| The Matrix is
about one simple question: Why? |
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| Why are we here? Why do we do what we do? What
meaning is there in life and what gives life that meaning? |
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| Grandiose stuff? Definitely. Something you can "resolve" in
a two-hour movie, or even three two-hour movies? Definitely not.
But something you should think about, something that everyone should
think about, wrestle with, work through? Again, definitely. Some
people have accused the Wachowski brothers of doing nothing more
than rehashing Freshman Philosophy 101. Maybe. But consider how
few people take Philosophy 101 -- and how many fewer actually
think about what's in it -- and you have to admit: If all the
Wachowskis did was get the moviegoing populace to think at that
level, then they did a lot. |
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| So they threw a bit of Christian symbolism, a dash
of Zen mysticisim, even a little Tolkien, and made a stew. That's
OK -- stew will nourish you and has a taste all its own. The
one thing they added to these classic mythologies, it seems to
me, was existentialism, a modern philosophy that says
the Universe is devoid of intrinsic meaning. Meaning is not given
to us; it is made by us. We imbue the Universe with meaning through
the choices we make, giving each person a vast, even terrifying
responsibility. |
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| So Thomas Anderson is not made The One. He is not
blessed on birth or annointed by God or even the Oracle. Remember,
when he directly asks the Oracle to annoint him, she refuses:
[from the IMDB Quotes entry for The
Matrix] |
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Oracle: |
OK, now I'm supposed to say, "Hmm,
that's interesting, but..." then you say... |
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Neo: |
"but what?" |
|
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Oracle: |
But... you already know what I'm going to
tell you. |
|
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Neo: |
I'm not The One. |
|
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Oracle: |
Sorry, kid. You got the gift, but it looks
like you're waiting for something. |
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| Notice something very important here: The Oracle never
tells Neo that he is the One -- or that he is not the
One. She doesn't actually tell him anything. She leaves a pregnant
pause and lets him fill it in. In other words, Neo is not the
One (then) because he chooses to not be the One. Later, after
he dies and after Trinity confesses her love for him, he chooses to
become the One. Indeed, once he stands up (in that inimitable,
trademark Keneau Reeves dazed way), when the Agents have drawn
their guns, he doesn't dodge, he doesn't parry, he doesn't
even block the bullets. He looks at them and says, merely, "No." He chooses that
the bullets stop, and they do. |
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