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Religious Undertones in the Matrix

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Religious Undertones in the Matrix
Kevin Dang
11/19/08
Professor Gourko
The Matrix Analysis
Universal
In 1999, the Wachowski brothers released the first movie in their epic trilogy and box office sales went through the roof. Filled with unbelievable special effects and kung fu, the first film of The Matrix trilogy was a must see for anyone and everyone around the country and the world. It isn't just explosions and fighting that made this film special, the plot is one that leaves the viewer endlessly pondering about the film for days after watching it. It involves almost the entire human race enslaved by machines that have tapped into their minds and placed them in a virtual reality world that they think is reality. Meanwhile, the machines use the energy from the bodies of the humans they control to survive and mankind's only hope rests in the hands of one man. Although the plot sounds like any other science fiction story, The Matrix is filled with intelligence and philosophical meanings about questioning reality which caught the attention of just about everybody along with a religious element of the film where its depictions and allusions are absolutely everywhere and difficult to overlook. The Matrix is revolved around computer hacker, Neo, who lived a relatively normal life until he is contacted by Morpheus, who leads him into the real world. In reality, it is 200 years later, and the world has been laid waste and taken over by advanced artificial intelligence machines. The computers have created a false version of 20th century life, known as the Matrix to keep the humans satisfied. Neo, pursued constantly by "Agents", computers who take on human form and infiltrate the Matrix, is believed to be "The One" who will lead the humans to overthrow the machines and reclaim the Earth. One of the major issues the film put in question is the validity and perception of the world around us. How do we know exactly what reality is or can everything around us simply a projection of what our

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