The Matrix.doc

7/28/2019 The Matrix.doc

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"The Matrix: Reloaded,Esoterica Wrapped in CG and Choreography Overkill" (Pt. 1)By Dan Tres OMi (of UZN)

When the first Matrix movie was premiered on the cable networks, I had the

opportunity to watch it for the fifth time while at a race conference at AmericanUniversity in Washington DC in 2000. We were waiting in the studentconference center lobby watching the Matrix on a big screen TV. I shared asofa with a total stranger. Of course after watching a movie several times, onesees things that were never noticed before. Unfortunately for the individualwho shared the sofa with me this was not the case. Throughout the climax hekept yelling how Neo and Trinity sported Desert Eagles. He pointed out howlethal that particular handgun was. I found it shocking that this individual, wholike myself watched this movie several times, missed much of what the Matrixwas about. Later I learned that this is actually the norm. When discussing thesymbolisms found in movie cinema, many of my peers comment how "it's just

a movie, it's not that serious" or "you trippin'" or "just watch the movie, man."Yet there are symbols used by organizations in our every day lives that mostof choose to ignore. Some are good and some are bad. Once we understandwhat these symbols are and their origins, we can make the connectionsnecessary to navigate through life in a much more ordered fashion. In afashion which will allow us to stay out of the "matrix." Many will argue thatNeo, the protagonist of the trilogy, is supposed to be Jesus the Christ. I willpoint out that this theory is partially correct. To just make that statement willmake the movie lose its overall significance since most people avoid this topicaltogether. It brings the idea of some apocalyptic event such as that found inthe book of Revelation which most people misinterpret anyway. In this essay I

will focus on the Matrix: Reloaded film but will support my findings withscenes and symbols found in other movies. I will start with the characters andthen the scenes. Before we go any further, I must stress that the symbols,names, characters, and scenes found in many movies we flock to watch arenot put togetherby accident. These concepts are written for specific reasons. The best way tofind out why is to figure out who writes and who they are affiliated with. Yetthis topic is another article altogether. Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, is thefocus of the Matrix trilogy. In the Reloaded movie we find that Neo, whoMorpheus considers as the "one," has no idea what he is supposed to bedoing. Let us look at the name used for the protagonist. Neo comes from the

obvious Greek neo which has a modern transliteration of "new." Neo issupposed to represent something "new." We learn through how people treatNeo that he is much different then the average human in or outside the Matrix.Many of the inhabitants of Zion treat him as some sort of a messianic figure.Some even ask if he could heal some of their relatives. In the beginning ofReloaded, one of the agents refer to Neo as an "anomaly." This is where wedeviate from the concept of Neo being the Messiah. Another example would behow towards the end of the Reloaded movie, Neo fails to save Zion. During his


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dialogue with the Architect, we learn that he was not the first one to infiltratethe core of the Matrix. We learn that he is the 6th one to do it. We learn thatNeo is not a "messiah" per se, but a new being or a new level ofconsciousness. When the Nebuchadnezzar arrives at Zion and Neo isapproached by "the Kid (Clayton Watson)," Neo tells him "you saved

yourself." Here is a good reference to the idea that anyone can reach the socalled Christ consciousness. Just as the ancient Egyptians believed that onehad the potential to become Heru through the concept of Ma'at, so too cananyone become Christ like. We must also note that at this point of the movie,Neo has no clue as to what he must do even after he meets with the Oracle.Morpheus, played by Laurence Fishburne, seems to be everyones favoritecharacter. Morpheus is the captain of the Nebuchadnezzar, a ship that patrolswhat is left of the earth and searches for humans who need to be awakened.We learn through the Matrix:Reloaded and the Animatrix series that there aremany other ships that do the same. His crew was the one that found Neo andbrought him out of slumber. Morpheus was a greek god. Hypnos, the god of

sleep and Morpheus' father, was the son of Thanatos or the god of death andNyx or the goddess of night. Hypnos had numerous sons which were called"dreams." Hypnos, when needed by the gods, would induce sleep whileMorpheus had the power to make human forms appear in the dreams. Moviewatchers recall Morpheus offering Neo the blue and red pills and asking himto make a choice to leave the Matrix or go back to "sleep" and alloweverything to be as it was. In a sense, Fishburne's character relives the role ofhis namesake by awakening Neo from his sleep by coming to him in his"dreams."Morpheus' ship, the Nebuchadnezzar, is a reference to theBabylonian king in the Old Testament who besieged the kingdom of Judah.Daniel the prophet was taken to his court with all of the Kingdom of Judah'sintellectual elite. Nebuchadnezzar had two dreams which no one but Danielcould interpret. The ship traveled through the network to awaken people fromthe "dream" of the Matrix. So like Morpheus, we encounter the concept ofdreams. This is very important since the humans attached to the matrix areactually asleep. The matrix creates this world in their subconscious. So thelives they supposedly lead are actually dreams. The Aborigines of Australiahave a belief system that centers on dreams. They believe that we live in adream and when we actually sleep and have dreams that we are actually living.This point is significant because it explains what the freed humans can dowhile in the matrix but couldn't do before when there were "asleep." When thehumans in the movie are connected to the matrix, they have abilities that seemalmost superhuman. They can jump buildings, smash windows with no harmto themselves, and have tremendous speed and stamina. It is similar to themovie "Last Action Hero" with Arnold Schwarzneggar and the book "Alice inWonderland" by Lewis Carroll. Yet when they were originally asleep, theycould not do this. When the humans from Zion enter the matrix and fightagainst those who are still caught in the matrix, we the heroes prevail overincredible odds. It is not until the agents arrive, that the heroes haveproblems. Those who are freed, have a new level of consciousness when re-


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entering the matrix. Even without the martial arts and weapons trainingdownloads, the heroes have a sizeable advantage while re-entering the matrix.Having knowledge of their new selves, the heroes are able to performremarkable feats.

Another character that returns from the first movie in the trilogy is Trinityplayed by Carrie-Anne Moss. The term Trinity refers to the concept used byChristianity in reference to God. Trinity is the father, the son and the holyspirit. The character in the Matrix trilogy is a throwback to when the CatholicChurch originally used Mary the mother of Jesus instead of the Holy Spirit. Ofcourse, the original trinity was used in ancient Egypt withHorus, Isis, and Heru. It is also a throwback to the time when man worshippedwomen as gods. Trinity also can represent the feminineenergy to balance the universe. In one scene, Trinity tells Neo "they need you(when referring to the `flock' that awaited Neo at his room in Zion)" and Neoreplies, "I need you." Many will take this in a physical sense, but I will

elaborate on this topic later on.

Another character that needs discussion is that of the Oracle who is played bythe late Gloria Foster. Even though in both movies she may have played in ashort amount of time, her character is very important. According to theDictionary of Word Origins by Joseph T. Shipley, oracle comes from the latinoraculum which means a little mouth that produces the still, small voice ofdestiny. An oracle was a person through which a deity spoke through. It canbe a considered a medium in modern terms. In ancient Greece, an oracle wasa shrine where people went to gain knowledge and insight. In many easternreligions, people approached oracles for advice. The concept is used again inthe Matrix trilogy as Morpheus and the others consult the Oracle for advice. Inthe first Matrix, the Oracle is smoking a cigarette. Many people wonder aboutthis. This can be interpreted as a metaphor for Elegba, a Yoruba deity that wasa messenger for the head of that pantheon, Oludamare. Elegba or Esu(pronounced ey-shoo) has a good and a bad side. He is the trickster but doesthis to teach lessons. He is also pictured as smoking a cigar. Hence thecigarette smoking that the Oracle did in the first movie. When Europeans firstcame to Africa, they assumed that Elegba was similar to the devil, howeverthis assumption was wrong. In the Reloaded movie, we learn that the Oracle isnot a human but a Matrix program that later became what the characters referto as an "exile." Basically, there are programs in the matrix that once theybecome obsolete, are subject to deletion. Some escape and becomeindependent of the matrix and continue to function in the matrix. In one way,the Oracle was created to be evil and later freed itself from the matrix andbecame good. In Reloaded on the other hand, she advises Neo to question herposition in the war. She explains that she has no allegiance and asks Neo howhe knows what she says is valid. The Merovingian points this out as well. InReloaded, we are introduced to the character named Seraph. Seraph is playedby Sing Ngai. We learn that his job is to protect the Oracle. He engages Neo in


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a short battle which ends in a stalemate. Seraph is short for Seraphim. TheSeraphim were a class of angels who stood before God as ministeringservants in the heavenly courts. The Egyptians used the term seref for griffinswho protected graves. Seraph in Matrix attacks Neo to ensure that he was the"One." When Neo first approaches Seraph, he uses his "inner vision" or third

eye to look at how the matrix courses through Seraph. We see that comparedto everything around Seraph, the matrix moves extremely fast and it gives offa yellowish color like the tips of a fire. The term seraphim comes from theHebrew saraph which means to "consume with fire." It also derives from theBabylonian sharrapu which is another name for Nergal, the fire god. AgentSmith returns from the original movie. He is played by Hugo Weaving. InReloaded, Agent Smith tells Neo that he has been "freed." He explains the Neothat since he is freed, he has lost his "purpose." We must remember thatAgent Smith is actually a computer program created to seek out anomaliesand humans who re-enter the matrix. Despite the fact that he has lost hispurpose, he continues to pursue Neo and his co-horts. What he tells Neo is

echoed by the Merovingian. The Merovingian is a broker of information andholds the Keymaker (Randall Duke Kim). Ironically, the Merovingian is playedby Frenchman Lambert Wilson. The Merovingian was a dynasty of Frankishmonarchs who claimed to be descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Theyclaim that Jesus escaped crucifixion and that Mary Magdalene fled toMarseilles, France. Her descendants were said to have married a Frank. It iscommon knowledge that France was named after the Franks. Originally theCatholic Church supported the Merovingian family. In the 7th century, theCatholic Church betrayed them by murdering the last heir, Dagobert, with thehelp of Pepin the Fat. We will discuss the scene with the Merovingian later.This information is detailed in "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" by Michael Baigent,Richard Leight, and Henry Lincoln.

Another name used in the Matrix film is that of the city of Zion. It is the lasthuman refuge on the planet. We learn that the ships that go out to seekhumans who are escaping the matrix, return to Zion for fuel and rest. In theOld Testament, in the book of Psalms it reads (48:2) "Beautiful for situation,the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city ofthe great King." Here we see Zion described as something wonderful.We get the same feeling from the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar as theyarrive on Zion. In the book of Psalms, there are many references to Zion beingperfect and wonderful. We learn that Zion is the Hebrew word for "fort." Zion isused to describe the city of Enoch and the city of David in Jerusalem. It is inthe City of David in Jerusalem where the ark of the Covenant, also called theMost Holy of the Holies, is kept. Christians later refer to Zion as heaven or as aplace of salvation. In the first two matrix movies, we find that Zion is a place ofrefuge or a place of salvation. It is in Zion that our heroes can be human again.In the Reloaded movie, there is a scene that takes place in Zion where despitethe fact that 250,000 sentinels are coming to slaughter the humans, there is agreat celebration. At the end of the movie, Zion is destroyed as predicted by


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the Architect. This demonstrates clearly that the term is not used entirely in amessianic sense. Now that we have an understanding of the names of thecharacters and places, we can move onto the scenes in the movie. Considerthese names as keys created just like that of the Key Maker. These terms arelinks to the symbolism used in each scene. Once the scenes are interpreted

the connections can be made. In the next part, we will discuss the significanceof the scenes in Reloaded

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