Christian Mythology in The Matrix
Through the movie we see parallel’s of Neo and Christian Mythology. Temptation from Satan to Jesus and the temptation to Neo from the Agents, are some very profound similarities between the two personages.
In the beginning of the movie Thomas Anderson, or Neo, is arrested. The agents try to cut a bargain trading a new life for giving up Morpheus.
In the scene with the agents and Neo we have mythical symbolism that relates to biblical times. As Agent Smith lectures Thomas, he flips through a record of Thomas' crimes. Smith is like Satan, who will always be called the 'accuser'. (Revelation 12:9-12). Agent Smith tells Thomas three distinct lies during the interrogation scene. Satan is the 'father
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In truth, Morpheus is a good man – so good that he is willing to lay down his own life to allow Neo to escape the Agents in the wet-wall scene.
Satan again reverses roles, portraying himself as good and God as evil. Many people fall for this lie. For example, many see Satan as noble liberator in the garden of Eden but judge God as a stingy jailer – instead of seeing God as providing an idyllic environment, while selfish man just had to have one more tree despite the abundant orchards! Man, imitating Satan, said "I will be like God" and rebelled against his benevolent Creator – a Creator Who in turn humbly took the form of a man to be crucified for the willful sins of His own creation so that a way of redemption could be open to all by simply trusting the Rescuer. To regard someone as 'evil' that dies on your behalf is the height of deception. In biblical times Jesus had a traitor among his decipilies, Judas. The Matrix is not without this betrayer.
The betrayer character is named "Cypher", a play on the word 'cipher'. In the dictionary, some interesting meanings of 'cipher' are 'zero' and 'one that is without value'. Cypher demonstrates that he is indeed without value; he is a selfish murderer. Jesus said about Judas, "it would be better for him if he had never been born." (Mark 14:20).
Cypher the traitor is not just betraying Morpheus, who has the codes to Zion, but Cypher is betraying the entire human crew as well, which includes Neo. Cypher almost pulls Neo's
Satan’s character embodies the idea of a heroic figure because he questions what he feels to be true, even though his tragic fall is that he becomes easily misguided.
The devil is known to be the ruler of hell -- an evil spirit, a person who does bad things and causes trouble. The Devil destroys lives and everything that you love. There is also a God who is believed to be the perfect and powerful spirit, who is believed to rule the universe -- a person that has power, strength and also knowledge. This “God” can affect nature and also the lives of people. In the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, However the world proves to be far more complicated than good versus evil. Two of the novel's characters can be connected to the idea of God and Devil, but the reality is that they are far more complicated than that, the idea of the Devil and God does not fit because two of its characters show both ideas
However, craving independence from God ferociously backfires on Satan when he finds out that even after leaving hell, he cannot escape it, “which way [he] [flies] is Hell, [he] [himself] is Hell,” (IV, 75). Satan finds his way to revolt against and separate from God to overrule Heaven and become king, instead however, he takes on the role of the representation of all evil which is evidently seen in his interactions with Eve.
The devil at the dawn of Christianity bore little resemblance to the ruler of hell, the antichrist and agent of evil that he is known as in present day. Satan makes few overt or implied appearances in the Old Testament. For the important role of God’s greatest adversary, early Christians had to flesh out great parts of Satan’s story in order to develop him into his present, fearsome persona. The Christian story of the Devil is heavily influenced by earlier Greek mythology, and early Christian writings about the Devil co-opted local mythology in order to gain new converts and discredit popular pagan beliefs.
In the Bible, the population, at first does not accept Jesus, but more come to believe in Him after he is able to prove his powers through the miracles he performs. However, the nobility, especially, they fear that their power is threatened; eventually, they are out to get Jesus. Once Jesus' authority is questioned, most people who once believed in him no longer acknowledge their faith in him. Eventually, swayed by the aristocrats, the people begin hating Jesus. He is treated less than human and is no longer a useful tool for the people, a source of healing or peace. He becomes a scapegoat, and is considered the source of problems. Even the people closest to him, his disciples, betray him. Judas sells
Satan was unwilling to back down, no matter how great God’s power. This mission stands out as an element of the epic hero. In almost all epics written the hero has to stifle past guarded boundaries in order to complete goals. Satan’s bravery in trying to learn answers concerning his existence in heaven and his damnation to Hell is noble. Determination to derive truth is an admirable quality. Though his bitterness creates negative characteristics, his core purpose is not entirely blasphemous. He considers all that is placed before him and says in book 1, “Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven” (263). He knows that Hell is a place of doom and torture, but he is committed to living there with dignity and hopes to eventually rise above the creator and gain back what he feels he is entitled to as a living being. This acceptance of his conditions and determination to overcome makes him the underdog that an audience cannot help but root for. Everyone knows what it’s like to be in dark place with no visible escape. People want to be able to relate to a character that remains hopeful. In this sense Satan seems very heroic and critics have even gone as far as interpreting God as the villain.
Much like Neo from The Matrix, this man chose to briefly continue believing the lie, since it was more familiar. Eventually this man begins to accept this new reality by placing the knowledge of what he now knows to be true about the shadows and reflections and builds upon these facts until he reaches the principle that the sun, the very thing he previously discounted as artificial, was in fact genuine and in a sense responsible for most of his deception inside of the cave. Finally, Socrates claims this man would feel joy now that he is completely liberated from deception and has sympathy or the other’s that are still living in a false reality. This is where The Matrix and Plato’s allegory are somewhat dissimilar. While Socrates characterizes the liberated man in high spirits, Neo does not demonstrate this same pleasure after learning the truth.
There are times when a movie is made that is said to have themes that are parallel to themes in various religious cultures; the Matrix, written and directed by The Wachowski Brothers, is one of those movies. The Matrix series eventually ended in a Trilogy with fans stating that there were various religious connections throughout all three movies. For the purpose of this reflection I will be focusing on the original Matrix movie. I will also focus mostly on the Christian religious ties that are sprinkled throughout the first movie. Finally, I will explore the idea that Neo, is represented as a savior of sorts and how this can tie into saviors of any religion.
In the film, The Matrix, there are numerous references to Christianity and numerous images and references are depicted. The primary character is Neo, who is a representation of Jesus. At the outset when Trinity tells Neo that he is being watched, which is additionally comparative in how Jesus was being viewed by the Pharisees, which soon prompted his capture. At the point when Neo is being examined by the Agents, he did not allow himself to give in, like how Jesus did not offer into repudiate his heavenliness and his Father. Close to the end of the movie when Neo is stood up to and shot dead by the Agents, he revives, just like how Jesus did, and fought back against the Agents who are pictures of sin and Satan. Christian imagery is depicted
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