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What is the Matrix?
by
Aaron Atkinson
Trinity said, “It’s the question that drives us”
Neo asked, “What is the Matrix?”
If you were asked this question, could you answer it and feel confident that
your answer was correct? Is The Matrix just another Science Fiction trilogy full
of action, heroes, villains and Kung Fu fighting? Could it be about love and
what one would do to protect it, or about the irony of man being his own worst
enemy?
The only un-debatable fact about the Matrix is that it is full of questions. For
this reason, many viewers complain daily on message boards that the trilogy was
confusing and none of the important questions was answered. Are you sure? I
found through each viewing of each movie that a new question arose. I also
discovered that each time I watched the films an old question of mine was
answered.
Socrates discovered that one thing human beings do not take kindly is for some
one to challenge them to think, by asking too many questions. He even paid with
his life because his way of thinking was considered too radical for the time
period. Yet today he is studied for being one of the pioneering philosophers. As
we reflect on the Matrix trilogy ten years from now, we will discover that it
not only “frees our minds,” but also that the film had a clear message and
purpose from the beginning. The question we will encounter is whether we were
asking the wrong question all along.
As I sat in the theater in June of 1999, I got ready to watch what many
considered to be the most exciting and groundbreaking film in years. This is
what I heard daily on the Best Buy ad that ran in the video department
advertising for the film. I knew I was going to be dazzled, amazed by the
action, and wowed by this bullet-time everyone was talking about. By the end of
the film, I found my experience was not one of amazement, but one of confusion
and even boredom. It was nothing like I thought it was going to be. Though many
people would praise it, I wrote it off as something I was not into.
I could have never watched the film again, but if I had done that, my life would
not be what it is today. Really? You may question how a (fictitious) movie could
have this kind of an impact on one's life, but if you take the time to find out
what the Matrix is, you will find out more about yourself than you ever knew.
Morpheous said, “No one can be told what the Matrix is, you must see it for
yourself.”
We all search for the true meaning of life and why we are here, but what we
should be doing is defining who we are by what we do with our lives. The Oracle
told Neo during their first meeting that he was not “The One” even though she
knew he was. If she had informed him he was in fact “The One,” he would not have
continued defining his path, for he would have known already who he was and what
he was destined for. If you were told when you started high school that when you
graduated you were going to be the most successful (insert job title) in the
United States, how hard would you continue to work? Knowing this, would you go
on to college?
The Matrix is about life. In life we all have choices to make, and the choices
we make define our successes and failures. Which pill will you take? Or should I
say, “Which path will you choose?”
Like the road less traveled, the red pill represents the rough side of the
mountain, the ups, downs, good, grimy and bad. With this choice, there is no
certainty, except that you will truly know what you are made of when you
complete the journey. Taking the blue pill will yield no surprises at all, for
with this choice you already know the outcome, and with this choice there are no
challenges. As Trinity said to Neo, “You’ve been down that road, you know
exactly where it leads.”
Now that you have made this choice, what are you going to do with it?
Though all the questions you may have about the Matrix will not be answered by
watching the trilogy one or two times, taking the time to unlock the secrets
within the Matrix will allow you to unlock the secret meaning of what life is
and what it is all about. The true question you should be asking is “What have I
learned about myself?” The answer you will find will surprise you, as you
discover (as I did) your original concept of the Matrix may grow much deeper and
more important than you originally envisioned by helping you discover the inner
you.
Written: October 30th, 2005
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