[Destro]

Duuuuuuuuuuuuude!!

[Luke Skyfreeper]

The Christ-figure presentation of Neo is really almost window dressing. Far more relevant, if you ask me, are the philosophical and theological implications of the variation-on-a-Vingean-Singularity event that is the foundation of the whole story.

[friendly]

Hollywood claiming a live-action cartoon has religious significance?

The only true religious movie in production is Mel Gibson's "Passion," the last 12 hours of Christ shot exclusively in the dead languages of Aramaic and Latin, with no subtitles. THAT is hardcore!

[Petronski]

Well, here's something I noticed the first time I saw 'The Matrix.' The hero is 'Neo,' another way to say 'the one' and 'the new one' at the same time.

But look at Neo's real name: Thomas Anderson. Ander or Andrew mean 'Man,' so that Anderson means 'son of man.' Thomas means 'twin.' So that Neo, the one who will save the Matrix generation is actually 'the twin of the Son of man,' or, 'just like the Savior.'

There're a whole lot of religious aspirations packed into that first film.

[Vince Ferrer]

The film's creators, brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski, have been remarkably tight-lipped about their vision for the trilogy.

Good. A valuable skill most artistic people don't have these days is the dicipline to keep their mouths shut and let the audience interpret the art for themselves.

I am proud to be the first FReeper to call The Matrix a conservative movie. I favor the Gnostic explanation for a lot of it, but it also works really well as a battle between communism and freedom. I wouldn't call it profound, though, because if I try to look at it too closely it just becomes a silly movie. I really hope they don't ruin it with the sequels.

[LiteKeeper]

theologically-curious bump

[lurky]

I know kung fu.

[k2blader]

Interesting article.

Fervently hoping Matrix 2 blows my socks off.

[cgk]

Remember our "Zion" discussion about the Matrix? Read this.

[B-Chan]

The Matrix ? Thinly-disguised Gnostic dreck. I cannot fathom what it is about that awful film that people think is so great. The laughable premise? The ripped-off Hong Kong action scenes? The bong-hit, dorm-room-bull-session "philosophy" behind the story? Keanu Reeves' unique Zen acting style? What?

Envoy Magazine published a great article a couple of years ago detailing all the Gnostic propaganda in the film. I suggest giving it a read before waxing rhapsodic about the gospel ccrding to Neo.

The New Gnostic Gospel
By Steve Kellmeyer

Two women lead a young man into a dusty, poorly-lit room. The furnishings are simple: two chairs and a table. Near the table stands a dark-skinned man. The young man had prepared for, longed for, this meeting for quite some time. Finally, he was about to meet the man he had known only by legend and rumor. The darker man motions towards a chair and both take a seat at the table. The dark man begins. “You want to know the answers to your questions.” The younger man nods warily. “I can reveal them to you. Are you ready to learn?” The young man nods again. “The world has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. You are a slave, born into bondage, living in a dream world . . .”

As the speaker continues his revelations, the young man leans in close, drinking in every word.

Does this scenario seem vaguely familiar? If so, it may be that you’re reminded of a similar scene in the hit movie The Matrix. Yet this is not a clip from a Hollywood movie. Even though artificial reality, illusions and delusions, and the building of dream worlds lie at the very heart of the modern movie industry, Hollywood’s media moguls did not originate the ideas embodied in this scene. Thousands of years before motion picture technology existed, the idea of artificial reality, of a dream world built for men, informed the lives of thousands of men and women throughout the Near East and beyond. The scene above is a composite drawn from the experiences of those men and women, whose philosophy seriously threatened Christianity almost from her birth. Now Hollywood has imported this dangerously false view of the world into an increasing number of its movies, showing us what it looks like when it’s placed firmly into our time.

Remember when Hollywood produced wonderfully Catholic films such as The Bells of St. Mary? Times change. The wild success of the Star Wars series began a Hollywood trend in “alternative” theologies that has recently become quite sophisticated, most especially in the cult favorite The Matrix.

Such a trend may seem discouraging to those of us who lament the deepening religious confusion of our culture. Yet Catholic apologists who recognize the theological roots of a film such as The Matrix., and who appreciate the reasons for its popularity, can use such a movie as an intriguing springboard for discussion with non-Christians. Analyzing Hollywood’s aberrant theology allows us to contrast it with Catholic truth — and thus to clarify the Faith...

Complete Article

Philosophical question for fans of The Matrix: We know that The Matrix can create a virtual-reality environment of sufficient detail to fool any human being. With this in mind, how can Neo know for certain that the world into which he awakens after taking the red pill is truly the Real World and not just a computer-generated "honey trap" created by The Matrix to trap potential troublemakers?

[Jeff Chandler]

Go HERE.

[Maynerd]

The Matrix was a great flick but it aint no religious revelation. . .you will have to wait for the third movie in the fall for divine revelation guys.

[Aric2000]

Bump for later perusal... And Yes, I LOVED the Matrix!!

[spodefly]

Matrix bump.

I believe I could sit down with a blank sheet of paper and write out every line in that movie from start to finish.

Yes, I should get a life ...

[ex-Texan]

*BUMP*for review again before I see the flick. Admit that I am one dedicted Matrix fan. Frankly, I believe the writers and producers are playing on the theological and mythical harp for all they are worth: Smart Marketing.

[centurion]

How come folks just can't take it for what it is, IT'S JUST A MOVIE.

[discostu]

Wow talk about over analyzing stuff. It's a generic plot that goes back to the earliest days of scifi done with really good special effects. These people are like my Sophomore English teacher who took all the joy out of reading poetry by talking the symbolism to death. Some people just don't know how to sit back relax turn their brain off and have some fun.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Wow....is there a "People who think waaaaaayyyy to much" post topic at FR?

[Mr.Clark]

Another example is the fact that one of the main ships in the sequel is called the LOGOS. Can't wait until May 15th!!

[CyberCowboy777]

Bump

[Allan]

Bump