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:: 5.14.2003 ::
:: Free your mind? ::
From BBC News:
Forget sci-fi and guns - The Matrix is really about religion
The sequel to The Matrix is being keenly awaited by many of the film's fans - geeks, sci-fi addicts, as well as those who just love stylish violence. But also lining up outside cinemas will be those who see the film as a work about religion.
In a quiet moment in The Matrix, our hero Neo talks with one of his new crewmates, Cypher. Neo is still getting used to the news that all he ever knew was an illusion fed into his head by the computers who now enslave humanity, and that according to the leader Morpheus he is The One destined to deliver us.
"Did he tell you why you're here?" asks Cypher.
Neo nods.
"Jesus! What a mindjob! So you're here to save the world."
It turns out that Cypher is right on all three counts. Yes, Neo has to save humankind. Yes, it is a job for the mind over computer-simulated matter. And yes, he is Jesus.
In most Hollywood movies it would be ridiculous to pick out hidden meanings in such throwaway lines. But The Matrix is not most Hollywood movies. Dazzled by the stupendous effects, the sci-fi story, the kung fu and the "guns, lots of guns", it is easy to miss the fact that The Matrix is also a spiritual film, saturated with religious symbolism.
Neo's mission, foretold by prophets, is to reveal the truth that will set humankind free. And if that's not messianic enough for you, he gives his life for others and then rises from the dead more powerful than ever.
[Neo could be as cool as Buffy! ;]
posted by me
:: 7:41:00 PM [+] ::
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