The Matrix is 1999 movie that was directed by Lana and Lilly Wachoski. The movie uses sci-fi to portray philosophy in filming. There is use of high skills in cinematography to tell the story of how people appear to be living a dream. It is shown that the virtual reality can be likened to a dream and it might be used to manipulate humans or control the. This essay will be analyzing the philosophy portrayed in the journey of Neo in attempt discover what is the Matrix.
At the beginning we are introduced to Anderson (Neo) who is a mild-mannered computer jockey working in little cubicle. He is working with computers and is attempting to do hacking. He lives a troubled life; he is a computer programmer of a large generic company. He attempts to do hacking at night in bid to save himself and other people who might be troubled. He feels to be living an ordinary and empty life.
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His life is dark and troubled life is portrayed by the world around him. The cluttered state of his little office reveals that he is living a dark, scruffy and depressing life. It would be safe to say he has a problem and is working to find solutions to it. However it seems the answers to these problems are hidden. The focus on the room and the technological devices in the room shows that he hopes that technology will offer answers to his problem. The scene is dark and shabby. The music in the background adds tension in the scene (Wachoski, & Wachoski, 1999)..
During one of his episodes in this office he is visited by Trinity. She claims that there is a question that that is disturbing all of them; “it’s the question that is drives us”. She does not say what it is. However, one can deduce that whatever Neo is looking for is what trinity and others are suffering form. Neo immediately asks, “What is the matrix?” (Wachoski, & Wachoski, 1999). It appears this is the question that has been bothering him all his life.
It is through this question that we come to learn that the matrix is something hidden like a cycle or a code that is hindering people in real world. The matrix is a mystery and cannot be revealed to anyone. People have to find and experience it by themselves. Neo is reportedly living a dream and is not aware of what is going on. It seems there is something much bigger and hidden that is affecting his life. He is living a dream and this is portrayed by the information given by Trinity. Trinity reports that Neo is living a dream and is not living in the year 1999 he is infect living in 2199 (Wachoski, & Wachoski, 1999).
Neo learns that he is a victim of the Matrix- a massive artificial intelligence system that has tapped into people’s mind and is inter3efering with the functioning of the body and the brain. Is being sought because he is believed to be having the capability to crack the matrix and save the people. Cracking it would offer people physical and psychological freedom (Irwin, 2002).
The matrix film raises a lot of philosophical issues; for instance the characters are seen to be living in a dream. The problems in their lives are so high that it seems like an illusion or a dream. Neo tells his friend that he is having a feeling that he is not sure if he is awake or dreaming. It appears that Neo does not believe that Trinity came to him in real life. Neo does not seem to be in a position to differentiate between the real world and the dream world.
One of the major philosophical issues in the movie is that there is more portray l of people trying to rely on science and technology than they do on God (Irwin, 2002). The movie contradicts philosopher Descartes believe that God exists and that he makes things happens. Neo in his endeavor to discover the truth, he retreats in a dark room where he thinks that technology will provide solutions to his current situation. Descartes believed that for any idea to become a reality there has to be an intervention of a superior being that makes things to happen. Therefore Neo would not find the direction of his journey through technology and science. He would have admitted that there is an existence of God who makes things happens (Irwin, 2002).
Descartes also believed in deception and likewise the characters in the Matrix are living in deception for failing to can acknowledge that God exists. The matrix itself is a deception to an illusion. It is thought to impact peoples physical and psychological freedoms. In doubting the existence of God they think by cracking the matrix through the help of Neo the supposed savior.
The Oracle which is an almost replacement of God, makes Neo to have an idea of who he is and the power he possesses. The oracle provided the guidance that Neo wanted in realizing what the matrix is about (Irwin, 2002). It told him what he wanted to hear. The oracle is reported to never be wrong and knows everything from the beginning. Through oracle, Morpheus is trying to wake peoples mind from the influence of the matrix.
The film tends to be inclined to Descartes argument that imperfections in life occur because people are under influence of a divine deception. Therefore the issue that is troubling Neo cannot be solved through the use of math or science because it has some deception. It does not follow the principles of nature and truths. That is the reason why Neo has hard time cracking it (Wachoski, & Wachoski, 1999).
Descartes believe would have been used in this film to promote human thinking in the sense that Neo is a real human trying to crack some fictional knowledge that is hindering humans from gaining freedom. According to Descartes, the human immaterial thinking is able t react to illusion and responds to unexpected happening. That is why Neo feel like he is living a dream. Neo's mind is struggling to differentiate the real world from a dream. This is some of the capabilities of human thinking.
The other philosophical issue in the film is the existence of a real world and a dream world. Morpheus, knowing that Neo has unique capabilities, challenges neo by asking him if he have ever had a dream (Wachoski, & Wachoski, 1999). He reports that dreams can appear real and people might find it hard to wake from it. He questions of how one would tell the difference between the dream world and the real world. The movie confirms the belief that the information people receive in real life might fail to be accurate and become confusing. This makes people to feel like they are living a dream. Descartes had dreams of things that seamed real to him. He claimed in some dram it was possible to feel things like in the waking life. This similar to what Neo was experiencing. Descartes showed that sometimes the reliability of senses could be doubted. That is why Neo is unable to tell the difference between the real and the dream world.
References
Irwin, W. (Ed.). (2002). The matrix and philosophy: Welcome to the desert of the real (Vol. 3). Open Court Publishing.
Wachoski, L. & Wachoski L., (Director). (1999). Matrix [Motion picture]. US.
