Ingredients Of The Red Pill Essay, Research Paper

?INGREDIENTS OF THE RED PILL?

?an attempt to understand the discussion of reality, truth, illusion and religion through the lense of the film Matrix?

Bertan Ba?aran

9734024 F-TV

OCAK – 2000

If you want the RED PILL turn to page 4

If you want the BLUE PILL turn to page 11

CONTENTS: page:

1. Introduction4

2. Religious symbols in the film ?Matrix?5

a. Symbols of names

b. Neo and Christ relationship

3. Reality versus truth and illusion8

4. Conclusion9

5. References12

Introduct?on:

The film ?Matrix? has received a lot of publicity both with its interesting story and the special effects. As a film, ?Matrix? is full of emotionless acting and several plot defects. However, it is important because it has provoked a lot of discussion on religion, reality, truth, belief, and illusion. A lot of critics viewed and evaluated the film with the perspective of mystics and metaphysicians who are constantly asking questions about the world we live in ?or we think we live in.

This paper aims to look at the film in terms of the question it puts in the minds of the

spectators: ?Which pill should I take??

the RED PILL or the BLUE PILL

Thus, the quest begins and the spectator transforms into a protagonist, no longer watching a movie, but wondering about his own existence, his hand unconsciously caressing his neck?

In the film, the world with which we are familiar, is a phantasm generated by computer systems which interface directly with people?s brains. In the envisioned future, we all live our entire lives in a virtual reality, except for a few individuals who somehow escape the system. Our physical bodies are stored in vats of some fluid, and each human has ?bioports? implanted into the nervous system. The computers interface with the brains through these bioports. The planet has been taken over by robots, after a nuclear war made the world impossible to live on by normal means. The robots are farming human beings for their energy, and feeding them a virtual reality.

The film shakes our assumption that we are minds inside solid, three-dimensional bodies that move around a three-dimensional world, interacting with other solid bodies by its assumption that the whole of everyday life is lived in an illusionary environment, the objects that seem to exist may not really be there, there simply might not a solid physical world out there.

The world the protagonist ?Neo? and the rest of the humanity in the film live in is a virtual one, but he wakes up and finds himself in another world, which he is told is the ?real? world. This is how the film places the idea that the world around us does not necessarily have a physical basis, but a virtual one. ?Matrix? is the name of this virtual world that the computer systems have created for human beings to live in.

This quest of illusion and reality has occupied the minds of many for centuries since the ancient Hindu religion. In order to discuss the importance of this film in regenerating this misery, it is necessary to look at the religious symbolism used throughout the film. The following chapters will discuss the religious symbols in the film with reference to criticisms of the film in the ?cyberspace?.

Religious symbols in the film ?Matrix?:

a. Symbols of the names: (Tharps, L.L, ?God Is In The Details?, 1999, Web)

THE ONE:

In Christian theology: Jesus Christ is the Messiah who saves mankind from its sins. Christ translates from Hebrew into ?Anointed One?.

In the movie: Reeves plays Neo, supposedly ?the One? who will lead manking out of computer-generated bondage. An anagram of Neo is One.

MORPHEUS:

In Greek mythology: Morpheus is the god of dreams.

In the movie:Morpheus is the leader of rebel forces who fights to awaken enslaved masses from a dreamlike reality.

ZION:

In the book of revelation: Zion is the kingdom of God where the righteous will be saved after the destruction of the earth.

In the movie: With earth destroyed, Zion is the only city where humans are free.

b. Neo-Christ relationship: (Anonymous, ?What is the Matrix ? Really?? 1999, Web)

Thrist?s Life

Neo?s Life

Thrist?s Virgin Birth:

Matthew 1:24, 25-And Joseph arose from his sleep,and did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her virgin until she gave

Birth to a Son ; and called His name Jesus.Neo?s Virgin birth:

Neo is literally born into the real world from the womblike incubator the he?s existed in all his life ! The imagery in the movie is even symbolic of a birth ? from an enclosed sac ( complete with several umbilical cords ! ),

Down the chute of the birth canal into the world

What?s in a name ?

Matthew 1;23 ? ?Behold ,the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son and they shall call His name Immanuel?, which translated means ?God with us .?

Thrist was also referred to as:The ?Son of man?

The Christ of God , His chosen One;And a host of other names.What?s in a name ?

Thomas Anderson ? The name ? Thomas ? can be linked to ? DoubtingThomas ? , in that Neo never really be lived that he was The one ,and has to see for himself that he WAS The One.The name ? Anderson ? means? Son of Man ?, which is how Jesus was often referred .

Neo?s name means ?new? or ?change?. That?s exactly WHY he was there.

Neo was expected to change things, to bring about a new world order.

Neo is also an anagram: Neo ? Eon ? ? One ?.

The Disciples

Mark 3:14 ? And He appointed twelve , that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach.

The Crew

Neo is brought into a group of people that are excited about presence that are willing to believe he?s ? The One ?

Tank:? If you are,??.it?s a very exciting time! ?

John The Baptist

John 1:29, 30 & 34 ? The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

This is done on behalf of Show I said, After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me ?. And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.Morpheus

Neo?s way was prepared by Morpheus who fervently believed and proclaimed to everyone that Neo was ?The One?. And the Oracle told

Morpheus that He would be the one to find ?The One.?Morpheus: ?We?ve done it, Trinity .We found him .?Trinity: ?I hope you?re right.?

Morpheus:?I don?t have to hope .I know it!?

Predicted Coming

Masaiah 7:14 ? ?Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and will call His name EmmanuelPredicted Coming

Neo?s coming was foretold by the Oracle ( and THAT woman knows EVERYTHING! )

Morpheus:?..the Oracle prophesied his return and that his coming would hail the destruction of the Matrix and the war , bring to our people.?

The Brothers

Matthew 4:18-20-..He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were ashermen . And He said to them, ?Follow me , and I will make you ashers of men.? And they immediately left the nets, and followed Him.Tank and Dozer

There are two brothers in this crew on the Nebuchhadnezzar. With Jesus, there were 3 sets of brothers among the apostles. The fact that there were siblings in this small group (especially brothers!)makes this noteworthy as a parallel.

Judas

Mattew 26:15 ? 16.. and said, ?What are you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you ?? And they weighed out to him 30 pieces of lver. And form then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray him.

Ake 22:47,48-?.and the one called Judas, one of the 12, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, ?Juda?s are you betraying the son of Man with a kiss??

Cyper

The Group is betrayed from within their group by Cyper. Here the Christ allegory brakes down somewhat in that Neo is not really the target of the betrayal as Jesus was with Judas (?.if the Agents had only known!). The Agents, unaware of Neo?s real importance, want Morpheus and that is the deal Cypher makes ? to lead Morpheus and the rest of the group into a trap where Morpheus can be taken. Cypher?s reward: to be reinserted into the Matrix for a ?better? life.

Foretelling of Death end Resurrection

Matthew 16:21 ? From that time Jesus Christ began to show sciples

That He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ders

And chief priest and scribes and be killed and be raised up on the third day. Foretelling of Death end Resurrection

Neo?s death & resurrection is predicted by the Oracle during Neo?s visit.

She tells to Neo that he has the ?gift?, but it t looks he is waiting for something. Neo asks, ?What?? and the Oracle (very prophetically!)

Replies. ?Your next life maybe!??

Resurrection

Matthew12:40-??for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster. So shall the Son of the Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.?

Ake 24:4-7 ??And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel; and the women terrified and bowed their faces to the ground , the men said to them, ?Why do you seek the living among the dead ? He is not here, but He has risen, remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee. Saying that the son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.? Resurrection

Later Neo IS killed by the authorities (the agents), and, instead of three days, in less than three minutes he is resurrected! We know that showing the passing of 3 actual days in he situation would?ve been impossible, so how did they symbolically represent 3 days? Neo is dead for about 72 second son screen. Those 72 seconds are symbolically 72 hours, and 2 hours= 3 days

Now?.what force bring Neo back form the dead ?LOVE! The instrument of that love was Trinity (and not necessarily the person as much as the NAME signifies in Christianity!)

With that in mind, let?s look at the resurrection scene?(the)Trinity leans over Neo and kisses him (the proverbial ?kiss of life? or ?breath of life?!) and Neo awakens! And the first words Neo hears are in the form of a command from (the) Trinity, ?Now,?.get up!?( Can?t you imagine God breathing life back into Jesus, and the first words Neo hears are in the form of a command from (the) Trinity, ?Now,?.get up!? (Can?t you imagine God breathing life back into Jesus, and first words Jesus hears are God?s Now ,?get up!?)

Grater Power After the Resurrection

Matthew 28:18 ? And Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, ?All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth ?Grater Power After the Resurrection

After his resurrection, Neo?s mastery of the Matrix is total, and tha authorities (agent Smith) are powerless against him.

Radiant Presence

Matthew 17:2 ? And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as lightRadiant Presence

After he inhabits Agent Smith?s body and causes the Agent to explode, Neo is represented as an incandescent figure.

Ascension

Mark 16:19 ? So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into the haven, and sat down at the right hand of

God.Ascension

At the end of the movie ,neo hangs up telephone after telling the Atificial Intelligence that this is the beginning of a world with no boundaries ; then he ?ascends? into the sky. Avery fitting end!

Reality versus truth and illusion:

What all this symbolism brings to mind is that the Matrix can be representative of this worldly life. We are surrounded by a perception of reality which we cannot escape. Like Neo, we may sense the existence of an existence beyond this life. We may have dreams, visions of this other existence but it will never be clear because our eyes are not yet open enough to be able to see beyond the perception we already have. We may be philosophically or mystically open to the ?truth? in this sense, but full realisation is impossible. We can only try to go beyond our perception and go behind our insights. We try to explain and interpret in some way or the other? the symbols that give us clues about the existence beyond. Yet, if we are alive and breathing, we are still bound to this ?matrix?, still ?plugged in?. We are born into this temporal and mortal condition and remain so until we die. This other existence that we seek is, as defined and created by God, our soul, our eternal being.

The physical manifestation of the soul is but a projection, a DNA-based hologram, of my true spiritual self. As Morpheus explained to Neo: ?your appearance now is what we call residual self image. It is the mental projection of your digital self.?

(Anonymous, The Matrix, a film by Larry and Andy Wachowski, 1999, Web)

The only way to ?unplug? from the Matrix is death. Death is not an end to life but only an end to the simulation one has to participate in.

Through death I will ?unplug?, and experience for the first time the Truth. Ephesians: ?Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you.? My eyes will finally be opened. I will know myself, my true Self, as I really am, just as Neo did the moment he experienced awareness in the pod. I will see God, my creator, face to face, much in the same way that Neo was greeted by Morpheus for the first time in the flesh. ?Welcome to the real world??

(Anonymous, The Matrix, a film by Larry and Andy Wachowski, 1999, Web)

Life, in its present reality, will become a dream then. In the film, Neo cannot carry any of his belongings out of the pod, they remained behind as digital illusions. He only had his memories and illusions from the past and felt as if they never happened. What is experienced in this life may not be real, in the sense of eternal or everlasting. All might be transitory. It was through Neo?s digital existence that he experienced an awareness of the truth, pursued this awareness, and ultimately responded to the invitation to commit himself to the truth ?the red pill. What could be the purpose of this present reality, this matrix? Is it merely an opportunity to pursue the awareness of Self that the ?One? has planted in the heart of each individual? It might be an opportunity to seek God, and respond to His invitation to enter into a relationship with Him as religions claim?

The significant thing to be considered here is that humanity is given the opportunity to make a choice. To accept the invitation and begin the eternal search ?swallow the red pill, or to live ?plugged in? to the illusionary world, the present reality within the scope of perception ?swallow the blue pill. Like Leo, this decision must be made with eyes still closed but minds open without yet understanding the consequences or the reason.

The decision has to be made when still plugged into the Matrix? without any answers? without certainity of what ?Truth? is. Because of this, it is a decision of faith. However, for those who cannot perceive the truth, whose minds have been closed like their eyes, there is no choice. The only choice available for such is, one reality over another, one matrix or another.

The truth, once perceived, may not be what we like, not always pleasant and desirable. It may require pain and sacrifice. The truth, the real world was not something Neo had expected in the film. Would he have still taken the red pill if he had known what his days would be like in the real world, how he would suffer? What made his sacrifice worthwhile? What kept Neo going was his purpose? his destiny as the ?One?.

It is this responsibility that the freedom brings, and the hardship that has to be endured, that makes one escape the truth and return to virtual realities. To live ?unplugged? is to serve a higher purpose, and to accept the truth, which, most of the time, is hard to swallow.

Which reality is more appealing to humanity: that one is a lost sheep in need of grace and redemption or that one is God? When seeking the truth, it is easy to be trapped by painful questions, whose answers may be just as painful. It is never easy to ?unplug? from the reality of this world, as presented by the Matrix. It is, however, not impossible, even with the limited powers of intellect and the knowledge of truth.

Conclusion:

If we could design reality for our minds, what powers would we grant ourselves?

What powers do we need to swallow the red pill? What kind of inertia is it that makes us choose the blue pill?

Consider the thought that we are in the process of creating our own Matr?x. Many people cla?m that they would take the red pill, given the choice. Oh really? Is reality all that appealing? Consider the increasing number of people today that choose to bury themselves in some kind of alternatew reality, be it through drugs, psychosis, video games, wealth, etc. How many marriages have fallen apart because one of the partners has an affair; chooses to participare in a ?fantasy? relationship rather than face the reality at home? How many of us choose to spend hours and hours vegging in front of a television rather than reading a new book, playing with our children, going for a walk, having an intelligent conversation, etc?

(Anonymous, Symbolism in The Matrix, 1999, Web)

The questions, which the film asks, are questions that have been asked by the thinking minds of our bodies. These questions can be considered as the reasons for the religious beliefs. The film Matrix, do not ask these questions, but make the audience ask the questions. Also it lets us imagine the possibilities of what the ?truth or the reality? can really be.

But,

We can also say that matrix shows how our brains are helpless in terms of , can?t being truly free and strong, without believing something (religion or drug addiction) as the point where the unknown questions or the unreachable answers find an warm answer. We can observe this dilemma, with the religious rules for everyone does in the so-called reality, or some rules while they are in the matrix. Even Neo ?The One? obeys the rules in the path to be ?the one?. Rather than giving some answers, the film shows the path to think with an interesting alternative but with primitive religious themes.

So;

What are the ingredients of the Red Pill:

Reality?

Truth?

Illusion?

Religion?

What makes it so hard to swallow?

What are we to do?

If you have ulcers don?t even think about swallowing any of the pills? Even the thought of such a choice can confuse your

?blessed? minds and upset your stomachs.

References:

Only the web is used as the source of references for this paper, in order to break the limits of the present reality, of the written ?Matrix?. Cyberspace has to be the medium of this journey, and yet, is still so limited by the scope of our PC capacities at home, if not by the intellectual boundaries we are ready to break?

(The ?Neo ? Christ relationship? is taken from www.awesomehouse.com/ matrix/parallels/html )