Matrix rough draft

The Matrix is a movie that has many philosophical themes that are included and it was a very complex movie in which we had to pay a lot of attention. In the movie there were many parts that at first we don’t see to have any relation to philosophy, but in a later film that we watched on the Philosophy of the Matrix, it showed the relations between both. The biggest question that arouses throughout the movie was figuring out “What is real?” which I find relatively similar to the theory of immaterialism, by George Berkeley.

            Mr. Anderson is Keanu Reeves before he joins the Matrix and becomes Neo. Neo was chosen by Morpheus, he saw that Neo was the “chosen one”. When the people of the Matrix wanted to get in touch with Neo they do it through the computer and tell him to follow the white rabbit. A while after he saw a girl that had a tattoo of a white rabbit, when this occurred I made a connection to The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. This movie had a lot of other connections, for example, it made connection with Through the Looking Glass.

                A very big connection I found was between the theory of Immaterialism by George Berkeley and the movie. A part of the movie in which this topic is very relevant is when Neo and Morpheus go and visit the Oracle, Neo walks in to the family room of the Oracle’s apartment and he sees a skinny boy bending the spoon. When Neo, sees this boy a great amount of interest grew in him. The Spoon Boy, told Neo that the truth was that there is no spoon, and then he will see that it is not the spoon that bends it is only himself.

            I found this part of the movie to have direct connection to George Berkeley’s theory of Immaterialism. Berkeley believed that there are no objects in reality and that they are all perceived. Most objects that we believe we see such as tables and chairs are perceptions of our minds and only exist in our minds. If a person doesn’t perceive an object then there is no object.

            Berkeley’s theory also comes in connection to the Matrix when Neo is given his first meal in the Matrix and realizes that it looks like a soup and it’s called dinner for champions. All the food they are given is exactly the same but it’s their minds that perceive what they are eating.  How their food taste like is what their minds make them believe. An example that George Berkeley used when describing his theory was that when you think of a cherry you perceive the sensible qualities such as the colors, flavors, and textures. All perceptions are very reasonable and natural.

            A different part of the movie that was very big in perception was in Neo’s first day of training. Morpheus and Neo were fighting each other, and obviously Neo didn’t believe in himself and Morpheus gave him a beating. After this Morpheus told Neo if he believed that he was stronger than that and Neo didn’t believe deep in his mind. After a moment Morpheus jumped to the next rooftop and Neo thought he could do it but didn’t believe, he failed like it was expected by the rest of the members. Morpheus told Neo that it is his mind that makes it real and that he has to believe in himself in order to accomplish what they believe he could accomplish.

            The way that Morpheus tells Neo that he has to have fate and believe is all forms of perceptions that the mind makes. The reality and truth all come from the mind according to Morpheus and George Berkeley. They all become perception of our mind.

            Neo starts perceiving that he is stronger and that he could do what he believes when he goes back and saves Morpheus with the help of Trinity. When Neo’s mind started perceiving that he was stronger, faster and the chosen one he became the person that everybody else believed he was. All that was needed for him to be this guy, was his own fate and believing in himself.