My Matrix Theory - Circa 1999

Neo is the "one" alright...just not the "one" you think.

"Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem."

- Numbers 18:15

*Written Circa April 1999, this version is mostly unchanged from a version I posted on the Warner Brothers website during the first week of the movie's release. Unfortunately, the original post is gone as the website is no longer there. However, most of my original post was captured on USENET (and thus preserved) by a Polish reader in July 1999. I will clean up/edit this as time permits.

I saw the Matrix a few nights ago...and was amazed. It was a great film, but what I've since found even more amazing is that my view of the symbolism in the film is in the minority (even though to me...it seemed obvious). In fact, I've only found a couple of people on the internet who've posted anything about the perspective I took. So...for your dissection, here is my theory (and don't let me step on your toes if you think this is a Christian film, I mean if a film means that much to your faith, maybe you should recheck your faith):

Neo is the Anti-Christ. Everyone seems to have picked up on the religious symbolism in the film, but it's my opinion that everyone's got it backwards. I think it's easy for people to assume that Neo is a "Christ" figure since he is battling an obvious evil (the machines). The machines are clearly acting in the role of God, as they are creating, nurturing and completely controlling humans in every conceivable way. They control humans to the point that "they" (or more appropriately, "it") has completely and totally created their universe and can completely control everything that happens within it. Sounds a lot like God, doesn't it?

But who is to question the methods of God? Isn't the saying that God moves in mysterious ways? And what if God really was a machine that was sucking out the energy from us? Would that necessarily contradict what we know of God? The amazing trick of this movie is that it stacks the cards against the audience by not portraying God as the 'old man with a beard' most secretly imagine "he" is.....and instead portrays God as something a little less cuddly. At the same time, it presents the story through the eyes and viewpoint of the Anti-Christ

Symbolism

The first event symbolic of the "evil" of Morpheus (and thus, Neo later on) is his offering of the two pills to Neo. He presents Neo with a red and a blue pill. The blue pill represents ignorance. The red pill is the forbidden knowledge (of the matrix). He tells Neo that if he chooses the blue pill, he goes back to his regular life....with nothing changed. Choose the red pill and you will know the truth about the Matrix but there is no going back. To me, this is clearly symbolic of Satan offering humans the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge. Playing the role of Satan is Morpheus. And while the Bible does not specify the type of fruit in the Garden of Eden, the most common interpretation is that it's an apple. Most people think of apples as being red, thus the red pill is symbolic of the apple.....and Neo chooses it.

When Neo awakes on the ship, take note of the following dialog:

Neo: Why do my eyes hurt? Morpheus: You've never used them before

A simple line you may have missed, but one that links directly the biblical story of the fall of Adam and Eve. Once Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, the Bible notes that "the eyes of them both were opened" as if for the first time, to realize they were naked. As was Neo.

The next symbolic event is when Morpheus shows Neo the "real" world. It is a burned out shell with blackened skies. Clearly the presentation of the "real" world is hellish. No one would choose to leave the relative sanctuary of the Matrix, even if it's a lie, and live in this "real" world. But that's exactly what Morpheus wants to do....he wants to destroy the Matrix (world) and give them this nightmarish world in exchange. Morpheus states that "no one really knows when the world was changed like this (so it could conceivably be since the beginning of time...and not, say, 30 years ago). He does state that it was "us" that scorched the sky. Could humans have made it that way due to their eviction from the Garden of Eden? Morpheus wants to destroy the Matrix (world) but he cannot do it himself. Like a Christian prophet, he too is waiting for "the chosen one" who will foment the apocalypse. He believes that Neo is the "chosen one"....not Christ, but the Anti-Christ who will battle God (the machine) in hopes of destroying it.

It's important to note that Morpheus is not Satan, but a later follower of him. Morpheus mentions the Satan character later on when he notes:

When the Matrix was first built there was a man born inside that had the ability to change what he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit....When he died, the Oracle at the temple of Zion prophesied his return and envisioned an end to the war and freedom for our people. That is why there are those of us that have spent our entire lives searching the Matrix, looking for him.

And since Morpheus has been looking for Neo, he must therefore be the second coming of this original "man", i.e. the Anti-Christ figure.

The ship's name, Nebuchadnezzar is symbolic of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon who besieged Jerusalem , destroyed all of its temples and enslaved the Jews - God's chosen people.

On the ship Neo is told by Tank that he and Dozer were born the old fashioned way in Zion. When Neo asks where Zion is, he is told that it's deep within the Earth near its core, where it's still warm. To most people, a "warm" place at the center of the Earth is symbolic of Hell.

But probably the most obvious symbolic confirmation of my theory is when Agent Smith tells Morpheus that the there was an earlier version of the Matrix (this is during Morpheus' capture and subsequent beating). He tells Morpheus that the first Matrix was perfect, but that humans couldn't accept that it was perfect and were always looking for flaws. They (the machine/God) had to redesign the Matrix to include suffering because humans measured their existence by suffering. To me, this is clearly an allusion to the Garden of Eden (the perfect Matrix) and thus the Machine's position as God.

Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. Some believed we lacked the programming language to describe your perfect world. But I believe that, as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from. Which is why the Matrix was re-designed to this: the peak of your civilization.

In that one section of dialog, it is confirmed that the Machine is God (thus Neo is Anti.) and also explains why God allows suffering to exist in the world following the failure of Eden. Doesn't the reference to 'crops failing' seem oddly out of place?? In such a high-tech setting, Agent smith makes reference to something more akin to an ancient agrarian world. Of course it makes sense if you consider God's curse on Adam during the fall of man "cursed is the ground for thy sake".

Some Other Things To Consider

How would Neo appear to someone in the Matrix? He has supernatural powers and kills others with abandon (especially cops). Would he appear to be "good" person or an "evil" person? A Christ figure or a Satanic figure?

It's interesting that the machine's people are referred to as "agents", since it sounds so similar to "angels", which according to my theory, they are.

When Trinity sees Neo dodge bullets, she tells him that she's never seen anyone move like he does...and that he moves like the Agents.

Trinity: How did you do that?
Neo: Do what?
Trinity: You move like they do . I've never seen anyone move that fast.

Of course Neo can move like they do. He is a 'fallen' agent (angel) and that's why he is more like them and less like the others.

Come on, doesn't Morpheus just *look* evil in his trench coat and sunglasses??

When Tank tells Neo about where Zion is, isn't it interesting that he uses the expletive "God Damn!" for no apparent reason. There are multiple examples of this throughout the movie.
Trinity Says to Neo as he prepares to enter the Matrix to save Morpheus:

No? Let me tell you what I believe. I believe that Morpheus means more to me than he does to you. I believe if you are really serious about rescuing him, you are going to need my help. And since I am the ranking officer on this ship, if you don't like it... I believe you can go to hell. Because you're not going anywhere else. Tank, load us up.

What do you think? I'll have to see the movie some more to see if I can come up with anything else to support my theory. Ecce signum.