This article is a follow-up to the Mythology of The Matrix published in the
Winter 2003
edition of JG, reviewing the first two films.
I
absolutely loved Matrix Revolution, the just-released third movie in the
trilogy. Revolution provides a brilliant and intriguing climax to the
theological themes raised in Matrix and Matrix Reloaded. The visuals are
totally stunning, but for me the essence of the movie is its treatment of the
apocalyptic archetype and its message for the Christian vision of history. The
theology emerges in the final twist of the plot, so if you plan to see the
movie I recommend you do so before reading this review.
To
recap, the matrix is a future world where machines have taken over and exploit
humans by creating a world of total illusion. Like a sick culmination of Saint
Paul’s critique of Rome in Romans 1:25, ‘they exchanged the truth about God for
a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator.’ There
are only two gaps in the matrix vision of a purely materialist machine world -
the beleaguered human remnant of Zion at the centre of the earth, which is
under massive attack from the machine army, and a bug in the machine in the
form of Agent Smith, played by Hugo Weaving, who has replicated himself out of
control throughout the matrix.
In
Matrix Revolution, all hope seems lost for Zion as the tunnelling monsters and
their myriad mechanical minions move to extinguish the last bastion of free
humanity. Neo, the chosen one, played by Keanu Reaves, has gone with his lover
Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) to the great machine city to try to save Zion.
Described by the oracle (an old poor black woman - Mary Alice) as ‘our connection
to the source’, Neo is like Jesus Christ, destined by God to save humanity
through the power of grace. The military commanders dismiss his mission as
insane, but of course he succeeds (by the grace of God).
The
twist in the plot is that the matrix needs to ally with Zion to overcome the
rogue program Smith. In an awesome scene (reminiscent of Dorothy and the
emerald wizard of oz) Neo meets the mechanical mind of the matrix, surrounded
by the immense array of machine city. The mind has been described somewhere as
the ‘Deus ex machina’ or God in the machine, in a pun on both the traditional
theatrical device and the Cartesian dualist picture of the ghost in the
machine. Neo strikes an almost Faustian bargain with the matrix, pointing out
that the Smith bug threatens to destroy the matrix, and arguing that only he
(Neo) can beat Smith. Deus agrees, and calls off the minions besieging the
citadel of Zion while sending Neo into the illusion world of the matrix one
last time for a final battle with Smith. Like the apocalyptic showdown between
the archangel Michael and Satan at the end of time, Neo and Smith rage through
the heavens, with final victory going to Neo. Free human creativity, connected
to the ultimate source of truth through a messianic saviour, has squished the
bug and triumphed over the evils of corruption and illusion.
To
explain why I think this is all so profound, I need to explain my own
theological position. I have always thought the USA was the inheritor of the
mantle of world leadership held in Jesus’ day by Rome, and along this line I
have explored how the Biblical critique of Rome in the Epistles and the
Apocalypse might apply to America. The interesting thing about the Matrix is
the way it provides such a powerful critique of American mass culture,
especially of how advertising and the media have poisoned people’s minds into
precisely the sort of ‘worship of the creature rather than the Creator’ that
Paul saw as the source of Roman failure. Just as the matrix blinds people to
reality, the illusory world offered by commerce blinds our society to the
realities of poverty, ecology and God.
My
way of understanding this has been to interpret the United States Dollar as the
fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy of the 666 in Revelation 13:18. Just like the
666, the US dollar has six letters in each of its three names, and its role in
our world financial system means that ‘no one can buy or sell without … the
number of its name’ (Rev 13:17). Now, I know that suggesting Jesus Christ
miraculously predicted the structure of human society 2000 years in advance is
highly implausible, but he was meant to be Son of God after all. Whatever you
may think of it, I have found this interpretation helpful as a way of
understanding the problems of our world and what is needed to overcome them.
Please don’t laugh, just think of it as an intriguing possibility, and explore
for yourself how well it fits with the Gospel vision.
The
really interesting thing about Matrix Revolution is the suggestion of the
alliance between Neo and the Matrix against Smith. Applied to the
interpretation of the USA as the beast of the apocalypse, and our world
financial system as the symbol of the matrix, this would suggest the final
judgement of God on the world at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will involve
the redemption of America, not its damnation. As Jesus said in John 3:17, ‘I
came to save the world not to condemn it.’ The alliance between Neo and the
Matrix against Smith implies that God will ally with the 666 (the United States
Dollar) against all the evil spin-offs that America has accidentally created,
and which threaten to destroy the world.
And
another thing. I also interpret this biblical framework in terms of astrological
cosmology, which I consider provides an amazingly compelling and fertile
integration of the worldviews of science and Christianity, showing how the
essence of the Bible is fully compatible with modern thought. The key is the
description of the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem in Revelation
21:19-20, which scholars such as William Barclay say are a coded reference to
the twelve signs of the zodiac in reverse. I know this is all rather cryptic,
but I believe it points to a coherent and rational interpretation of the
Biblical vision of the new age in the framework of the precession of the
equinox, with the Second Coming equated to the dawn of the Age of Aquarius. In
terms of the matrix, the new age as predicted by these apocalyptic symbols would
involve the integration of the matrix of capitalism within the trinitarian
cosmology of the loving rule of God.
Perhaps
the movie should have been called Matrix Redemption, but maybe that isn’t as
engaging as Revolution, and would have given away the plot.