A Revolution, Reloaded

We finished watching (in my case, for at least the sixth time) the Matrix trilogy from the Wachowski Brothers this weekend. What follows is a rumination to add on top of several knee-jerk reactions/ verbatim regurgitations from the past.

I have mentioned the Matrix all too often on this blog before - a Google Site Search turns up two pages of results! So this post has been a long time coming and I don't quite know why I didn't write it before..

It is an analysis, a reasonably accurate description of what the trilogy said to me. I will limit myself to analyzing the trilogy from four perspectives (although many more are possible for this many-layered thing). It is therefore four posts in one! But before I get to that, I will describe the story as I understand it. I felt this was a necessary (if painful) explication because so many claim not to understand the trilogy at all. That makes this five posts in one, thereby excusing the length (I hope)! >:)

Now let's get right to it...

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Contents

Explication - being a plot summary.

Analysis 1. This will comprise of, well, a cliche. The most obvious way to analyse any epic is to compare it to the monomyth as defined by Joseph Campbell in "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". This is the narrative essence that governs so many works of mythology and the genre known as Science Fiction and Fantasy. From Star Wars, to The Lord of the Rings, to Beowulf (the old Norse saga, not the crappy new movie).

Analysis 2. A look at the Matrix trilogy as a contemplation of a technological singularity. Said term is a pretty mind-blowing concept used to great effect in literature such as Dan Simmons' Hyperion Quartet (and Ilium/ Olympos duet) and in a more dumbed down way in the Terminator series of movies.

Analysis 3. This looks into the concept of simulation and simulacra. These were much hyped (if under-explored) basic concepts that worked their way into the first movie. Though they stopped being the crux of the tale in the later parts, they are an intriguing opportunity for philosophical research/ ranting.

Analysis 4. The final section will talk about how the trilogy handled free will and fate/ destiny. This is one of the more mind-twisting parts of the movie and while I don't claim to understand completely the answer the trilogy gives to the conundrum, I will talk about the conundrum itself and hopefully come up with a worthwhile argument.

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0: Explication

The Matrix (as we will see) for all its conceptual and visual skulduggery, starts out in a simplistic, cliched, 'farmboy saves the world' fashion.

Neo is a slave to the Matrix who is freed by Morpheus, who tells him there is an Oracle who will advise him. Said Oracle tells Neo (and Trinity, and Morpheus) 'what he (they) need(s) to know' in order to play the role of 'the One' (to support Neo). The Oracle very clearly is the orchestrator, the conductor, the one in charge. The Agents of the Matrix are the personification of the enemy (a role mirrored in the real world by the Sentinels). Neo and his team fight both, and Neo lives through the classic death/ resurrection cycle to emerge seemingly omnipotent.

Reloaded introduces doubt, complexity, and ultimately chagrin. The path of the One is murky... Neo, while he all-powerful now, has no idea how to end the war between the machines and humanity and save Zion. He must trust that old manipulator - the Oracle - but begins to question her trustworthiness since he realizes she is a denizen of the machine world - a program.

Could she be a twisted form of control as against a liberator? Although he asks himself that, he carries out her instructions, to discover at the end of Reloaded that his worst fears were true; the Oracle was indeed on 'the other side'.

In Reloaded, some find Trinity an unnecessary diversion. But she too, has a purpose. As the Architect eloquently puts it in his chat with Neo:

Architect: "... Your five predecessors were by design based on a similar predication - a contingent affirmation that was meant to create a profound attachment to the rest of your species facilitating the function of the One. While the others experienced this in a very general way your experience is far more specific, Vis a vie love.

Neo: Trinity

Trinity is the thing that sets Neo apart from prior iterations of 'the One'.. When faced with the 'choice' the Architect offers him at the end of Reloaded, his predecessors would've chosen the 'Architect-recommended' path of the One, and saved the humans that remained outside of Zion (plugged to the Matrix). Neo chose instead (illogically) to throw away the future of the species to save Trinity.

Revolutions kicks off with an exercise in that dreaded thing - faith.

Morpheus and Trinity receive instructions to rescue Neo, which they must trust to for no reason other than faith. Neo then meets the Oracle, who tells him to trust her although she cannot offer him a shred of evidence of trustworthiness.

In her omniscience, she only gives him obscure clues; she tells him that he is an uncontrolled variable in an otherwise balanced equation - his counter variable being Smith. She tells him "everything that has a beginning, has an end".

The conclusion of the conundrum therefore is entirely based on Neo's free choice. The Oracle does not tell him what to do - he figures it out for himself (as Smith would say, he finally uses the muscle that matters).

Annihilating the machines is impossible; destroying the Matrix wasteful; the destruction of Zion must be avoided. A truce is the only possibility - the imbalance in the system that is the Matrix the only bargaining chip. Thus Neo strikes his deal with the Machines - he will destroy Smith, who has become a threat to human and machine alike, in exchange for the survival of Zion.

In a tongue in cheek nod to her character's uselessness (or to signify the final detachment of Neo from things of a worldly nature, whatever!) Trinity precedes her lover into the arms of death.

Finally free of all his bonds, Neo makes his final sacrifice as the last of the Oracle's machinations comes in the form of Smith quoting the Oracle to Neo: he allows himself to be assimilated, thereby making Smith, who so far 'balanced' Neo out in the system that is the Matrix, irrelevant.

The system therefore reasserts itself, and wipes Smith out. Balance restored, the machines keep their deal, and a truce, however temporary dawns upon the world, bringing the cycle to an end with the Oracle looking at a pretty sunset.

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Analysis 1: The Matrix and the Monomyth

What is the monomyth? To quote Wikipedia: "Campbell explores the theory that important myths from around the world that have survived for thousands of years all share a fundamental structure, which Campbell called the monomyth."

The structure is best elaborated in three 'chapters' - distinct phases in the hero's journey. I recommend that the reader follow the link preceding the quote to read the explanation for each step if not familiar with the monomyth idea (although it isn't mandatory):

Chapter 1: Departure
1. The Call to Adventure - As Trinity puts it in the first movie -"It is the question, Neo". What is the Matrix?
2. Refusal of the Call - Neo refuses to climb the scaffolding, and gets captured by Smith and Co.
3. Supernatural Aid - Morpheus, the Matrix's resident Gandalf/ Obi-Wan Kenobi, offers Neo the red pill.
4. The Crossing of the First Threshold - Neo's awakening in the pod, finding the real body to be useless.
5. The Belly of the Whale - Finding that the 'real world' is very different from, and more challenging than, the Matrix.

Chapter 2: Initiation
1. The Road of Trials - Morpheus trains Neo, gets him to "free his mind".
2. The Meeting with the Goddess - Need I really say the Goddess in this case is the Oracle?
3. Woman as the Temptress - Trinity - although she never really 'repels' Neo.
4. Atonement with the Father - Neo decides to rescue Morpheus, recognizing that his value, and the survival of Zion supercede the need for Neo's own survival.
5. Apotheosis - Neo dies and is 'reborn', finally growing into the role of "The One"
6. The Ultimate Boon - Neo makes his "I know you're listening..." phone call.

At this point, the trilogy diverges somewhat from the monomyth - perhaps at the cost of popularity. The difference being that it introduces two things the monomyth/ the ancient world had no use for and therefore did not recognize/ tolerate:

1. Lack of Purpose/ Direction for the Hero: Mythology is usually a very clear narrative. There is a beginning, a goal, and an end when that goal is met. The spin the trilogy puts on this is that the goal of the One is not clear at the beginning of the second movie. The question the second movie asks is "Why should the powers of 'good' be the sole 'anointers' of the Hero? Why couldn't the powers of 'evil' (in this case the machines) set up and use the anointed Hero to their own, evil ends?

2. Complexity: The other spin is that the black-and-whiteness of the ideas of 'good' and 'evil' is challenged in the trilogy. In the middle of Reloaded is a philosophical discussion between Neo and Councillor Hamman that recognizes that the world is far too complex to be 'fixed' by the hero in one swift stroke. There is no 'dark lord' that can be killed by melting his ring in lava. There is no central Voldemort whose Horcruxes can be destroyed.

So from here on, while the elements of the monomyth are still visible, their sequence and their purpose is scrambled.

Chapter 3: Return (Reloaded/ Revolutions)
1. Refusal of the Return
2. The Magic Flight
3. Rescue from Without - These first three elements in my mind are personified in the whole 'entrapment by the Trainman and subsequent rescue' sequence.
4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold - This is shown to have happened between the two movies. Neo accepts his role as savior to Zion, both within the Matrix, and without.
5. Master of the Two Worlds - This is another divergence from the monomyth. In line with the complexity factor, Neo is kept low in rank/ power in the 'real' world in the trilogy.
6. Freedom to Live - Neo delivers this at the end of the trilogy, paying the ultimate personal price.

As you may have noted, the one on one correlation breaks down for Chapter 3, and the trilogy stops using the comfortable old shoe of the monomyth after the first movie. That is a good thing, because for all its philosophising and ponderings, the first movie is very much a familiar narrative designed to draw the viewer in. The second and third movies, albeit flawed deliver the punch.

The two chaotic elements introduced in Reloaded (Lack of purpose/ Complexity) just work for me. I like to see Neo be uncomfortable and clueless. I like that the Gandalf figure is shown to be a misguided soul. I like that the monomyth itself is subverted and shown to be another form of control - so much wool pulled over the eyes of humanity to keep them compliant.

I totally love how, while Neo provides the muscle, the intellectual exercise leading to salvation is credited to the Oracle. I love the disdain with which first the Merovingian, and then the Architect treat Neo, recognizing that he is but a mule for the Oracle.

So the "Path of the One" becomes:

A. Monomyth Chapters 1 & 2 (as explained above)
B. Recognition that the 'anointing' was a trick.
C. Recognition of the complexity of the world, and the relative helplessness of the hero's position.
D. Resolving to trust in the Oracle nonetheless/ resolving to fight on.
E. Opportunistically using the one chaotic element that was an uncontrolled variable (Smith) to achieve the only feasible solution.

That I guess, is where most audiences lose their love for the Matrix trilogy. The very end.

You see, they were expecting the ring to melt/ death start to blow up and Sauron/ the Emperor to die! They did not want Aragorn-Frodo/ Luke making peace with Sauron/ The Emperor in the here and now. They did not want the 'end' to be a temporary peace.

And yet, is any other solution possible in the real world? When has it ever happened that the thing you set out to destroy gets completely eradicated? Think of all the viruses we are fighting with medication and how they keep coming back. Think of Bush's misguided 'war on terror' and the inevitability of its failure in that the purported foe is strengthened by its progress.

As the Oracle puts it, peace is something you can only have 'as long as it lasts'. The real world is too complex for a happily ever after.

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Analysis 2: The Matrix and Technological Singularity

To quote Wikipedia once more, "The technological singularity is the hypothesized creation, usually via artificial intelligence (AI) or brain-computer interfaces, of smarter-than-human entities who rapidly accelerate technological progress beyond the capability of human beings to participate in meaningfully." It is the point in time when technological progress becomes the domain of something above and beyond a human mind.

The Matrix is one of the most thoughtful portrayals of such a singularity, paralleled/ exceeded in scope only by the Hyperion quartet in the fiction I have so far consumed on the subject. Other works on this subject include the movie "I, Robot" (and the body Asimov fiction it is 'loosely based' on), and the sub-text that the character of HAL implies in Arthur C Clarke's "2001: A Space Odyssey".

The trilogy is a mature work that recognizes that while initially humanity and its creation (AI, machines, whatever) might find themselves in conflict - whether full scale war, or a more civil/ moral debate - eventually we are going to have to learn to coexist. It suggests the possibility that the scales will tip in the favor of the 'post-human' entities. That humanity will have to learn to let go of its hubris, and the presumption of a place at the top of the 'pyramid of the biosphere'.

We are not too far from a singularity, I sometimes think. One may argue that sentient technological beings are far in our future, but we are certainly nearing a time when artificial humans, 'grown' in-vitro, or genetically tailored to be more than human in terms of mental of physical prowess are a possibility - nay, a near certainty.

However much today's Islamo-Christian world may profess to be disgusted by the idea of cloning and artificial life, evidence suggests that technology of both the constructive and destructive nature is inevitable. If there is one thing you can bet on in this world (the past 5000 years being supporting evidence) morality/ religion lose the fight to simple possibility.

In this sense this trilogy of movies, especially the second and third parts, are far ahead of their time. They are already talking about a world that may not seem possible now but will be a reality in some way shape or form in the not so far future. It is also doing so very sympathetically, maturely.

In the first movie, the Agents/ Sentinels are cast in a very adversarial light. They are the boogeyman. They must be defeated/ annihilated - and they are!

In Reloaded we begin to see that there are machines - and there are machines. Humanity and the Machine race are shown to be symbionts. Humanity may be the Machines' power source - but it is other Machines that help keep humanity alive in Zion.

Reloaded also introduces the concept of sentient programs such as Seraph and the Oracle, or the Merovingian and his hordes. Artificial life that has no corporeal manifestation! Software as a living being. A being complete with emotion, seeking to go beyond its limited 'purpose'; capable of rebellion; jealously clinging to its existence.

Revolutions goes a step further - it offers the instance of Sati, the illegitimate/ purposeless 'child' of two sentient programs. She has no raison'd'etre other than to exist. Through her father we learn 'love is a word... an implied connection'. It is too much hubris to assume that only humans are capable of it. Or of any other word.

In fact, it is too much hubris to assume that humanity is the only life-form deserving of intellect and a preferred position in the scheme of things! It takes more than a mere man to admit that at times (in the words of Smith) 'humanity... is like a virus'. It takes great generosity - it will take great generosity in the near future - to admit to other life-forms being superior to our selves!

You know - this is one of the reasons I find science fiction and fantasy to be as enduring and valuable as regular, accepted 'literature'. Why I consider it equal to that of Shakespeare or Dickens or whoever - it is a reflection of our guesses about things to come.

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Analysis 3: Simulation and Simulacra

That segues rather nicely into our discussion of "Simulacra and Simulations", a book that the Wachowski Brothers say was one of the influences on the Matrix trilogy. First the relevant Wikipedia links: Article on Simulacra and on Simulations and Jean Baudrillard (the author).

To Plato and most of western philosophy a simulacrum (plural Simulacra) is a reproduction of a real thing to a great degree of accuracy. To Baudrillard the simulacra, particularly those of ideas are not merely literal 'copies'. He argues that a simulacrum is not only a copy of the real, but becomes a reality in its own right: the hyperreal.

Where Plato saw two steps of reproduction — faithful and intentionally distorted (simulacrum) — Baudrillard sees four:

1) a basic reflection of reality,
2) a perversion of reality;
3) a pretense of reality (where there is no model); and
4) a simulacrum, which “bears no relation to any reality whatever.”

In the case of the Matrix, the digital world is supopsedly a flawed (or amended - depending on how you look at it) reproduction of the 20th century human world. In that sense it is a simulacrum. To feed the idea further, the brothers used a lot of 'reflection imagery' in the first movie. Many shots have reflective surfaces in evidence - doorknobs, eyeglasses, mirrors, spoons... what not!

The "There is no spoon" interaction with the prodical monk-kid attempts to explain to Neo that the simulation/ simulacrum need not be changed - it changes when your perception of it changes. But beyond using that idea, the Wachowskis don't really stick to exploring any of the Baudrillard Theory... and that is a pity. It is an interesting theory.

One of the most poignant examples Baudrillard gives is in the form of a fable. If you set out to create an absolutely accurate map of a kingdom, you'd have to build it in a 1:1 scale. Then once you are done, it wouldn't matter if you were living on the map or on the 'real' kingdom, because they'd be the same!

The other popularized example he gives the simulacrum that is the idea of God. He asks the poignant question: "What if God himself can be simulated, that is to say, reduced to the signs which attest his existence? Then the whole system becomes weightless; it is no longer anything but a gigantic simulacrum: not unreal, but a simulacrum, never again exchanging for what is real, but exchanging in itself, in an umnterrupted circuit without reference or circumference..."

You can read more from Baudrillard himself in these two URLs:

An Excerpt from the Book
An Interview specifically about the Matrix

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Analysis 4: Destiny, Will, and the Matrix

The First movie tosses around some really pertinent questions. The case of the breaking vase in the Oracle's kitchen is but the start. Would the vase have broken if the Oracle hadn't warned Neo by saying "Don't worry about the vase". But mostly, if you reduce the first movie to "Neo walking the path indicated by the Oracle" it doesn't really make any headway in answering any questions. All it seems to say is that to an omniscient being, fate presents an inevitable face. To a being of limited perception, the 'illusion of choice' will always seems real.

It is with Reloaded that the fun begins. Smith mocks the very nature of Neo's purpose. The Merovingian, with his 'orgasm-inducing dessert' in the restaurant, illustrates the human condition; he shows we strive on like mindless robots, initially questioning why we do a thing or why a thing happens, until eventually we get caught up in it and take the question to be an answer.

To plagiarize Aaron Sorkin completely out of context (as I often do with this line) we thirstily follow mirages, and on finding only sand, we proceed to drink the sand - not because we are thirsty, but because we can't tell the difference! The ultimate joke is when the Architect demolishes any vestigial remnants of Neo and Morpheus' faith in the Oracle. When finally our heroes realize that they have followed the white rabbit so far down the rabbit hole, there may be no hope to get out!

But there is a hook in that second movie - the Oracle's words: "Your choices are already made - now you must understand why you made them!" and "We can never see past the choices we don't understand.". In those two statements, a world of philosophical meaning. Is the trilogy then saying that there is a destiny for each one of us, and we will see the grand plan unfold in time if we are patient? Or is it saying that all purpose is a rationalization? The anwer is out there.

The final movie, as all final movies must, brings redemption. The Oracle is mercifully shown to be a benevolent being, seeking peace between the two worlds. Smith - the big problem - also becomes the solution, in that he is the only bargaining chip Neo has if he hopes to make peace with the almost triumphant machines. The Oracle sacrifices herself to lead Smith to the end of all things... she trusts to Neo's independent choice, made on the basis of hints she left him...

I have often quoted the rant Agent Smith directs at Neo near the end of the trilogy.

"Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something; something more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is - do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Or could it be for love?

Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. Temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although... only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love.. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?

Neo: Because I choose to..."

To me, that is one of the most forceful bits of dialogues in cinema, and it speaks to me in a very personal voice. As an agnostic and an existentialist, I have often struggled with purpose and motivation. The world too often seems like the 'desert of the real' Morpheus refers to. A vivid imagination compounds the problem because any imagined reality makes the real world pale in some limited contexts. Due to the inherent epistemological limitations of my mind (or any mind) such dissonance seems at times brutal and unbearable.

That then is my biggest take-away from the trilogy. The answer to the eternal 'why' of existentialism; choice.

And as Neo learns, the real world (the trilogy seems to propose) is one where your choices are "your own damn choices". For all its talk of predestination and fate, I see the trilogy as a rather emphatic argument in favor of free will.

If nothing else, it is a thinking man's trilogy!

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Afterthought: This post made me think on what I'm doing showing the wife all this stuff and then writing these long-overdue posts (BTTF, Matrix, etc.) I guess don't really know! Am I geekifying Kirti, or in fact re-geekifying myself?

Time will tell I suppose! :)

Peace... Out.