The Wachowskis said that the Matrix movies are a Trans metaphor, in other words, a story about a transgender and their reality. While it is understandable why the Wachowskis would say that, to simply say that it is about a transgender, its under minding all the philosophy and the beauty of the Matrix itself.
It seems like the Wachowskis said that the Matrix is a Trans metaphor to fit in with the times. LGBT and under so called oppressed groups are a trend and many movie companies know that. So we are going to dive deeper into the philosophy of the Matrix rather than just seeing it as a Trans metaphor (give me a break).
Matrix not only has religious references but it is also a criticism on reality. The Matrix is one of those movies that every time you watch it, there is something you did not notice before that its essential to the plot. Something in the background that you did not notice before. The colors that people wear inside the Matrix and in the real world.
The Matrix is one of the most philosophical movies of all time so lets dive in and find out it meaning.
Is This Real? Living Inside The Matrix
So the matrix is created by the machines. Humans are not born, they are produced so that they can become a battery for the machine world. The machines plug the minds and nervous system of humans into a virtual world where they can live in without having knowledge of the physical world.
Much like virtual reality (like Ready Player One), people plugged into the Matrix see digitally generated world as the machines designed it. Everything around them are programs and other people plugged into the Matrix.
When Neo wakes up from the Matrix after Morpheus gives him the red pill, he sees what the real world has become. Humanity living underground. The machines had taken over the surface of the human world. Its nothing like the beautiful world inside the virtual reality of the Matrix.
It is difficult to accept because it is painful. The truth hurts. it will always hurt. Reality hurts and that is the only way to grow as a human.
Many people like to live in a fantasy especially now with modern day technology. Now a in modern day society, people in first world countries have what is called luxury believes. Believing in something simply because the comfort of their life style gives them the benefit of believing in those things such as “you dont need family.”
Living inside the Matrix is a fantasy created by a governing machine lord to keep humans trapped for the benefit of the machines and their source of power. So long as the humans continue to dream and live in a fantasy, the machines will always have a source of energy…the the bio energy of the human body.
The Red Pill and Blue Pill
The red pill and the blue pill simply symbolize how people choose to live their lives. Take the red pill and you will wake up from the Matrix and see the ugly truth. The truth is never unpleasant but it will make you stronger. The red pill of truth wakes you up from your dream fantasy world that you love so much and shows you what is really happening behind the scenes.
The blue pill allows you to go back to sleep and stay in your wonderland, you fantasy. This is what most people choose.
The blue pill is basically ignorance or rather, blissful ignorance. As if to say, “please lie to me.”
In the movie, Cypher, was the one who betrayed Neo and the group so that the agents can put him back into the Matrix. Cypher begged the agents to erase his memory so that he wont remember a damn thing about the real world. He chose the Matrix as his reality…the fantasy world.
Most people are like Cypher. Ignorance is bliss. They have the “please lie to me,” attitude. They don’t want to hear the truth.
How do you want to live your life?
After Morpheus woke Neo from the Matrix, Neo decided to stay in the real world no matter how ugly it was. It was better to live in a painful reality than in a fantasy land governed by machines.
One of the reasons why the agents in the Matrix exist is to prevent people from waking up because not only does the machine world lose a battery but they also understand that people rather stay asleep and be ignorant of the real world. The machines knew that most people would not wake up from the Matrix because it was very unpleasant and would not be able to handle the harshness of the world.
The Machines had a place for the humans that were able to wake up from the Matrix…Zion.
Some say that the idea of the red pill and the blue pill came from the political system America. Republicans are red and Democrats are blue. Not trying to get political here but you get the idea.
Dont Think You Are, Know You Are
Neo can break the code of reality simply because he knows the truth.
In the Matrix, Neo is a super hacker. That is why he is able to do the things that he does. Most people don’t know how to hack. Only the nerd next door knows how to.
Some people say that seeing is believing. However, when you are on a journey to achieve something, believing is seeing. Is like the self fulfilling prophecy. You believe in something therefore you do it or pursue it. If you did not believe then you would do nothing and pursue nothing.
The reason why Neo was able to do all the things he did in the Matrix was because he was beginning to believe that he was the one. Even Morpheus and the Oracle said that there were others before Neo. However, none were as good as him.
What separated Neo from others whom Morpheus thought were the one was that Neo had conviction. He had no idea how he was going to do something but he did it anyways. It like Entrepreneurs. They are not always sure how they are going to accomplish something but simply having faith and conviction that it is possible, they always find a way.
He who has the most certainty and conviction will win and will be able to persuade those around him.
Agent Smith Superiority Complex
Agent Smith said something that was very haunting in the Matrix.
“Humans spread from one area to another to survive after using up the resources of those areas. There was one other living organism that does the same thing….a virus.”
That really makes you look in the mirror and wonder about your own species. Agent Smith certainly had a superiority complex. Although he was a program he hated being a program. It was because of Neo that he learned to duplicate himself. The man ended up hating the Matrix so much that he decided to take over it and was doing a good job at it.
Agent Smith is important because he represents an important human need and function which is to reproduce. Without reproduction we do not survive. This is a basic necessity of all species. We believe that we can still exist through our children. Our DNA continues with our children. That is why we want the next generation to do better than the last. (which would explain why Boomers are so disappointed at Millennials).
There is strength in numbers. Agent Smith knew that if he could outnumber the programs and the humans then he could take over the Matrix. Even the master computer in Machine city was afraid of Agent Smith. People need to survive and numbers has been one of best ways of not only surviving but also winning wars. That is why many countries are afraid of going to war with China, because the Chinese have the highest population in the world next to India.
Agent Smith thought of humans as a virus and so he became one himself, to beat them as well as the machines.
The Problem Is Choice
The system was created so that people can make better decisions. Laws are created so that people wont do anything crazy. In order for a society to function, laws are needed to protect people against chaos.
In the Matrix, every program exist for a reason. The Machines created the Matrix so that humans would subdued. Humans minds would be kept busy in another reality while the machines used the heat from human bodies as energy.
The Matrix was created to give humans the illusion of choice. That they have control over their lives but really it is being governed by someone else.
The idea of choice is through out the Matrix. From the moment Neo takes the red pill to the when he visits the Oracle. The idea of the One was also an illusion. When Neo visited the oracle she told him that he was not the one despite of how much Morpheus believed that Neo was the One.
However, if the oracle had told Neo that he was the one then Neo would have a hard time believing it. Neo did not begin to believe he was the one until he went to save Morpheus when his own life was in danger. Neo chose to believe he was the One during his mission to save Morpheus. Whether if it was consciously or unconsciously does not really matter.
The idea of choice is that people do not truly start to believe something because someone told them so or because someone pressured them to do it. People believe in something when they make a choice. The oracle knew that and that is why she lied to Neo.
Why Did The Machines Attack Zion
Its a pattern that had run for hundreds of years with the Matrix. Machines knew that not all humans would give in to the Matrix. Rebels would be released and those who broke free from the Matrix were sent to Zion. The machines needed Zion for the pattern that they created because they knew humans were complicated.
The Architect created the Matrix but the Oracle perfected the Matrix and created The One. The Machines created Zion so that they can keep track of the trouble makers. Much like the Matrix, Zion was just another way of controlling humans by making them think they had a choice since they woke from the virtual world.
Once Zion reached a high number of freed minds, the machines decided to kill them and start the process again. More humans would free themselves from the Matrix and the machines would send them to Zion and the cycle continued.
There is a possibility that Neo and Agent Smith could have broken that cycle in the last movie.
Did Neo Die After Defeating Agent Smith?
After Neo defeated agent Smith, the master computer dragged him back to the machine world. Many people believe that he died but that is not true.
After agent Smith takes over Neo’s body and creates another copy of himself, we then see Neo glowing in that orange yellow color which is the color of humans in the Matrix. We also see a cross (Christian symbolism) showing how Neo resurrected once again. Neo was able to overwrite agent Smith’s code but he had to allow agent Smith to take over him in order to do that. It was the same way when agent Smith shot Neo and then Neo came back to life with super powers in the Matrix.
After Neo defeats agent Smith, the master computer congratulates him and drags his body to the machine world but if you watch closely, Neo’s body is still shining that orange coded color of the Matrix showing that he is still indeed alive. That is why we have a Matrix 4. The master computer plugs Neo back into the Matrix without his memories because the machines know how dangerous he is.
What Is The Meaning of the Matrix?
Free your mind.
To make it simple. Be a free thinker. Question everything.
The Wachowskis want us to think that the story is a metaphor for transgenders. There is just no way. People simply listen to what the director says and that is not to discredit what the directors say but to simply shrink down the Matrix as a metaphor for transgenderism is to under mind its greatness.
The Matrix is a philosophy of the mind. What is true and what is a lie. What is real and what is not. Questioning what is real and what is not.
A good example would be the financial systems of the world as well as the political systems of the world. These two systems tend to be rig. The smartest thing that rich people have told poor people is that money will not make you happy, when in reality, money can change your life if you use it right without too much greed. That is a red pill.
What are you plugged into that is creating an illusion in your life. Are you choosing the current life that you have or are you submitting to it.
The Matrix is about freeing your mind. So sorry, Wachowskis, this movie is about much more than a metaphor for transgenderism. We know you are just trying to get with the times.