The Matrix Explained - Part One

I recently became a first-time dad a couple months ago.  So it's been a hectic several weeks to say the least.  Combine that with a somewhat comprehensive material already covered, my blogging has admittedly slowed down.  However, I figure I could circle back to some interesting topics I always wanted to explain to others but now fit a blog format much better.  So I'll start with one of my favorite movies of all time - The Matrix Trilogy.  So I'll start with the first movie and my take on how it all fits in together and their meaning.

So the movie basically introduces the concept of Plato's Cave where the prisoners in the cave are only exposed to shadows generated by a fire as a light source.  So in a nutshell, the manipulation of perception creates reality in the minds of the prisoners which the Matrix is a modern take on.  Instead of a cave, the Matrix uses virtual reality as the means to manipulate perception.

The main question the first movie in the trilogy presents is, 'What is real?'

Morpheus poses this question to Neo when introducing him to the Matrix.  He posits if it's what you can touch, taste and feel then reality is nothing more than electrical signals interpreted by the brain.  He then challenges this idea that even though the Matrix can produce the electrical signals, it is not real but merely a computer program.

What the movie didn't touch too much regarding the difference between the Matrix and the real world is the relationship Reality has with Knowledge.  The movie just briefly skirted the topic when Trinity was aware of Cipher's betrayal and that he was promised to be reinserted by wiping out his memory.  The truth is whether you're in the Matrix or not, eating a steak in the Matrix is no different than eating a steak in the real world.  The only difference is that once you know about the Matrix, you know that experience in the Matrix is the result its programming unlike experience in the real world is the result of natural law.

Without the knowledge of the Matrix, experience is designed to be exactly like natural law and therefore there is no reason to believe it is not real.  Therefore, with the knowledge, you know the difference and have the understanding to defy the programming to varying degrees.  Consider the following though experiment.  Imagine Cipher made a deal with the Agents and decided to imprison Morpheus by drugging him in the real world and then creating another virtual reality that looked exactly like the real world (the inside of the Nebuchadnezzar, et al) and then plugged him in while drugged and then awoke inside the program in the same spot he fell asleep in the real world.  He would continue his life inside the program as if it were real.

So it's very important that what is real is to a large degree dependent on knowing the existence of the Matrix.  This is not to say that knowledge determines reality.  After all, believing the earth was flat didn't make it so.  However, assuming the earth is flat would start revealing massive inconsistencies when it came to navigation and ultimately be dismissed as a false premise.  And therein lies the difference when it comes to the Matrix.  As the audience, we are to assume there are no inconsistencies in the Matrix.

So to answer the question on what is real, it still holds that both perception and consistency are the only tools we have thus far.

Some other interesting points in the movie is in Neo's conversation with the Oracle.  She said that being the One is like being in love.  No one can tell you're in love, you just know it.  The question is how this knowledge come into being?  It might be easier to examine how you know you're in love as an analogy to understand this.  Knowing you're in love is really based on a feeling you get than through some logical deduction.  And the feeling is more of a confirmation that a variety of values having been fulfilled but in what order or to even pinpoint which values may be more difficult to quantify.  The main thing to understand is the knowledge comes from a feeling.  Sort of like knowing when you're full from eating.

How does Neo get this feeling that confirms he's the One?  Initially, he believe he isn't the One because he believes the Oracle told him so.  However, this also implies he believes in the Oracle and therefore also believes that either he or Morpheus will die and it will be up to him.  The ensuing fight with the Agents along with Morpheus' capture ultimately confirms the Oracle's premonition.  When Neo is then confronted with the choice either having his life or Morpheus' life, he chooses Morpheus' over his.  This sets up the belief that a rescue operation is not only possible but successful.  Remember, this all hinges on him believing, not in himself, but in the Oracle.  As the rescue mission begins to succeed, it starts to fulfill his confirmation in his powers and slowly the feelings of being the One start to emerge.
I think what he didn't realize is that Mr. Anderson would have to "die" in the Matrix to fulfill the prophesy and that Neo would live on as the One.

That's basically my take on the first movie.  From a philosophical standpoint, it wasn't too deep or technical but rather a good "dipping your toes in" kind of movie for the average moviegoer.  The concepts were easy to understand and the action scenes were spectacular to make the movie even if you weren't so philosophically inclined.  The juiciest part of the trilogy is in Reloaded, by far.  Revolutions isn't as deep but there are some good stuff there too.  It wraps up the series nicely.