"The Matrix"

Paper Summary:

One of the most important themes concerning oppression in the movie "The Matrix" is the theme of consciousness. In the movie's most dramatic plot twist, it turns out that Neo, the movie's protagonist, has not been living inside the real world, but a computer-programmed simulation of one. He has been held in this state so that artificially intelligent machines may harness his body heat for energy. The paper shows that by freeing himself from the matrix, however, Neo had to make a choice to free himself, to become his own person. The paper compares the oppressed Neo to the writings of Paulo Freire ("Pedagogy of the Oppressed"). It also shows how ideas on ideology by Jean Baudrillard ("The Vital Illusion") are reflected in the film. It also looks at how ideas from Buddhism and Gnosticism reflect in the film's theme of spirituality and touches on the theme of community.

From the Paper:

Indeed, in the movie, The Matrix, Morpheus even asks Neo what it is that he believes to be real, pointing out that, although things inside the matrix feel real, they are not. This is not in any fashion dissimilar to Buddhist statements that "All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts" (Ford). Thus, The Matrix produces a form of spirituality heavily influenced by Buddhism."

More papers on "The Matrix":

• Film Review # 36084 : "The Matrix"
• Film Review # 122882 : "Conflict Theory in "The Matrix"
• Essay # 137789 : "Our World and the Matrix: World System Analysis, The Global Village and interlocking systems as seen through the film"
• Film Review # 64059 : "The Matrix": A Warning"

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