The Matrix was one of the movies I've seen - it talked to me on many different levels.

For me it was a symbolic movie that attempted to present philosophical or spiritual truths to the general public. What Truth? Macbeth, at the end of his life, said it best:

Life is but a walking shadow

The same concept was explained by Socrates in his Allegory of the Cave

It was also explained by Gautama as Maya, Illusion.

The Matrix, though, brought this 'walking shadow' to life in an action packed movie.

The Matrix had elements of Christian and Shamanic elements to it too. Neo, could be though of as Jesus Christ, who dies and is born again. Morpheus, symbolically is like hallucinogenic substances like 'Ayhuasca' that shamans take to enter an alternate reality.

Trinity, symbolically could refer to the Christian Trinity or to the Taoist concept of the Three Treasures.

BTW: When I came to this forum several months ago, one of the first thing's I noted was Mark's avatar - the Architect, also most of Mark's posts somehow seemed very appropriate for this character! I read in a magazine interview that Keanu Reeves thinks that Switzerland is one of the best place in the world to live - and my local bar the Mayfair in Montreux has several pictures of him from when he popped around!

Yup - started off very nicely. Outside of the actual story of the film itself, it has an interesting plot. Two almost unknowns make an excellent film that manages to invent whole new cinematic devices and techniques and recieves critical acclaim. But then, like so many prog rock bands, they start the inexorable slide into disappearing up their own bottoms by believing their own hype. Sounds harsh, I know. Then, realising that there's a lot more acclaim to come from a sequel, which nearly all of us were begging for, they expanded the plot from the self-contained story with the slightly open ending and went to town. This I don't mind at all. Everything was fine up until the bit after the dudes in the suits with big guns - after that it really bummed out for me (apart from the architect bit) and slipped into almost David Blaine-like pseudo-religious guff. From a purely personal perspective, I like the odd bit of a happy ending, but i could deal with topping some of the main characters, but overall, I felt the ending was a let down. Ok, so real life events usual do go a bit fizzly instead of bangy at the end, but then we don't pay for cinema tickets to watch real life unless it's really good (and generally has a fairly upbeat ending).
I guess another part of it is that I will never own one of those suits with which to go on the rampage in H&M in Bern on a Saturday with.
Just think how cool one of those would be:
'Ah, would you care to come clay pigeon shooting at the Grange next week old bean?'
'Of course'
(Next week)
'I say, where's Boris?'
wheee-brum. wheee-brum. click.
BRRRRRRAADMDMDMDMDMDMDMD..... whirr....
'I appear to have shot all the pigeons - new box please.'

It's been a long day.

Yes- i think a section of the Matrix especially applies to Europe today... If i remember correctly the machines needed humans to reproduce. After trying to mind control humans and giving them peaceful world - led to people not reproducing anymore. Does anyone see that theoretical connotation applying to the Declining Birth Rates in Europe? especially in regards to Swiss neutrality?

after-all american birth rates are much higher.but americans are supposedly less healthier so i hardly think its a matter of health or chemicals in our foods as some suggest.

been smoking crack again ??
fruit loop

suspend your disbelief, good film, vanished up it's own arse for number 2, couldn't be bothered with number 3...

Oh no! not "less healthier!" My friend, you can either say "less healthy" or "healthier." You wouldn't say "less better" would you?

I was hopping for a deeper discussion here guys - about life, meaning, possibilities and that sort of thing!

There is a good book called Taking The Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in the Matrix, that has views from prominent people in all walks of life and how they saw the Matrix.

These are two articles by Ray Kurzweil, one of the intellectual giants of our time:
1. Human Machine Merger
http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame...s/art0552.html

2. Matrix Loses It's Way: Reflections on 'Matrix' and 'Matrix Reloaded'
http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame...s/art0580.html

thanks for the correction. can you add any real opinions like on life or theories. WORD can basically do what your doing. this is a forum not a english correction site.

If you enjoyed "Matrix", check out P.K.Dick, he was the master to portray the untangible and subjective nature of reality (possibly due to excess drugs usage...). I can also recommend a crazy little movie called "PI", about a guy cracking a kind of bible code and losing his sanity in the process when confronted to a kind of "total perspective vortex" (yes, I'm a big fan of Hitchikers' guide to the galaxy...)

In language lies our perception of reality. Language shapes our thought patterns, how we qualify and quantify that which surrounds us since we really can't think without words. And to think is to be i.e. "I think therefore I am" - Rene Descartes. The whole premise of the first Matrix is a play on the question that Rene Descartes answered with the above quote - "how do I know what is and isn't real." So my friend, language is very important in expressing our being and grammar helps us express our being accurately within the context of a particular language.

The Matrix is one of my favourite films, the first one that is the sequels were not so good. I think there is so much you can read into the film; for instance Agent Smith tells Neo that this is the second version of The Matrix. The first one was perfect but the humans rebelled, is this a veiled reference to the Garden of Eden? Is Neo Jesus in disguise? Is it a coincidence that the film was released on the last Easter of the millennium? Is it all a big publicity stunt by the Wachowski brothers? All philosophical discussions aside it's a bloody good film.

Lou, it is an unwritten law of the interweb that each forum is only allowed one conspiracy theorist & the position was filled quite a while ago ..... that said groundbreaking, cracking film, with or without the supposed sub-plot, just a shame they failed to deliver on the two sequels ...

Fight you for it; I know Ju-Jitsu .

having read about your predeliction for "tomohawks" in your youth, I bow gracefully before your mercy .....



go on, its you isn't it ?????

My guns are bigger.

Going back to the Matrix symbology:

The Oracle: She provides information, or shows where information might be. I've been working in Oracle Databases and Applications since the late 80's, and if I look at the Oracle as a database or source of information, it makes sense.

The Architect: He built the Matrix, and tells us that the present Matrix is the sixth, the previous ones had been failures. He acknowledges himself as the 'Father' of the Matrix, and the Oracle as the Mother.

Who is he?

God? Or the Devil?

Can't be God, because God would display the qualities of Omnipotence (all powerfull), omniscience, omnipresence, and benevolence. In the conversations with Neo, he does not display these qualities.

In some 'Masonic' traditions, Lucifer, the Light Bearer is called 'The Great Architect of the Universe'

Question is, if there is a God and there is The Great Architect of the Univsere/Matrix - is this guy doing the bidding of God or in opposition to him?

I read it that only the first was the failure when it was too happy-clappy. God knows my mind would rebel against some hippy-type world where everyone was happy all the time. Tree huggers.
The next few didn't fail - it was part of a cycle caused by a remaider of an equation, which is why it has to start again. It just so happens in the matrix depicted in the film, that version of neo was just a little more smart-arsed about it all and managed to have his cake and eat it, regarding saving wassherchops and buggering up the matrix, so us human types could live in a nice scorched planet still dominated by big scary machines.
Nice one Neo - deliver us into crap...

Your imagination

I think it's much more simple than people give it credit for; I enjoyed the second and third movies but the underlying references were much more subtle through them - certainly also the second movie put many off because it was a little too hard-going and left the viewer with a feeling.

There were many binary gates in the movie. Some of the subtle references were most excellent.

Read out from here The_Matrix - especially the Influences and Interpretations.

oooh Lob ... never knew you were so deep ....