- Published: November 14, 2021
- Updated: November 14, 2021
- University / College: Georgia Institute of Technology
- Language: English
- Downloads: 41
UmitAKCAYING551Assis. Prof. Doctor Nur Emine Koc Cinemaand Literature10. 01. 2018 Symbolismin The Matrix Trilogy The Matrix Trilogy is a film seriesdirected by Wachowski Sisters. It is very philosophical and there are manysymbols hidden in the series.
Wachowski sisters are influenced by the Frenchphilosopher Jean Baudrillard and his book Simulacraand Simulation. Reality and illusion, what is real and what is not isquestioned throughout the series. The characters and their names are deliberatelychosen and they represent certain people in history. Neo, the protagonist ofthe series, for example, can be considered as the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Trinity stands for Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are also some othersymbols hidden in the name of the places and objects. While being a masterpieceof a dystopian movie, the Matrix Trilogy gives us subliminal messages relatedto Christianity and Judaism. This article aims to show the messages and symbolshidden deep inside the series.
The story takes place in the year 2199 ina time where machines and artificial intelligence has gained all the control onearth and made human beings live under the earth’s surface, in a place calledZion. The story is based on the binary opposition between the reality and dreamworld named matrix. As Morpheus says in the first movie matrix is a computer-generateddream world where most people prefer to live instead of the real world. It ishard to define what is real in the matrix. The philosophical inspiration forthis binary opposition comes from Jean Baudrillard’s book Simulacra and Simulation.
This book is literally seen in the firstmovie and it is a proof that Wachowski Sisters are influenced by thismasterpiece. In this book, Baudrillard argues that we live in a distortedversion of reality. Our perception of reality is controlled. The Gulf War, forinstance, did not take place according to him. The American army did not really confront the Iraqi army. Nothing was told about the Iraqi casualties. Thereforethe fighting “ did notreally take place. It was the first war to be watchedon television, like a TV series.
It was more of propaganda than a war. Mediamade it impossible to distinguish what really happened there with misrepresentationsthrough simulacra.
