The Matrix Trilogy: Christian undertones?...

[ZeroTX]

This very well may have been discussed before, but I'm new to the board, so if I'm retarded and didn't find the thread, please link me...

But, after some thought, I have come to the conclusion that The Matrix trilogy without a doubt has some Christian imagery and undertones. I am not sure if they were intentional, or what faith the movie makers are (if any), but here are some things I'd like to ponder:

1) It was written as a Trilogy... Trilogy... Trinity....?

2) Movie Character Name: Trinity..........

3) Neo = The One = Their Savior = Jesus??

4) Neo's Sacrifice = his death, a willing sacrifice = for the salvation of the human race....

5) Parallels and implications of the name "Zion"? (Zion is the name of the human city in The Matrix trilogy... It holds for them an almost holy regard).

6) At the end of Part 3, when Neo sacrifices himself, there's a blinding white light that distinctly forms the shape of a cross, with Neo sprawled out (arms out to his side)....

7) before his death, Neo undergoes tremendous tribulations, including having his eyes burned out, yet he still perserveres and sacrifices himself for his people.

8) Neo, The One, although the same as the other people, is believed to have been sent specifically to save his people, as prophecied by the Prophet known as The Oracle...

9) Neo, although the same as other people has special powers and abilities that are above and beyond those of other people, and also like Jesus, it takes him a while to come to the realization of what he really is and why he's really there...

Please comment....

-Michael

 

[tqpix]

Yes, I saw a TV special on The Matrix, and at the end one of the people who worked on the film was talking about the upcoming sequels. He said if you want to fully appreciate them, you have to familiarize yourself with things, one of them the Judeo-Christian traditions.

 

[Biarien]

There are Christian undertones, but keep in mind there are themes taken from other religions as well.

 

[JPPT1974]

It is taken from Christian overtones come to think of it!! But it has also other religions.

 

[TheTempleTeam]

The Wachowski (Sp?) Brothers are Christians supposedly, and you are correct on all of the above. Deffinite Christian Undertones

 

[Fineous_Reese]

i absolutely loved the first Matrix and it sure 'nuff had a lot of christian symbols in it had a mishmash of other religions too but the basic story of a saviour/hero rescuing the people is written on our souls so i wasn't too suprised how well the movie did. incredible fx didn't hurt either and Woo-ping Yuen's choreography was top notch (side note, i'm stoked to see Jet Li in Hero too)

check these essays out for some pretty indepth looks at the second and third movies and their symbolism.
-Fin

 

[Kelly]

Check out Smith's licence plate when he pulls up to drop of his mike and earphone to Neo. IS5416

Isaiah 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

 

[ZeroTX]

Check out Smith's licence plate when he pulls up to drop of his mike and earphone to Neo. IS5416

Isaiah 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Holy dung.....

I'm going to rent the movie just to see this...

-Michael

 

[Fineous_Reese]

Check out Smith's licence plate when he pulls up to drop of his mike and earphone to Neo. IS5416

Isaiah 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

lol, true true, i laughed a lot when i first heard that one not all the symbology is deep the green highway signs are the cheat codes for the Enter the Matrix game
-Fin

 

[PeeLaPear3K1]

Morpheus's ship, the Nebuchadnezzar, refers to the king in the book of Daniel, who is troubled by symbolic dreams that must be interpreted.

When Neo first awakens from the Matrix, he comes out of a womb like pod. He looks like a newborn: bald, confused, and covered in pink amniotic fluid. After umbilical cord-like cables are disconnected from his body, he is flushed out through a birth canal-like flume into a pool, like a baptism. This whole sequence symbolizes birth or rebirth.

Seconds later, the Nebuchadnezzar lifts him up with a crane. His sihlouette is sort of cross like. Inside, the make of the ship reads "Mark III no. 11."
Mark 3:11 reads: "Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ' You are the Son of God!'" This keeps with the messianic theme.

Morpheus has been compared to John the Baptist. Cypher, who tries to sell out his companions in order to be returned to the blissful ignorance of the Matrix has been compared to Judas. At one point he tells Neo that he "scared the bejeezus out of me." Many other characters swear "Jesus Christ" in his presence. The guy at the begining who Neo gives the software to says, "Hallelujah. You're my savior, man. My own personal Jesus Christ."

Neo means "New" and is also an angram for "One." Thomas Anderson, Neo's alter ego, has a few meanings within his name. Ander/son can be taken to be "Son of Man," from the Greek andras, meaning man. Thomas means "the twin" and stands for the doubting Thomas who doesn't believe in the one who will save humanity. The Gospel of Thomas is also the most famous Gnostic gospel.

After Neo is killed in the apartment in the first movie, 72 seconds pass before he comes back to life. 72 hours = 3 days.

At the end Neo the trilogy, he dies sitting in a cross position, and the big robot head guy says, "It is finished."

The last human city, Zion, is with (the heavenly) Jerusalem. When Tank tells Neo about Zion, he says, "If the war was over tomorrow, Zion is where the party would be."

The Wachowski's say that they are non-denominational Christians, in an online chat.

I'm writing a research paper on the religious and philosophical themes in The Matrix right now, in case you're wondering.

Edit:Added more stuff.

 

[PaladinValer]

The Matrix is really based on Buddhist beliefs, and even then, they did a horrible job with translating Buddhism into the movie.

There are some Christian overtones, but they are:

1. Mainly those beliefs shared with Buddhists
2. Like the Buddhist ones, badly depicted.

Its why I'm not a Matrix fan...

 

[TheTempleTeam]

Thank you for that PeeLaPear3K1, lots of subtle things in there. I'm going have to watch them all over again!

 

[InnerPhyre]

The Matrix has more to do with Gnosticism than mainstream Christianity.

 

[TheTempleTeam]

Why all the biblical references if that be the case? And what in the matrix is related to gnostics? Just interested...?

 

[Kelly]

Knowledge/Enlightenment = Salvation???

 

[TheTempleTeam]

Slightly outweighed by the biblical imagery and references though?

 

[InnerPhyre]

The "real world" is not "this" world. The only way to escape is Gnosis....receive the secret knowlege and escape. With that knowlege, you can exercise control over the material world, which is just an illusion. That's Gnosticism all day long.

 

[TheTempleTeam]

Similar to Christianity. This world is not our true home, once we are aware of this fact (after being saved), then we know heaven is our home.

 

[InnerPhyre]

Knowlege is not what saves us.

 

[TheTempleTeam]

I didn't say it was, just stated that once we are saved, we KNOW that this is not our home anymore. It's not the knowledge that saves them in the matrix either.