifferences that the Matrix and The Allegory of the Cave shares.In the Matrix, the main character,Neo,is trapped in a false reality created by AI (artificial intelligence), where as in Plato's Allegory of the Cave a prisoner is able to grasp the reality of the cave and the real life. One can see many similarities and differences in the film and the allegory. The most important similarity was between the film and the Allegory is the perception of reality.Another simmilarity that the movie Matrix and the Allegory of the Cave shares is that both Neo and the Freed man are prisoners to a system. The most important difference was that Neo never actually lived and experienced anything, but the freed man actually lived and experinced life.
The Matrix, is a science fiction action based movie that has one main focus being Neo who symbolises ‘The One’. Fate essentially your destiny and freewill meaning a decision you make under no one’s obligation both are shown throughout different moments in the film. There are some key scenes where these points are evident and where it explores these main themes. Some key relations to this topic are the pill scene, just after Morpheus and Neo do Japanese martial arts known as jujitsu and his visit to the Oracle. This movie has many overall links and will be discussing the major contributions this all had on the overall film.
These men, known as agents, hold Neo down and insert a metal like device into his stomach. He soon awakes at his house and is told by Morpheus that he is “the one.” When he meets with Trinity and Morpheus, Trinity removes the metal device from his stomach which shocks him because he didn’t believe that to be real. Morpheus soon offers to reveal the Matrix to Neo. He is given the option of a red pill or blue pill; the blue in which he will go home and remember nothing, red in which will allow him to see the truth.
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
Trinity tells Neo, “The Matrix can not tell you who you are”. Neo is brave enough to walk away and take the red pill, just like the freed prisoner, Neo , and human kind itself, are making the first step towards personal independence.
Nolan likes to use a non-linear story telling when it comes to his films. Nolen comments on his non-linear structure saying that “It really is a question of finding the most suitable order for releasing information to the audience and not feeling any responsibility to do it chronologically, just like we don't in life” (Anon). Nolen explains a non-liner narratives illuminates that there is no rules to its structure. So, with that the film can be remodeled it to the story it best represents (Anon). Nolan structures of non-linear story telling helps the audience perceptions affect the way they interpret the world, truth, and the passing of time (5 Major Defining…).
...n against machine in a noticeably strained battle, but they also despise that the humans are more machine like than they ponder, and that the machine possesses human qualities as well. The humans, for their part, are as persistently compelled as machines. The incredible fighting skills and superhuman strength of the character seem to put them in machine type category. It showed how dependent man and machine actually are, or might be. One terror of fake intelligence is that technology will trap us in level of dependency. It emphasized the idea that artificial intelligence enslaves the human race. With the time we people are also becoming slaves of the machines that we have created. In time people will be so dependent on machines that they can no longer survive without them. This is the implicit idea of the film matrix, idea which hardly people would have noticed.
The Matrix is a sci-fi action film about a computer hacker named Neo that has been brought into another world deemed “the matrix.” The Matrix is a prime example of cinematography. The film uses many different types of cinematography such as mise-en-scene, special effects, and camera shots to make it interesting and entertaining to the audience guiding their attention to the important aspects of the film.