Lesson 3: The Matrix I: What is this movie trying to say?
“You’re my savior. My own personal Jesus Christ:” Neo and the Hero Archetype
The clearest archetype that one can see is the hero and his adventure as personified by Neo and his journey. Let’s analyze it again in terms of Campbell’s outline and look for Biblical parallels:
Separation
The separation of Neo from his world is strikingly painful. He undergoes a kind of death as the mirror “covers” his body. The Matrix plugs explode from his body; he is sucked down a tube and dumped into water. The separation is freely chosen, however. Morpheus has given him the choice of pills. And, although Neo does not comprehend the full extent of his destiny, he knows that his destiny lies outside the Matrix.
Initiation
Neo then goes through a series of tests. Before he does so, however, he is trained for those tests by his mentor, Morpheus. (Think about the training that Luke receives at the hand of Obi-Wan and Yoda.)
Through the three movies, Neo’s physical prowess and powers increase exponentially until he becomes superhuman both inside and outside of the Matrix. He quickly outperforms his peers in terms of courage and physical capability.
Beyond the physical, however, Neo’s biggest tests are mental and spiritual. He has to come to believe he is capable of certain physical “miracles” before he can actually perform them. “You’re faster than this,” Morpheus says in the first film. “Don’t think you are. Know you are.” Ultimately, in the final movie, Neo comes to believe that he is The One and that only he can bring peace between the humans and the machines.
Jesus, too, performs miracles during his public ministry. Not only does he heal the sick, he also walks on water and turns water into wine. As well, Jesus’ miracles have a spiritual side to them.
Theologians tell us that the miracles in the Gospels were indications that Satan’s rule over the earth was coming to an end. Up until Jesus’ arrival, Satan has maintained a certain rule over nature and humankind – much like the machines maintained a rule over humans and their environment. Jesus introduces many of his miracles by explaining that he is defeating a demon: Mk 3:22-27, Lk 13:32, Mk 4:39.
The “miracles” that Neo performs as well show that the machines’ control over humanity is slowing eroding. Like Jesus with Lazarus in Jn 11:1-12:17, Neo even brings the dead back to life (Trinity at the end of the Reloaded). This miracle demonstrates that the current state of nature in the Matrix is starting to change. For the Gospels, it indicates that Satan’s rule over death is going to change.
Jesus also performs miracles as a fulfillment of prophecy. For example, the multiplication of the loaves in Mk 6:34 is a fulfillment of Ezekiel 34:11. As well, Neo’s miracles confirm the Oracles prophecy of The One, at least for Morpheus and Trinity.
With each miracle, Jesus’ fame grows. Finally, he enters Jerusalem while a large group of worshipers sing his praises.
Jerusalem, as we will see, is also called Zion. When Neo enters Zion in the second movie, he, too, is greeted by a large group of worshipers. Both Zions – Jesus’ Jerusalem and Neo’s Zion – are in need of saviors. Through their miracles, Jesus and Neo are starting to give their people hope.
The Return
At the end of the three films, the viewer is faced with the same problem of defining the hero’s Return as they were with Frodo in LOTR. Like Christ, Neo performs the ultimate sacrifice to save the human race: He appears to die. He even looks like he’s been crucified. But Neo does not resurrect like Christ does. Neo does not claim the throne at Zion. Perhaps the Return will be Matrix IV!
Note that “ship” that seems to carry Neo away into Machine City looks almost like a boat, bringing to mind Frodo’s departure into another world. The idea of the hero being carried away at the end of his life by boat is a familiar element in Anglo-Saxon legend, specifically the story of King Arthur who, like Frodo, is carried away by the fairy-like creatures.
That ship carries Neo into a bright light… shaped a bit how we’d imagine an angel.
One can also break Neo’s journey into a number of smaller Hero Journey’s, where, at the end of each series of physical and psychological tests, Neo comes to a newer understanding of himself and “returns” with a new identity.
The first movie can stand alone as a near perfect separation-initiation-return structure. Neo is separated; he goes through a series of tests; he gains newer understanding. Finally, he faces death itself and conquers it. When he returns, much of his community views him as The One and he begins to believe it himself.
