The Matrix (1999)

Movie Poster

What if we are currently living in a world that is not real? Will you continue living in it or seek the truth? What if all the things that we know were lies? And lies? And lies?

A lot of questions are running in my mind… so many questions yet so many things left unanswered.

What if this world we are staying at, this world we are calling home is like The Matrix?

What is The Matrix?

The Matrix, as described by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), is a computer-generated dream world built to keep us under control in order to change a human being. (A battery was then shown by Morpheus)

It is also a system and a Neural Interactive Simulation. It makes the human beings dependent on machines. In the Matrix, humans are grained in a field and not born.

The film Matrix is about how the “system” controls us using machines. There are people who were already “enlightened” the ones who knows the “truth” like Morpheus and the crew in the Nebuchadnezzar ship, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Tank (Marcus Chong), Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) ,Dozer (Anthony Ray Parker), Apoc (Julian Arahanga), Switch (Belinda McClory) and Mouse (Matt Doran).

The ship Nebuchadnezzar is also called Neb in the film. The name was based on the bible from Nebuchadnezzar the second, from the book of Daniel. He is known for his conquests and when he built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

The enlightened people searches for “The One” in the Matrix and risk their own lives in order to find him. They run and hide from the Agents. They can get away from the Matrix through a phone call which sends them back to the “Real World”. Agents are sentient programs that can move in or out of any software hardwired to their system. They are also in a form of Human Beings and are usually wearing formal attire with a pen on their tie, a black shades and an earphone-like communicator on their ear.

As they were on search, Morpheus believes that Neo, was The One. Neo (Keanu Reeves) is living in  a two-kind of life in the Matrix, the other one with a name of Thomas A. Anderson, who works as a program writer at a respectable company and the other one as Neo, a computer hacker. He was told by The Oracle (Gloria Foster) that he “got the gift” and was believed to be “The One” who will save the world and Zion (the last human city). Morpheus mentioned that Neo was not yet of-age to know the truth but they were left with little time so he made a move to get him as soon as he possibly can. He hinted Neo about it when he sent Trinity where they first met on bar. When Neo was in his office, Morpheus gave him a newly delivered phone in package and guided him where to go to run from the Agents who looks for Neo at the same time. Neo failed to run from them and was caught by the Agents. In order to show control, the Agents closed Neo’s mouth with their power and put a squid-like bug into his belly button. Neo then woke up thinking everything was just a dream until he received another phone call from Morpheus where the latter asked if Neo still wants to see him.

Trinity and company fetch Neo with a car. As Neo doubts them, they made him choose whether to stay in the car or go in “that highway”. There, they think Neo was bugged and removed it. That was the time where Neo realized that it’s not a dream.

Neo choosing the Red Pill

Neo then met Morpheus inside an abandoned building where the enlightened people are currently hiding. The latter made Neo choose between the blue and red pill he was holding in his hands. The pill that Neo chooses will determine the choice he made. The blue pill will make him go back and believe what he wanted believe. The red pill will take him to “wonderland”, as described by Morpheus, where he will see truth but will never had the chance to go back. Neo chose the red pill and the truth was shown to him. The pill was a trace program—disrupts input-output carrier signal.

the "Field" of human beings

Neo saw the truth and was taken away from the “field” of human beings where he saw that millions of people being at sleep in a jelly-like liquid bed. He got wounds and tubes connected to his skin. As he was back in the real world, year 2199 in the ship of Morpheus, the wounds took time to be healed. I also noticed that in the “real world”, they are wearing a neutral-color type of clothing, simple sweatshirts and etc., mostly gray.  It may symbolize how simple human beings in the real world are living. That something is missing from them, a color maybe, because it was taken away by the Matrix.

Jelly-like liquid Bed

Neo was then put in a loading program inside a computer program where Morpheus explained everything that he knows to inform and orient Neo to the real world. In the real world, Neo lost all of his hair due to being “asleep” in the jelly-like liquid bed but in the loading program, they have a “mental projection of digital self” where he regained his hair and without insertable opening for tubes in their skin.

The first loading program shown to Neo was a room with an overpowering white background with two red couches, a remote control and a television. The white background for me, symbolizes cleanliness and purity and a lie at the same time. The red couches were the enlightened people fighting for the truth. The television can show fantasy and reality depending on what we want since we are the one who chooses what to “see” using a remote control. Neo at first don’t want to believe Morpheus with what he was talking about. The latter also showed how ugly and abandoned the world is now, so different from the world that Neo knows. He then later succeed to make Neo believed and had a training battle to another loading program.  Neo learned how to do martial arts and other fighting skills through installing all this programs in his body. Neo was then personally trained by Morpheus. He also went to the Jump Program where it will determine if one’s mind is “Free” but Neo failed. Neo’s failure symbolizes that all of us will make mistakes and will fail sometimes but that doesn’t mean that we have to give up.

The Matrix is a system and an enemy. It was mentioned that there are people who are not ready to be “unplugged” (from the dream world) and that they were dependent on the system that they will fight and protect it. The Agents were also the gate keepers; they are guarding all the doors and holding all the keys. In the real world, there are squid-like killing machines made to destroy any human ship wandering. The EMP or Electro Magnetic Pulse is the only chance of the enlightened people to defeat those squids. It disables any electrical system and is only against machines. Cypher , one of the crewmen in the ship betrays them by talking to Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and told him things that he was not supposed to know.

A “sleeping” (living in the dream world) human being will see the matrix through a monitor in codes (numbers, letters, etc.) but the enlightened ones can decode it and see what is in that monitor.. The food that they eat inside the ship is a porridge-like that has everything the body needs.

Morpheus and company then went to the dream world for Neo to see the Oracle. In the Oracle’s place, there are people, mostly children, who they call “other potentials”. A child taught Neo that to be able to do things in the Matrix; you will just have to remember that nothing is real. Like the spoon she is able to bend with her mind, it was because she believes that “There is no spoon”. Neo then met the Oracle, who was baking cookies, and told Neo that he got the gift of The One but he seems to be still waiting for something. She also told him that Neo will have to make a choice between his life and Morpheus’.

As they were preparing to go back to the real world, Neo had a déjà vu. He saw a black cat purred and walked twice.  A déjà vu in the dream world is a glitch in the Matrix which happens when they change something. They were then chased by the Agents and other policemen. No one from the matrix, either an agent or not, should see them doing suspicious things because an Agent can send their selves through anyone’s body. Mouse then died fighting. As they were hiding behind the walls, they were discovered when one of them let out a loud sneeze. Morpheus told them to go and had a one-on-one fight with Agent Smith. Cypher made it back to real world with Tank’s help but betrayed them again when he fired at Tank and Dozer with an electric gun which caused the latter to die. Cypher then had the power to unplug anyone he wants and kill them. He unplugged Apoc and Switch while on the phone with Trinity. As he was going to unplug Neo, he said that if Neo was The One, there’s got to be a miracle that will save him, and from there, Tank, all wounded and bloody, was shown holding the gun that killed Dozer and fired at Cypher. He then helped Trinity and Neo go back in the ship.

Cypher "unplugging" Apoc

The Agents held Morpheus and injected him something that will help them break into his mind. As Agent Smith was talking to Morpheus alone, he removed his communicating device in his ear and revealed that he hate and is tired of what he was doing. He also wanted to be freed and he thinks Morpheus’ mind is the key and that he has to get inside of Zion.

Neo then decided that he will go back to the dream world in order to save Morpheus because he said that that’s what he believes in. Trinity accompanied him saying that it was what she believes in. They entered the building with a black bag full of guns and killed the guards. The agents then learned that Neo and Trinity were trying to save Morpheus and because Agent Smith removed his communicator, he did not know that the two were already inside the building. As they were fighting, an Agent came to them and showed how fast he can dodge bullets. Neo seek help from Trinity and was able to dodge bullets like the Agents. Trinity shot the Agent in the head saying, “Dodge this” to him. They rode a chopper where the Pilot operator program was installed to Trinity. Neo then showered the room, where Morpheus was held, with bullets without hurting the latter. Morpheus then managed to get up but was shot in the legs by Agent Smith and almost did not manage to jump off the building. Neo catch and saved him. The Agents then tried to shoot them but shot the helicopter instead. Trinity was losing control but was saved by Neo. Tank then realized that Neo was The One.

There is a payphone in a subway which will bring them back to real world. Morpheus got on first but a beggar saw them and Agent Smith got in there. Fortunately, Trinity made it back just before Smith fired at the phone. Neo and Agent Smith had a one-on-one combat then. Neo managed to defeat the agent by having him struck by the train but another Smith went out of the train making Neo run. He was then being chased by the agents and has to get the phone call in a building but as Neo opened the door where the phone was located, Agent Smith was already there and shot him a lot of times. The agents checked and thought he was dead. In the ship, Morpheus, Trinity and Tank could not believe what happened. There were also squids coming to their ship, they can’t use the EMP if Neo was still in the Matrix because he is not yet unplugged from the Matrix. Trinity still believes that he is The One because the Oracle told her that the person that she will love is going to be The One. She realizes that Neo is The One because she is in love with him. In the Matrix, Neo woke up like nothing happened and the agents cannot believe so they fired at him using their guns but Neo managed to control the bullets and destroyed Agent Smith. The two other agents run. He managed to get back on the ship with Trinity’s kiss just before they use the EMP. Neo then knows that he is really The One.

Neo controlling bullets

The Matrix is a science-fiction/action film written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers and was produced by Joel Silver by the distribution of Warner Bros. Pictures. The music was by Don Davis, cinematography by Bill Pope, and was edited by Zach Staenberg. The film was first released on March 31, 1999. 

Am I awakened? I don’t know. Am I still asleep? I hope I am not. The Matrix affected me so deeply. From the way I think to the things that surrounds me. Just one look on the right, questions run through my mind. The one thing I am sure of? The film opened my eyes to all the possibilities.

I am trying to answer all my curiosity and questions I have for the film. These are my research and some are my own understanding for it.

Why use the “phone” as a symbol and a matter of transportation from the dream world back in real world? In my own opinion, they used a phone because it is a literal form of communicating. That somehow even if people are worlds apart from each other, a phone helps us to be with them by hearing the voice on the line. We might not see the people we are talking to on the phone but it helps us feel that they are just there. That we are somehow transported to be with them.

What is the essence of the shades? I have always wondered why they always wear dark sunglasses. Shades can protect and hide our eyes. Our eyes also communicates when whenever we talk to someone, it expresses our feelings non-verbally. I personally think that the reason why they are always wearing sunglasses is because they are hiding something. Like the Agents, they are not like us and wearing shades represents that they are hiding the truth from the real human beings.

Why Neo is named Neo? The meaning of Neo is “New”. I think it was because Neo is the “newest” member to be a part of the ship Nebuchadnezzar yet he is the one who will save the humans from the Matrix. He is our “new” savior.

I have always wondered why Morpheus thinks that he is losing time in telling the truth to Neo. Why is he in a rush? I don’t think that question of mine is answered. I’m still thinking about.

Does being a Caucasian (Whites) have something to do with the Agents? They have unusually fair skin for me and they were too bright. USA is currently the most powerful country in the world, they are mostly Whites. I think their race is based on power since we all know that the US has the power to control most of the things. I think, being the Whites of the Agents symbolizes power and control.

What is the road Trinity and Switch talking about? Why is Neo afraid of going into that highway? I wonder what is with that highway.

When Morpheus said that “the Matrix is a computer-generated dream world built to keep us under control in order to change a human being”, he showed a battery to Neo. A battery symbolizes life and energy. Since the human beings from the Matrix are dependent on machines, the battery (life) will always have to be connected in order to continue functioning. The Matrix’s plan is to make us dependent on them. 

Morpheus showing the battery.

Using the Structuralist Film Theory, the film conveys meaning through the things shown in the movie. Everything has a deeper meaning, like the battery, the shades to the tie of Morpheus. I noticed that Morpheus’ tie is usually in green which could mean hope since he was the one who found Neo. The technicalities were amazing. I am literally amazed how great the film was with its story and at the same time with the other elements of a film.

The Matrix is known for its unique story, superb visual and sound effects.  It also became famous for its “bullet time” effect. The lighting, scoring and sound effects were perfect for the film and help to build the mood the scenes needed. The editing was smooth and sewed, and the shots were established and executed well. The transitions were also creative.

Having the high-tech vibe, perfect for a science-fiction film, the production deserves two-thumbs up. It offers emotional attachment through the viewers by creating a complicated “love story” between Neo and Trinity. It also touches one’s heart by reminding us that we, human beings, should stand and fight for what we deserve. We are a slave of no one and should never be. This is our world and we are the one in control of it. It also taught me that I should not take things for granted and appreciate every little thing instead. The Matrix is very informational and intellectual, it makes you think and re-think. It is the kind of film that deserves to pass on to generation to generation.  

"There is no spoon."

(c)Angelu Gawaran

The Matrix (1999) official trailer: