Blog 3: The matrix [analysis]

The first question that came to my mind when I first started watching the movie “the matrix” was: What is matrix? And I asked myself several times: what is the meaning of the movie [the matrix]? I always have consider “the matrix” as a action/science fiction movie, however, the movie the matrix goes beyond, it has a strong meaning and has something in common with Plato's example: “the allegory of the cave”. Many people do not like the matrix because they do not understand what is the message.

According to the text The matrix as metaphysics [the science fiction and philosophy book pp. 33] the matrix presents a version of an old philosophical fable “the brain in a vat”. What does the fable tell? well, the philosophy refers that there is a disembodied brain in a vat, however, the brain is connected to a big computer simulation of a world. The disembodied brain is being studied inside the laboratory. The scientist is studying the disembodied brain because he believes that it can receive the same amount of inputs that a normal embodied brain receives. For instance, the [disembodied] brain that is connected to the computer might think that it is sonny outside or might think that it is walking on the beach. So, What is the matrix? The matrix is the false believes caused by the computer simulation. For example, the disembodied brain thinks it is walking on the beach, when in fact, it is inside the laboratory.

The movie has something quite different from the philosophy “the brain in a vat”. You may ask yourself, what is the difference? Well, the philosophy says that the brain is in a vat, however, in the movie the matrix, Neo's brain is in his body. Like an disembodied brain, Neo has false beliefs. For example, he thinks he has hair, he thinks he lives in a city and he thinks that it is 1999, in reality he has no hair and the year it is around 2100 and when Morpheus shows Neo the world as it is, he sees that the world has been destroyed, every time Neo sees the truth he feels strange. In other words Neo was living in a illusion. In effect, Neo is a brain in a vat even though his brain is in his body.

The matrix has a comparison “reality v. illusion”. For instance Neo thinks he lives in a city, in fact, the world has been darkened by war. The matrix has something in common with Plato's allegory “the allegory of the cave”. Plato gives and illustration about how people prefer to live in ignorance rather knowing the truth. He says “ if one of the prisoners are released and disabused of their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck around and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains” [excerpt from the republic pp25]. Plato means that if the prisoner is released and get out of the cave [ignorance] and sees the world as it is, the prisoner would feel pain because the truth might be hard to accept because he is used to live in ignorance [inside the cave]. The same thing happens to Neo [the matrix], at the beginning when Morpheous tries to explain to Neo the reality, he does not want to accept the truth, he refuses to be helped. However, at the end of the movie Neo accepted the reality.

In conclusion, the movie the matrix has a strong meaning that many people do not realize. Like I said before, the matrix is a version of the fable “The brain in a vat”, a computer simulation that sends certain amount of inputs to the disembodied brain. Therefore, the brain starts to have false believes, like Neo in the movie, He thinks it is 1999 however the year is around 2100. Even though that at the beginning of the movie Neo did not want to get helped, at the end he accepted the reality, the world as it is.