What does the matrix symbolize? Many say it symbolizes the Government. It is a false view on things to help us feel content and unafraid. This is a valid argument to an extent. The matrix is a control. The machines keep the humans enslaved for their benefit. The government may cover up certain events, but we are not slaves to the government. The question now is, what, if anything, are we enslaved by? What keeps us from being free? Are we actually free? I thought about this for a very long time, since the movie was released, to present. I think I may have finally figured it out. Money.
The chart above symbolizes who owns what in the U.S. It shows that 10% of our population own 90% of the wealth, while 90% of the people in the U.S. own only 10% of the wealth. Looking at this chart, it is blatantly obvious that the there is something very wrong with our economy. The rich get richer, as the poor get poorer.
After viewing this chart, lets discuss freedom.
Free-exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
Now, the U.S. is notorious for being "free", let's look at this carefully. If you don't pay your mortgage on your house, what happens? You lose your house. If you don't pay your monthly payment for your car, what happens? You lose your car. Do we really own anything? Are we really free? Are we unregulated? Are we without interference or external control? The truth is, we are not. The matrix symbolizes the control that money has on our lives, and the regulations we must obey in order to live.
Now to the spiral staircase. The staircase in the first matrix movie is a spiral staircase, with black and white tiled floor at the bottom. At first glance, you may view this as no importance whatsoever. Yet if looked at with a analytic view, it becomes very important. The black and white tiles at the bottom symbolizes thinking in black and white, right and wrong with no gray area. People who think in black and white, see no other than right or wrong. They are radical, their views are simple and unthoughtful. The staircase symbolizes enlightenment, a long steady journey up the spiral staircase, away from black and white thinking, to more of a gray area of thinking. Seeing things in a different way, noticing things that people who think in black and white will never see.
Now I'm not going to go into the roll of Neo in the movie, it is pretty obvious that he is a Christ figure in the movie, especially in Revolutions when his body forms a cross. I hope you have enjoyed the first analysis of this blog, and I hope you look forward to more.
~Merochev
