I dont have to concentration to fully catch up on this thread yet but I wanted to think on one thing:
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Now, the question: Within the Judeo/Christian framework, how similar is the matrix to heaven, The Architect to being a god-like figure, and the agents to being angels?
Is it okay to start off with:
I reckon that the Architect is in effect, the Creator God;
he created the matrix - which is in effect 'heaven';
the agents are the 'servants of God and of the matrix - they are in effect 'angels'.
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I respectfully disagree. I do not see the Matrix as "Heaven". In fact i think if you take the Matrix in a purely Christian way, you're kind of missing a lot of the point. The Watchowski brothers draw much more on Buddhist, Hindu, etc teachings. Its much deeper than simply being a christian allegory IMHO. Im not denying thats ONE interpretation but i think theres a huge number of other possible interpretations! I see it in many different ways - the first is more like the Garden of Eden - superficially it is a paradise, in that no actual bodily harm can happen and it functions comfortably, but the people in it are blind. The other is that the Matrix represents as the Earth as it is to most of us. Which is where some of the much more philosophically deep meanings and parallels come in- such as:
The Allegory of the Cave and the Theory of Forms (Plato)
Plato said that when we look at something in the physical world, we are only seeing a shadow of one of the Forms. For example, if i'm looking at something "beautiful", that thing has a share in Beauty. But Beauty is also a concept and has a form all of its own but we can never see the Form, only the shadow of it. Beauty is a quality This applies to everything. A woman might be beautiful in comparison to an uglier woman, but she is also not beautiful in comparison to a goddess. She is not TRULY beautiful and nothing physical is. Also, only a Philosopher can know the Forms, and they are invisible, eternal, and unchanging. So most of us are in the dark, and only Philosophers, who can see the forms, have REAL KNOWLEDGE. The rest of us are ignorant and have only opinions, not knowledge.
This is where the Cave comes in. For an explanation of the Cave Allegory and the parallels between it and The Matrix, see:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/T...latoscave.html
In short, the Matrix is the state most of us are in - we have no knowledge because all we see is shadows of the real world. and the Agents are the Matrix version of the "puppet handlers". Only through philosophy and coming to know the Forms and expanding our minds with knowledge can we see the light.
Maya
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Originally Posted by Wikipedia
In Vedic philosophy, maya (Sanskrit: ma: not, ya: this) is the illusion of a limited, purely physical and mental reality in which our everyday consciousness has become entangled, a veiling of the true, unitary Self, also known as Brahman. Maya originated in the Hindu scriptures known as the Upanishads. Many philosphies or religions seek to "pierce the veil" in order to glimpse the transcendent truth, from which the illusion of a physical reality springs, drawing from the idea that first came to life in the Hindu stream of Vedanta.
In Hinduism, Maya must be seen through in order to achieve moksha (liberation of the soul from the cycle of death and rebirth) - ahamkar (ego-consciousness) and karma are seen as part of the binding forces of Maya. Maya is seen as the phenomenal universe, a lesser reality-lens superimposed on the one Brahman that leads us to think of the phenomenal cosmos as real. Maya is also visualized as part of the Divine Mother (Devi) concept of Hinduism. In the Hindu scripture 'Devi Mahatmyam,' Mahamaya (Great Maya) is said to cover Vishnu's eyes in Yoganidra (Divine Sleep) during cycles of existence when all is resolved into one. By exhorting Mahamaya to release Her illusory hold on Vishnu, Brahma is able to bring Vishnu to aid him in killing two demons, Madhu and Kaitabh, who have manifested from Vishnu's sleeping form. Shri Ramakrishna often spoke of Mother Maya and combined deep Hindu allegory with the idea that Maya is a lesser reality that must be overcome so that one is able to realize his or her true Self.
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The Watchowski brothers were heavily influenced by Buddhist and Hindu philosophy - notably there are huge numbers of references to rebirth/enlightenment in the films - so there's no doubt it could be at least partially derivative of this idea. A lot of it is similar to the Cave allegory- but im not sure I totally understand the depth of it because i dont know enough about Hindu philosophy so I will certainly come back to this idea. But I see several parallells, including the idea that physical reality is ultimately an illusion and is meaningless in comparison to philosophical reality, the world of thoughts, and of spirituality.
Ill come back to that one another time.
Christian
To shortly summarise, i think that that the Matrix can be seen as three different Christian ideas:
- Heaven - as outlined by others in this thread!
- The Garden of Eden - because superficially, there is no real suffering, but it is a restricted existence where people do not have knowledge. Gaining knowledge is synonomous with exiting Eden, just like in the Matrix - the only way for people to believe is to show them.
- The world as it is - because our world is a prison, seperate from God. The only way to escape is to embrace God, and thus gaining a place in Heaven.
Cogito Ergo Sum
(I think, therefore i am)
I also think The Matrix represents Descartes' Cogito argument - that the only thing I as an individual can know is my existence because if i am doubting my existence, i must exist in order to doubt it!!!
Anxious Philosophy Student- "Teacher, teacher, please tell me, do I exist?!"
Philosophy Professor - "Who's asking?"
But everything else could theoretically be an illusion. While Descartes does not like Plato and others suggest that we ACTUALLY should doubt absoloutely everything, the idea is that we could. Because we COULD be in The Matrix and how would we know?
There are more. Many many more. And ive only gone into the first film really here.
But im anxious to know what people think of these interpretations before i go further.