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The Matrix As Gnostic Propaganda?

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Anonymous

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I was watching 'The Matrix' last night and it occured to me that it was a perfect slice of Gnostic Propaganda.
1. The world we live in is an illusion created by an evil god in order to distract/fool us about the true nature of reality.
2. Only be undertaking a personal journey of spirtual reawkening are we able to transcend this illusion and become aware of the true nature of things.
3. The world we think we inhabit is just a sideshow to a battle between good and evil.
So anyone else reckon there's a thousand year old Cathari cell operating out of Hollywood?
 
I did a great deal of pondering on gnosticism after first watching The Matrix, and on repeated viewing decided that gnosticism as the movie's underpinning philosophy must be intentional. If so, it makes it a real work of art in my mind. I could never hope to explain gnosticism to my spiritually illiterate significant other, but The Matrix got the idea across. Excellent movie for that reason alone! I hope not to be disappointed by the sequels...
 
I saw an article regarding how the movie was a retelling of the Bible and Jesus and such. Besides a few names like Trinity and Cipher, it seesm to me to have more to do with Buddhism.
 
But then there is a big cross over between Gnosticsm and Buddhism: the rejection of reality as illusions and emphasis on personal enlightenment.
But I find Gnosticsm a bit colder than Buddhism, all this hatred of the flesh and ideas of us suffering under a mad idiot god, is a tad depressing.
 
I don't know much about gnosticism. That article was just very biased on Jesus, and ignored all the stuff that didn't fit.
 
There is some stuff on The Matrix Revisited DVD about this, I'll try and remember to watch it and post what they say on here.

But I'll have to tear myself away from Metal Gear Solid for a couple of hours....
 
setab said:
But I'll have to tear myself away from Metal Gear Solid for a couple of hours....
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Tell me about it. Any more hours with Raven and Solid Snake and I am going to start posting threads about the Kabbalistic influences of Japanese video games. Still, you just can't get enough of that tranquilizer dart gun.
 
Other biblical/christian/gnostic references in the Matrix include Morpheus' ship, named The Nebbuchednezzar (cant spell it, im afraid) after a Babylonian King, I think, who is mentioned in the Bible, as well as references to Zion. Also, Neo is referred to as "The One" which imbues him with a kind of messianic status. He is "The One" who is supposed to free people from their bondage. But unlike Moses, this is not a physical bondage but a mental and spiritual one - of mistaking our percieved surroundings for the ultimate reality. He's kinda like a Christ figure or a Buddha in a way.
Another interesting thing is that he dies and is resurrected by a woman, Trinity. When she sais "I love you" and kisses him he comes back to life. Like Osiris in the Ancient Egyptian mythology (who is brought back to life by his consort Isis via the "Black Rite" ritual), as well as Jesus himself, in a way. (Mary Magdalene is the first person to see the resurrected Jesus).
This theme, of redemption (or resurrection) through the love of a woman also pops up in medieval grail romances of the knights of the round table, like those of Chretien de Troy, which are ostensibly christian but undoubtedly gnostic in essence.:blah:
 
I know there are some Christian references, but all in all it seems much more buddhist.
 
Paracleitos said:
Another interesting thing is that he dies and is resurrected by a woman, Trinity. When she sais "I love you" and kisses him he comes back to life. Like Osiris in the Ancient Egyptian mythology (who is brought back to life by his consort Isis via the "Black Rite" ritual
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Just as well for the bold hero that they didn't stick too rigidly to the Egyptian stuff, don't you think? Here, fishy, fishy...
 
This theme, of redemption (or resurrection) through the love of a woman also pops up in medieval grail romances of the knights of the round table, like those of Chretien de Troy, which are ostensibly christian but undoubtedly gnostic in essence.
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Er... not sure about that last bit, my friend!

Back to topic, one of my friends came up with a different take at the time, arguing the Matrix was a sort of idealist fable - ie that it draws on mainstream western philosophy, not anything particularly esoteric. The idea that the world is an illusion isn't confined to gnostic thought - it's there in various forms in Plato, Locke and Descartes (deceiving demon making me think all sorts of false things are actually true, anyone?), for example.
 
Can't speak specifically about The Matrix, as I haven't seen it but
the use of occult structures in Hollywood movies has been advocated
for many years. There are a number of Agencies which offer to
optimise scripts by appealing to powerful mythical archetypes.

Their most quoted High Priest is Joseph Campbell, whose work on
Universal Myths is much discussed with reference to Star Wars. :rolleyes:
 
I used to think Joseph Campbell was great, but now I think he's a pompous old windbag with very little to say that isn't obvious anyway or stolen off Jung. Uncontrolled syncretism is a great misleader of the young, methinks... I read something in Salon that claimed his supposed influence on Star Wars (ooh, 'The Hero's Journey', and the death star is 'The Belly of the Whale' - profound? Just maybe...) was actually made up by Lucas after the event to try to give a bit more gravitas to the whole thing.
Here it is if anyone's interested:
http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2002/04/10/lucas/print.html
 
Here's another idea.
What if the Matrix is actually real and the movie was some hacker's attempt at letting all of us who are still trapped inside know the real truth about what is happening.
Yet because we are so enthralled by our computer generated enviroment we dismissed as a mere movie and in a hope of scuppering the freedom fighters the master control unit has processed two sequels.
If so I'm awaiting an agent now.....
 
from www.wynd.org

Humans are bred and raised directly into these incubators, and fed intravenously with the liquefied remains of the dead. This is pure occultism, and goes way beyond even the best sci-fi cinema, into the murky realms and veiled nightmares of Lovecraft, Heinlein, Kenneth Grant, Carlos Castaneda, et al,
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This is from the essay on the matrix... Does itr remind anyone else of battery hens/other factory farmed animals? just thought i would post the idle thought here rather than start up a "farms and satanism!!!!!!11111111" thread:p
 
ghost dog said:
The Matrix is actually a RIP OFF of a comic book series called "The Invisibles" by GRant Morrison. The brothers who made the film have comics backgrounds. No suprise there eh? The Invisibles is actually far more worthy of attention as its much broader, and has some mind bending ideas in it.

All the elements are there, a chosen one, we live in a psuedo reality, there is a greater truth etc. even the scene where Cypher bumps them off one by one when they are in the matrix is taken straight out of "The Invisbles".

Even the agents...its frightening how much it takes.

So sadly it not original in the slightest.
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I've read the Invisibles, and I don't think its fair to say its a rip off. Both the film and the comic are continuing a genre of gnostic/fantastic literature.
You could say that the Invisible is a rip off from Phillip K Dick, or Dick was a rip off from Thomas Pynchon, or Pynchon a rip of Joyce, Joyce - Swift, Swift-The Gospel of St Thomas.
I think the comic and film compliment each other. And the Maxtrix is basically a comic boys wet dream taking its influences from anywhere and everywhere - Hong Kong gun-fu films, french film noir or cyberpunk novels.
 
It is interesting to compare part of the essential basic teachings of the Buddha

every iota of everything is just make-believe fiction
and none of it exists in truth
and when this is seen as the way things truly are
then that is the end of all anguish and the end of the continuation of what never existed in truth to begin with
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With the famous 'There is no spoon' scene in the Marix.

Spoon boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead only try to realize the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Spoon boy: There is no spoon.
Neo: There is no spoon?
Spoon boy: Then you'll see that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.
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chatsubo~ said:
ghost dog said:
The Matrix is actually a RIP OFF of a comic book series called "The Invisibles" by GRant Morrison. The brothers who made the film have comics backgrounds. No suprise there eh? The Invisibles is actually far more worthy of attention as its much broader, and has some mind bending ideas in it.

All the elements are there, a chosen one, we live in a psuedo reality, there is a greater truth etc. even the scene where Cypher bumps them off one by one when they are in the matrix is taken straight out of "The Invisbles".

Even the agents...its frightening how much it takes.

So sadly it not original in the slightest.
Click to expand...
I've read the Invisibles, and I don't think its fair to say its a rip off. Both the film and the comic are continuing a genre of gnostic/fantastic literature.
You could say that the Invisible is a rip off from Phillip K Dick, or Dick was a rip off from Thomas Pynchon, or Pynchon a rip of Joyce, Joyce - Swift, Swift-The Gospel of St Thomas.
I think the comic and film compliment each other. And the Maxtrix is basically a comic boys wet dream taking its influences from anywhere and everywhere - Hong Kong gun-fu films, french film noir or cyberpunk novels.
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See what GM has to say here:

This may be old news but was the controversy over The Matrix films being like The Invisibles blown out of proportion?

GM: It's really simple. The truth of that one is that design staff on The Matrix were given Invisibles collections and told to make the movie look like my books. This is a reported fact. The Wachowskis are comic book creators and fans and were fans of my work, so it's hardly surprising. I was even contacted before the first Matrix movie was released and asked if I would contribute a story to the website.

It's not some baffling 'coincidence' that so much of The Matrix is plot by plot, detail by detail, image by image, lifted from Invisibles so there shouldn't be much controversy. The Wachowskis nicked The Invisibles and everyone in the know is well aware of this fact but of course they're unlikely to come out and say it.

It was just too bad they deviated so far from the Invisibles philosophical template in the second and third movies because they blundered helplessly into boring Catholic theology, proving that they hadn't HAD the 'contact' experience that drove The Invisibles, and they wrecked both 'Reloaded' and 'Revolutions' on the rocks of absolute incomprehension. They should have kept on stealing from me and maybe they would have wound up with something to really be proud of - a movie that could change minds and hearts and worlds.

I love the first Matrix movie which I think is a real work of cinematic genius and very timely but I've now heard from several people who worked on The Matrix and they've all confirmed that they were given Invisibles books as reference. That's how it is. I'm not angry about it anymore, although at one time I was because they made millions from what was basically a Xerox of my work and to be honest, I would be happy with just one million so I didn't have to work thirteen hours of every fucking day, including weekends.

In the end, I was glad they got the ideas out but very disappointed that they blew it so badly and distorted all the Gnostic transcendental aspects that made the first film so strong and potent. If they had any sense, they would have befriended me instead of pissing me off. They seem like nice boys.
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www.poormojo.org/pmjadaily/archives/002657.html
 
Grant Morrison, ripped off by the Wachowski Bros?

Have these comic/film maker bods no shame? :shock:

:rofl:
 
Before I read The Invisibles I thought the Matrix had 'borrowed' the idea from Ramsey Dukes' Words Made Flesh. I don't care really, just thought I would stick my oar in :p

My sister insists that The Matrix is a rip off of Alice in Wonderland :goof:
 
BlackRiverFalls said:
My sister insists that The Matrix is a rip off of Alice in Wonderland goof
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So which character is the dormouse?
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My sister has become quite obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. Everything from A Clockwork Orange to Casablanca has echoes of Alice in Wonderland :laughing:

There is a character named Mouse in The Matrix isn't there?
 
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