Read......... What about all the religious connotations that you pointed out, I think that the real answers to the film will be answered on the third film, I am hoping that “Salvation” will come.

found hidden behind what we would term radical thinkers, or perhaps radical artists, is another possible let down revealing ideology and thought control.
it seems like an endless curtain opening, with a forever changing wizard behind every unveiling.
any confirmation about est from chuck, or the brothers wachowski published?

Neo is not Aslan. So what?

For the life of me I can’t see the logic behind such an extreme reaction to this film. It seems like a lot of Christians are angry at the WBs for not portraying Neo as a 1 to 1 metaphor for Christ. Is it possible this disappointment stems not from any fault of the film but from some underlying anxiety caused by the possibility that Christianity is losing it’s appeal to pop culture? Many Christians became excited about the original Matrix and it’s religious overtones, thinking that it would perhaps it would stir up some fresh enthusiasm for the real thing. But now that the 2nd film has abandoned the “savior motif so obviously advertised in the first film” it seems a lot of people are feeling personally let down. It obvious now that the WBs weren’t interested in promoting any one religious viewpoint. But is the Matrix Reloaded heresy? By suggesting that the fictional character Neo was a symbol for Jesus, were the filmmakers then responsible to deliverer a product that was 100% “in-line” with the doctrines of the Church? Well, of course not, it’s just an action movie after all.

Besides, a less reactionary interpretation of the film definitely allows for Neo to fulfill his role as savior in the third act, even if the filmmakers seemingly reject the fanaticism and immature idolatry of some contemporary Christianity.

Also, the author of this article thought it was useful to equate the Matrix with a cult. If anything, this film is a blazing critic of the cult mentality. It wants to slap you in the face with the real possibility that perhaps Neo is a lie; it begs the viewer to question everything we have been taught to think about saviors and heroes. How many cult leaders would encourage you to question his or her authority? How many Pastors would suggest that the Bible might be unreliable and that Jesus himself could have been the invention of one or several different authors? No, the filmmakers (taking a cue from Buddhism) urge you to distrust all of you preconceptions, to purge your mind of dogma. In an age where human spirituality and God himself has taken a back seat to empty institutional ritual and religious fundamentalism, I can’t imagine a more timely and important message.

As for Jesus’ part in the final installment of the Matrix trilogy? Well I still think he may have a part to play, it just might not be exactly the one we want him to play. To borrow from C.S. Lewis: “He’s not a tame Lion.”

Oh I totally agree with most of what you are saying. But I would have to point out that yes Neo’s following does have a certain cult like aspect, but so do all religions (based on the criteria presented in the article). And I think the film does a good job of pointing out the inherent danger of blindly following any religious doctrine, just look what happens to “poor Morpheus.”

Also, I don’t think that there is anything “wrong” per say to desire seeing your beliefs expressed in a positive manner in pop media. But I don’t think it makes for interesting critique when a film is expressly judged on the merit of how well it promotes one’s faith, especially when it’s a sci-fi fantasy film that never had the intention of promoting any particular faith to begin with. And to blast Reloaded as “vapid and reheated heresy packaged in a smart business suit and sold at a price in a hotel conference room” seems a reactionary and basically meaningless outside of a strict Christian context.

That is all. And also, my post is obviously a bit reactionary too. I’m just a sci-fi fan who has read one too many internet post on the subject of how Reloaded “sucks” based on the fact it’s no longer “good” Christianity. To me that just seems way too narrow minded. (and i also happen to think it is “good” Christianity)

It has always been obvious to me that the Matrix is a very secular film, but in the end isn’t it good to know that secular people are at least thinking about Jesus? I am especially interested (and this is just my personal slant) in the idea that redemption is possible even if one is “enlightened” to the likely prospect that all of the belief systems we have inherited have inevitably been corrupted is some manner.

it kiiiiind of seems like the brothers wachowski were listening when everyone leapt upon their movie and its philosophical undertones, as well as religious themes. in an effort to further, “blow the mind” of their audience, ( a term used by Wilhelm Gerhardt in reference to his EST training, as the editor initally pointed out, the WB’s are graduates of said program) they went overboard, thematically. in their rush to incorporate more philosophy, and even a professor of it, as well as keep the ball rolling with the religion, (note the scene where morpheus speaks from a raised rock, which triggers a bass thudding orgiastic scene of dionysian grinding, sweaty bodies and alluring angles of body parts) and in doing so, tried too hard, gave us too much poorly represented philosophy, and left a muddled message regarding religion, determinism and the like.
the attempt at complicated ethical issues, belief systems and the last 2000 years of thought isn’t easily dumbed down for the masses, evidenced by reloaded, and the shortcomings being a direct reflection of trying to get too much thought in to too little thinking.

heh...on that level, they’re great films :).  I look for more when it’s there.

Really liked this line: “trying to get too much thought into too little thinking.”

Jim

Mycteris—Yeah, the emphasis on irrationality in the second film is pretty hard to escape. I think this is a continuation of themes in the first film, though, not a reversal.

Irrationality in the second film seemed signified by the bacchanal “club” scene, by the reaction of some residents of Zion to Neo (he was a religious figure to them, and they made offerings to him), by Neo’s love for Trinity, by Persephone’s jealous betrayal of the Merovingian and her demand for a kiss from Neo, etc.

I see this, in relationship to the first film, as giving us some insight into one of the purposes of the religious imagery in the first film.  Religion is placed in the category of the irrational, and religious enlightenment is more an emotional process like falling in love than just the acquisition of a set of new ideas. 

Rationality in the film is signified, ultimately, by the Architect and by the Matrix itself; specifically reason devoted to the purpose of control, thus instrumental reason (in the sense established by Horkheimer and Adorno in _The Dialectic of Enlightenment_).

Yeah...someone should write something about the Animatrix and the video game.  The Animatrix was pretty entertaining, good animation, shed a little light on the world of the Matrix, but didn’t offer that much.  Seams in reality are explained by glitches in the program—the “haunted house” in the Animatrix is equivalent to the existence of ghosts or vampires in “Reloaded,” which also has a parallel in marginalized individuals (the teenager skateboard kid) and people capable of exceeding normal human ability (the runner).  I would say religious experiences fit into this category too—the pull us beyond our normal perceptions, thus leading us to question the system of control.

This is a real reversal and socially significant, I think, as this type of social criticism commonly views religious systems as part of the system of control.  The WBs emphasized the mystical or ecstatic side of religious experience, and saw a different potential for it.

Jim

If you really want to see reactionary, how about Laurence Fishburne’s inability to deal with anything other than adoring fans?  Fishburne showed the critics of Reloaded what he really felt in no uncertain terms and then walked away.  But to answer many of the queries or difficulties spelled out in this excellent thread of posts, a fuller explanation is coming to spell out in detail what many missed in between the hyperlinked cracks.

either by accident or or planning, the first matrix exploded the concept that it was cool to think. this was of course buried within a bit of smoke and mirrors and kung fu, but once that cleared, we had some basic philosophical concepts, mass produced for the young, something new, at least in the memory of the mtv generation, myself included. the second movies inability to live up to the first, may be driven by alternative conceptions of what “should” happen in made up story, by the audience, and what they expect. the WB seemed content giving lots of action, without much substance, while thinning the thinking, or at the least, falling pretty neatly into age old religious traditions, from the trickery, to martyrs, to buddhist “oneness”, then mixing them up, and calling it good.
are people overly critical? perhaps, but only because they expected more, and were led astray from what they thought was going to be a stimulating sequel. certain moments of cliche, the necklace giving, the tribal dancing scene, morpheus on the mount, neo’s weakness in the cave with trinity...the people prostrating themselves and giving gifts to neo...this all reached too far into history. we know what was said to have happened biblically, seeing it in technicolor with reeves is garish and tacky. a thought provoking, perhaps stimulating movie that america deeply needed was what the original offered, but in the second this thread was not followed. the third could redeem, or really sour the entire package.
or perhaps, most simply, karate chops and philosophy were never meant to mix...kicks or kant, ninja-flips of nietzsche, the american choice is clear…

Read --

Looking forward to the expanded review.  I think there are some good ideas there that I’d like to see spelled out.

I think the last comment is right.  It’s not clear that the WB’s connection with EST is very meaningful from your article, but hopefully your expanded version will resolve some of this.

I do think, though, contrary to the last poster, that it’s very significant that the WBs read Simulacra and Simulation.  It’s viritually the entire basis of the first film and casts some small light on the second.

Jim

I’m a Conservative Christian, and I’d like to clear the air. Christians are not the ones who are upset about Neo not being a ‘1 to 1 metaphor for Christ’ as Charles Gibson accused. Neo isn’t Aslan, yes, the truth is he’s more like Peter or Edmund. But the people who are the most upset about the gaps in the Jesus-Neo conversion that I’ve talked with are either Agnostic or out and out Atheists. Most of my Christian friends think that ‘The Matrix’ is about growing up or politics. Ultimately, ‘The Matrix’ like ‘Mulholland Drive’ is a cinematic Rorschach, a celluloid inkblot. People see what they want to see. Young people see growing up, philosophy doctorates see a culmination of abstract thought, current event watchers see political upheavals. I think that all of this religious debate is a sign of those searching for the meaning of their own lives and responding to a subconscious suspiscion that religion holds the answer. Whoever brought up C.S. Lewis should recognize that idea from ‘Mere Christianity’. But what do I know? I’m just a Baptist Psychology major.

Well, regardless of how sad or scary it is, ‘The Matrix’ has spurred the so-called ‘MTV Generation’ into examining their world with eyes that wonder what lies beneath the surface. Just seeing how people react to ideas about existentialism and the like in casual conversation, you can tell who has seen ‘The Matrix’ and who skipped it. I’m 18 and I’ve seen my friends watch ‘The Matrix’ for the first time, in weeks a lot of them completely changed the way they act, think, and generally live. Their music tastes changed, ‘your clothes are differant, you hair has changed...’. It sounds made up, but this movie has changed people’s lives in very positive and intellectually beneficial way. More power to the Wachowski Bros.