Christians overanalyze 'The Matrix'

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2003-05-09 03:27pm

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0509/p16s01-almo.html

I wonder if you can finish the article. I couldn't.

Raoul Duke, Jr. · Post by **Raoul Duke, Jr.** » 2003-05-09 03:51pm

I tried. Oh, how I tried. I made it about six paragraphs, and then I just couldn't go any farther.

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2003-05-09 04:02pm

I read the whole thing. They bring up some interesting points, but then they read way too much into them. Some of their points are just utter shit.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2003-05-09 04:04pm

Not that hard to read. Hard to read without laughing, but not hard to read.

Yadda Yadda Yadda. It's blabbering about how the Matrix's basic story is Jesus'. Of course, what these yahoos fail to realize is that Jesus' basic story is one of THE thirty six plots, and one of the most popular. It's the rise and fall of a great man working for others. Jee, we saw that in Star Wars too.

Rise, betrayal, fall, ressurection. There may be parallels, but those parallels exist because Christianity is based on the same story the Matrix is, not that the Matrix is based on Christianity.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2003-05-09 04:16pm

If anything, the Matrix is about zen buddhism, not Christianity.

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2003-05-09 04:20pm

FYI: There's a book out now called "The Red Pill", which contains essays by various individuals analyzing the Matrix. It supposedly heavy reading, aimed at a post graduate level audience. It includes among others, an essay comparing the Matrix to Buddhism.

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2003-05-09 04:57pm

DPDarkPrimus wrote:http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0509/p16s01-almo.html

I wonder if you can finish the article. I couldn't.

Wait 'till you hear the Maoists' interpretation of Matrix:

http://www.etext.org/Politics/MIM/movie ... matrix.txt

Some people take things WAY too seriously....

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2003-05-09 05:05pm

And some critics said "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" relied heavily on the account of Christ's passion

Wisky Tango Foxtrot. How could ANYONE see parallels between ET and the story of Jesus. OK, they were both nice guys pursued by the government, but thats it.

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2003-05-09 05:11pm

Darth Servo wrote:
And some critics said "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" relied heavily on the account of Christ's passion
Wisky Tango Foxtrot. How could ANYONE see parallels between ET and the story of Jesus. OK, they were both nice guys pursued by the government, but thats it.

Both were also apparently dead, but then resurrected and ascended to the heavens!

[James Earl Jones] HALLELUJAH! [/James Earl Jones]

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2003-05-09 05:24pm

Simon H.Johansen wrote:Both were also apparently dead, but then resurrected and ascended to the heavens!

No one ran a spear through ET. According to the biblical story Jesus wasn't apparently dead, he really was dead.

more crap:

Numerology: Neo's apartment number is 101, suggesting that he's "the one." Neo is shot in apartment number 303, and after 72 seconds (72 hours = 3 days), he rises again.

Don't tell me someone actually timed the movie to see how long Neo was dead.

Phone calls: In keeping with prophetic tradition, Neo is "called" to his task, not by a burning bush, but a FedEx employee. Their brief exchange - "Thomas Anderson?" | "Yeah, that's me." - mirrors Bible language constructions used to signify special identity.

So anytime amyone answers the phone and identify themselves, they're reciting scripture?

Anderson means "son of man," one of the titles Jesus uses for himself.

I thought Anderson meant something like 'son of Andrew'

Trinity: Her kiss restores Neo from death. The doctrine of the three modes of God is central to Christian orthodoxy, yet the word "trinity" never actually appears in the Bible. Neo deepens the mystery of who Trinity is when he says to her, "I just thought, um...you were a guy."

This is getting desperate. Other than the name, how could anyone in their right mind say that a hot woman in tight plastic represents a religion that wants nothing to do with sex?

El Moose Monstero · Post by **El Moose Monstero** » 2003-05-09 05:50pm

His character has many parallels to Judas. At one point he exclaims, "Whoa, Neo. You scared the bejeezus out of me."

Stone the crows! That's me convinced...

He must be a Judas parallel...

Logos: The altered studio logo at the opening of the film may be highly significant. The Matrix-coded WB letters could simply be the Wachowski brothers thumbing their nose at the Warner Bros. But by altering the logo - from the Greek term "logos," for word - the film's opening does two things. First, it corrupts the Gospel of John, which begins with "In the beginning was the Word...". Second, it asserts that metaphysical meaning can be gleaned by mining deep into words, or code.

Errrm... what? Does that mean that Batman Returns is a corruption of the Gospel of St John? Registers as a tad implausible on the ol' plausibility detector.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2003-05-09 05:54pm

I wouldn't be surprised if bits and pieces of the Christ story did end up in the Matrix, considering how umbiquitous it is in Western myth, but saying the movie is a direct metaphor for the Passion is a bit much.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-05-09 06:05pm

Didn't the directors say they pulled in a lot of stuff from different philosophies and what not. The parallels to one particular religion shouldn't exactly be shocking. Especially when they are so blatant about it.

GREAHSIAM · Post by **GREAHSIAM** » 2003-05-09 07:47pm

Crap. Tripe. Sputum.
IT'S JUST A MOVIE.

Raoul Duke, Jr. · Post by **Raoul Duke, Jr.** » 2003-05-09 08:40pm

neoolong wrote:Didn't the directors say they pulled in a lot of stuff from different philosophies and what not. The parallels to one particular religion shouldn't exactly be shocking. Especially when they are so blatant about it.

Not to mention that the religion claiming parallel is itself a conglomeration of various mythologies centered around an amalgamated messianic figure.

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2003-05-09 08:41pm

yeah. I worship neo

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2003-05-09 08:45pm

Evil: Agent Smith tells Morpheus that the original Matrix world was "designed to be a perfect human world." No one accepted the program, he explains, because "human beings define their reality through misery and suffering." By drawing on parts of Genesis and comparing humans to a virus, Smith establishes evil as a natural, intrinsic state of human nature.

wait, do you remember a biblical mention in that scene?

Numerology: Neo's apartment number is 101, suggesting that he's "the one." Neo is shot in apartment number 303, and after 72 seconds (72 hours = 3 days), he rises again.

they counted?

some people have to much time on their hands.[/code]

lgot · Post by **lgot** » 2003-05-10 12:08am

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Simon H.Johansen:
Both were also apparently dead, but then resurrected and ascended to the heavens!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No one ran a spear through ET. According to the biblical story Jesus wasn't apparently dead, he really was dead.

They did, but Spielberg used digital technology to change the spears into lollipop to dont scare the kids...

Yuri Prime · Post by **Yuri Prime** » 2003-05-10 12:29am

Fuckers. I'm sure they'd condemn real hackers instead of making messiahs out of them.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-05-10 01:32am

The funniest part of all is that with all the interpretations and analysis the fact remains that Jesus' story itself is merely a retelling of the classic hero story. Read Joseph Campbell's Hero of Many faces. All over the world, no matter the culture the same basic tales are told about a hero. His call to adventure, an initial rejection of it, his confrontation, death and resurrection. So in the end, they're comparing Neo's story to Jesus BUT Jesus' tale is NOT the true source since his story is merely following the epic messiah myths that have been around since we could write.

I doubt they want to hear that though.

EmperorMing · Post by **EmperorMing** » 2003-05-10 01:38am

Raoul Duke, Jr. wrote:I tried. Oh, how I tried. I made it about six paragraphs, and then I just couldn't go any farther.

I skimmed to the halfway point then stopped. People can take things too far...

Whoever wrote that is way too wrapped up in what they see to breathe.

PrinceofLowLight · Post by **PrinceofLowLight** » 2003-05-10 03:37pm

I dunno, if the 72 seconds thing is true, it's probably was intentional. The Matrix is the kind of movie that has lots of these little things dropped in.

Axis Kast · Post by **Axis Kast** » 2003-05-10 04:45pm

I agree.

A lot of these points are extremely resonant even if I think the Matrix borrows from Christianity for the sake of providing "easter eggs" rather than a hidden message about Jesus Christ.

Advertisements do it, too. A lot of products are combined with "taboo" images or religious symbolism merely to appeal to the subconscious or attract extra attention. It's got nothing to do with indoctrination and everything to do with the human love for the mysterious.

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2003-05-10 04:45pm

Stupid Christians wrote:Music: The final song, played by Rage Against The Machine, is "Wake Up."

Actually the last song is Rock is Dead by Marilyn Manson, which is played after Wake Up has finished over the end credits. Now what would they have made of that if they had stayed in the thetre (or watched the video) just that little bit longer.

Annoying Christians wrote:Numerology: Neo's apartment number is 101, suggesting that he's "the one." Neo is shot in apartment number 303, and after 72 seconds (72 hours = 3 days), he rises again.

Can someone time this?

Hobot · Post by **Hobot** » 2003-05-10 04:54pm

Darth Servo wrote:
And some critics said "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" relied heavily on the account of Christ's passion
Wisky Tango Foxtrot. How could ANYONE see parallels between ET and the story of Jesus. OK, they were both nice guys pursued by the government, but thats it.

Actually, if you think about it there are a lot of parallels:

Both were hunted by the powers that be when they first appeared on Earth. (Jesus by Herod, and ET by the government)

Both were accepted by the powerless. (Jesus by the common people, ET by Elliot)

Both had healing powers.

Both had a connection to the heavens and sought to make contact with them again. (Jesus through prayer, ET through "phoning home")

Both were hunted down and killed by the powerful. (Jesus by the High Priests and the Romans, ET by the government[sort of])

Both rose from the dead through the powers of heaven. (Jesus by God/Angels/etc, ET by the return of his people)

Both ascended into the heavens. (Jesus through his spirit or whatever, ET by a spaceship)

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Christians overanalyze 'The Matrix'

Christians overanalyze 'The Matrix'

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