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The Matrix Reloaded

[No real spoilers] After reading this breathless article about the Matrix Reloaded in Wired last month, I was very much looking forward to the movie and in particular, the special effects. In the end, I think the Wachowski brothers failed in what they were trying to do with the movie, which is disappointing. The completely computer-generated effects (e.g. in the Neo vs. 100 Agent Smiths fight) looked, well, completely computer-generated. The fish in the Finding Nemo preview looked more fish-like than the humans in the Matrix Reloaded looked human-like. The technology they used was 1.0 (or maybe even still in beta) and it showed…give it a few years and then we’ll have something.

The other disappointing thing was the tone of the movie. The Matrix Reloaded would have worked a lot better as an action movie that took itself a little bit seriously (taking a page from the fun X2 flick) instead of a drama interspersed with action. The movie was too weighty and took itself too seriously. I don’t mind weighty movies, but the subject matter just didn’t warrant all the seriousness. Neo is Jesus. We get it, but it’s not compelling enough to build a whole movie around.

What did you think? Post your reviews (or a link to your review) in the comments. [Warning, potential spoilers in comments]

Update: The number of comments in this thread (931 to be precise) made it a bit unwieldy for people to read and comment on (as discussed here), so I archived the thread (as a 1.22 MB HTML file) and opened a new thread so that the conversation may continue if the participants wish.

Reader comments

Kingsley JeganMay 15, 2003 at 10:30AM

It's not yet released in India and won't be for a while, but I have braced myself for a lot of dissappointment. Most of the appeal of the first movie wasn't in the fx, and I am rightfully apprehensive that the rest of the movie is bound to go downhill when so much effort is spent on the fx.

MattMay 15, 2003 at 10:45AM

You know, I thought very much the same thing as you, and posted as much in my review. Be warned, heavy on the spoilers.

MathewMay 15, 2003 at 11:01AM

My review over there. I thought this movie was much better than the original.

TellerMay 15, 2003 at 11:30AM

It'll open here tomorrow. But after seeing the last and longest trailer some thoughts came. In the first movie human actors always played themselves. Correct me if I'm wrong but main characters were always plauing all the scenes themselves (maybe stunt, but never computers). Wires and greenscreen of course.

Now computers have been used to create some action scenes because their impossible to create with real actors. Somehow it just doesn't cut it. Perhaps sticking to simpler tricks and shots and stuff that looks a bit duller but in the end pays off because people feel that this could be really happening as it look well... real.

Of course, this comes from a man who hasnt' seen the movie. Yet :)

SunilMay 15, 2003 at 11:37AM

I was somewhat disappointed. But I paid 9 dollars for two hours of escapism, and that's what I got.

jazerMay 15, 2003 at 11:59AM

I haven't seen it, however I am not surprised at all the negative criticism, given that Matrix: Reloaded has been highly anticipated by one of the world's most critical audiences.

Ross KMay 15, 2003 at 12:03PM

I think I missed out on a major plot point- Who was that "survivor" at the end of the movie?

MarkMay 15, 2003 at 12:07PM

Most of the appeal of the first movie wasn't in the fx

I agree completely, except for the fact that I don't agree with this at all. Almost all of the appeal of the first movie was in the special effects.

MarshallMay 15, 2003 at 12:14PM

It's funny to hear people talk so much about the special effects. What did you think about the STORY? The Ws lament that Reloaded is a bit incomplete in that respect, because it's really only the first half and dependent upon Revolutions for a satisfying finish. Was it really that bad?

Not having seen it yet, my early instincts say that many of the special effects are so good, they simply go unnoticed, and are taken for granted. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because effects should not be so obvious that they take away from the story. And if people are lamenting some poor effects, perhaps there are some issues there that need to be worked out. But again... how is the STORY?

And K -- Neo is not Jesus. Savior does not equal Jesus. There are plenty of other influences which contradict Christian theology in numerous ways. "We get it, Neo is Jesus," even if it's an off-the-cuff, casually dismissive comment, suggests that you don't get it.

Brad ChoateMay 15, 2003 at 12:22PM

The fate and survival of a species? If that's not a weighty matter, I don't know what is. These people aren't in the Matrix to pick fights and have a few laughs. They're at war. I think the level of humor was adequate considering that.

I do agree that the FX weren't all they were cracked up to be, but they were spectacular nonetheless. And Smith had some great moments. Can't wait to see the showdown in Revolutions.

I think the time spent on Link and his family was a waste though, unless he plays a important role in the next movie.

jkottkeMay 15, 2003 at 12:39PM

Who was that "survivor" at the end of the movie?

Yes please, who was that? He was upsidedown on the screen for like a second and I didn't catch who it was. Anyone?

Not having seen it yet

Then please save your comments about it until you've actually seen it so you can, you know, know what the hell you're talking about.

jkottkeMay 15, 2003 at 12:40PM

Even though I disagree with his assertion that the Wachowskis know what they're doing regarding the philosophical aspect of the film, Andrew O'Hehir has written one of the better reviews I've read of the Matrix Reloaded.

GeneMay 15, 2003 at 12:51PM

The survivor was Bain, who I think was infected by Agent Smith earlier in the movie. He sort of tried to kill Neo in front of an elevator in Zion (he was the guy cutting his hand with a knife). I thought his Hugo Weaving demeanor in that scene was a dead giveaway.

sam dMay 15, 2003 at 1:03PM

I have to say this I thought that the Animatrix was a lot more satisfying ( http://www.intothematrix.com/ )

Eric JMay 15, 2003 at 1:11PM

To me the movie was GREATLY enhanced by watching the Animatrix films. Seeing that backstory on the history of the human/machine conflict added another dimension to the story and made scenes like Neo and the Chancellor dude in the giant machine room make more sense and seem less trivial.

I highly recommend watching those short films to better understand all the weighty issues the W brothers are trying to develop in the flick. Sometimes they stumble (the goofy dance scene - was that a metaphor for human passions vs. machine logic or an excuse to show some skin?) but even Star Wars tries to get all philosophical with the Force and whatnot. I'd compare Matrix to Star Wars instead of X2.

AnilMay 15, 2003 at 2:11PM

Lots of spoilers: Upside down guy was Cypher. I'm a bit concerned about what bit I missed at the end of the credits by not sticking around.

But the movie? It was entertaining, but not great. The hippie-dippie raver scene was only missing a hacky sack in order to perfect its lameness. Along with a terribly unsexy sex scene layered on top of it. Morpheus' big speech was underwhelming, and the cuts between expository dialogue and actions taking place during the "heist" scenes at the end seemed too abrupt. They're talking about what they're going to do, they're doing it, oops! They're dead. Wasn't really explained very well. And the worst thing about the movie was the music. During the Burly Brawl, video game music would've been an improvement over the accompaniment. The fight with the malovingian's goons was three times longer than it needed to be, and unsatisfying.

The good stuff was great. The freeway scenes were all exceptional. The freeze-frames during the Burly Brawl did look computer-generated, yes, but so what? Still fun as hell. Even the gratuitous fights, like the one before Neo meets the Oracle, were fun to watch. Though most of the new characters are forgettable, the keymaker was great fun, and Link was useful in reflecting the audience onscreen.

Not as good as the first, of course, but we can't be wowed again like we were 4 years ago. I'm glad I saw it, but I don't think a new generation of fanboys will pore over this DVD for details as closely as they did the first film.

Derek K. MillerMay 15, 2003 at 2:20PM

The complaint that the computer-generated people don't look real enough is interesting: given the premise of The Matrix, it seems to be that people who look computer-generated are _more_ "realistic," as far as where they're supposed to be (or "be"). Right? :)

BTW, only last night did I watch The Matrix for the first time, on DVD. I have not yet seen the new movie.

GeneMay 15, 2003 at 2:22PM

Upside down guy was Cypher. No! Really?

Wasn't Cypher re-inserted in the first movie? How would he be in Zion?



AnilMay 15, 2003 at 2:28PM

Maybe I'm wrong on the Cypher thing, I'm hearing conflicting reports. Could be Bane, and that means that Agent Smith is able to leave the Matrix, I guess.

jkottkeMay 15, 2003 at 2:33PM

Maybe I'm wrong on the Cypher thing, I'm hearing conflicting reports. Could be Bane, and that means that Agent Smith is able to leave the Matrix, I guess.

He didn't have the Cypher "soul patch" on his chin...he had the full goatee. And Agent Smith being out and about in the real world makes sense given Neo's newfound powers outside the Matrix. Neo sets Smith free to multiply & leave the Matrix. Smith in turn infects Neo and endows him with machine-like powers outside of the Matrix. Code modifying code, if you'd like.

Eric JMay 15, 2003 at 2:34PM

It was Bane or whatever the name of the guy Agent Smith zapped with the chocolate pudding happened to be. It was the guy who tried to kill Neo after slicing his own hands. Another reason we know is because someone sabotaged those 5 ships with an EMP and it was done deliberately and that someone was obviously meat Smith. Or, I could be dead wrong but I doubt it since I'm so rarely wrong.

steve minutilloMay 15, 2003 at 2:42PM

Did anybody else notice this: In the scene where the Architect is explaining everything, he says that the first Matrix was perfect, but failed, so they constructed another one that takes into account the evil of man (or something along those lines). While he is saying that, images of evil are flashing on the screens behind him... Hitler, piles of skulls... and.... George W. Bush!

JacobMay 15, 2003 at 2:49PM

I think the survivor was Bain (or whoever the hand-slicer is), and my friends and I have decided that the "free" world of Zion is just another Matrix and thus Neo's new-found powers. ("What are the Matrices?")

What I don't get: Even if only .01% of people plugged into the Matrix become an "anomoly" like Neo, why does the old guy at the source allow Neo (and his five predecessors) to select new people and rebuild Zion?

MattMay 15, 2003 at 2:54PM

There's a bit of a discussion along the same lines as what Jacob said going on at my review. I kinda like the idea that there is a Greater Matrix, which would explain Smith's ability to move into the "Real World", as well as Neo's ability to EMP, since really it's just more code manipulation.

Steven GarrityMay 15, 2003 at 3:03PM

There was a lot of cleavage (and some of it was not in the chest area...).

The Zion scenes remidned me of the Star Wars pre-quels (in a bad way).

Pretty damn entertaining though.

jkottkeMay 15, 2003 at 3:14PM

What I don't get: Even if only .01% of people plugged into the Matrix become an "anomoly" like Neo, why does the old guy at the source allow Neo (and his five predecessors) to select new people and rebuild Zion?

Zion is reseeded as part of an overall system of control of the humans by the machines. From the machines point of view, as explained by The Architect, the Matrix is inherently flawed, meaning that people are going to get out. Rather than let those people organize themselves into a potentially dangerous resistance, the machines provide an escape for them (Zion) that the machines are in control of. (You have to wonder why they go through all that trouble and instead just invest in better security in their storage areas.)

N. TallmadgeMay 15, 2003 at 4:10PM

I saw it last night and I really enjoyed it. My key to prevent from being disappointed is that I put a strict "radio silence" on big movies I want to see. Hollywood doesn't think that you've promoted something until you've seen half the movie in the trailers, in "the making of" shows, and in magazine articles. So I keep away from that stuff until after I see the movie. Cuts down on disappointment.

I wasn't expecting "great", after all this is just a movie and a second in the trilogy and by definition there will always be a level of disappointment in the middle movie. People had the same comments to make about "Empire Strikes Back" and "Two Towers" Special effects I thought were really great. That rave/sex scene at Zion could have a whole lot shorter and I thought that the ending was too abrupt. Some of the new characters were really great...I loved those pale dudes with the dreadlocks, very nice effects with them. I'm interested in how the whole prophecy thing is going to play out in the next movie since in this movie they find out...ah well, I'm not going to spoil it.

SebastianMay 15, 2003 at 4:22PM

Just a thought that crossed my mind while reading the comments... what if Zion is a simulation too? What better way to fool humans into believing they have control?

RobinMay 15, 2003 at 5:03PM

I saw the movie last night and I was disappointed by the special effects. Even with the consideration that they are fighting in the Matrix, a virutal reality, the fight scenes were sloppy. I understand that serveral cgi firms went bankrupt while working on the film, and it shows. I wanted to feel like all the working out that Neo did in the first movie paid off, and he was getting better and better. But I could see his face morphing into what looked like an animated version during those fight scenes, and that totally turned me off.

The rave scene was campy with all those stalagtites and stalagmites everywhere. And the old, white, wise man in Zion brought the film down a notch, same with the Link storyline. It just didn't feel like the writers focused enough on the big picture of why the rebels/human are fighting the machines. I needed to feel an urgency re: why the war was being raged. Otherwise this savior stuff was tedious. Remind me why I cared?

DanMay 15, 2003 at 5:32PM

There's no evidence that Zion is a simulation. It could be a simulation. Anything could be a simulation, but that's what the first movie was about, but I think the Wachowski's have been there, done that.

The most likely reason Neo can destroy the Sentinels is because he is part human, part program, and has some connection to the machine intelligence even when he's not inside the matrix. Like Smith/Bane. (This fits with Kottke's statement that Neo is Jesus. Word made flesh and all that.) He just didn't understand that until he met the architect.

I was dissappointed with the effects. The first movie was amazing because it looked unreal and completely real at the same time. The CG effects were just not up to it this time. It would look "OK" when there was a lot of action, but as soon as they slowed down to bullet time, everything turned all "Toy Story 1".

greg.orgMay 15, 2003 at 5:45PM

Hmm. There ARE a lot of spoilers in this comment thread.

It feels like I took the red pill.

Timothy SheyMay 15, 2003 at 5:50PM

The New Yorker had a very long piece about why people might have gotten so much more out of the first one. I always thought the first one was just a little silly, if only because the outfits they all chose to wear in the Matrix looked wildly impractical. Jesus in Prada?

samanthaMay 15, 2003 at 6:10PM

1) The guy at the end was definitely Bane, of the hand slicing fame. Bane got chocolate pudding'd by Agent Smith in one of the first few scenes, and then he picked up the phone and went all green tingly, which means he moved out of the Matrix into Zion-world.

2) I really like the idea of Zion being yet another sim, because then the Matrix would really be a game within a game, and all that good stuff.

3) I hope everyone stayed through the credits and caught the teaser for Revolutions!

4) When Carrie Ann Moss nearly died, I'm so, so glad they didn't have Neo save her life with a kiss.

5) The sex/rave scene was appallingly bad. And the worst part about that is that it was also completely, utterly unnecessary. If they wanted to give the free humans some background and color, there are tons of better ways to do it.

6) Think of The One as a leap year. The current Matrix generates a certain amount of mathematical/computer error, and having one person be "The One" might be a release valve. It's like a garbage disposal system. They need to gather the free humans because there's a certain percentage of people who just reject the Matrix. The One is basically their disposal unit.

7) An interesting analysis and discussion on Reloaded.

JonMay 15, 2003 at 6:26PM

I enjoyed the movie greatly. Yeah, the Zion rave sure could have been cut, but I'll deal. Things people have criticized:

--poor CGI
--labored dialogue
--the aforementioned Rave scene
--too much confusing philosophy
--longish fight scenes

So ok. Take a deep breath and step back to 1999. Did you REALLY love the Matrix that much when you FIRST laid eyes on it? Go have a real, hard listen to the dialogue. It's just as labored as anything in Reloaded. And the fight scenes? When I first saw the now cinematically worshipped Lobby scene, I thought, "yeah, cool, ok, get on with it already!"

The rave scene is, by far, the film's greatest flaw. As for the CGI, I honestly don't see what you're talking about. FYI, there were no 3D models in the 100 man fight scene. Weaving and Reeves were captured in high resolution film, fed into a computer, and recreated with a perfection great enough to be seen in close-up.

More than anything, Reloaded is a victim of impossibly high expectation. Matrix 1 WASN'T that perfect, but over the course of four years we've had a chance to appreciate every single detail of the film, and we've become charmed by the film's little flaws. In the same way, a decent number of really good Cheers episodes causes us to forget the slew of bad episodes, and we deem the show a classic after a few years.

Like I said, I really, really liked the movie. Even the philosophical parts, which yes, I understood. I was sitting in my seat going "Dear God, that's brilliant, but half the friggin' world won't get it." Not that I'm SUCH a genius or anything, but most people unconsciously expect "The same thing, only different." Reloaded is a different, more complex film, setting up a killer ending. Ultimately, it's a beautifully crafted film with killer action, and after a few repeat viewings and the inevitable sale on DVD, I garauntee you, we'll like it just as much as the first film.

Perhaps we'll like it even more when Revolutions comes out.... :)

RyanMay 15, 2003 at 7:07PM

I echo the comments about The Animatrix -- having had the chance to see an advance copy of the DVD, I was pleased to see that several stories were essentially threads that fed into the movie storyline. "Flight of the Osiris," for example (which I believe was shown as a trailer event in some theaters). The animated piece is about a ship that discovers the machine mission to drill down to Zion, and must get that information to a drop-off point within the matrix. Characters in the movie mention having received the intelligence dropped off by the Osiris crew. Then there's the kid who worships Neo when he gets back to Zion; he is the subject of "Kid's Story" on the DVD. (One of the two best pieces IMHO.) I'll have to go back and see if their are other nods along these lines.

Animatrix is a must-buy, BTW. Fantastic stuff.

Also agree with the comments about impossible expectations. The original Matrix just didn't leave any ground for this movie to break.

Ross KMay 15, 2003 at 7:16PM

Jason said (You have to wonder why they go through all that trouble and instead just invest in better security in their storage areas.)

Yeah... or instead of having that big drain pipe go into an open sewer-or-whatever, just install a giant blender. When someone manages to free themselves, they just get chopped into tiny pieces.

Adam HowellMay 15, 2003 at 8:57PM

OK, I've got it. I've been trying to come up with the next "Bullet Time" cinema leap and this is it: "Fast Forward Time". Spend millions of dollars on complex coreography, huge sets, and CGI tomfoolery and then - speed it the hell up. The "Burly Brawl" could have been over in a mind-blowing, adrenaline pumping 15 seconds! You wouldn't have had a chance to see how silly polygonal-Neo looked. Just imagine how much more plot you could fit into an action movie with "Fast Forward Time" (oh, well, there are still a few kinks to work out).

abhiMay 15, 2003 at 10:58PM

We don't like it now since we know how it was made. I think it still good as the promos on TV look pretty nice. And as Kinglsey said, it isn't released in India so I haven't seen it.

Brent GustafsonMay 16, 2003 at 1:00AM

I think it's obvious it's a matrix in a matrix. The fact that Agent Smith a so called program, can exist in the "real" world, and how Neo could use powers in the real world and see the future. Hell, it even makes sense why the sky is blackened, the humans then can't see the stars and be able to tell what year it *really* is. It's all just a mirrage for the 1% who see past the first matrix.

The thing that struck me is when the Oracle gives Neo some candy. He takes it, but doesn't eat it. She does, and it's a redish candy. A red pill? Will Neo find it in his pocket in the next film and "get out" of the second matrix?

Hell, I'm still not convinced Neo is even human. He may just be a program, which would explain the architect's fascination with his love for Trinity, cuz how could a program fall in love w/ a human?

copongcopongMay 16, 2003 at 2:03AM

since this film is a second part we cannot compare it to the first one which is very interesting since things are revealed one at a time. i find the freeway chase the best!

JamesMay 16, 2003 at 2:06AM

People. check out Computer Boy.


The Matrix 1.1?

greg.orgMay 16, 2003 at 3:20AM

Hm.

The rave reminded me of that hot and transparently-targeted-at -an "urban"-demographic Kahlua commercial a few years back.

On the other hand, every time I hear Zion, I think of Utah and Mormons. No Kahlua, decidedly not "urban." The armies of darksuited, cleancut dudes reinforced this.

Zion's like after-school sports: a way to keep kids from getting into trouble.

So far, though, Animatrix is better.

karlaMay 16, 2003 at 5:21AM

steve minutillo says:
Did anybody else notice this: In the scene where the Architect is explaining everything, he says that the first Matrix was perfect, but failed, so they constructed another one that takes into account the evil of man (or something along those lines). While he is saying that, images of evil are flashing on the screens behind him... Hitler, piles of skulls... and.... George W. Bush!


Yes! I could've sworn I saw GWB on one of the small screens behind Neo. The "Twins" reminded me of Milli Vanilli.

deniseMay 16, 2003 at 8:20AM

the thing that bugged me were the clothes. i always assumed in the first movie that their clothes were dirty and holey because they were salvaging remnants from a prior civilization and had no means to produce new ones. yet, when they are in zion, and it's obvious neo had been to zion several times before, all of the people there have beautiful clothes and jewelry and good food. then, after they leave zion, they all have ratty clothes again except the people on the other two ships. i just thought that didn't make any sense.

Eric JMay 16, 2003 at 9:39AM

Did anyone else think it was weird that when the Nebuchadnezzar was docking the Zion control room was this ultra-White futuristic looking Minority Report styled control room? Then after docking everything else in Zion and everywhere in the whole movie was dirty, run down and Blade Runner-esque with lots of wires and buttons and regular monitors.

I couldn't grasp that brief scene. It seemed too stark a contrast. Seems like there should be evidence of similar styled technology somewhere else in the world. It almost seemed like that scene was something they meant to cut out but forgot to remove. I dunno. It just struck me as really out of place. My expectations after that scene were for Zion to be some super-slick utopia place even though I "knew" it wasn't going to be.

Mr. NosuchMay 16, 2003 at 10:00AM

The first film was much more effective because it could be viewed metaphorically. The premise of living in a false world and being able to be freed by sheer conviction of will is compelling, even if it is hokey bullshit set in a stylish sci-fi comic book world. Who doesn't want to do something like that?

The second film has nothing that maps to anything real, so there's no way to identify with it. How can I understand characters that have undefined and extraordinary powers which have unclear constraints in a world that has arbitrary and shifting parameters? In a world where characters have potentially unlimited powers in a world that has no immutable rules, it's hard to care about what happens.

Even in cheesy comicbook films, the idea is the characters have powers that occur in the world as we (more or less) know it. But in Matrix Reloaded, not only is everything entirely up for grabs, reality is just a set of chinese boxes.

Is Neo trying to save humanity? Or are we going to find out that the whole thing is a series of nested simulations running on some giant distributed computing project made by Stephen Wolfram? Does it matter?

Mr. NosuchMay 16, 2003 at 10:01AM

The control room in Zion was a construct, by the way. They cut to showing people jacked in who looked just like the control room people.

Makes sense. Easier to make complex interfaces in a construct.

AaronMay 16, 2003 at 10:15AM

I don't think they are trying to say Neo is Jesus. Tales of rebirth, messiahs and prophecies are about as old as storytelling. Should they have just dropped the religious themes after the first movie cuz, duh, we get it?

Something I find funny about a lot of the negative reviews I've read is the underlying tones of "oh my gosh, it wasn't perfect!" All films and stories have flaws. I think the good in Reloaded far outweighed the bad, and I completely enjoyed myself. Willing suspension of disbelief, and all that jazz.

Bill BrownMay 16, 2003 at 10:17AM

I only saw the first one last weekend and I wasn't impressed. I may see TMR when it comes out on DVD or satellite—especially after all of the reviews I've read (both positive and negative).

Joshua KaufmanMay 16, 2003 at 10:52AM

Yes, it took itself too seriously at times, which was very noticable alongside all of the comic one-liners.

I must be the only one who didn't mind the rave/sex scene. When I watched the scene, I thought it was too long and stylized. But thinking back after the movie, it was great irony. It was meant to be a celebration of humanity when in the end humanity’s whole existence was contrived.

I didn't like the editing done when they were planning Neo's entrance to The Source. I understand the type of effect they were going for - explain it as it's happening - but I think the editing made it more confusing than it needed to be.

JonMay 16, 2003 at 10:52AM

My problem with Matrix one is that the plot isn't anything new, and the special effects had already been done in that Kodak commercial a few weeks/months before Matrix came out. And the rest was slo-mo.

So yeah, I'm in the small group that didn't like it, and I'm not seeing the second. (or third.)

Eric JMay 16, 2003 at 10:54AM

Mr. Nosuch says:
The control room in Zion was a construct, by the way. They cut to showing people jacked in who looked just like the control room people.

Makes sense. Easier to make complex interfaces in a construct.


So they are able to manipulate real life objects within the construct? I don't remember seeing anyone jacked in besides the ship's crew (though I could be wrong) but it doesn't seem to make sense that the dock operators can open doors and guide a ship in while jacked into some construct.

To my knowledge, there was not a single instance in either movie where actual real life objects (doors and guidance systems) were manipulated by people in a construct or even the Matrix. What did I miss here?

Mr. NosuchMay 16, 2003 at 11:08AM

When in a construct, a training program can be loaded. The training program is a physical thing external to the construct effecting something in the construct. Also communication is clearly possible between construct/matrix and people outside of it (the operator.) All those goofy displays also show stuff going on in the construct.

It's clear data/information can flow in/and out of constructs and the matrix, so there's no reason why it couldn't be interfaced to do other stuff as well. Remember that Zion has a "mainframe" that had to be carefully protected.

jimMay 16, 2003 at 11:51AM

The rave scene wasn't that out of place. What else would you do when you're facing impending robot doom? It was raising the sex quotient of the movie. Perhaps as an attempt to shift the feel of the movie from the cold sterility of the machines to the more carnal world of Zion and the "real" humanity.

FWIW, my take on Neo: Neo is Choice. Choice needs to exist in the Matrix to complete the simulation. The computers learned via the Oracle that humans must at some level choose to live in the Matrix. Hence the dismal failure that was the original "no-choice" Matrix, hence the Judas-Cypher in the first movie.

Choice however is contrary to the design of the Matrix built as a prison for the human batteries. So, as a work around they run the Matrix in cycles with Neo choosing X people from the Matrix to seed Zion (enter the origin of the Prophecy), live a couple generations accepting the side effects of choice in the system, and then mop up Zion and reinstall the operating sytem, er, Matrix.

It does sort of destroy the nurturing, maternal feel of the Oracle though. She's no more human than the Keymaker (there's no Dana, only Zul) just feeding Neo his clues.

I don't know what's significant about this iteration though. Is this the only Neo that's chosen to forsake humanity for love?

BrianMay 16, 2003 at 1:22PM

Ack! Thpfth! If Zion is just another sim, and the Matrix is really a game within a game, what if ALL of it just ends up being a massive sim on some kid's peecee? The idea being, the old argument "what if what we believe to be reality is just God dreaming?"

greg.orgMay 16, 2003 at 4:10PM

Not a sim on _some_ peecee, Brian, YOUR peecee. For $44.95 MSRP.

And if you have problmes with people intentionally wear shabby clothes when there are some nice ones to be had, steer clear of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

FWIW, the opening meeting, where the captains are standing around talking about the boring (pun definitely intended), also seems like it's matrix-as-chat-space.

Of course, Wild Palms had that whole chat avatar thing, too...

NataliaMay 16, 2003 at 4:26PM

With me and my friends, the major debate was whether Neo's ability to stop the machines in the Real World was because he is part machine (like Smith is now part human with Bain) or whether it was because the Real World is just another Matrix (maybe the matrix for the machines, who some other beings are controlling?). I guess we'll find out in Revolutions..

deniseMay 16, 2003 at 5:49PM

my brain hurts. i just liked the pretty people in sharp clothes kicking some ass.

David G.May 16, 2003 at 5:50PM

A side note: Why human batteries? Why not something less troublesome, like cows? Infinite fields of tasty grass are a lot easier to simulate than, say, Sydney.

I liked the movie but wished I hadn't read the Wired article. I spotted evil Bush too -- almost subliminal.

anthony langfordMay 16, 2003 at 6:44PM

The Matrix: Reloaded was only slightly more entertaining than Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie, and only slightly less thought provoking.

ChristinaMay 16, 2003 at 7:38PM

I didn't really like this one as much as the first, for all of the reasons stated here...

The shining moment though, was after the scene with the malovingian and the blonde woman...

My boyfriend leaned over and whispered "That was damn good cake..." :D

:-x

JoanMay 16, 2003 at 8:11PM

Got to say I agree with, I think it was Marshall - even an off-the-cuff remark about Neo as Jesus is painfully biased. There are a ton of philosophical takes on the idea of the Matrix and that's only one of them - discrediting several other, equally reasonable interpretations. And since the Wachowskis prefer to "let the spirituality of our film speak for itself," as they're quoted as saying several times, guess we won't ever know if there's a "right" interpretation - Christian or otherwise.

And the guy on the table at the end is the man who came up to the Neb crew as they were getting on the ship, who had just cut his palms and was going to (apparently) knife Neo. But it's not Cypher. Remember - his deal was that he could go back into the Matrix for turning Neo over to Smith in the original. So ostensibly he's not in "the real world" any more. I believe this character is one of Niobi's enemies in the "Enter the Matrix" video game but I can't place his name.

I liked the movie. And the effects. But that's just me.

BrianMay 16, 2003 at 11:41PM

Clarification: I believe Tank killed Cypher at the end of the first Matrix, so Cypher never made it back into the Matrix.

And another thing.... Those little quarter-size connectors in Neo's skin -- weren't those removed in the first Matrix.

Finally, here's an article about the blend of spirituality and storyline in the Matrix.

edMay 16, 2003 at 11:51PM

Review's up at Plight. In short, it was utter crap.

Eric JMay 16, 2003 at 11:56PM

Mr. Nosuch

I must disagree with your premise. Nobody in the construct has ever directly interacted with real world objects or information. Each time they talked to a real world person and THAT person gave them the download or directions or information. If they could interact with the computers then they wouldn't need the humans in the real world but could talk directly to the computers themselves for the downloads, directions, etc.

My point is, if the docking control station was a construct then:
1. Some real world person would have to be interacting with them and it would defeat the whole purpose of having them jacked into a construct.
2. If they are in a construct that can manipulate and directly interact with data or objects then this is a new technology not previously displayed or illustrated at any other time.

There are limitations to the back and forth communication between the construct people and those in the real world that may be downloading information. All construct exchanges with the real world rely on a person. So, I can't agree with you that the scene with the all-white docking control room is simply a construct.

Brian HamiltonMay 17, 2003 at 1:51AM

While the general philosophy base may be generic (savior, resurrection, etc.), the names are overwhelmingly of the Christian tradition. Trinity, Nebuchadnezzar, and Logos (Naiobi's ship) for example.

Re: the "survivor." I was under the initial impression that it was Cypher, but now I begin to doubt. A nagging rumor remains in my mind (from a friend, and as of yet unverified) that when Cypher and the other guys died in Matrix 1, there ended up being one less body bag than had been supposed dead. If that's true, probability points to Cypher. And it certainly looked like the same guy. Can anybody do an actor check?

Overall: I liked it, though I thought pieces (rave/sex, a few fight scenes) went too long and were overdone. I will positively see Revolutions, though.

Brian HamiltonMay 17, 2003 at 1:54AM

Oh, and also about the philosophy behind the movie: not that it really matters. Regardless of its intentions, it poses some interesting questions and challenges about faith in general.

BrianMay 17, 2003 at 2:40AM

We must quell this rumor before it gets out of hand. Joe Pantoliano was most assuredly not in TMR.

Honestly, I can't believe Anil started this rumor in the first place. :-)

J.D. RothMay 17, 2003 at 5:00AM

I had mixed feelings upon leaving the theater: yes, the action scenes were fun, but the rest of the film seemed thin.

Upon reflection, however, the end appeals to me. It reminds me of Edgar Allen Poe: "All that we see or seem/Is but a dream within a dream."

I think that, as has been noted, this film is very sequel-dependent. It's the first part of a two part film. The slow beginning led to a flurry of action scenes, and the meaty philosopical/mystical stuff was just coming to a head as the film ended. I'm anxious to see if The Matrix Revolutions can deliver.

What is the matrix?

Mr. NosuchMay 17, 2003 at 12:03PM

Eric:

If I am Neo standing in a construct, and I speak into the air "I need guns, lots of guns," somehow my voice, which exists only in the construct, is transmitted to the headset of the operator. The operator also is looking at a display screen, which allows him to see what I am doing.

Both the headset and the display are clearly electronic devices, as evident when they power down the ship. Therefore, what people do in a construct (and the matrix) can interface with electronics on the ship. If my voice can be directed to a headset, there is no reason my interaction with a control in the construct can't effect some device outside of the construct. It's all just technology. There's no explicit "one way" barrier.

I agree that the Zion control room is the most complex example of this shown in the movie, and it is fleetingly passed over, but if you watch the scene again, and notice how they cut it with a scene of people jacked in (with the same faces as the people in the control room), I can't see any other interpretation.

Eric JMay 17, 2003 at 12:52PM

Mr. Nosuch

Good points and I can't reall disagree much. I admit that I don't remember seeing the same faces so another viewing is in order. However, my point is that up till that one extremely brief scene the communication between the real world and the construct is not equal. Those in the construct can only blindly ask for things like guns and can't "see" or "hear" what is going on in the real world. However, the person at the controls can see and hear both the construct and real world.

If I am Neo in your same scenario and suddenly there a Sentinals attacking the Hovercraft I have no way of knowing unless someone tells me. There is no visual representation of what is going on.

True, in theory it would seem that if someone can speak to Neo from the real world and describe what is going on then it would seem that the technology exists to also visually represent that and allow Neo to initiate some defenses or something while in the construct. However, until that brief scene there was not a single instance of this occurring and my problem is that the scene was so brief and "new" that it's hard to accept your explanation.

It may be that you're right on and I really don't have any good explanation but if people are able to interact seamlessly with the real world while in a construct then why not fly hovercrafts this way? Why fool with the myriad of wires and keyboards when a white room with super nifty design is available?

RMay 17, 2003 at 1:32PM

junk food. the illusion hiding the fact that the matrix is nothing more than a knapsack of cliches and pop culture references (including real cultural artifacts that have been reduced to pop-culture taglines) is no more. "I have a dream..", two albino wanna-be Jamaican dreaded brits, another marginated black role used as a laugh-inducer after an intense action sequence? please. can they get any more desperate? and it was nice of them to throw in all those black people and black cultural things in there, but the star is still a white man. give me a break. trying to have your cake and eat it too? we all know black people are cool, but not like this. and by the way, this is excellent proof that you can make a so-so movie and totally butcher it with a bad ending. props to all the talented dorks who worked long hours on this project, but man, they should have worked on the X-Men instead.

dumpsterMay 17, 2003 at 5:52PM

Most stories suffer from the infamous '2nd Act' problem. The Matrix Reloaded suffers from the very beginning because we're only shown one half of the story. The cultural references mentioned in a previous post are rich and diverse, ultimately, the second film falls because it's just a pause. I wrote a little analysis over here. Let me know what you think.

Geoff GreshMay 17, 2003 at 7:17PM

I have a very geeky analogy, but it's the only way I've been able to truly understand why I was so disappointed by this sequel: In the first film, the Agents were the epitome of bigtime videogame bosses. They were scary, they were clever, and they seemed impossible to truly be overcome (as Morpheus pointed out, before the events of the first film, everyone that had gone up against an Agent had died). Then Neo went online and found the cheat codes, and suddenly the Agents weren't all that scary anymore. Anyone who's used cheats in a videogame before knows that the fun of being all-powerful quickly wears off. It was hard to be compelled by even the action sequences when we all knew that Neo was in almost complete control of the Matrix (in complete "God mode" for you FPS fans). I just didn't feel like he was ever really threatened, and that made me yawn, even when the camera was traveling at light speed.

RMay 17, 2003 at 9:38PM

Sometimes I feel The Matrix is just a cheap ripoff of Tron.

Bruno CunhaMay 17, 2003 at 10:03PM

A reasonable theory (massive spoilers):

-In The Matrix, Agent Smith captures Morpheus in order to gain access codes to Zion. He wants OUT of the Matrix, he wants to be truly free. However, he failed to get the codes. So, as a computer program, he infects someone, this Bane for example, and exits the Matrix in their body. Hence his appearance in Zion. A lot of the dialogue in The Matrix Reloaded hints at this. And just to clarify, he is CLEARLY on the bed beside Neo in the ending. Besides, Cypher's dead.

-The white looking people = The Twins.

-Focus on Link: This is explanable. My friend told me that the actor who played Tank was fired during the shooting of the sequel. Supposedly, it was because he was stealing food from concession stands en masse. So in the plot, they pretend he died and replace him with Link. Link plugged right into the story; his story would have made perfect sense if he was Link OR Tank. Either way, it would have been an insight into an old character or the discovery of a new one.

-The rave scene: There must be an explanation, do you not have faith in those that have dreamed the entire conception of the Matrix? Someone slightly touched on what I was going to say; it signifies the celebration of human life to contrast the contrived state millions felt within the Matrix. It symbolized the primal feel of life those in the Matrix missed out on. Look at it: sexual dancing, drums, you've got it all.

-Trinity becomes teenageresque: Wow, please don't criticize someone for falling in love.

-Everyone's fighting Agents: Remember, Morpheus fought Smith in the first film. He's a warrior, and his character has grown. He beats an agent in the sequel, but not by much. And Trinity, she gets her ass handed to her by an agent. Neo, after discovering the powers of being the anomaly known as The One, has always handled Agents nicely. In the sequel, he has more, longer fights with multiple enemies, so that was an enjoyable twist in the action.

-Neo stops the Sentinels: most of my friends have concluded that the Matrix is within a Matrix. I thought so also, until I read a comment about Jesus being the commander of flesh and everything else. Neo is an anomaly in a computer program. He possesses powers to understand the Matrix deeper than any previous "One" can; he can now modify it (takes the bullet out of Trinity so smoothly). This signifies an understanding of the robots, which would make sense when he says "Something's different; I can feel them." So Neo's power in the Matrix created his powers out of it.

Here's some real juicy stuff:

Okay, the Matrix has been rebuilt six times with the anomaly always forming. Humans need robots (The counselor touches on it when discussing technology early in te film) and the robots need humans (to fuel the Matrix and their own existence). The Architect gives Neo two choices. One, he chooses 23 people to restart Zion (notice, there were 23 counselors on the board) and eventually the anomaly would appear again and the cycle would repeat itself forever. His second choice was to save Trinity at the cost of the collapse of Zion and the Matrix as well. However, Neo was the first to fall in love and experience emotion. He already made this decision, and he had to understand why, according to the Oracle atleast. This was foreshadowing the end when he decided to save Trinity.

This is where it gets good: it's all in the open now. There is no prophecy, nothing can be predicted because Neo chose the door that was never chosen befored. This has never happened before and will ultimately decide the fate of the Matrix and everything that revolves around it. Mr. Smith must play a vital role, he is the only other one that can understand the Matrix on any level close to how Neo can. The only details I really saw in the Revolutions trailer were: The Oracle's assistant is around, lots of Sentinels and movement outside of the Matrix, and more incredible action.

I loved the sequel. The philosophy was new on top of old and it's allowing for many possibilities for the finale. The action scenes were awesome: if you notice the small things like the "low-quality" of Neo's face or whatever people are complaining about, you're not watching the action scenes for the right reasons. They were new and awesome. It was all great. I just can't wait for The Matrix Revolutions.

GrahamMay 18, 2003 at 12:39AM

My review, with a mention of a couple gaping plot gaps, unless I missed something (which is possible, I had an idiot in my theatre who was snoring for 5 minutes).

A couple quick plot questions--maybe someone can explain them:

Okay, so The Architect... he's like, the master program of Tron fame?

And he tells Neo this is the 6th time someone like Neo has come along, along with everything else. Is there any reason for Neo to believe *anything* The Architect says? After all, isn't he on the Machines' side? Couldn't the door to the right just be a trick?

Door on the right, you reset the Matrix and pick 23 people to repopulate it, yes? Uhm, so? How does that have any effect on the Machines that are burrowing into Zion to destroy it? What am I missing?

Neo picks the left door, which will lead him back to the Matrix, and to Trinity, and the end of the Matrix (or so The Architect says). But, it doesn't. Neo goes back, saves Trinity, and leaves the Matrix (or so it seems so far). Was The Architect just lying?

Bruno CunhaMay 18, 2003 at 1:56PM

The first choice allowed the complete restarting of the world, focusing on Zion. The Sentinels would die off and the conflict would be at ease, temporarily. The second choice, which Neo took, was to save Trinity at the cost of total destruction. He took the chance, and the Sentinels are only closer to Zion. If Zion dies to the Sentinels, the Matrix will eventually collapse and all will be gone. The cool thing is, Neo is the first to feel emotion and make the choice he made, so no one can tell what will happen.

The Architect had no reason to lie. I think he's more neutral than he may appear. We'll see, I'm going to see Reloaded again in a couple hours.

Tom DolanMay 18, 2003 at 6:28PM

One word review: Weak.

BrianMay 18, 2003 at 8:01PM

Brian Hamilton says:
While the general philosophy base may be generic (savior, resurrection, etc.), the names are overwhelmingly of the Christian tradition. Trinity, Nebuchadnezzar, and Logos (Naiobi's ship) for example.

I beg to differ. The names are representative of a broad spectrum of beliefs: Soren (homage to Kierkegaard, no doubt), Persephone and Morpheus (both from Greek mythology), Merovingian (ancient Euro) and Bane (wolf's bane, or just bane of neo's existence?), Niobe (Roman mythology) ... And from the first movie, how about Switch, Apoc, Tank and Dozer? No christian tradition there that I can see at all.

Brian Hamilton says:
Oh, and also about the philosophy behind the movie: not that it really matters. Regardless of its intentions, it poses some interesting questions and challenges about faith in general.

I can't imagine there's a thing in The Matrix universe that should challenge anyone's faith unless they are hopelessly confused to begin with. To be certain, whatever philosophy the Matrix portrays is as much a "stew" as the sources from which the characters' names are drawn.

MarshallMay 18, 2003 at 10:25PM

A few observations, before getting back to the philosophy:

- I don't think it's a Matrix inside a Matrix, partly because I'm not sure how to explain why Neo would be so hurt by the confrontation with the sentinels, and partly because I instinctively think the Ws would find that cheesy. Not that either is much impetus for convinction... but it seems like the movie is going in the direction of empowered humanity, rather than increased plot trickery. Having a Matrix inside a Matrix starts to wreak of a deus et machina, which I have to believe they wouldn't do to us. :)

- Bane, or whatever the traitor's name was (the fella who was going to cut Neo after cutting his own hands), was the guy on the table at the end. I think the Wachowskis are on record as saying that Cypher (and Joe Pantoliano) is gone for good after the first.

Jason - I've seen the movie, now... not that I'm not sure how seeing the movie could explain away the absence of substance in, uh, what the hell you're talking about.

Why the casual "Jesus is Neo" remark? Why the distrust of the writers' philosophical chops? Do you have any kind of argument, or at least a collection of observations, to back it up, or is that just your gut reaction? It's very widely accepted that they do know what they're doing, and widely discussed by people who know them that they are well-versed in theology and philosophy, so I'm interested in hearing an articulate case against those elements of these films.

Brian remarks with "certain"-ty that the film contains little more than a philosophy stew, but several compelling cases (even a few on the film's home page) have been made that suggest there's a framework in place. Where's the "certain"-- or at least, decent-- disagreement spelled out?

MarshallMay 18, 2003 at 10:29PM

Heh... I said convinction. Conviction. Oops. Must've been a glitch in the Matrix...

BrianMay 18, 2003 at 11:05PM

Brian remarks with "certain"-ty that the film contains little more than a philosophy stew, but several compelling cases (even a few on the film's home page) have been made that suggest there's a framework in place. Where's the "certain"-- or at least, decent-- disagreement spelled out?

It's not my contention that by virtue of the fact that the philosophical underpinnings are by nature a stew they are also, ipso facto, "little more;" i.e., of little or no value, or that they lack a framework.

This article I linked to above suggests "(i)ts script...draws on Platonic philosophy, Greek mythology, Buddhism, and postmodernism...."

The same article quotes the Wachowski's as saying that all of "their allusions to myths and philosophy were intentional."

My contention isn't particularly unique, either: The Wachowski brothers have taken ingredients from various spiritual recipes in our melting-pot world, and made something all their own.

AfraelMay 19, 2003 at 10:26AM

I haven't seen the movie yet, I will be showcased here in PR next thursday, but I think there's been some much hype (*I loathe those powerade commercials*) that there is no way the movie can fullfil everybodies expectations. I've seen the trailers and about the Neo vs 100 Agent Smiths, it does show the computer generation, we know its CGI, the trick is to make so real that you could be amazed by it.

I cant say anything about the rest, but I know the movie has some sort of romantic twist to it - come on it's supposed to be an action flick.....

shawnMay 19, 2003 at 10:53AM

Well it was no Lizzie MaGuire but I liked it better than X2. Which given my comic geek creds is surprising. It does leave you with an Empire Strikes Back cliffhanger but if you sit through all the end credits they show you the first trailer for Matrix: Revolutions.

samMay 19, 2003 at 11:15AM

Lots of comments, crazy. A few notes though, because I can.

I think if they ended with 'its a matrix inside a matrix' that would seem far too much like a cheesy "Pull out at the end and reveal the whole world inside a snow globe." ending. Bad bad bad.

Many of the criticisms of the movie seem to stem from the fact that it is the second movie in a trilogy. These aren't movies like Diehard or Naked Gun where you can watch any movie from the series without seeing the others and be just fine. Those movies are all different movies that have the same characters. The Matrix is one movie that has been cut into three two hour acts so that our short attention spans can make it through without falling asleep.

If you take a book, open it up one third of the way through, and read until you are two thirds of the way through, then you aren't going to think it is that great. The first part contains the amazing revelations, the revealing of the wonderful characters, unfolding layers of mystery, etc. The last movie contains the climax of the action and the resolution of conflict. The second movie just contains 'meat', just stuff that needs to happen to setup the climax. That stuff might not be as mind blowing as the stuff from the exposition in the first movie, but it is key to the story.

I agree with the comment earlier that we have elevated the first movie to a cult status, and now nothing can compare to the mental vision we have of it. These aren't seperate movies that are competing, they are part of the exact same movie.

I highly recommend going out and seeing the original matrix before seeing the new one. I saw the original as a midnight movie at one of our local theaters a week before seeing Reloaded, and it helped by making me see Reloaded as a continuation, rather than a whole seperate movie.

The Neo vs. 100 Smiths scene looks like a damn video game. However, I'm going to give the directors the benefit of the doubt here, and suggest that it might look that way on purpose. They aren't fighting in the 'real' world. They are fighting in a virtual game world. Neo and Smith both know the rules of the world, and they know which rules can be bent or broken. They know it like two video game geeks know Tekken, because they've spent weeks and weeks playing it. I think the scene is supposed to remind us of the fact that Neo plays the matrix like its a game. When in the french guy's house later, this is even alluded to more, as they describe it all as 'just a game'.

To clear up confusion, the guy at the end isn't cypher. Its bane. Earlier in the movie, two men are in the matrix, they are about to leave, and they say to each other something to the effect of 'hurry, all that matters is getting this back.' one guy takes the envelope and picks up the phone, but the second guy, Bane, is still there. Smith does his pudding thing on him, and the guy becomes a Smith. Then the new smith picks up the phone and goes back into the matrix. 'Real Bane' is now infected with Smith. He is the guy cutting his hands up and looking suspicious. He's presumably the guy who set off the EMP charges early (though his involvement could have been different, plot twists are still possible), destroying the Zion fleet, and he is the guy in a coma alongside Neo.

That doesn't necessarily mean that zion is another matrix. Smith and Neo talk about 'sharing' something. They each have new code. Neo has gained the ability to affect the programs of the matrix on a base level. Smith may have gained the ability to affect the human mind like a program.

The white control room makes lots of sense to me. If you are setting up your own matrix (as opposed to jacking into the matrix owned by the machines), then there is no reason at all that you couldn't have high speed interactive connections from the construct to the control systems in the real world. All it is is a computer monitor for your whole brain. They talk and the information is heard by the people outside the construct. They push a button in the construct, and it activates a program running on the door control system outside the construct. If you build your own matrix, then you can have all the connections between them that you want. We haven't seen them do it before, because the big matrix, the machine's matrix, isn't under human control.

Presumably, the reason we don't see them use these fancy construct rooms is that in most places, you need someone outside of a construct who can protect you if necessary. If a whole ship's crew is inside of constructs, it just takes one little EMP to kill the whole ship. If someone is outside the construct at all times, then that person can protect the ship in ways that a jacked in person couldn't. Thats why the operator never goes in himself.

Anyway, I thought the movie was a great movie. Its not as 'wow' as the first, but you would have been wrong to expect it to be. Its a setup for the amazing ending. In a few years we'll have all three of the movies on their special edition disks, and we'll see them not as three movies, but as one long movie, and then it won't be as big of a deal that the second doesn't have as much 'magic'. I've got more review here if anyone is interested. I know every damn blogger has already reviewed it, but hey, it felt good to do. ;)

OmegajuiecMay 19, 2003 at 12:30PM

The whole reson the operator doesn't go in is because they have no 'plugs'. Link and Tank were both born in the 'real world' so they don't have any of the plugs on them that Neo and company do. They don't go into the Matrix because they can't.

AndyMay 19, 2003 at 2:37PM

After a second viewing, I'm much happier with it. With some satisfaction in knowing where things were going, and my opening night jitters gone, I was able to really enjoy the film scene by scene for what it was, and stop wondering where it was all going, and if it was going to be good enough to meet my expectations.

The second film is just completely different than the first. There is no way that it could have been at all similar to the first. The first movie was about slowly and artfully letting a cat out of the bag. It was a mystery.

But once the cat was out, it was out. I'm glad that the sequel forged ahead, showed us all the cool stuff we wanted to see (Zion, Neo kicking ass, etc) and still managed to complicate the surrounding mystery.

The question "What is the Matrix?" is still unanswered.

Morpheus' best answer, in the first film, is: "control."

Did anyone notice that this film raised the question "What is control?"

The deal with the Architect was interesting. It seems that they can't prevent some people from rejecting the Matrix, nor some from developing superhuman powers inside it. As a release valve, they allow these to escape to Zion, and allow them to pull other "problem children" out as well. The Oracle makes damn sure that they seek out and remove "the One," and once he's out, they send an army to destory Zion. Iteration complete. Next round. They don't wait around for more than a single "One" to develop.

However, I still have no idea why the Architect presented Neo with the 2-door choice. It makes no sense to me at all. But I'm willing to let that hang for now. It's only till November.

Too bad the music sucked so bad, though.

GinaMay 19, 2003 at 2:40PM

Ok, a lot of folks "don't get" the Rave scene...but if you were paying attention, Morpheus was asked to "complete the pray" made by the councillor, and if you were also paying attention, they said that they were meeting at "the temple"...in a lot of religions, dance and drumming is a form of prayer...so, to me it was a giant prayer...but that could just be my pagan-ness coming through (and yes, that includes the sex scenes...I give the Bros. W some credit for being pan-religious...)

Alex HalavaisMay 19, 2003 at 3:14PM

I really, really hope that Neo's new powers outside of the Matrix do not lead to a "Matricies all the way down" conclusion. This has already been done to death (eXistenZ, 13th floor), and it would be sad to finish on such a cliche.

The difference between the first and second films is clear, I think. The first did not take itself very seriously. It was a hyper-real version of the cyberpunk genre, and played with "haha, only serious" really well. Now its like the bros are somehow no longer in on the joke. It looks like they took the embrace by scholars and philosophers too seriously.

Geoff GreshMay 19, 2003 at 11:32PM

The Matrix is one movie that has been cut into three two hour acts so that our short attention spans can make it through without falling asleep.

Yay, a $27 movie! Next step in the evolution: split up 90 minute movies into 3 cliffhangers, increasing amount of showtimes possible during one day and tripling revenue.

Bill BrownMay 20, 2003 at 3:09AM

I thought that the sentinels stoppage was more due to the fact that a ship immediately came upon them and probably launched an EMP. The sentinels dropping was consistent with the same thing in the first movie.

I don't think an EMP would have an effect on a person, but maybe it did.

Nicky PeetersMay 20, 2003 at 7:46AM

About Bane-Smith :
He's presumably the guy who set off the EMP charges early

I don't know if it's already posted here, but what if the Smith-infected Bane set of an EMP charge in the same way that NEO set one of in the 'real world' ? And what if NEO somehow inherited this ability from his little encounter with Smith ?

It would explain why BOTH are in coma at the end of the film...
It still doesn't explain anything more than that but it's another possibility worth mentioning ?

jkottkeMay 20, 2003 at 11:50AM

Good thread so far. Thanks for participating, everyone.

There's a theme running through this thread that there's a lot to get out of the Matrix movies and that if you don't get that much from it, you're uneducated, not interested in philosophy, or weren't paying close attention. My view is that the movies are not that deep. The depth of the movie doesn't necessarily mean that you can't get a lot out of it...someone wrote an entire book on philosophy and The Simpsons and it's hard to imagine The Simpsons was conceived as a philosophical masterwork.

As films, The Wachowskis' Matrices most closely resemble George Lucas's Star Wars, James Cameron's Titantic, Peter Jackson's LoTR movies, Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek films & series, and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. These are all good (or even great) films -- fun, engaging, etc. -- and much has been written about the significance (be it emotional, philosophical, spiritual, or social significance) of each of these films. James Lileks even called Spider-Man "more important, in the long run, than any other movie, novel, artwork or musical composition that will be produced in 2002". But these are not deep movies and no amount of books or articles written by famous philosophers will make them richer or more densely layered with meaning.

The depth and significance people attach to these films remind me of the deep, philosophical conversations you have in your freshman year of college with your roommates until the wee hours of the morning, possibly while high. The participants may find meaning in such conversations, but Nietzsche, Baudrillard, Foucault, or Camus you are not.

But that's just my take on it all.

AndyMay 20, 2003 at 12:11PM

Did anyone notice that Cornel West is in the movie? He's one of the council members.

West is a professor of religion and afro-american studies at Princeton. He's was in the news briefly last year as he proposed a pilgrimage of Harvard's African-American professors to Princeton.

I'm not quite sure what he's doing here.

ShyamalMay 20, 2003 at 12:32PM

I guess I chose a very wrong time to go offline. I seem to have missed all the action.

I posted my comments about the movie, just minutes after having seen it. I was pretty content with the effects and the stunts. But the whole idea of leaving the movie unfinished was disappointing. I felt the story wasn't convincing enough either. My hopes for Revolutions won't be as high now!

GrahamMay 20, 2003 at 1:06PM

Jason: I think they're definitely deeper than, say, Star Wars or Spider-Man, but I think "deep" is something of a misnomer. I think yes, parts of the movie's philosophy are deep (I'm still trying to wrap my head around the architect's whole spiel), but overall, it's not really "depth" as it is "revelation" or "exposure" to different philosophies or ways of thinking about the world. (Kind of like how people in the film have their whole world shift when they realize what the Matrix is?) Similar feeling you get from taking a Hinduism or Buddhism class, if you've been raised in Christian America.

In the first film, it was the revelation that "maybe this world isn't really real" that astounded my friends and I in college as sophomores. In the second film, there are similar "new philosophies" that the audience is exposed to, but I don't think they're integrated into the plot as well, or explained as well, either.

This CorporateMofo article really helped me understand the philosophies present in the second film, but in my opinion, it shouldn't have had to. I'm an intelligent person; I watched the movie closely. I think if the Brothers Wachowski had done a better job weaving the ideas into the plot, I would have understood everything the first time around. (Or maybe they want me to go see the movie again, and shell out another 10 bucks.)

Gina: I don't know that people don't "get" the rave scene, as much as we all just hate the rave scene.


tj hookerMay 20, 2003 at 1:08PM

Overall, I was quite disappointed. I wasn't expecting perfection -- a sequel after all -- but the editing was so choppy. And the rave scene was pure Pepsi commercial. I agree with the view that making Neo so omnipotent really robbed the film of suspense. For instance, the best part of the car chase was the fact that Neo wasn't around; when Morpheus fought that Agent on the truck, some of that original Matrix juice started flowing, because remains some fragility to Morpheus, a fragility that Neo lacks. Like when he beats all the Agent Smiths: why couldn't Smith have made hundreds of thousands, or even millions of himself? Like, uh, real viruses...?

I did like fact that the Architect proposed the geekiest of premises: that the whole story is one iteration of a "for" loop. And Monica Belucci was pretty yowsa.

Jonathan RosenbergMay 20, 2003 at 1:11PM

However, I still have no idea why the Architect presented Neo with the 2-door choice. It makes no sense to me at all.

Choice is essential to the Matrix -- or, at least, maintaining the illusion of choice. The lack of choice (free will) is why the first one failed. By offering choice, even though the outcome is predictable, they maintain control.

Of course, the fact that Neo chose the non-predictable option kinda means everything is up for grabs in the third film.

MarshallMay 20, 2003 at 2:04PM

Jason -

The freshman year analogy is interesting, to the extent that it works as a very accurate way of communicating how you feel. Of course, like any good sophomoric remark, it also has a certain amount of enough-to-be-dangerous mischief to it, taking a stab at anyone in your readership that thinks there's more philosophy to the Matrix movies than a Star Wars-esque smorgasbord.

The movies you mention all have elements of philosophy to them to which people (and certainly film cults) have attributed significance in their own ways. Unlike the movies you've mentioned, however, the writers of the Matrix films are on record as saying that exploration of philosophical issues was chief among their goals (as well as top-notch kung-fu) while they created this trilogy.

As anyone who's studied literature knows, motifs and archetypes historically recur in the work of both those who intend to reference them and those who do not. Great stories tend to be the ones that resonate well with a universal message, and such messages tend to occur in patterns when observed comparatively across many works over long periods of time. But the fact that you stumble upon little details or nuances accidentally does not mean that the Matrix movies were made in an undisciplined way.

I don't think, as you suggest I might, that you're uneducated or uninterested in philosophy; on the contrary, I assume that you are the converse, and as a result, I expect-- perhaps unfairly-- a more articulate response to specific aspects of the movie. But your reaction leaves me wondering if you pulled the names of four philosophers from a Google search rather than your learned experience.

My suspicion is that either you don't have much background in philosophy, or that if you do, you simply haven't paid the movie(s) the favor of much independent thinking. If you have, and nothing worth sharing has occured to you, it may also be true that you haven't even bothered to carefully read and consider the work of those for whom the movies have raised some interesting philosophical questions. I find it hard to believe, however, that anyone with their lights on regarding philosophy could come away from the films, and the corresponding discussions thereof, without any awareness of the organized philosophy inside the story.

There are certainly people out there who don't have the background in philosophy, but have their wits about them enough to pick up on various ingredients of the "philosophical stew" and notice multiple influences. We live in an culture where people make surface observations all the time, but rarely care to explore them at any substantial depth. While you may be on safe ground assuming that no one in your readership has philosophical chops the likes of Nietzsche and company, I think you do yourself a great disservice by assuming that no one in your audience has enough academic training or well-informed interest to do more than intellectually tread water.

There's much more to discuss here than "Whoa, dude, he's like Buddha and Mohammad all at the same time," but if all you've got is "Neo is Jesus, we get it" (your initial "freshman" volley, I remind you) followed by condescending remarks about your readers and generalized observations, you do little more than artfully dodge the rigorous discussion of which sort you pretend to be capable with your quick-and-dirty allusion to a few vowel-heavy philosophers.


Andy -

Cornel West is in the movie because the Wachowskis asked him to be. He was invited by them during the filming to talk about philosophical issues, and as reported by a few different articles, he was "quite impressed" with the scope of their knowledge, for whatever that's worth.

Killing The BuddhaMay 20, 2003 at 2:20PM

We just posted a piece on it, for those who might be interested.

AndyMay 20, 2003 at 2:39PM

We live in an culture where people make surface observations all the time, but rarely care to explore them at any substantial depth

Okay, I'll bite, Marshall. You imply that you have the necessary background to distill and appreciate the philosophical intent and athletics of the film. Enlighten us, please! This is not a taunt. I'm sure you're right in many respects and would like to hear what you have to say about the film.

I agree it's really too easy to conclude "bah! there's nothing there!"

MarcusMay 20, 2003 at 4:55PM

I heard a lady on the radio this morning urging the film makers to take some responsibility for the rash of violent freak-outs that seem to be occuring in theaters when schizophrenics have subjected themselves to this movie.

I don't remember hearing about schizophrenic freak-outs when Spiderman came out.

nramseyMay 20, 2003 at 5:58PM

Great discussion, glad to read so many viewpoints. Not that it should be necessary this far down, but !!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

Here's the point I am stuck on: I thought Zion was destroyed. When they are on the ship at the end and they are talking about how it was a massacre, a Sentinel for everyone man, women, and child, I thought it meant that everyone in Zion was dead. But Link didn't seem that upset that his wife was dead, so I was confused.

If I could figure this part out, then I know the rave scene would come into focus for me.

AndyMay 20, 2003 at 6:30PM

They were talking about the ill-fated counter-attack that Lock arranged to take place in one of the utility pipes or passageways above Zion. That didn't go so well, apparently, because the premature EMP took down 5 ships, etc. It was a slaughter.

I swear there is a moment, though, when you're looking down the unlighted column of Zion, at the criss-crossing paths, and there are sentinels slowly creeping forward, as if their tunneling is complete and they're ready to attack the sleeping city.

I'm none too clear there.

Sean DuncanMay 20, 2003 at 6:57PM

Here's my review. I have pretty much the same take as you, Jason. It was bloated, overly serious and (I think) the Wachowskis had too much creative control (much like Lucas clearly does with the latest Star Wars flicks). Do these people never get the point that a lean, mean movie nearly always beats out the self-important "epic"?

--sean

jbMay 20, 2003 at 9:20PM

1) cypher dies in the first movie, he's not reinserted

2) agent smith takes over bane's body inside the matrix so when he is pulled out he is still agent smith because, as we all learned in the first movie, "your mind makes it real." I think this is the same reason Neo is able to be the One outside the matrix too, because his mind has made it real, but i'm probably wrong and i'll probably be corrected in revolutions, but it works for now.

3) everybody needs to watch the animatrix and play Enter the Matrix. both tell much much much more of the story and if you don't want to be covered in story, just watch the first movie and forget about the rest.

4) please don't act like nothing makes sense because i think a lot of it isn't supposed to yet. much more will be explained in revolutions and i can't wait for it.

in closing i'll say that while the first movie did make a little sense the first time you watch it, you would find out more and more in each subsequent viewing, so give this one the chance you gave that one. i know that the second time i saw it i found myself understand much more about the movie and the philosophy. and go back and watch the first one again because you'll realize that the first one makes even more sense now and you'll realize how amazing the FX in the new really are despite a few short comings in recreating reality perfectly.

Sean DuncanMay 20, 2003 at 9:44PM

This has been said many times, but I'll say it again -- why should someone have to watch a bunch of animated films plus play a game plus rewatch a bad movie in order to "get" the bad movie?

A lot of it just doesn't make sense. Why does Neo have superpowers in the "real world"? Unless this is a hint that the world of Zion/the "real world" is yet another level of fakeness, I'll be really disappointed.

The Wachowskis made this series in order to create a new type of superhero mythology. It worked in the first one, it didn't in the second.

--sean

Mark T.May 20, 2003 at 10:04PM

I thought the movie was great. The Wachowskis want us to interpret the movie how we see fit. If you want a Kung-Fu movie, you get one. If you want a deeper spiritual significance you get that.. Keep in mind, there is even more to the names and characters than the obvious Christian and Greek Pagan symbolism. Ex. The 'Merovingian' are a famed lineage of French monarchy that have a peculiar history about them. There is myth that they are the surviving bloodline of Christ who according to this legend, did not die on the cross but was rescued by the Apostles, fled and married Mary whom then prospered with their children ultimately creating the Merovingian bloodline. Remember Merovingian in the movie? Dig a little deeper and you will find a lot more to think about.

jbMay 20, 2003 at 10:05PM

like i said, if you don't want the entire story, watch the first, pretend like it makes sense by itself and forget about the rest. and i also said that a lot of it isn't supposed to make sense. imagine if you cut 'akira' in half or 'metropolis' in half; you'd bitch about it not making sense.

and i think neo has powers in the real world because he made it real. it's all about mind over matter and therevada buddhist beliefs, but like i also said, it's unlikely that we are supposed to understand it yet.

evanMay 21, 2003 at 12:30AM

I unfortunately have no insight into the film, but there is something that I noticed that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else, though of course, I haven't looked everywhere.

Nobody smoked in the movie, not even the Oracle, who smoked in the first Matrix. It seems as though she kicked the habit and took up candy instead (am I remembering this correctly? I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong ;)

As an aside, I think this may have been the first film I've seen in years where there was no smoking; kudos to the film-makers.

A question: What product placement did you pick up on? (Besides of course the Phatalacs)

TheoMay 21, 2003 at 12:42AM

I think the Brothers Wachowski have done several things in this movie that no one has done before, not the least of which is make a sequel that is actually two movies, Reloaded and Revolutions, separated by six months. Reloaded is getting criticized here and in the press because things are left unexplained at the end or because it lacks the tidiness of the first movie or because some scenes appear to be useless. Bollocks. The original film was self-contained because it had to be. But with more money and greater latitude, the brothers have pushed the boundaries and given us something new, not just in special effects and a general synthesis of intellectual and popular, but in the staging of new kind of storytelling itself. And we as a culture don't like new that strays from formula. I don't believe this movie should be criticized using the criteria we use for other movies--because it's not a complete movie. I have issues with the film, there's no doubt; it's not what I wanted or thought it would be--and I'm glad. Because I'm patient and can wait for the second half of this sequel to be over in November. I think it's an inherent problem with our culture in general...we're too accustomed to instant gratification. 'Why does Neo have power outside the Matrix?' 'I don't like it cause it doesn't make sense.' I'll be happy to recant and say it all sucked and was lame if Revolutions doesn't follow through, but for now I'm content remembering why I liked The Matrix more and more as I waited for the sequel. Because I could sit with the questions I had remaining at the end of the film, it made me think and not be dismissive of new ideas, and I remained open to the possibility that there was another way of thinking about the world.

Bill BrownMay 21, 2003 at 1:17AM

Product placements:

Audi
Cadillac
GMC

I think there were some others, but I can't recall them immediately.

whuzzaMay 21, 2003 at 1:53AM

Next to the blatant Cadillac CTS commercial, there's the sweet Ducati 996 that Trinity speeds around in.

Thanks to Jon for reminding me that the first movie wasn't all that groundbreaking as the hype would have you believe. The same topics were explored in Dark City and Thirteenth Floor, albeit with slightly less violence.

I thoroughly enjoyed Reloaded still. Skip the comments from others and watch the movie yourself.

retrovirusMay 21, 2003 at 2:30AM

Theo: What about Back to the Future II and III?

Product placement: The dorky Samsung "official Matrix phone"

TheoMay 21, 2003 at 10:43AM

retrovirus: BtF 2 and 3 were each independent movies, each had the standard three-act arc, each could exist independently from the other--I'm not talking about movies being shot back to back...my point is that I don't think Reloaded can exist on its own as a traditional narrative, and again, when Revolutions opens, I think we'll see it not as third in a trilogy, but second half of a sequel.

The two films need each other in order to be one complete movie.

mojokittenMay 21, 2003 at 12:04PM

I can't find if this has already been stated, but I think it's important to note that the party in Zion was not actually a rave. It looked like Stomp (or a combo similar) was playing. The music initially sounded tribal. It isn't until Neo & Trinity start doing the hokey pokey that the techno starts up - as soundtrack music, not the music from the environment. Just had to get that out of Ye Olde System. The reason I've had to set this straight with far too many people I know is that the idea of a tribal gathering to dance around a fire (slbeit a bit scantily clad in this case) is not new. It's as old as rebirth mythology. Early tribes had to be content with drums and other makeshift instruments since Panasonic hadn't come out with a good CD player yet ;) It makes more sense when you think of it less as a rave and more as the end of a tribal council... with a helluvalot of people.

SteveMay 21, 2003 at 12:09PM

Sean Duncan says : why should someone have to watch a bunch of animated films plus play a game plus rewatch a bad movie in order to "get" the bad movie?

Why should we, as a public, has ALWAYS to watch stupid movies ? At last with Reloaded I saw one that requiere more than a Homer IQ to get. Who cares that you don't want to think at all, and for ONCE, having a movie that ask more than usual ?

It worked in the first one, it didn't in the second.

You think so. We are legions who think not. Too bad for you, cauz actually Reloaded DO worked well.

RBMay 21, 2003 at 12:16PM

I've just read through all of these, and had thought on the extended universe/multiple media. People say that they shouldn't have to wait or watch more just to get a movie. My thoughts? Then don't. But don't complain. The way it's been built, that is tantamount (as previously mentioned) to opening a book, reading 1/4 of it, and saying, "This blows. I don't understand anything. It seems too concentrated on this or that or the other thing."

I believe that the Waschowskis are trying to change the entertainment experience. We're just used to a movie being a movie. Obviously, the potential for more has always been there, and no one has ever tried before (well, ok, sorta, but they failed miserably. But no one's tried to this extent. OK, fine Star Wars. But even though it was started with an intent, it was not for what it has grown into). They're not forcing you to do any more, but they're offering the chance. Those who have seen the Animatrix (advanced copies) said it adds to the experience. I think I'll wait until I buy that and play the game before I go a second time. Then it'll be even better. And I liked it the first time!

I understand the complaints, but to me, they sound like someone experiencing something that's completely different from what they're used to and rejecting it because of that. Possibly like someone who tastes Indian food for the first time, hates it, then you meet them a couple of years later and they can't get enough of it. OK, better analogy - like the resistance that talkies encountered when they were introduced over silent movies. I'm not saying the franchise/universe idea is the way to go for everything (really, it wouldn't work for 99.9% of the stuff out there), but I think that it is something different, and one has to appreciate what they are trying to do.

mojokittenMay 21, 2003 at 1:23PM

Amen to you, RB! As a would-be screenwriter with one on a big guys desk now, world building is an exceptionally challenging exercise. I admire the Wachowskis for being able to construct a multiverse with rules that I feel are working well for them. Just because we feel they've been broken doesn't mean we knew all the rules... yet... if ever. I can't wait until November. Until then, I'll bide my time rewatching what I thought was an excellent film experience!

DaveMay 21, 2003 at 2:17PM

During the Freeway scenes, there is a quick shot of the interior of a police car with the radio handset laying on the seat. If you listen closely you hear someone over the radio say "1 Adam 12"....I thought it was a hilarious reference to that old TV show. Refutes the opinion that the Ws took the film too seriously.

AndyMay 21, 2003 at 2:41PM

This has been said many times, but I'll say it again -- why should someone have to watch a bunch of animated films plus play a game plus rewatch a bad movie in order to "get" the bad movie?

They just provide more back-story. Here's an example:

The kid whos always hanging off of Neo is the main subject of one of the Animatrix shorts. He's a young hackeresque skater who goes through much the same process that Neo does: dissatisfaction with the world, late night chat sessions where he learns the truth (except this time it's Neo doing the talking, not Morpheus).

He's pegged as a "free mind" by agents, who pursue him. At the climax of the short, he commits suicide, ostensibly, jumping off the top of a building. The next thing you know, he's on the operating table of a Zion ship, being looked over by Neo and Trinity. But unlike Neo's case from the first Matrix, the kid was not "awakened" by the ship's crew. He spontaneously woke himself by believing that the world inside the Matrix was not real, and killing himself there. Somehow, the Zion ship, which was monitoring him, found his awakened body, and rescued him, but they marvel that he was able to wake himself. They've previously thought this impossible.

This is why Neo tells him, in Reloaded, "I didn't save you, you saved yourself."

So what?

Wellll....

At the beginning of Reloaded, Morpheus emphasizes that the prophecy of the One is not to be ignored, offering the fact that since Neo came around, "we have freed more minds in 6 months than in 6 years"

And at the end of Reloaded, we get that long conversation with the Architect, where he expains that there is a systemic problem in the Matrix, of which the One is the sum, the epitome. Some people reject the program, and if they go unchecked, they can present a threat to the system.

I think the fact that people are beginning to spontaenously free themselves from the Matrix supports the fact that things are reaching a critical mass, and that they do have a choice whether to stay or go. Enough people have rejected or are rejecting the system, that the machines have to do something about it. Which leads to the entire plot of Reloaded - the machine army, the maniuplation of Neo and Zion, etc. The fact that this kid chose to just leave suggests that everyone else is subconsciously choosing to stay, which is a basic premise of how the Matrix is supported, and offers the key to how it might be destroyed.

So there you go. You don't HAVE to see the kid's back story to understand the film, but it lends some support to the events you see in Reloaded. If you want to get more out of the story, and enjoy some cool animation besides, see the Animatrix. If you're too disgusted with cross-marketing to bother, then don't!

DaveMay 21, 2003 at 2:59PM

Something I haven't read yet. What's the significance of the gift of the earpiece that Agent Smith sends to Neo at the very beginning of the movie (other than, it's just to emphasize the fact that Smith has been set free)?? Will it come into play later??

corporatemofoMay 21, 2003 at 3:09PM

A philosophical perspective here.

emilyMay 21, 2003 at 3:23PM

i liked it. :-) warning: critical theory ramblings ahead....re: the "rave" scene upping the sex quotient of the film -- i'm fascinated by the sexual imagery in TMR, and i can see a trend developing across the trilogy. the first film was full of images of birth or rebirth, most obviously when Neo awakens in his goo-pod and is flushed out and rescued by the Nebuchadnezzar (just love typing that...Nebuchadnezzar!). the story revolved around Neo's being "born" into a new consciousness, etc. TMR moves on to images of sexuality and especially orgasm, and its dual meaning as "the little death." the film opens with Neo precognizing Trinity's death, a scene that flashes again as she "dies" (i.e. comes) in his arms during the "rave" sequence. then at then very end, Neo saves her life by literally reaching inside her -- to me, a much more sexual image than a big wet kiss would have been. sex and death as the end (as in the "purpose" and as in the "ending") of life is a common theme, and there are all kinds of interesting references sprinkled throuhg the film...look at the Architect, he looks just like Signmund Freud, for pete's sake! :P there is also my favorite pun, the "death by chocolate scene," where we are led (or at least i was led) to believe the Merovingian was going to poison that woman with the chocolate dessert, but instead gives her a glowing green Matrix-code orgasm from across the room...i was sitting there thinking, "The MPAA folks must not get this, or it would be rated NC-17!" just kidding...

rebeccaMay 21, 2003 at 3:43PM

1) I find it heartbreaking that they compromised the aesthetic of the first movie in exchange for sponsorship dollars. The first film was atmospheric and dark: Cypher drives a verdigris 1965 Lincoln Towncar with suicide doors. The second movie, by contrast, offers us the Cadillac Escalade. Sigh.

2) And what do we get for those dollars? Over-the-top fighting that pushes the limits of the technology. I completely agree, Jason K., that they would have been better advised to stay well within those boundaries. The first movie never strayed from effects that had been used for ages in the Hong Kong action film circuit. Let Michael Bay and James Cameron test the beta versions.

3) The geek-boy wish fulfillment is a fucking tragedy. Cave orgy, Persephone begging Neo to make out with her, the orgasm cake... After the first Matrix I had high hopes that the series would continue to write for an adult audience, not an adolescent male one. Sigh.

TheoMay 21, 2003 at 4:01PM

A note about car sponsorship: Cypher et al drove in a classic Lincoln because they're free; all the cars in chase scene are cars driven/owned by those still asleep. From analog phones to vintage cars, those freed from the matrix use an older technology when they reenter, whereas those still plugged in use the latest--because they're deluded consumers who need the latest, newest, shiniest to fill their lives with meaning in a meaningless world.

Persophone's kiss will have greater resonance in Revolutions, as will, I wager, tribal dance scene.

It's astounding that many people on this thread are approaching Reloaded with such myopia regarding their presuppositions and expectations.

Sigh indeed.

Spoon BoyMay 21, 2003 at 6:15PM

Any person who doesn't recognize The Matrix as the single most profound piece of fiction ever conceived simply doesn't understand it.

SteveMay 21, 2003 at 6:17PM

Is the feeling toward the sex/tribal dance a cultural thing ? My wife and I, plus a friend of us, are french. We watched Reloaded with a group of american collegues. And the result is disturbing : 100% of the americans hated that scene. We three french absolutely *loved* it and we think it's an amazingly powerful and necessary scene.

Which led us to think about cultural differences and perceptions. It's not a secret that americans (and brits) are *lot* more prudes and puritans than us. And then I wonder if that cultural difference make, subconsciously, americans hate that "organic" and "primal" scene.

Just wonder. Maybe the results of my observations are pure randomness...

Spoon BoyMay 21, 2003 at 6:23PM

It's important to understand that the orgy scene was much more profound than it looked on the surface. It was illustrating to us just how far Artificial Intelligence has come in this story. You do realize that there is no spoon, no Zion, and perhaps no Neo, yes? It's all a program. The WHOLE THING is A.I.

The orgy scene was software getting off on itself.

SteveMay 21, 2003 at 8:23PM

The orgy scene was software getting off on itself.

That's one of the best theory, but I think it's far from being a given thruth. How do you know that the spoon is not real ? We may think so, but it's still not a 100% evidence.

It may only be a message sent to someone in real-life (communication between Matrix / Reality is easy) to deliver a straight spoon, symbol known to be recognized by Neo as from the Oracle ...

BrianMay 21, 2003 at 8:31PM

Spoon Boy says:
Any person who doesn't recognize The Matrix as the single most profound piece of fiction ever conceived simply doesn't understand it.

I am utterly blinded by the sheer simplistic brilliance of that argument. May I suggest this thread be closed? Clearly, there's nothing left to say after that.

parapesaMay 22, 2003 at 10:38AM

Alright, I'm new to all of this but here goes, and bare with me!
I argued for hours on end with a friend who thinks that zion is a matrix within a matrix. I don't think so, but i'm not really sure and here's why: The Matrix is based on a book called Simulacra and Simulation where Jean Baudllirad [author] says that there are 4 stages to the image:
1 the image is the reflection of a profound reality
2 the image masks and denatures a profound reality
3 the image masks THE ABSCENCE of a profound reality
the matrix right? wrong! and here's why i'm confused:
the forth stage of the image is that the image has no relation to any reality whatsoever: it is its own pure simulacrum
so what i'm getting at is that zion isn't a matrix within a matrix, we don't have choices, fate and religion don't really exist. We simply are. Am i making any sense?
But there's this naggin alert going off in my head that agrees with all the above theeories on Bane/Smith and the "smith" viurs that Neo now has, coz he did say that he felt like he was dying, like that last time when he did, but he came back [unless i got the scene confused!] So, since smith tells him that their lives are now very linked, it'd make sense, ironically, that smith is the one that gives neo the way to figure out getting out of the matrix. blah blah blah
I'll shut up now, but i'll admit, i'm quite confused as to which of these two possibilties is going to be the right one

Spoon BoyMay 22, 2003 at 11:13AM

First of all, The Matrix is not *based* on Simulacra and Simulation. S&S is merely one of its numerous influences.

Check out some of my thoughts on the subject here.

Thoughts/rebuttals expected and welcome. I'm particularly interested in hearing what you think would be a fitting end to this story.

Personally, I suspect the bombshell of our story is that there are *no* humans @ all in any of the movies. What we're going to learn is that Neo, Morpheus, Zion, and so on, are all part of the "entire race of machines" spawned by A.I., as Morpheus himself explains in the first movie. As for the ending, I think we may be going in the direction of a loop, in which the title of "Revolutions" will begin to make more sense than we ever imagined. "Revolution", as in "full circle".

Prediction: Final scene of Matrix Revolutions. Neo asleep @ his droid, as we met him in 1999. On the screen:

Wake up Neo...

FADE TO BLACK

parapesaMay 22, 2003 at 11:56AM

alright fine... let's say this whole 360 degrees thing is right, then, since you obviously pay a lot of attention to numbering in the film then.... 314 seconds should mean somehting to you. To me it means that the 314 seconds Neo has to get into the room implies that beyond that time, the cycle begins again, but afer that time... the cycle is broke. 314=3.14, the number for pi, and we know what pi is don't we.

pMay 22, 2003 at 12:02PM

but then again, this is the 6th time neo makes it to the architect.

AndyMay 22, 2003 at 12:09PM

Absolute full-circle plots have been overdone to death. Not clever. Not interesting. I guarantee you that the W's will avoid that cliche. I think they will also avoid the Matrix-within-a-Matrix-within-a-Matrix onion skin cliche, which as other point out was done in Existenz, originally a box-office competitor of the Matrix.

Now that we know it's possible for AI programs to inhabit human bodies, there are all kinds of possibilities open. Maybe Morpheus is a program in a human body: "He went to see the Oracle and everything changed."

There will be revelations in the 3rd film, no doubt. But I'm guessing they will be more along the lines of unexpected character and plot twists, and less along the lines of "Doooood! Everyone's an AI!"

Mr. NosuchMay 22, 2003 at 12:21PM

"Remember, there is no Spoon Boy."

Anyway, so either Zion and the rest of the "real world" is a simulation or it's not.

Reasons to believe it's a sim:

1. Neo has mojo in the "real world" now.
2. The "humans as batteries" is implausible from a thermodynamic point of view, so something else has to be going on.
3. Recursion and reflection seem to be major themes.

Me thinks it's all about the nature of what is computable and what is not. If the machines run on digital computers (and not quantum ones,) perhaps they have certain limitations. Thus, they hook up a giant wetware grid to supplement their processing ability. That would also explain why they use people and not cows (assuming, again that the "power source" explanation is a ruse.) in the Matrix.

So Zion and Neo are really just part of the "error correction" protocol used to keep the whole thing working smoothly. But, now the machines are confronted with an error in error correction protocol.

Perhaps Zion is a "Development/QA" box, and the Matrix the "Production" box. The Source is the Machine's version control software.

Reasons to think Zion is NOT a sim:

1. It would suck if it were a sim, dramatically. A dream within a dream is a cheap plot cop out.

2. The Architech gives the impression that Zion is seperate from the Matrix. (But seeing as the Programs love to jerk the Meat around, this could be more manipulation, like the Oracle did.)

Can anyone give more reasons why I can stop worrying this whole thing is a giant set of virtual nested boxes?

Spoon BoyMay 22, 2003 at 12:29PM

Andy says:

"Absolute full-circle plots have been overdone to death. Not clever. Not interesting."


A full-circle (revolution) plot is no less clever than the overdone "unexpected character and plot twist" you seem to crave. It's also less common, and far from uninteresting.

I suppose you find the looped masterpieces of Bach and Escher unclever and uninteresting, particularly the way they dance with the infinite and blow thinking minds away in the process. But hey, not everything can't be as good as "The Core", right Andy?

Tank to Morpeus:

"Ten hours straight. He's a MACHINE."

Spoon BoyMay 22, 2003 at 12:29PM

Andy says:

"Absolute full-circle plots have been overdone to death. Not clever. Not interesting."


A full-circle (revolution) plot is no less clever than the overdone "unexpected character and plot twist" you seem to crave. It's also less common, and far from uninteresting.

I suppose you find the looped masterpieces of Bach and Escher unclever and uninteresting, particularly the way they dance with the infinite and blow thinking minds away in the process. But hey, not everything can't be as good as "The Core", right Andy?

Tank to Morpheus:

"Ten hours straight. He's a MACHINE."

Spoon BoyMay 22, 2003 at 12:34PM

Stop for a moment and review this. The answers are there, @ the Source. :)

parapesaMay 22, 2003 at 12:43PM

excuse the idiot sitting infront of this monitor.... but i don't geddit! your point i mean? i've red this a kagillion times, that's why my friend and i are arguing.... you're not helping!!!
grrrr.... why six months why!!!!! i'm more inclined to agree with Andy... besides, not only will it be a sell out, but it'd make the matrix a Halloween type movie... sequals and sequals and sequals... and pure turd I think the W's are a lot smarter than that

Spoon BoyMay 22, 2003 at 12:52PM

For a visual, most movies and their associated sequels can be thought of as two-dimensional squares, sitting next to each other in sequence, from left to right. The first movie is on the left, the second movie on the right, and so on.

If the original Matrix was a square, then Reloaded is not a square along side it. Instead, it is a larger square encompassing it. This is not The Matrix 2. It's more like The Matrix Squared. We're going exponential here, which appropriately enough is precisely how the binary system is constructed.

As for what I thought of Reloaded as a sequel? All I can say is The Matrix is the best prequel ever made.


Spoon BoyMay 22, 2003 at 1:08PM

parpesa says,

"...i'm more inclined to agree with Andy... besides, not only will it be a sell out, but it'd make the matrix a Halloween type movie... sequals and sequals and sequals... and pure turd I think the W's are a lot smarter than that..."


You actually disagree with Andy then. If the Revolutions installment does indeed take us back full circle, then what we have here is a self-contained infinite piece of fiction with no beginning and no end, in which case no further sequels are possible. The only place to go after Revolutions would be back to the first installment of the trilogy, 1999's The Matrix. There could be, and would be, no room for a Matrix 4.

Not that the Halloween movies weren't good though. ;)

RenoMay 22, 2003 at 1:40PM

I think someone mentioned this earlier and I'm quite attracted to the idea now. Two matrices, for the vast majority of mankind, and another for those who refuse to accept the first Matrix. I'm now quite tempted to believe that Neo is only a program, created to prevent the people in the second Matrix from seeing past it.

They have a real sense of purpose and danger in the second Matrix, something they missed in the first Matrix, hence its effectiveness in making them believe its the real world.

Neo is said to be the 6th incarnation of 'The One', but perhaps the Architect is lying to him? It is absolutely essential that Neo believes he is human, if he is to lead everyone in the 'Real World' to their freedom from the Machines slavery.

The Machines are well aware of the fact that those perceptive enough to escape the first Matrix will not be fooled by a second Matrix for very long unless they are kept focused on one goal: the destruction of the Machines. This does not seem very hopeful, but they are fed 'The Prophecy', and the eventual arrival of the program known to them as a human called 'The One'.

Neo is granted a lot of power by his programmer, to give everyone in the 'Real World' some hope, for without hope, there is a risk everyone will again reject this second Matrix. This means in the first Matrix, he kicks ass, but in the second, he doesn't quite realise he can achieve similar effects, until Reloaded, where he stops the Sentinels with a burst of EMP (if that is what it was - though it wasn't that at all by my theory, he was simply manipulating code).

Any power Neo has is irrelevant, since once Neo has 'fulfilled the prophecy', 'Zion' and its inhabitants have nothing left to hope for, and the Machines will send their clean up team for them all, killing them to make space for the next round of people whose needs cannot be met by the first Matrix.

Once Zion has been destroyed, presumably Neo is told exactly what he is, then stomped, so he can return for deletion at the source - exile is improbable for 'The One' without anyone to fight for.

The Machines have hereby created a perfect system, segregating the populace into two groups with different needs. One is permanent, one is on a cycle, either way the electricity keeps coming, and all the Machines have to do is take their garbage out now and again.

All just my interpretation of course :)

AndyMay 22, 2003 at 2:04PM

Spoon Boy: unexpected character and plot twists have been done to death, eh? That's an interesting comment. I guess there's no reason to tell or read anything ever again.

My main premise here is that the one thing we can count on is that the W's are clever and original. And since the ending you propose is a Hollywood cliche, they will by definition avoid it.

Is your repetition of the same posting meant to be part of your argument for the infinite loop plot? Anyway, this is all conjecture. It's foolish to think we know for sure how it will end. So let's keep the conversation and ideas flowing.

Spoon BoyMay 22, 2003 at 2:18PM

Ah, the loop-connection to the repeated posting tailored for the detail-oriented. You noticed! Nice job. :)

>>
foolish to think we know for sure how it will end.

Indeed. All we can do is speculate and have fun with it. But on that note, you've gotta admit that any "guarantee" proposed by any of us would be out of line, right?

Spoon BoyMay 22, 2003 at 3:06PM

Call me overly analytical, but I'm still trying to find the special meaning behind 197 here.

spenMay 22, 2003 at 3:10PM

a few unconnected thoughts:

yes, using the humans to power the machines, while perpetually feeding them with themselves doesn't make thermodynamic sense. is this really not happening? or maybe it's just a movie..

let's not assume that everything the architect says is true. the oracle told neo that he wasn't the one.

assuming that the sequels' titles are more than alliteration, when did the matrix get reloaded? reloaded as they go back in to the matrix again? or that neo's "choice" of the door was "an illusion created by the ones in power"(maurivignian) and reloaded the matrix as a whole then? neo did say something felt different.

i wonder why stopping the sentinels caused neo to go in to a coma.

maybe zion wasn't destroyed, as in the trailer for revolutions, we see those machines that guard the gates of zion in what looks like zion.

i don't think the trilogy will end in a loop, and neo is probably not a program. i say this cause i read an interview with keanu reeves about the series and what he did reveal was "it sounds goofy, but it's really all about love."

chelldawgzMay 22, 2003 at 3:37PM

(Somewhat of a spoiler.....yea its a spoiler) For those who dont want to know who that survivor is at the end of this movie.......please......dont....read.....this........u ready?..Its agent smith. remember in neo's dream when agent smith chased down those 2 guys and copied himself into one of them. well when the phone rang and he picked it up. One of his copys got free and into that body of that man. Thats why the guy tryed to stab neo earlier in the movie. That was agent smith in zion, in that body. crazy huh. That I understood. Theres jus one thing in this movie that i still cant comprehend. The whole 6 times thing. You know the fact that neo has visted the arcitect 6 times. I mean i guess everybody is some what stumped on that plot revleation. In revolutions they'll prolly explain it alot more along with neo's pivitol role in the salvation of the human race. Both are definitly tied in together

Spoon BoyMay 22, 2003 at 3:52PM

chelldawgz says:

Theres jus one thing in this movie that i still cant comprehend. The whole 6 times thing. You know the fact that neo has visted the arcitect 6 times.


Six times yes, but not necessarily in a chronological sense. Think dimensional. Free your mind. Software, or logic, does not exist in time as we know it. It just *is*.

spen says:

let's not assume that everything the architect says is true. the oracle told neo that he wasn't the one.


Father knows best. Listen to Dad. It's always the mom that blows things out of proportion.

I wonder why stopping the sentinels caused neo to go in to a coma.

For the same reason he fell to the ground from the building in the first movie: He was subject to the laws imposed upon him by the environment in which he was placed, and he hadn't fully developed the necessary realization that he was above these rules.

Besides, you'd probably go into a coma too if a hostile Squiddy came straight @ your head going 200 mph.




parapesaMay 22, 2003 at 4:49PM

alright i got another conspirecy theory: neo is that tiny percentage, that fluke in the system. what if the power that neo now has in the real world.... it's not god-like power... yeah, what if that power was given him genetically? we all know, from matrix 1 and Renaissance 2 that humans are made by the machines... no battery mom and dad. so there is a programme that makes humans and it is actually this programme that was made by the Oracle, and here in lies Neo's "real" world powers. that tiny percentage: its not part of the matrix batteryprogramme, but part of the programme that is instilled in our genetic make-up that makes us and our conciousness. So "choice" is added into the mixture at "birth" as is that Neo factor.... hence he is that much more powerful. in the real world. too far fetched? possibly huh?
I have another question: Spoon Boy says:
Call me overly analytical, but I'm still trying to find the special meaning behind 197 here.
where'd that number come from?
And yet another question: [i'm on a role today!] if as i truly believe, Smith can affect the real world [since I don't think Zion is another Matrix] why can't Neo? Morpheos said it clearly, it's all in the mind. Neo finally believes he has the power. He's not seeing in binary, like inside the matrix, but he can feel them. They exist differently to him here than do the agents and the like inside the matrix!
I'll shut up now, but i'd like your thoughts on my thoughts :)

spenMay 22, 2003 at 5:07PM

see my first post for the 197 reference. apologies for the lack of taste, but it's so poignant!

i'm starting to lean with you to that zion is really zion. even though it probably is another matrix. one of the reasons also being that he can't see the lines of code. which is another random thought... it's not binary! what is that, is the matrix running on quantum computers perhaps?

and what made it "different" according to neo?

my biggest question that noone has any idea about-

WHY DOES BANE CUT HIS HAND BEFORE HE TRIES TO KILL NEO???

spenMay 22, 2003 at 5:07PM

see my first post for the 197 reference. apologies for the lack of taste, but it's so poignant!

i'm starting to lean with you to that zion is really zion. even though it probably is another matrix. one of the reasons also being that he can't see the lines of code. which is another random thought... it's not binary! what is that, is the matrix running on quantum computers perhaps?

and what made it "different" according to neo?

my biggest question that noone has any idea about-

WHY DOES BANE CUT HIS HAND BEFORE HE TRIES TO KILL NEO???

spenMay 22, 2003 at 5:08PM

see my first post for the 197 reference. apologies for the lack of taste, but it's so poignant!

i'm starting to lean with you to that zion is really zion. even though it probably is another matrix. one of the reasons also being that he can't see the lines of code. which is another random thought... it's not binary! what is that, is the matrix running on quantum computers perhaps?

and what made it "different" according to neo?

my biggest question that noone has any idea about-

WHY DOES BANE CUT HIS HAND BEFORE HE TRIES TO KILL NEO???

parapesaMay 22, 2003 at 5:38PM

noone's arguing, and call me retarded as much as you want, but at least i'm exercise that muscle that smith says neo aint using :P
i thought is was another funky number connection in the matrix.... boo boo spen!! and about that binary.... excuse me i no speaki in dat language! last time i took basic was in 8th grade. I meant to say code. so he doesn't see in code in that last scene... he only feels them Squiddies.

parapesaMay 22, 2003 at 5:45PM

as for bane cuttin himself, i think that he's lost his sanity coz now his genetic code has been infected with the virus that is Smith. smith's programme code has integrated in bane's human code from the matrix encounter into zion, the real world. that's also why he wants to kill neo, coz so does smith. Incedentily, i think there are a lot of parallels between Smith and Neo. they're going through the same changes but from different sides. real vs matrix. Smith has become the virus he claimed we were in matrix one!
there! that seem like a good one for ya?! or am i being retarded hehehehe

Spoon BoyMay 22, 2003 at 5:58PM

spen said, in loopy fashion:

WHY DOES BANE CUT HIS HAND BEFORE HE TRIES TO KILL NEO???


I think he was just getting to know the ropes a bit, becoming familiar with the new body in which he has manifested his intellectual existence.

Good thing he didn't hack into Trinity. She'd probably never leave the house.

Erik GMay 22, 2003 at 7:57PM

I downloaded a copy of the movie (after seeing it in the theater):

2 items I wanted to note on:

- There were NOT 23 board members on the counsil. In two different "wide" shots of the board I counted a total of 11 members (6 male, 4 female, 1 unknown).

- Bain, during his apparent attempt to kill neo with the knife. Did slice his hand, but it did not heal (I read this either on this thread, or another, but I wanted to state it none-the-less). One interesting thing Bain said to neo in that sceen was "WE'LL see you." Definately implying he is apart of Agent Smith.

I am not completely on board with the Matrix within a Matrix theory (or M&M theory) I hear people suggesting. It's seems like too much work for the machines to "double-trap" people. It make sense to me that the machines would knowingly let people escape the Matrix and flee to Zion (where they would help other non-believers escape as well), while providing minimal resistance (sentinals and agents) so that it's not the easiest thing to do. Then when Zion reaches a certain size (size = strength) and/or the One comes forth, the machines destroy Zion. But they don't completely destroy it, because they need a place for people to escape to (because if those people were left in the Matrix it would become corupt). If Zion was a program, why threaten it with Sentinals drilling down to destroy it, it it can just be rebooted?

I liked the movie a lot because it has me thinking and reading long *ss threads like this one (and /.) just to see what others thought.

BrianMay 22, 2003 at 8:29PM

Some thoughts before I leave for my 2nd viewing of TMR tonight:

* I think "Revolutions" will end with Bobby Ewing being startled and waking up in the shower, at which point we learn the Matrices were all a dream.

* I was trying to think of a Judas/Jesus connection for Bane cutting his hand, but Bane isn't really a Judas -- Cypher was. Any other thoughts on assassins (sp?) who are well known for whom this blood-letting might be a ritual?

* (There Is No) Spoon Boy did an admirable job on this page, which shares some trivia withthis one. Questions: Neo is #6, so why would he be in 101 (binary 5)? Shouldn't he be in 110? A more plausible explanation might be that "Room 101 was the place in George Orwell's book 1984 where people were sent to be tortured and would end up believing something that wasn't true."

* smith's programme code has integrated in bane's human code from the matrix encounter into zion But the human's aren't code, only the "digital representations" of themselves, or whatever Morpheus called it in M1, are code. So Smith couldn't have integrated himself with anything but another digital representation in the sim-within-a-sim, right? Er, uh, right? :-)

Off to the show lads. Back later with more blinkerd, philistine pig-ignorance.

Korte40May 22, 2003 at 8:57PM

I disagree with your review. It was like watching a beautiful women wear the latest Gucci fashions. I loved it and think it was worth the $10. New York, Spring 2003

ChrisMay 23, 2003 at 2:18AM

here's a quick almost totaly unfounded theory:

what if instead of fighting a straight out war with the machines, humanity simply created a virtual world where the machines supposedly enslave humanity and live happily ever after, then trap them in it somehow?

wazzupMay 23, 2003 at 2:49AM

wassup , ok here's the story. NEo, is half machine since Smith and him sort of 'exhanged powers'. The sentinels started coming, but he could FEEL them. WHy? Because he is part machine.
At this point the machine didn't know what ot do. Attack the human? Attack the machine? So, they all fell; THAT includes NEO.

wassupMay 23, 2003 at 2:52AM

Oh and those who complained about the C.G, includint the reviewer, YOU KNOW NOTHING about CINEMA. That's the best than can be done at this day and age, and if you put the movei down for that (it's almost perfect), then I'm afraid your expectaions are too high.
STFU about whinging about the SFX.

PeteMay 23, 2003 at 8:13AM

I think the reason for Bane/Smith cutting his hand before going up to Neo was that he was going to try to infect Neo in the real world. He did it in the Matrix, though it didn't turn Neo into a Smith clone, but now Smith is outside of the Matrix with a real body, could he be trying to pass on the virus in a physical manner by exchanging blood?

Overall, disappointed with the film, only the last 30 minutes were good - so much could have been edited out.

11220May 23, 2003 at 10:19AM

We thought it was a pleasantly distacting way to spend a couple of hours. End of.

AndyMay 23, 2003 at 1:24PM

It's hard to say that the current state of CGI effects is poor. It's obviously pretty good. But unfortunately, I felt the film makers reached beyond that limit at times, and it showed. I enjoyed the simpler fight scenes much more than the burly brawl, because they were convincing, and you could actually follow the elegance of movement.

This might seem like a small point, but with Neo and the Smiths all dressed in black and swarming around each other at high speed, I found it difficult to see/appreciate the choreography. The foyer scene worked better, imo. Several distinctive foes and an interesting physical space (with a white background) "containing" the fight. Easier to see what was going on.

I was impressed with some of the "impossible choreography" in the BB scene, but on 2nd and 3rd viewing, you can't help but notice something kind of dumb: Neo is fighting about a hundred Smiths, and only about 25 of them are ever close enough to him to do anything. The others are just hanging back, waiting for a chance to move it. Even if you have the technology to realize it, there isn't much to *do* with a 1-on-100 fight. Again, simple is better. I could watch that first 360-degree Trinity kick a million times. Burly Brawl? Once was enough.

The BB was ambitious, technically. Suitably ambitious to take it well beyond the first movie, which is what everyone expected. Unfortunately, technology hasn't advanced along the same curve.

Spoon BoyMay 23, 2003 at 2:35PM

How amusing it is that a scene which exists entirely within a virtual world is criticized for looking unrealistic.

I must wonder if such critics realize that Bruce Willis was dead @ the end of The Sixth Sense.

parapesaMay 23, 2003 at 3:25PM

wwaaaaahhahahahahahaha good one!!!!

BrianMay 23, 2003 at 4:08PM

Minor points picked up in my 2nd viewing of TMR:

* The "connection between me and you" that Smith speaks of before the burly brawl is Smith's "disobedience." Sorry if I'm stating the obvious, but I missed that the first time around. Smith says he knew the rules, knew what he was supposed to do (i.e., deletion), but he didn't do it.

* More "101" -- when Morpheus, Trinity and Neo get off the elevator on their way to see the Merovingian, the sign over the clock behind them reads "101." The freeway is Interstate 101.

* It seemed to me there was a lot more in this film about programs executing their purpose, and allusions to the previous iterations of the Matrix. The Keymaker says "I know, I've been waiting for you" (i.e., "yeah, this ain't my first time through this") and says things like "we are here to do what we're here to do" or "fulfill our purpose" or what have you.

* Speaking of allusions to previous iterations, the Merovingian makes statements before and after Neo fights the Merovingian's minions, along the lines of "the other ones showed more respect" and "I've survived your kind before, and I'll survive you," or words to that effect.

* Persephone refers to the two bodyguards as programs from a "much earlier version of the Matrix."

I know I'll probably catch hell for saying this, but I don't think Monica Belucci is all that, at least in TMR. Of course, Carrie-Ann Moss is sort of a caricature of herself in this flick, imho.

stacieMay 23, 2003 at 4:46PM

I'm not sure if anyone else will read this far down, but...

Enter the Matrix for Gamecube/Ps2/Xbox has an extra hour of film footage centered around Niobe and Ghost. Just as some people mention they appriciated the movie more after seeing Animatrix, I felt I got more of the complete story after playing through the game.

The game is ok. I would suggest you do what I did, which is run through the game on easy. It'll still be fun enough to play with the bullet time, but some of the level design is bad/annoying and will cause you to go through some of the levels far more than you'd want to.

The game story/cinematics/film stuff is great! The bullet time is neat. Levels, bland and annoying.

But, for your Matrix-files out there, It's defintely worth a rental. (And it's fun to play Niobe)

I can only hope the extra footage ends up on a dvd sometime.

Spoon BoyMay 23, 2003 at 6:58PM

Brian says,

freeway is Interstate 101.


Yes, this was brought to my attention the other day. It all seems to reinforce the significance of the number 5.

Brian, did you pay particular attention to the camera work during the Architect scene? We had the "real Neo" (or 6th Neo, if you will) in the room, and there were five other "parallel" (or perhaps "previous") Neos on the wall monitors behind him. What's notable is that, during the conversation w/ the Architect, all 6 Neos would respond to an Architect's statement w/ slight variations. However, if you noticed, the "real Neo" would be swapped with a Neo in one of the five monitors (i.e. as the 6 Neos would respond to an Architect's statement, the camera would zoom into one of the five monitors, taking the audience with it, and then THAT Neo would then become the Neo in the room. The camera took the audience into another instance of Neo, and now we weren't necessarily with our 6th Neo anymore. It all happened pretty quickly.) Since we were essentially jumping from one instance of Neo to another; we were therefore NOT watching one *common* "real Neo" throughout the duration of the Architect scene. So we must ask, if we walked into the room with the 6th Neo, who did we leave with?

Again... that #5 begins to seem more and more relevant...


AndyMay 23, 2003 at 7:00PM

The whole idea of fate is interesting when discussed by programs and humans. Computer programs have a limited range of what they can do.

In the presence of certain preconditions, they are required to give a certain response. That's the nature of computers and software. Put a program in the same conditions, and it will do the same thing every time.

This isn't to say that they're infallible. Computers obviously break down. But I believe that usually happens when they encounter circumstances not forseen by the programmer. A kind of input they don't understand, a conflict with another program, etc. But programs don't just get tired and quit. They don't wake up on the wrong side of the bed.

Computer programs are generally linear, and we can assume that the Oracle, Architect, Keymaker, and Merovingian will play their parts in perfect straight lines, never varying from their nature, their character, their "purpose" (unless the Matrix is based on a kind of non-linear computer software we've never seen, which would be sort of pointless for us, as an audience).

So, to a program like the Oracle, everything is entirely predictible. You know the program, you know the circumstances, ergo, you know what it will do. Suddenly, it doesn't sound all that spiritual for the Keymaker to say "we do only what we're meant to do." It's literally true. He doesn't feel wrong for running. It's in his nature.

It's possible that the Oracle is actually outside time somehow, but I believe she's actually more like the Merovingian, a master of analyzing cause and effect. Perhaps she just has very, very good senses. She uses this ability as sleight-of-hand, convincing the Zion humans that she's really precogniscient, and that they are trapped within some kind of "fate." But it's merely a way of influencing their behavior.

After all, now that we know the characters are only acting out a prepared scenario, it seems more explainable that the Oracle has such keen knowledge of what's happening, and what will happen. I think that before this trilogy is over, the idea of predestination will be debunked.

Humans, unlike machines, behave unpredictably. The architect goes on and on about how "imperfect" we are. He says that our unpredictability presents problems "assidulously avoided yet not unexpected." In other words, they've learned to expect the unexpected and manage it. They've created the Zion option for escaping humans, and find that it sucks in the escapees pretty effectively. By the time any of them figure out what's really going on, a machine army is at the gates.

But even this "measure of control" cannot predict all. And so it looks like the humans have 24 hours to come up with something unexpected. A brief window of opportunity in this tightly-locked-down causality loop that's been created and carefully maintained.

And the W's have to cram it into 2 hours. Sheez.

Spoon BoyMay 23, 2003 at 7:08PM

Consider the Freeway 101. Now, this was just asked to me by a fellow brainstormer:

Was there any significance to Morpheus saying "Never get on the freeway. The freeway is death."?

More than just an inside LA joke?

*Tangent Alert*: Note that 101 is 5 and 110 is 6 in binary notation. Not that it's relevant, but here in LA the 110 and the 101 meet @ the floor level in the heart of downtown.

BrianMay 23, 2003 at 9:45PM

Spoon Boy said:
there were five other "parallel" (or perhaps "previous") Neos on the wall monitors behind him.

Hmmm.. I hadn't considered the idea that those were previous Neos, but that might make "sense" (if anything does in the Matrix). I was thinking of those as "if/thens" ... "if Neo flips the bird then the Architect has response X, etc., and the "zoom out" was Neo settling/choosing his "if." But the idea that Neo is the same Neo every time ... Hmmmm.....

Andy said:
uddenly, it doesn't sound all that spiritual for the Keymaker to say "we do only what we're meant to do." It's literally true. He doesn't feel wrong for running. It's in his nature.

Yeah, exactly! These are programs simply executing their code, as it were. The big wrench in the works is human nature, which is unpredictable. But every time The One returns to the source, they get a fresh batch of QA to improve the next version of the Matrix.

Oh, and I found another product placement: Heineken. There's a Heineken sign when Neo is walking down the street on his way to meet Seraph and the Oracle.

Here's another twist. I was talking with the buddies I saw the movie with last night, and had noticed the Architect said that "failure to comply with this process will result in a cataclysmic system crash killing everyone connected to the Matrix. Which, coupled with the extermination of Zion will ultimately result in the extinction of the entire human race." So, my contention was that Zion and the Matrix had to be physically separate since the Architect was talking about them as distintcly different places. (Which, as it happens, had already been mentioned here) Buddy of mine posits that Zion isn't physically separate: the Sentinels are hacking their way through software defenses -- encryption or what have you -- to get to a protected system that runs in tandem with the Matrix.

Eh, eh? What do you think?

ChrisMay 23, 2003 at 10:42PM

I like the idea that the monitors in the architects room showed all of neo's possible reactions, especialy as right at the end it showed all of the possibly reactions to be walking out the same door.

it was a neat touch i thought.

PaulMay 23, 2003 at 11:06PM

My The Matrix Reloaded summary: Crap story but worth watching.

LarryMay 23, 2003 at 11:30PM

I believe Bane/Smith was cutting himself because he gained a certain pleasure out of it. Out of seeing a human bleed and even greater satisfaction in experiencing the pain that it inflicts on him. Some people enjoy pain as we well know and Smith would have never had the ability to feel this before. He hates humans above all and this is of great pleasure to him.

Spoon BoyMay 23, 2003 at 11:50PM

Brian says

>>
Yeah, exactly! These are programs simply executing their code, as it were. The big wrench in the works is human nature, which is unpredictable.


Much has been discussed this past week about The Matrix's story taking an "onion skin" direction, suggesting a "Matrix within a Matrix" concept. I've always been a fan of this "nested reality" concept in storytelling, but it's not really that uncommon, and actually quite popular in recent years. "The Sixth Sense" and "The Others" did this with death, "The Usual Suspects" did this with deceit, "A Beautiful Mind" and "Fight Club" did this with schizophrenia, and about 99% of The Twilight Zones explored all of the above and more. All are outstanding pieces of work, paying homage to the Twist Almighty, but @ the end of the day, @ the core, they're all really using the same concept of "one perceived reality proven to be on top of, parallel to, or nested in another true reality".

The Matrix Revolutions could certainly take us down that road, where in November we confirm that the "real world" that contains Zion is but another simulation on top of the first, and all our heroes then, say, emerge from their "real pods" in their "real world" from the "real Matrix" that was all this time housing the "fake real world and its Matrix". However, I think (or hope) that it's more profound than that. @ least, it could be. With this onion skin structure of a story, any proposed conclusion of what the "real world" is cannot be taken seriously, and would open up the possibilities of an open-ended story with no definite conclusion, leading to a slew of unnecessary sequels. a la T3.

What I think we could be looking @ here with The Matrix story is a total absence of the human element. I see no reason why real humans are necessary for this story to be complete. In fact, I find it to be the most delicious possibilty. This theory seems plausible for a few reasons. I continue to mentally review Morpheus's quote from the first movie, where he described Artificial Intelligence as:

"A singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of machines."

Keyword: "singular".

A singular consciousness, or program, that spawned an entire race of machines, or programs. All subsequent programs spawned are thus part of A.I., and are therefore all part of a larger whole.

It's difficult for the human to visualize this concept, and we've tried to do it before. For instance, consider the concept of the Trinity in Judeo Christian theory (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). The Trinity, while theoretically being three distinctively different entities, is in fact one singular consciousness.

I'm thinking that everybody and everything in the story of The Matrix is a program that was spawned by A.I., and is thus A.I. What a chilling conclusion it would be to realize that what we've been watching all this time is Artificial Intelligence discovering itself. The Architect is Neo is the Oracle is Trinity is Zion is the Noodles is Morpheus is the Neb is a Squiddie is a Spoon.

But then again, you heard the kid...

LarryMay 24, 2003 at 12:03AM

I have a feeling that most of these post seem to agree in the layer theory of the matrix and Zion. I believe that perhaps the real enlightening thing may be that Zion and the Matrix are not the same, but neither is truly real. The message may be like what Morpheus said in the first movie "What is real, define real, is it what you can taste smell touch" and so on. In other words, there isn't a true reality! And perhaps the closer you get to understanding this and truly knowing it, the more you can control any reality. Remember Neo's strong point is that he isn't a machine and that because of that he can do things in the Matrix that no other program can approach. Hence being human and then truly knowing the reality of the matrix and what it really is allows him to do things no one else can. He is not bound by code. He has shed his instincts and senses and replaced them with an ability to just sense and see things for (in this case) the program and machine that is the matrix If this is a sort of gift of his, then it stands to reason that he would have this ability in the real world too (assuming its not as real as we would think), but if only he could be enlighten to its true form. I also notice that his new found real world abilities started after his encounter with the Architect. And the Oracle made comment to him seeing the bright lite in his dreams. And he entered this bright lite and meet the Architect. Then afterwards, when back in the real world, could feel the machines. I believe anything you experience in the matrix can and will be impressed upon your human psyche. It must, seeing as you can learn tons of information such as Kung Foo though the use of a construct. And this would explain how Smith was able to infect the digital Bane and then when leaving the Matrix was still impressed upon Banes psyche. But if Neo is carrying some code or something was impressed upon his psyche which allowed him to feel the sentinels, there would still have to be more then a hand wave with this scenario seeing as even with code, how would he via no physical connection to the machines influence them. Unless he can do it wireless I cant see how. In addition, if this was another Matrix then why destroy it via sentinels. Why not just shut it down. They can do this to the matrix, but losing there energy source wouldn’t be so good. But seeing as the souls of Zion are finished, it just doesn’t make much sense to worry about this whole charade to just destroy them.

BrianMay 24, 2003 at 12:09AM

And now for something completely different (or maybe not): 'Matrix' hailed as best treatise on God ever made

what we've been watching all this time is Artificial Intelligence discovering itself.

Or, improving itself through the ongoing iterations. But if that's the case, then there is no "human element" to be unpredictable, that the Matrix needs to improve against through each iteration of itself. So what is The One bringing back each time?

Larry said:
I believe Bane/Smith was cutting himself because he gained a certain pleasure out of it.

Yeah, I like that explanation a lot, that Smith enjoys inflicting pain on a human, even if "he" is the human. But, again, that would mean Zion isn't another sim, but the real world after all.

Ouch. My head hurts.

Mike LeungMay 24, 2003 at 12:11AM

The Rave Scene Everyone Complains About:

It seems consistant with Grail mythology. In the Grail myth, individuality depends on maintaining two needs: the appetites of the body, and the appetites of the soul. Where one appetite is sacrificed, the other becomes corrupted.

In the first Matrix, Morpheus is ineffective in his struggle against the Matrix because he was starving his crew. He adopts the role of the emasculated Grail King. Cypher betrays Morpheus for the pleasures the Matrix offers him. He adopts the role of the pagan challenger for the Grail. Neo almost loses his life in the final battle, until he is healed by Trinity's kiss.

To me, the rave orgy made as much sense as the combat scenes. All criticisms of that part of the story make as much sense as criticisms that the fighting could have been cut down -- in terms of story consistency, at least.

LarryMay 24, 2003 at 12:15AM

I also wanted to add that perhaps it wasn’t his contact with the Architect seeing as he did get a kiss prior to his exit too. Maybe there was more to it. And seeing as Persephone said "he used to be a lot like you once" she passed something on to Neo to perhaps aid him. And he now is seeing things in the real world different. Makes you wonder if the Merovingian might have been one of the previous Neos. And is now the digital equivalent of him from the past! He has been there from the beginning so it makes me wonder.

MikeMay 24, 2003 at 12:34AM

Significance of 5:

This might be a stretch, but the movie was loaded with comic book references: Neo adopting the Superman pose of the cover of Action Comics #1, his fighting with the 3-prong daggers of Frank Miller's Elektra, Morpheus holding a samurai sword to the side like Ogami in Lone Wolf and Cub -- these guys read comic books, and the good ones.

Just mentioning a theme of "5" immediately brings to mind, comic book-wise at least, to Moore and Lloyd's "V for Vendetta," about a mad bomber terrorist who speaks in rhyme relentlessly making use of the letter V and number 5.

Even if not intended, if mentioned to the W brothers, I have no doubt they would know the reference.

Spoon BoyMay 24, 2003 at 1:51AM

Brian says,

improving itself through the ongoing iterations.


Indeed. Revolutions, as in "ongoing (re)iterations".

But if that's the case, then there is no "human element" to be unpredictable, that the Matrix needs to improve against through each iteration of itself. So what is The One bringing back each time?

I know. It's abstract. It's only human to visualize these iterations on a linear timeline. That's how we think. However, I suspect we're dealing with something that lies outside of time, in a self-referencing loop of sorts. Artificial Intelligence. Like logic, or math, it exists without requiring time. Consider the following equation:

2+2=4

Now, that equation is true, and will always be true, but doesn't need time in order to be true. It exists outside of time. It only requires time to be calculated physically.

Mike says,

Just mentioning a theme of "5" immediately brings to mind, comic book-wise at least, to Moore and Lloyd's "V for Vendetta," about a mad bomber terrorist who speaks in rhyme relentlessly making use of the letter V and number 5. Even if not intended, if mentioned to the W brothers, I have no doubt they would know the reference.


Ah, 5. A cool number. Geekier Tool fans may have noticed the strong theme of 5 in the 2001 album, "Lateralus". I'm not familiar with Moore and Lloyd's Vendetta, but I am quite familiar with Rand and Robyn Miller's "Myst" and it's sequel "Riven". Riven came out on Halloween 1997. Ever play it? I'll bet the W's did. As the riddle in Riven unfolds, it becomes clear that the whole puzzle is also based on 5 (five islands, five shapes, five animals, five sounds, five colors, etc.) I can remember getting a chill up my spine as, after I solved the game, I looked @ the Riven packaging and noticed the emphasized "V", as in riVen. I imagine both the Millers and the W's are familiar with Vendetta. What year was that?

And btw, I think we all can agree that the W's are big on dropping clues everywhere, yes? I was walking my dog, thinking about 5, and this came to me:

(Reloaded billboard):

FREE YOUR MIND
5.15

Are you aware of the announced opening date for Revolutions? November 5th. Imagine the billboard in mid-October:

GET IT YET?
11.5


ChrisMay 24, 2003 at 3:09AM

as interesting as all these "oh and they where really all just AI" endings would be, i cant help but think what a gut-wrenching horrific anti-climax it would be.

I'd like to the think the war against the machines is a real one and that humans will triumph, it just makes a better ending if u ask me.

Neo - The OneMay 24, 2003 at 5:12AM

all this '5' business is just paranoid, i could pull out a million of thses sort of coincedences from other movies...

HighVSWRMay 24, 2003 at 7:02AM

Just saw tho movie last night (May 23). I liked it. I feel that sequels never live up and I went to the movie understanding this. The Matrixs' first installment was new, exciting, and mind blowing. It is kind of hard to be blown away twice, it is just time to settle in and see what road is being paved for the next mind blower and just follow the story line.... which, by the convo here is still not sorted out.
The hard critics of this sequel remind me of the Star Wars critics... after enduring a muppet show of a bar scene, Wookies and Ewoks in the first three installments the were hyper critical of some great computer work in the next two installments.

Now,
The Bane/Smith thing. At the point Neo got the bloody handshake my mind said "virus" and I started watching for an opportunity for the "virus" to enter. It seem to have come with the fight with the 'vegian fight when Neo blocked a sword with his palm and bled. The only plays Neo bleeds in the whole movie (that I noted). The whole Agent Smith thing was a great sub-plot that seems to be shaping the next installment.

parapesaMay 24, 2003 at 7:40AM

If I remember correctly, no-one's said anything about Seraph and how he looks really different to Neo right before he enters combat with him. Neo asks him something along the lines of "what are you?" if my mind serves me correctly. Seraph kinda "guards" the Oracle right? and in my "Who's Who in Mytology" at home, Seraphim [plural] are described as "an order of angels, their function being that of attendants at the throne of God" Since the Oracle made this succesful version of the matrix, that would make her "God" and not the Architect. But my architect friend, who can't stand that I'm a graphic designer and thinks that the whole world revolves around architecture, keeps telling me, as a rebuttle, that God is the first Architect.
Alright, admittedly, I have no idea what I'm trying to say, but I'm just adding some info.
Though.... I still can't really figure out WHY Seraph's first appearance in the film was like a Buddhist Statue and all shiney and golden. And why does Neo ask him what he is.

TrinityMay 24, 2003 at 11:44AM

Now that he's done it once, Neo won't stop reaching into my friggin' body and massaging ... "body parts," if you catch my drift. It was nice to have him save my life and all, but this is really getting tiresome.

MikeMay 24, 2003 at 12:32PM

Neo - The One says:
all this '5' business is just paranoid, i could pull out a million of thses sort of coincedences from other movies...


As paranoid as withholding your name from a post where you call people paranoid?

Hey man, it was just an idea.

Mr. NosuchMay 24, 2003 at 1:30PM

When wondering why 5 shows up so much, yet the architect said it's the sixth anomoly, remember that programs probably count from 0. The first anomoly would be 0.

So this one would be 101 in binary.

DianeMay 24, 2003 at 1:32PM

Jacob-
The point of rebuilding Zion is so that the machines can continue destroying it. If Neo had gone through the other door essentially he would have been giving up the fight against the machines and accepting that the humans could never defeat them. However, Neo's new powers suggest that there my be another way to beat the machines although it is likely that he will encounter a lot of trouble from this Baine dude. What I had trouble with was the Oracle. Was she trying to betray Neo or was her whole talk about Neo understanding his choice in reference to saving Trinity? I get the feeling that she is on Neo's side because I thought that was her voice in the Revolutions trailer.

Spoon BoyMay 24, 2003 at 1:44PM

Neo - The One says:
all this '5' business is just paranoid, i could pull out a million of thses sort of coincedences from other movies...


You'd be paranoid too if everybody was out to get you.

Matt MMay 24, 2003 at 2:52PM

Makes you wonder if the Merovingian might have been one of the previous Neos.

Huh, I like that idea. Certainly ties in with the real world origins of her name. I can't believe I just read this whole thread. Anyway, here's a theory no one has suggested:

This movie is called "reloaded"...suppose that's what happened at the end already and we don't know it.....when Neo goes thru the door, *bam*, the matrix is reloaded as a Zion looking construct. This would explain his sudden new powers in the "real world". This is a better twist than saying that Zion has been a matrix in the matrix the whole time - I'm saying that Zion has been real the whole time, except at the very end we are seeing the new Matrix, which looks like Zion.

That's cool about the 101 / 5 references, significance that after 5 tries the anomoly brings down the system? Also, the 314 seconds reference....wasn't it room 314 Neo was trying to get to at the end of Matrix 1, right before he got killed? The whole 3.14 pi/cyclical/revolutions reference is neat.

One more thing - at the end, did Neo choose the door he has always chosen, or did he chose a new door? The script suggests that he chose a new door, b/c the Architect says he is different - he cares about 1 person specifically instead of just the population as a whole, as the previous anomalies did - which would suggest he chooses Trinity this time, and chose the human race the previous times. However, all of the Neo's (are those previous neo's, or other possible if/then situations?) on the monitors behind him turn and face toward the same door....suggesting that he chose the same old door as always, no change coming up in Revolutions, just repeat. Wondering...

ChrisMay 24, 2003 at 2:59PM

those monitors in the architects room show all the possible things neo could do, all of his possible choices. At the end his only possible choice is to walk back out the door into the matrix and save trinity.

parapesaMay 24, 2003 at 3:22PM

doesn't "reload" mean to load the same thing over again?
incedentily, the historical figure: Nebuchadnazzar was afflicted with some peculiar mental aberration as a punishment for his pride and vanity, probably the form of madness known as lycanthropy [i.e., "the change of a man into a wolf" Werewolves, ghost… all older programmes!].
but then again... it's only a theory. but it would fit into the whole programmes thing

Spoon BoyMay 24, 2003 at 3:25PM

Matt M says,

This movie is called "reloaded"...suppose that's what happened at the end already and we don't know it.....when Neo goes thru the door, *bam*, the matrix is reloaded as a Zion looking construct


Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that in order to "reload" the Matrix, he had to choose Door 1, which led to the source and would give him the opportunity to salvage 23 pod bodies in order to repopulate Zion from scratch. He instead chose Door 2, hence not reloading anything. Yet.

Chris says,

>>
At the end his only possible choice is to walk back out the door into the matrix and save trinity


I agree. Neo actually has no choice in the matter, for he is a program. No matter what he thinks, he can only choose Door 2; it's impossible for him to choosed Door 1. As the Oracle indicates, programs will do what they need to do to have purpose, else face deletion. Since Neo's purpose is to be "The One to free Zion", he simply cannot choose Door 1, as that would be a total contradiction to his purpose. He also "needs" Trinity, so Trinity is also part of his "purpose". While Door 1 is clearly the logical choice in light of the proposed alternatives, Neo is blinded by his purpose and the humanlike emotions that are associated with it, made possible only by the element of choice.

One analogy that I've used for this is that of a conventional calculator: Even if the calculator had what it perceives as a "choice", it could never come up with any other answer than "4" when asked to calculate "2+2". This calculator may *think* it's *choosing* 4 as its answer, when in fact the answer has already been made by virtue of the way it's been programmed.

Question: What was Neo *supposed* to do with the removable media given to him by the Oracle (via the messenger), and whatever happened to it?

I'm guessing he would've needed it to "reload" the Matrix if he had chosen Door 1 (which he didn't). I suppose it's still in his pocket?

Mr. Nosuch says:
When wondering why 5 shows up so much, yet the architect said it's the sixth anomoly, remember that programs probably count from 0. The first anomoly would be 0.


Aha, of course. Nice catch!




Matt MMay 24, 2003 at 3:39PM

Spoon boy says,
Neo actually has no choice in the matter, for he is a program.


I'm going to have to thoroughly disagree here. I don't think Neo is a program. Yes, the Architect says Neo was "designed" to make certain choices....but he also goes on to explain that they have been learning about the human psyche, and that they are able to predict human reactions ("denial is the most predictable of human responses" or whatever). So, by "designed" they mean, they've figured out how to give a human a choice (b/c they have to or the matrix doesn't work), but to push the human in the right ways to make him make the choice they want. Also, the architect tells Neo he is "irrecoverably human" or something like that, which is why he can't understand all the Why's. Also, it would be boring and stupid if Neo were just a program the whole time - so based on how cool the Matrix movies are, I don't think it's a possibility as much as I don't think Zion being an onion layered matrix is a possibility. The one thing I ask of you as your captain is to have faith in the W's.

parapesa says:
doesn't "reload" mean to load the same thing over again?


Means to load anything again. Windows 98 kept crashing so I decided to reload my computer with Windows 2000. Who's with me? Can I get some?

King ColliwogMay 24, 2003 at 4:03PM

lol... Whoever said that the scene where they let morpheus' ship enter zion was too white and clean to be in Zion well... Watch the movie again... Just a second before you see some people plugged in the matrix... The white room is just a program...

The guy at the end of the film is Smith into the body of another human I thought it was obvious and cant even believe that some people didn't get it... Just watch the begining smith copy himself in the body of this guy and goes into the "real world" using the telephone....

About the tv screens that we see in the architect rooms... They could represent 2 things... First all of his possible choices... And they could also represent all the reaction that those "previous" neo had... At some time when the architect says "there were 5 other matrix bla bla bla" you hear them saying 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 and neo says 5... and theres one who is laughing (he would be the first one) but I'm not sure if it's actually those TVs that are speaking or just the real neo... I must watch it once again...

The "complicated" philospophy is actually the main interrest in this movie... I may understand that some of you guys didn't want to think hard, but this part of the trilogy is only bringing questions... No answers... So indeed, it's complicated... I catched almost everything the first time I saw it (was a bit harder since I first saw it in english and my "first" language is french) and understood the rest when I watched it for the second time...

The story start to be great after something like... 30-50 minuts... the begining was really pissing me off.. .WIth the rave/sex scene was really awfull... I hated it so much... But I guess it was there to show how "human" is Zion... With sex party feelings and stuff like that...

The special effects were good... Really good... theres like 1 or 2 scene that I didn't liked (both in the burly brawl) cuz neos cloth really looked "computer" modified... But Hey.... that was cool anyway...

Welll I could continue this for a long time but I dont have much time... see ya

King ColliwogMay 24, 2003 at 4:08PM

Oh I forgot... Someone says the machine should kill every human that is unplugged... I hope that you understand that they actually wanted to let them go... Theres a robot that come and "scan" neos face... and then let him go... Watch the architect scene and you'll understand that they want to let them go

DianeMay 24, 2003 at 4:27PM

I read through all these comments bc I'm addicted to the Matrix now. The way I saw it the previous five Ones were not Neos. Neo says "No one knows" which would mean for him to be the previous Ones he would have had to know what the Architech told him and ignored it. Additionally, the Architech says he is different from the others bc he experienced human emotions much more deeply by falling in love with Trinity. The ones before Neo didn't believe that they were strong enough to defeat the machines so they just gave in and chose the other door. The Matrix made itself a love story in the first movie so I don't understand why so many people were upset by the amount of time spent with the trance/love scene. This very primal scene made me want to free my mind and go to Zion, which btw I refuse to believe is a matrix-within-a-matrix. So cheesy for a movie which is trying to answer the question of reality..."Uh let's just make everything not real and then we'll be covered." Please give this movie a little more credit. It took four years to come out. I could have come up with the idea of a matrix-within-a-matrix in two minutes. I felt that Neo's conversation with the council member was one of the most important dialogues of the entire movie. It showed that the machines and the humans need each other (ie technology is essential) but like the later obviously matrix influenced Minority Report, Reloaded shows that too much technology results in unwanted controls. An optimist would hope for machine-human compromise in the end but I really want Zion to destroy the Matrix. But then what happens to all the people still plugged in? If your mind's not free then are u screwed? Neo, Morpheus, Trinity, et al have to find a way to make everyone realize that the Matrix is not real. I believe that will be the true revolution and not the destruction of 250,000 sentinels. It seems quite feasible that the humans could defeat the sentinels if they hadn't faced the betrayal of Baine. Anyway, totally hot for the conclusion and we don't have to wait a whole year for it. (That's a shot to LOTR, which I love anyway)

Spoon BoyMay 24, 2003 at 7:35PM

Matt says,

Also, the architect tells Neo he is "irrecoverably human"


Not so. He says, "Although the process has altered your consciousness, you remain revocably human."

In other words, although a choice has been given to you (as part of the Oracle's "solution" for the unconvincing perfect original Matrix), you're humanlike emotions are blinding you from the truly logical choice of Door 1.

"Revocably human" means that they can take that element of choice away from him @ any time. i.e. "Although you have a choice, we can take it away @ our discretion." etc.

Spoon BoyMay 24, 2003 at 7:50PM

Ken Colliwog says,

my "first" language is french


Could you be a pal and translate the Merovingian's cursing rant to English for us?

The guy at the end of the film is Smith into the body of another human

What makes you so convinced Bain is human? Or anybody for that matter? C'mon people!

theres like 1 or 2 scene that I didn't liked (both in the burly brawl) cuz neos cloth really looked "computer" modified

Shame, shame, shame. We wouldn't want a fake world to look, uh, "fake" or anything. ;)

Matt says,

Windows 98 kept crashing so I decided to reload my computer with Windows 2000


Trading one blue pill for another. Don't you ever learn dude? :) lol...


mattMay 24, 2003 at 10:35PM

s'only a film, u'll all b dead, as will i sometime in the future so quit slaggin it off or sayin its stupid. just watch the fekin films and get on with it.
i would say "unless u can do a better job of it" but then i thought 'whats the feking point in slaggin it off even if u can do a beta job? do u say ur kidz school drawin's are shit just coz u can do better? ....thought not.'

MikeMay 24, 2003 at 11:04PM

Spoon Boy says:
Are you aware of the announced opening date for Revolutions? November 5th. Imagine the billboard in mid-October:

GET IT YET?
11.5


Holy shit, Revolutions is opening 05 November? Isn't that Guy Fawkes day? I was educated in the US, so we weren't raised to know things like that.

MikeMay 24, 2003 at 11:43PM

Holy shit, that must be why Moore made V for Vendetta centered on the number 5! Guy Fawkes day! Maybe that's why 5 is so prominent in Reloaded...

MikeMay 24, 2003 at 11:48PM

Neo - The One says:
all this '5' business is just paranoid, i could pull out a million of thses sort of coincedences from other movies...


Hey Neo, you writing all this down? The fate of the human race may count on you knowing stuff like this in the next movie, dude...

BrianMay 25, 2003 at 1:36AM

Mr. Nosuch says:
When wondering why 5 shows up so much, yet the architect said it's the sixth anomoly, remember that programs probably count from 0. The first anomoly would be 0. So this one would be 101 in binary.

Sweeeeet! Way to go, Mr. Nosuch! So, we have:
The One #1 (to us base 10 humans) = 000 = Binary 0
The One #2 = 001 = Binary 1
The One #3 = 010 = Binary 2
The One #4 = 011 = Binary 3
The One #5 = 100 = Binary 4
The One #6 = 101 = Binary 5 = Neo

So, Neo can be the 6th, and the 101 references still fit. Cool!!

Spoon Boy says:
Not so. He says, "Although the process has altered your consciousness, you remain revocably human."

I have to disagree, as "revocably" isn't a word. The Architect tells Neo he remains "irrevocably human."

Spoon BoyMay 25, 2003 at 3:26AM

Brian says,

I have to disagree, as "revocably" isn't a word. The Architect tells Neo he remains "irrevocably human."


Webster's lists "revocably" as a legitimate English word, meaning "capable of being revoked".

Perhaps the question isn't if revocably is a word or not, but if the Architect indeed said "revocably" as opposed to "irrevocably". If he indeed say "irrevocably", then this transcription, taken from an audio recording and not mine, is incorrect. Can anybody confirm this? Did the architect say "revocably human" or "irrevocably human"? The world needs to know.

The One #1 (to us base 10 humans) = 000 = Binary 0
The One #2 = 001 = Binary 1
The One #3 = 010 = Binary 2
The One #4 = 011 = Binary 3
The One #5 = 100 = Binary 4
The One #6 = 101 = Binary 5 = Neo

So, Neo can be the 6th, and the 101 references still fit. Cool!!


Way cool. I actually had jotted this down on paper earlier for posting, but now I don't have to. Thx Brian!

Mike says,

Revolutions is opening 05 November? Isn't that Guy Fawkes day?


Yes it is! It's the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament and King James I in 1605. Any people knowledgeable on this unusual holiday? If so, your takes on Fawkes/Matrix parallels are in order. I am not a Fawkes scholar, and would very much appreciate any insight.

Is it just me, or is this movie getting better every day?

BWGMay 25, 2003 at 5:47AM

The Merovingian's first string of curses roughly translates as:

Name of God of whore of bloody hell of filth of jerks of fucked up the ass of your mother

According to BabelFish.

parapesaMay 25, 2003 at 6:54AM

It took four years to come out.
I believe it took 5 years and not 4
I must admit though, I'm not catching all this 5 business and I really wouldn't get all the refereances to binary in the film if it wasn't for reading all of this. So, I'm going to watch it again tonite keepin all of this in mind.
I have another theory: [don't i always?!] What if which ever door neo would have taken would have reloaded the matrix anyway? I mean it'd make sence coz the machines have to cover all their bases right? So pretend to give us a choice but we come back full circle and we're still in a programme. We're still all plugged in [even Zion] But then that last scene were Neo stops the Squiddies, he made a realisation [this too is a programme] so he used his mind like Morpheus told him and stopped the Squiddies. At that realisation he fell into a coma coz it scared the crap out of him OR what it did was actually wake him in his little pink battery-acid-making pod in the real, real world. [the kid that tells neo he saved him, didn't he fall out of the 1st programme all by his lonesome? and more ppl have been wakin up to the matrix in the last 6 months vs the last 6 years?] so now neo is really awake! but his brain can't handle it. The same goes with Smith/Bane. The human that is Bane has truely woken up and Smith must be like "what the...?" so now smith [if this is possible coz i knopw jack bout computer programming] is in the real, real world via Bane, and he too is going wako, hence the coma is applicable to both human and programme [Bane/Smith]
So Zion too is a construct [choice] but Neo now knows it. So in the end of the trailer for Revolutions when we see Smith[s] and Neo in this long dark corridor, that could be the real, unconstructed world. This way everyone can be happy! W's didn't sell out and make a 13th Floor type movie, nor do they not solve "the human mind and the power of love" and further more, they get to say Zion is a construct, but look, Neo has found the real unconstructed world after all, and he and Smith/Bane are both awake in it. Maybe its a fairytale or just my mind trying to rationalise all of this because i can't seem to agre on either theory, and this one take a bit of both.
feedback anyone?

UnbelieverMay 25, 2003 at 9:23AM

AWESOME!!! I thing that is the only word that can describe matrix reloaded. I had greater expectations before i went to see it and these were rewarded. You are gong to ask WHY was it so good?

POSITIVE ASPECTS:
1) It is revealed that agents can enter the cave world that leads to zion through a phone, in their program form. Also Neo stops 2 sentinels with his hands in the end of the movie, leading to the conclusion that Zion is another program inside a program or a second matrix inside the matrix.Otherwise how can Neo use his powers to bend reality in the caves?

2)Deepness. Matrix reloaded takes the Matrix scenario and expands it to a new level, showing a hidden society, fears, loves, conspiracies.

3) The architect concept. The architect, a supreme being, for others a God for others the lead programmer. He fools people into believing to a prophecy. He makes everybody believe they have a choice when they clearly dont.

4)Is it all a game? Agent Smith wonders how Neo could be resurrected after his death, but if its only a game played by the architect then it is a very good one.

5) Good battle scenes and adaptive enemies give Neo a new fright. The scenes with the car chase are spectacular

NEGATIVE ASPECTS:
Whoever hasn't seen MATRIX or is just can't be bothered to think about all the hidden meanings should not watch the movie. Go watch something simple like X-MEN2 (which was just ok)

KimMay 25, 2003 at 10:47AM

I thought the movie was awsome and the effects were not that bad. They were somewhat obvious but nonetheless the storyline was very good. Oh and in the end, the person next to Neo is the agent... remember when the agent took that guys form and just then the phone rang and he got transported to the real world? He tried to kill Neo but failed. They guy with the knife?

MikeMay 25, 2003 at 12:27PM

Hey, if Agent Smith is running around in the real world, does this mean he will be able to hijack robots too? As both Machine and Man, doesn't that make him some kind of machine-Christ?

I mean, I'm not the only person who left the first movie thinking that harnessing the species as an energy source is the most useful you can make people, am I? I mean, how do we know the machines aren't the good guys? How much would it take to conclude that love = damnation?

Also, the squid machines destroying Zion -- those are powered by people, aren't they? It's like some kind of cosmic "stop hitting yourself" torture.

matt lefevreMay 25, 2003 at 1:10PM

remember when in the 1st matrix film, morpheus tells neo of the person that freed the first of "us".
where is this first person?
is he dead?
i suppose he was "the one/anomoly" in the 5th matrix?
why does morpheus ask neo what the "architect" looks like in
reloaded?

ChrisMay 25, 2003 at 1:43PM

Things that I did not see posted, but I don't understand:

1. If this is the 6th time that the machines have drilled to Zion -- as the Architect notes, they are quite efficient at it -- who is filling in the hole each time? It seems a bit odd that there would be 5 other tunnels to the center of the earth that nobody seems to have noticed.

2. Trinity goes into the Matrix to save Neo because of a series of events that begin in the "real" world, i.e., the bomb that disables the ship and those linked to the Matrix through that ship. How exactly can the machines know they'll succeed in disabling the ship and forcing Trinity into the Matrix each iteration of the cycle?

3. Although I am not yet convinced on Matrix within Matrix, I do like the idea (posted above) that Door No. 2 led to an unreal Zion world. It seems a plausible explanation for Neo's new mojo, but for what reason?

BrianMay 25, 2003 at 5:40PM

Webster's lists "revocably" as a legitimate English word, meaning "capable of being revoked".

{Sigh.} Fine. Whatever. "Revocably" is a word. I hear people use it all the time, right? What I should have said was that "revocably" makes exactly zero sense in the context of the sentence: "...and though the process has altered your consciousness, you remain revocably human...." So, again, it's "you remain "irrevocably" human. Considering one of the translations from audio of the Architext dialogue had "inexcerable" instead of "inexorable," I think it's conceivable that the transciption isn't 100% correct.

I actually had jotted this down on paper earlier for posting....

Yes, undoubtedly you beat us to it.

If this is the 6th time that the machines have drilled to Zion -- as the Architect notes...

I wonder if they find a different manner in which to destroy Zion each time? Remember in TM1, Smith was trying to get the codes to the Zion mainframe. Is it possible that there isn't a set way that Zion gets destroyed with each iteration? That is a good point, though.

parapesaMay 25, 2003 at 6:25PM

just came back from watching it again.
it irrevocably btw
someone said somethin about race playing a part in the movie, well the oracle is the only black person in the matrix, who belongs IN the matrix, while most everyone in zion is black. and what u look like in the matrix is what ur mind projects right?
I think the oracle is on the human's side in the snese that she wants us to co-exist. remeber her speech to neo? the architect on the other hand is trying to sabotage all of this. I think that the architect deals with the agents, personally, and he's trying to kill everyone off b4 they send neo to him, hence the agent on top of the truck trying to delete the key maker and other agents letting trinity go because their aim is to kill the key maker. plus, it's the oracle narrating the trailer for Revolutions! and she's tellin neo to fight Smith, who, as a i mentioned earlier, is quite parallel to neo.

parapesaMay 25, 2003 at 6:32PM

question: in the earlier half of the movie when trinity & neo are in the elevator and neo asks her how long they're goin to be in Zion for, then they kiss, and trinity open's her eyes.... after that, does anythin else happen in the elevator, or do we immediatly see morpheus at the comander's office. Coz it looked like something was censored. I mean me watchin that scene and have it immediatly cut to morpheus was kinda odd. did i miss anything?

parapesaMay 25, 2003 at 6:48PM

how in the world do the Squiddies know where Zion is? In 1 Smith never gets the code for Zion from Morpheus! 1 ended with no info given to the agents about the where abouts of Zion so how the heck do the squiddies know where it is in 2?!?
i know i ask a lot of questions!

Spoon BoyMay 25, 2003 at 7:09PM

revocably vs. irrevocably

I need to verify this next time I see it, unless somebody can do so first. In the meantime, while "revocably human" and "irrevocably human" indeed mean opposite things, I'm not sure either makes less sense than the other in the context of the Architect's statement.

If it's "revocably", then Architect is stating something to the effect of:

"Even though we may have altered your consciousness in order to make you *think* you have a choice, you really don't."

...while "irrevocably" would mean mean something more like:

"Even though we've altered your consciousness, we can't change the fact that you're human." (whatever that means)

I'd say "revocably" would make perfect sense here, as it seems to be referring the Oracle's solution of giving people an element of choice. And what it can give, it can certainly revoke. Why would that make zero sense?

On the ideas of 101 signifying the sixth in the sequence, the loop bringing the story full circle, and so on...

How cool would the final scene of Revolutions be as such:

Neo asleep @ his droid as we saw him in 1999. The familiar scene literally pulled from the first film and reused. On his computer screen:

Wake up Neo...yada yada...etc.

Knock knock Neo...

Neo walks to answer the door. Camera shot from the outside of his door shows his apartment number as 110, indicating we're now on the seventh revolution and will theoretically continue this sequel-less pattern indefinitely (111, 1000, 1001, 1010, etc.).

FADE TO BLACK

That would blow my mind to the back wall of the theater...

Spoon BoyMay 25, 2003 at 7:20PM

Here's another transcription of the Architect scene, using the phraseirrevocably human.

That does it. Now I need to go see it again. :)

Spoon BoyMay 25, 2003 at 7:27PM

BWG says:
The Merovingian's first string of curses roughly translates


lol. Sounded so much smoother in French. Once translated to English it's more like wiping your ass with rayon...

matt lefevreMay 25, 2003 at 8:46PM

hello, i just got back from watching the matrix reloaded at my local cinema for the 3rd time in ....4 days. the architect DOES say "irrevocably" and not "revocably" :o) ..... and for anyone who doesn't know..if and when you go to watch the matrix reloaded either again or for the 1st time.....stay in the cinema and watch the screen until all the credits have finished. there is a small clip of "the matrix revolutions" :o)

Spoon BoyMay 25, 2003 at 10:17PM

the architect DOES say "irrevocably" and not "revocably"

Thank you! Noted. Did you by any chance count the wall monitors that had the other Neos?

btw, all this talk of five (V, 101) and sixth (the sequential spot of 101), along with all the other little anti Micro$oft themes (blue pill, windows, etc.), reminded me of the Vi (pronounced "vee-eye") editor. Roman Numeral for 6. Vi and Emacs are the two most popular editors in the Linux world. Although you can find a version of Vi for almost any os platform, it does have its roots in the open-source culture.

ChrisMay 25, 2003 at 11:39PM

Thought from the girlfriend:

Very sexy rave scene. Trinity and Neo probably managed to get Trinity preggers...

Interesting idea. Even if Neo bites it in the Revolutions, maybe his kiddo will have the mojo to save humanity.

theJanMay 26, 2003 at 12:50AM

Here are my theories / philosophies on this incredible story:

Intelligence = a soul. The technology for AI, even though "artificial", has advanced so far that said intelligence has become essentially "real". Persephone stated that she and her husband were in love in the beginning. Isn't falling in love something that cannot be mere mechanics, but requires something much more profound? Even though they (and countless other "characters") are essentially "programs", they are actually real. A different life form, if you will.

Some of these "life forms" are more advanced (intelligent) than others. Advanced to the point where they have the ability to "reprogram" themselves to some degree (as humans do, changing and evolving via the choices we make.) I speak specifically here about the Merovingian and the Oracle (advanced), and characters such as the keymaker (less advanced, thus much more controlled by their programmed "purpose"). Also this reprogramming is evident in Agent Smith who has "somehow figured out how to copy himself", and was able to "choose" to disobey.

When the Merovingian, fleeing from Neo, said "I survived your predecessors, and I will survive you!," I saw a distinct look of fear in his eyes. As these beings are "real", deletion would be akin to murder. Having seen Neo's power, and knowing Neo is out to destroy the machine world, this man is deathly afraid of being permanently deleted. He is afraid of Neo, and would destroy him and all his kind as the enemy, because he is afraid of death.

The Oracle on the other hand, though also a "rouge program", sees things quite differently. Being an "intuitive program", she realizes the nature of all souls, human and machine alike. She acts as a sort of "divine mother / guide" (God's digital self-image perhaps?). She is indeed manipulating the humans, but not for selfish purposes. She manipulates as a teacher manipulates a student to help them evolve. Her hope is for harmony among all souls (which I believe was alluded to in her most recent convo w/Neo.) She sees the One, the architect and their inevitable meeting as means to this end. She helps each incarnation, in hopes that eventually one will make the right choices to bring about this evolution (by choosing the proper door? A choice based on the essence of God, the big L - Love, rather than fear). It's a game of chance that she's betting will eventually hit. She said to Neo "For what it's worth, you've made a believer outta me.", meaning she's got her hopes up, because this one just might succeed. He is better than his predecessors for two reasons. One, he is made stronger by the love of another (the power of love, strength in numbers), and two, he has been infused with the soul of the enemy (smith, a program- the machine), giving him insight and ability unprecedented. The Oracle is not afraid of death, and will help Neo "see the light" by telling "exactly what he 'needs' to hear" to bring about her ideal of harmony, rather than victory and defeat. She knows the latter will not work, that humans and machines are interdependent.

The Merovingian, as well as the Architect, don't approve of the Oracle. (Perhaps they are afraid of her? Perhaps she is much more powerful than we've seen?) They don't believe in harmony, they have much more selfish motives. What do the powerful want? More power. They want victory.

As for the monitors in the room of the Architect: I don't believe the images of the other Neos are his predecessors, but merely the Architect's predictions of his possible responses (they all say "bullshit!" to "You are here because Zion is about to be destroyed...", because denial is the most predictable). If these were images of the earlier Ones, they wouldn't look like Neo. They are each an anomaly, not a clone. Each would have different DNA.

One of Neo's choices given by the architect involves starting Zion over again, because the machines need Zion. It needs to exist for the .01% who reject the program, because they must be given the choice for the Matrix to work. Eventually the population and power of Zion grows to the point that they pose a potential threat, particularly with the statistically inevitable advent of an "anomaly" who could "manipulate the Matrix however he saw fit". They destroy the threat and maintain what they need to survive by throwing Zion back to its infancy.

The "rave" scene: As I saw it, I thought all they need is a golden calf and you could splice it right into the bible (where Moses comes down from the mountain with the ten commandments and gets really pissed off at the "rave" going on.)

Personally, I thought it was very cool. Sensual, artistic, and taking the whole thing to a deeper level. I saw it as a celebration of humanity, of joy and pleasure. Just letting go, dancing with abandon. That's cool with me. Don't know if I wanted to see Reeves and Moss doing the watusi, but I didn't really mind it. I believe it was essential to depict their relationship in realistic terms. Maybe the sex wasn't necessary to do this, but hey, sex sells and people want it. Alrighty then.

Now I have a theory on the machines. I believe they are not all on the same team. The "agents" are agents of the mainframe, the source, the powers-that-be. This "Source", is the benevolent "Big Brother" looking out for the so-called good of all machines and programs. When obsolete, they are to return to the Source for deletion, or "reintegration - renewal". Not everyvirtualbody agrees with the Source and it's totalitarian self. They buck the system. They run, they hide, they fight against it. The mass of electronimity (opposed to humanity??) has grown too large to be controlled by the Source. Therefore ones like the Merovingian, Smith and the Oracle, these rogue programs can exist free to hack away as they see fit, pursuing whatever purpose they have mustered the power to program for themselves. Some full of ambition, some content to merely fulfill their purpose.

Sorry, no "matrix within a matrix". That would be so incredibly lame as to be insulting. At the very least it would be inconsistent with the creative genius we've seen so far from the W brothers. Sure it would work, but there are so many better options.

My best guess is that Neo has power over the machines in the real world because the mind is a powerful thing. He knows, feels, believes, and hey it was worth a shot, because they were about to be zapped dead by the Squids. He followed instinct. His attunement to the machines is akin to the intuition (ie empathy) among humans. He shares the soul of the machine, he has an ethereal link to them via Smith. Squiddys are simple programs, easily overpowered. Neo would have a tougher time with a tougher adversary in the real world (such as Smith and similar infiltrations.) So perhaps people will get the chance to see Neo get the crap kicked outta him in a real fight next time. We shall see. I think he collapsed because he wasn't used to exerting this power (as in "Why do my eyes hurt?" "Because you've never used them before") As for Bain, I think he survived because he saw it coming, and hid. Also he's alive in the Matrix, and death in the real world would mean death in the Matrix right? Not so. Just like the kid, it wouldn't correlate because Smith is already "awake". To him, the real world is probably fake and the Matrix real.

I theorize that in the end, the Source will be defeated, Smith and the Merovingian deleted, the Oracle redeemed and all souls united in harmony. And the Architect shall see that it is good. Sounds so biblical doesn't it?

Just MHOs.

theJanMay 26, 2003 at 12:55AM

Hey, sorry my previous post was so long! Didn't realize how much I had to say, and this little comment box is so deceiving!

Shutting up now :-)

Spoon BoyMay 26, 2003 at 1:32AM

Cool thoughts, Jan. All thought provoking.

My best guess is that Neo has power over the machines in the real world because the mind is a powerful thing.

I see, you've tossed the nested Matrix idea. So you believe Neo's now actually in the "real physical world", and now has newfound physical powers over machines. How real is this world? If an object like a giant Squiddy were flying hundreds of mph, could it stop on a dime like that? That's one of the reasons I didn't think Zion was of a "real world", for it didn't obey the basic laws of physics in that situation. The Squid machine's momentum would've sent it crashing through the cave corridor, even after Neo "disabled" it. You'd have to accept that Neo had not only manipulative powers over the machines, but powers over the laws of physics. Not impossible in a scifi movie, I suppose. Superman, ET, Storm, and so on. I guess we need to decide what we accept out of the "real world" in this story; up until now we've never really needed to ask. Personally, I'm not so sure we've seen a "real world" yet, or if we ever will for that matter.

Do you have a take on the spoon gift? Was there a deeper message being sent to Neo from the orphan kid, or was it just a good luck charm? Remember, that little guy knows something...





theJanMay 26, 2003 at 3:03AM

Hey Spoon Boy,

About Squiddy, why do you say it was advancing at hundreds of MPH? I've heard others say this, but that's not what I saw. If they were going that fast our heros would have been nabbed (well, maybe not in a Hollywood chase). Given what they are chasing, why would they need to go that fast? It's not like they're flying through space, they're flying through the sewers and subway tunnels, right? (the old "ways and means systems") Plus, advancing that fast, there wouldn't be much opportunity to run from them as they'd be on top of you a moment after you first saw them coming! There wouldn't be any hot pursuit like we've seen on the screen. But you are right about the momentum thing. If they suddenly "died", they'd at least tumble forward a bit, rather than drop like a lead zeppelin. Now that I think about it, they do hover though. Didn't they stop first, then die, then fall?

The spoon thing I think ties in with Neo's new powers. The spoon kid and all the others at the Oracle's apartment were refered to as "the other potentials". Potential whats? Potential "Ones"? I think these were other recently "freed minds" consulting the Oracle just like he was (mostly young- freed before they get to a certain age). Thus, the "spoon kid" was in Zion, and wanted to remind Neo that there is no spoon. Not just in the Matrix, but in reality.

Think of it in an existential, spiritual kind of way. Didn't you think, when you first saw M1, that hey, maybe we ARE living in a Matrix!! Not a computerized one, but one like, created by God or something?? Like, everything we see and feel is just stuff interpreted by our brains. How do we know they're not lying to us, and that we really even exist in this world??

If you recall the spoon kid had a Zen quality to him (her?). I would think that this kid was a believer in other dimensions of consciousness. Thus, an enlightened being, knowing the illusion of the physical world, would be able to manipulate it as he sees fit, if he so chooses. Get it? I'm thinking that there's a whole existential, spiritual theme developing here (or perhaps it's my own imagination running amok). That outside the machine's Matrix, outside of virtual and physical realities, there lies spiritual reality. That it's ALL an illusion, and thus can be manipulated by the "awakened" or the "enlightened". As I was talking earlier, it all ties in with the concept of "souls" & "God", an "All-One" kind of thing. Perhaps a moral/spiritual message (from the Ws) about all the people of the world being of one spirit, regardless of our self-important divisiveness among nations and classes.

Essentially, I think that Neo can manipulate things in the physical world because he feels a connection to them, and he is starting to feel (realize? believe?) that there is no spoon, anywhere, except in the limitations of our own minds...

Hmh. Or maybe not.

You know, sometimes I have to tie a rope around my waist to keep myself from floating away altogether! :-D

Neo - The OneMay 26, 2003 at 7:22AM

could someone give some examples of this '101' conspiracy please?
I need to watch the film again :(

BrianMay 26, 2003 at 12:30PM

236 comments as I add mine ... Amazing.

I'm not convinced The Architect is talking about the Oracle. When Neo says, "The Oracle," The Architect's "Please" is almost dismissive ... in the sense of "as if" ... is it possible he was saying "Oh please, not a chance, now, back to what I was talking about" -- and he wasn't talking about the Oracle, but Persephone?

Also:

The way the Matrix Reloaded points out the multiple layers of control built into society is perhaps the most potent of the messages it carries. Its one thing to make people aware of the first layer of control. Its far more powerful to make them aware of the way that a built in "resistance" can be used to solidify the power structure. [LINK] via Doc Searls

mikeMay 26, 2003 at 1:47PM

"Didn't you think, when you first saw M1, that hey, maybe we ARE living in a Matrix!! Not a computerized one, but one like, created by God or something?? Like, everything we see and feel is just stuff interpreted by our brains."

Look for a copy of "An Anthropologist on Mars" by Oliver Sacks (the guy portrayed by Robin Williams in the film version of "Awakenings"). He writes about a car accident victim who consulted him. He was a senior painter who sufferd a stroke that destroyed two bean-sized areas of his brain, and became achromotopic color-blind -- absolute black and white vision.

One of Sacks's conclusions after studying the patient is that other than those areas of the brain destroyed in his patient, there was no reason to believe there was even such a thing as color. Of course, we see color -- light hits our eyes, and our brain constructs the colors (evolutionary-wise, color seems to benefit day vision over night vision) -- but other than that, there's no real evidence that color even exists.

As to the question of "everything we see and feel is just stuff interpreted by our brains..." Sacks refers to Goethe: optical illusion is optical truth.

Spoon BoyMay 26, 2003 at 2:11PM

Hi Jan,

About Squiddy, why do you say it was advancing at hundreds of MPH?


Just a number. Even if they were only traveling 25 mph, they wouldn't be able to stop on a dime like that @ Neo's will, especially if airborne. It was as if they ran into an invisible wall.

Now that I think about it, they do hover though. Didn't they stop first, then die, then fall?

Good q. I'd need to see it again. Anybody have a take on this? Did they stop dead in their tracks, as if running into an invisible force field by Neo? Or did they stop on their own accord first, then die?

The spoon kid and all the others at the Oracle's apartment were refered to as "the other potentials". Potential whats?

The Potentials were part of the .1% of the minds that didn't accept The Matrix as reality. Recall the 99.9% success rate of the Oracle's "solution" (i.e. give the mind a choice, and 99.9% of the time it'll be convinced that the virtual world in which it's placed is real.) This would equate to roughly 1 out of 1000 people being exceptionally "gifted". Similar to our own world.

Potential whats? I suppose potential escapees, if you will. I saw the term "potential" as sort of a metaphor for the "gifted" people here in reality.

Thus, the "spoon kid" was in Zion, and wanted to remind Neo that there is no spoon. Not just in the Matrix, but in reality.

True. But there was in fact much more substance contained in the line "There is no spoon." Since the spoon does not exist, the world which contains it must therefore not exist. This played a large part in Neo's realization of the Matrix's fakeness. Now, in Reloaded, that whole concept has carried over into this supposed "real world" that contains Zion. The gift of the spoon could be saying, "Hey dude, remember how I told you there was no spoon and therefore no world to contain it? Well, that applies here too. Wake up Neo."

Think of it in an existential, spiritual kind of way. Didn't you think, when you first saw M1, that hey, maybe we ARE living in a Matrix!! Not a computerized one, but one like, created by God or something?? Like, everything we see and feel is just stuff interpreted by our brains. How do we know they're not lying to us, and that we really even exist in this world??

Absolutely. The Matrix story is a microcosm of our own reality, which is one of the things that makes it so insane. :)

Essentially, I think that Neo can manipulate things in the physical world because he feels a connection to them, and he is starting to feel (realize? believe?) that there is no spoon, anywhere, except in the limitations of our own minds...

They could go that way and make many folks happy. Personally, I think the story is going to end up being much more of a metaphorical thing, not a story of some hero "freeing the world". I can't stop thinking about Morpheus's definition of Artificial Intelligence, and entertaining the idea that @ the end of the day, the whole thing is A.I. Think about the messages it would send. i.e. Are humans necessary for intelligence to exist? If a form of artificial intelligence can feel love, is that love any less real or important than if a human felt it? And so on. You really start tapping into some philosophical issues here.

This is the movie Spielberg could only dream of making...







theJanMay 26, 2003 at 2:44PM

>Brian says:
I'm not convinced The Architect is talking about the Oracle. When Neo says, "The Oracle," The Architect's "Please" is almost dismissive ... in the sense of "as if" ... is it possible he was saying "Oh please, not a chance, now, back to what I was talking about" -- and he wasn't talking about the Oracle, but Persephone?

This had not occurred to me. I think i am probably biased to charactars that I "like". Generally story tellers (movies, books, tv) will present characters in a way that indicates their roll in the story. For example, it was pretty much obvious that the members of the 2nd ship (whatever it was called) that went to find the Nebachudnezzar were expendable. It's apparent that Neo, Trinity, Morpheous, et al, are enduring "heros" playing a pivital roll and are to be portrayed in a positive light when it's all said and done. I got the same feeling of the Oracle (and her man and voice being featured in the trailer for M3 indicates their importance). This applies as well to the villians being portrayed negatively. Sometimes they will fool you and twist things around, but fans get pissed off at movie-makers who make villians out of characters they have become endeared to. It's generally not done because they want the fans to walk away feeling "satisfied", not dissapointed or irritated.

You're right though, when I went back and looked at the transcript, he was definately dismissive of the Oracle. Persephone definitely could play an important roll in M3, but her personna didn't strike me as one strong enough to be the "mother of the matrix" (not objective, too self-absorbed). Thing is, I can't think of who else it would be. I do think however, that the Architect is pretty neutral. Sure he wants to preserve the survival of the machine world, but its just a game to him, and he doesn't care squat who llives or dies, as long as he has a purpose.

Spoon BoyMay 26, 2003 at 2:51PM

Neo - The One says:
could someone give some examples of this '101' conspiracy please?
I need to watch the film again :(


Mr. Anderson,

Here's a tutorial on the binary system for your review.

The Matrix films have no less than three explicit references to the number 101 (Neo's apartment number in M1, the freeway #101 in Reloaded, and a large illuminated 101 over the clock on the wall in one of the Reloaded scenes).

I wouldn't call it a conspiracy, but we're looking into it to see if it has meaning. 101, even as early as M1, seems to have some sort of relevance that has been yet unclear. The number 5 was brought up by the Architect, as he stated that there have been "five previous versions" of Neo/Zion/Matrix, and that *this* Neo is the sixth version. We were wondering: How does this relate to 101 and five? And if our Neo is the sixth, why haven't we been seeing references to 110 (binary for 6) instead?

Dr. Nosuch on this blog pondered the coolest thought so far. When considering our Neo as the "sixth" version, don't think of 6 as a number, value, or quantity. Instead, consider it a version in a sequence, or a spot in line. In binary notation, computers start from zero (i.e. a 256 color monitor has a value range of 0-255, with 255 actually being the 256th in the sequence). This all ties into the relevance of 101, as it is in fact the sixth.

000, 001, 010, 011, 100, 101...

I like to think we're watching the sixth revolution of an endless loop. Bring on Apartment 110!!!!




AndyMay 26, 2003 at 4:06PM

I'm confused by the persistence of "Matrix-within-a-Matrix" theories.

It is wholly possible that Zion is a simulation, but NOT a computer-generated, neural-interactive one (or whatever).

In other words, Zion DOES exist in the physical sense, but the people who are there are still under the broader control of the machines, who allowed them to get there, and can destroy them when they think it's called for.

It is a simulation, yes. That's the whole point! But there's no reason to take it any further and conclude that Zion is a plugged-in simulation. It's a real-world scenario that compliments the real-world need for people in energy-pods.

I'm no philosopher, but I think there's a strong message in this: systems of control are more ingrained than you realize. There are release valves for dissidents built into the systems themselves. Never be entirely sure you're thinking out of the box, because every rebellious move you make may have already been anticipated by the power-that-be who are pulling your strings.

Shitcan the rest of the mumbo-jumbo if you want. I think that's a profound and pertinent message.

theJanMay 26, 2003 at 4:46PM

Andy says:
>It is wholly possible that Zion is a simulation, but NOT a computer-generated, neural-interactive one (or whatever).
>In other words, Zion DOES exist in the physical sense,
>It is a simulation, yes. That's the whole point! But there's no reason to take it any further and conclude that Zion is a plugged-in simulation.

A simulation of what then?? Freedom? In your explanation, that would be the only simulation(?) I see. If Zion is a physical reality, than it is not a simulation of physical reality.

Smith pointed out to Neo that none of them are free, they are slaves to their purpose, and without purpose they would not exist.
(not so sure I agree with that. Maybe, maybe not. Certainly a philosophical q. Probably a truth in Smith's world anyway.)

Freedom is relative. Regardless of any situation, you are always going to be subject to some limitations. Freedom can be classified as an illusion, a myth, or merely a matter of perspective.

Spoon BoyMay 26, 2003 at 5:41PM

Andy says,

In other words, Zion DOES exist in the physical sense, but the people who are there are still under the broader control of the machines, who allowed them to get there, and can destroy them when they think it's called for.


Perhaps, but a little to "John Connor" for me.

there's no reason to take it any further and conclude that Zion is a plugged-in simulation

No reason? I don't even have enough fingers to count the reasons...

AndyMay 26, 2003 at 7:35PM

A simulation of what then?? Freedom?

Exactly. Just so. Anyway, it may be that Zion is electronic, or it may not be. Either way, it is an extension of a control system. I'm just not convinced that it's inside another neural simulation.

Spoon Boy: there are more unexplained things than you can shake a stick at, like Neo's EMP-like power outside the Matrix, but no real suggestion that they are still in energy pods. That is possible, but you're guessing.

JohnMay 26, 2003 at 7:35PM

Some of you think that Neo went into a sub matrix when he left the architect but that wouldn't realy make sense. If that happened trinity and everybody else would have to be programs in that matrix simulating them. This is not impossible as the machines may be trying to trap neo. But if they were programs why not kill him when he fell into the coma. If the machines knew he realised he was still in the matrix why would they let him live.

AndyMay 26, 2003 at 7:43PM

Freedom is relative. Regardless of any situation, you are always going to be subject to some limitations.

Definitely. But the film usually addresses freedom in terms of control. The humans may not be free to sprout magnolias from their nipples, as they are limited by the laws of physics, but the question here is whether Zion is truly under the machines control.

Control is defined in the film as: "The ability to destroy something."

If Zion is physically real, but allowed to exist by the machines and periodically cleansed of all life, then they definitely have control. We'll have to wait and see.

There is also another reason not to think that Zion is a neural simulation: wouldn't everyone there still feel "a splinter in their minds?" A large part of the 2 films already released is built on the basis that some people will innately reject any plugged-in mind control system.

Not only would the Matrix-within-a-Matrix be trite, far from the most interesting possible explanation, it would invalidate much of what's been put forth already. I think it's more plausible and more interesting that Zion is physically real, but still "managed" by the machines (from a distance).

Spoon BoyMay 26, 2003 at 8:08PM

there are more unexplained things than you can shake a stick at, like Neo's EMP-like power outside the Matrix, but no real suggestion that they are still in energy pods.

The unexplained things only demand we question the "real world"; they don't confirm anything about people being in energy pods.

The notion that they're all "still in energy pods" is based on the onionskinnish "matrix within a matrix theory". I'm not a big fan of that theory, as it would be too obvious. There's gotta be more to it. Far cooler would be that there are no pods. Anywhere. No humans. It's all A.I. There is no "final skin", or top level of reality, as it's not reality in the first place.

wouldn't everyone there still feel "a splinter in their minds?"

Not everyone. Only about .1%. Remember, the Oracle's solution has a 99.9% success rate. From the looks of the rave scene, it looks like most folks are buying the illusion.

This .1% failure rate would equate to only about 250 people out of the 250k Zion population, and we haven't seen enough of Zionites to realize this. Perhaps the Counselor is one of these people... as well as the orphan who sent the spoon... both seem to have questions, if not answers...


Spoon BoyMay 26, 2003 at 9:33PM

101 was Neo's apartment number.

303 was Trinity's hotel room number.

Chris says,

Trinity and Neo probably managed to get Trinity preggers...


hmm... 101+303=404

404 "Page Not Found" is the most famous of the HTTP status codes.

Not sure if procreation has anything to do w/ it. But from a purely numeric perspective, you could almost say that Neo and Trinity, when it's all said and done, point to a conclusion that cannot be found...




Neo - Born in Australia - SydneyMay 27, 2003 at 2:00AM

I don't think that the 101 issue will be explained in Revolutions

Spoon BoyMay 27, 2003 at 3:18AM

Neo - Born in Australia - Sydney says:
I don't think that the 101 issue will be explained in Revolutions


Unfortunately, it can't be explained. You have to see it for yourself.

UnbelieverMay 27, 2003 at 9:40AM

Imagine if we find that only the anomaly is real or only that NEO is human in the matrix layers.

Also imagine if NEO proves to be a VIRUS that just cannot be deleted.

Steve-oMay 27, 2003 at 11:01AM

I was just wondering if anyone else noticed the timing of the two lunar eclipses we just happened to have had and are having this year. ;)

110 also sparks interest in the number 11. 11 also sparks interest in the number 2. If you count 2 months inward from both reloaded and
revolutions, you get the month of August. August just happens to be the month Mars is closest to Earth than it has been in 60,000 some years. Hmmmm.

Loved the movie.. have fun everyone!

philMay 27, 2003 at 12:14PM

my problem with the Cave Rave was that it was just lazy. MTV Spring Break in Zion. tits and ass panning. Lazy. It wasn't intense. The love scene wasn't intense. Just wasn't.

Great movie. great effects. very CGI looking at times. still entertaining. The only thing that really shocks me is reaction to the matrix-within-the-matrix idea why be sci-fi haters? Its a classic device. What if The Matrix is the safety valve for the "sub matrix" ? Many possibilities. Will wait for the next sequel.

mjangMay 27, 2003 at 1:19PM

Is there a FAQ anywhere for all of the various theories going on? It seems like there's postings on different message boards that contain new, overlapping, and disproven theories. If there were one source, everyone could collaborate and reduce the redundant info.

I loved the second movie. I don't care if the philosophy is half-baked or sophomoric. The movie and the discussions about it are just fun diversions. I look at the movie series as a puzzle with lots of clues. It's especially appealing to programmers.

MarioMay 27, 2003 at 1:45PM

Some of you are talking about the fact that Agent Smith is out and about in the real world through Bane. The same people find it interesting that Neo's powers work outside the Matrix. BUT WHAT IF... What if "outside the Matrix" is just another Matrix?

It makes sense... think about it. The best way to keep everybody in line isn't to play an interesting charade in the first matrix, with people living outside of "it", but by "letting steam" out of the system by channelling the malcontents through this complex "out-of-the-matrix" matrix.

BrianMay 27, 2003 at 1:55PM

BUT WHAT IF... What if "outside the Matrix" is just another Matrix?

Hmmmm.... Methinks somebody didn't pay attention to the directions:

Post a comment, but please read the entry and all the other comments first to make sure you're adding something new to the conversation.

;-)

Spoon BoyMay 27, 2003 at 2:13PM

If there were one source, everyone could collaborate and reduce the redundant info

I hear there is such a Source, but for some reason our guy took the other option.

It's especially appealing to programmers.

Indeed. And to problem-solvers as well, which programmers necessarily are.

TheoMay 27, 2003 at 3:39PM

A note on the monitors: There's really only 6 different images that are shown, the rest are duplicates. If you look/listen closely, you'll see that five of the six are the responses of the former Neos (when told of his predecessor, one says "four?", another counts on his fingersone-two-three, etc.). The sixth screen is showing what we're actually seeing in the Architect's rotunda, and that's the screen that the camera zooms in on, which then dissolves again to become the actual room.

The monitors are not showing possibilities, they're showing previous interations as well as the current one. The screens also show images of Trinity fighting the Agent and falling out the building before that happens in the movie.

This is the best evidence that it's all a program and that there are no humans. If there were humans, and Neo had to choose 23 people to repopulate Zion, then the gene pool variations would dictate that Neo would fall in love with a Trinity that looked different every single iteration.

But because Neo/we are shown images of Trinity falling in a previous version, we must be watching a program fall, the same program that is falling in the current iteration.

I don't like the "everyone-is-a-program" theory -- I want there to be humans making a last stand -- but I fear I'm losing out to the evidence that's accumalating quickly in favor of the converse.

An interesting, though flawed, argument can be found here for another take: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0234215/board/nest/1555400

ps- Mero is not a previous One; he said he "survived his 5 predecessors"

DavidMay 27, 2003 at 3:50PM

i bet the screens show what's on Neo's mind, including choises

BillMay 27, 2003 at 4:00PM

Zion is not a "matrix within a matrix" and I have no idea where folks are getting this from. The Architect clearly speaks of The Matrix and Zion as being 2 seperate realities. He clearly states that Neo is supposed to select 23 people FROM the Matrix to rebuild Zion. Ergo, Zion exists OUTSIDE of the Matrix. As for how Neo was able to stop the machines in the "real world," the answer is we don't know yet. We have to wait til November to find out.

Marty MC FlyMay 27, 2003 at 4:10PM

I like the 2nd sequel of The Matrix...as if 1st one of them had been made by another brothers...Latest one has more and more action than previous one...Anyway two of them gave different taste to me...

I read all posts...But I think the next, probably final sequel should be finalized like that...

I watched Reloaded at only one time...But in the movie there is some clue which is easily noticable...I think The Oracle and The Architect have an argument about an something secret...We saw what The Oracle said always happened exactly...but For Architect all things are diffterent...Matrix wasn't destroyed(we will see in the next sequel)...he talk like the leader of machines...

So I think the end of the movie, We will see that Neo will have an ability the control of the all system...And he will give all Matrix inhabitants to chance for realizing the real world which is neither Matrix nor Zion(somewhere in there isn't any need for machines)...Ofcourse he should sacrifice of living as a slave normal human...He will wake up in front of his computer just like as if nothing happend...And then door is knocked...Bam...All green numbers and letters come...

Spoon BoyMay 27, 2003 at 4:30PM

Regarding Theo's post...

Excellent insight, thanks for confirming the monitor details. Particularly notable is your point on the gene pool and the problem it poses if we're dealing with physical humans. Also, the *chronological* aspects of the Trinity footage you noticed is huge.

McFly suggests:

He will wake up in front of his computer just like as if nothing happend...And then door is knocked...Bam...All green numbers and letters come...


I like it. But keep going for another 30 seconds or so. Neo gets up to open his door; his Apartment number is now 110, indicating we're now on the seventh revolution. The 110 shot morphs into green code, we zoom into the zero of the 110, and then fade to black...

theJanMay 27, 2003 at 4:56PM

Theo says:
>If there were humans, and Neo had to choose 23 people to repopulate Zion, then the gene pool variations would dictate that Neo would fall in love with a Trinity that looked different every single iteration.

You missed something here. Here is a transcript of part of the Architect convo:
The Architect - "It is interesting reading your reactions. Your five predecessors were by design based on a similar predication, a contingent affirmation that was meant to create a profound attachment to the rest of your species, facilitating the function of the one. While the others experienced this in a very general way, your experience is far more specific. Vis-a-vis, love."

He's saying here that none of the others had a "Trinity". This is something unique to this incarnation. And as I said before, Neo is an anomaly, not a clone. Each incarnation, if of biological origin, would each have different DNA, thus look different in any "previous reactions" on the monitors. Who's even to say the previous "One"s were all men?

In looking over the Architect Conversation transcript again, I did find something that lends credence to the "matrix w/in matrix" thing:
(excerpted from the same quote as above)

Architect:
"...Your five predecessors were by design based on a similar predication, a contingent affirmation that was meant to create a profound attachment to the rest of your species, facilitating the function of the one..."

What exactly does he mean "BY DESIGN based on"?? & "a contingent affirmation that was meant to create... facilitating the function of the one"??

As much as I hate to admit this, it certainly sounds like the architect is implying he "designed" Neo! And facilitated his function as well! *gasp*

I still say though, that computer program or not, intelligence = soul = "real".

TheoMay 27, 2003 at 5:37PM

theJan said: He's saying here that none of the others had a "Trinity". This is something unique to this incarnation. And as I said before, Neo is an anomaly, not a clone.

No, that's not what he's saying at all. Neo is a program, that's why all his predecessors look the same. Biology isn't a factor, as there are no humans (if we're to follow the "everyone-is-a-program" theory). Once the system gets rebooted, it starts over, from scratch, like a game, with the same characters--only the Architect retains a memory of what happened in the prior iteration, like a backup, as seen on the five other screens. Look again at what's happening in the screens--each of the five answer as if each were a One, using numbered responses in direct response to Architect's statements.

There are Trinitys in previous iterations; there have to be if the Oracle's purpose is to be consistent. All six Neos choose the same door. The others chose it in an attempt to save the 'human' race. The sixth, our Neo, chooses it for love. Because the AI is, after five iterations, coming to finally understand the more elusive and erratic of human functions, love.

I don't like to admit it either, but all signs point to there being no humans (in a biological sense). I remain unconvinced, but willing to entertain the idea of a dual matrix, but so far I'm not there like I am with the everyone is a program theory.

theJanMay 27, 2003 at 6:01PM

More from the transcript:

Neo - Who are you?

The Architect - I am the Architect. I created the matrix. I've been waiting for you. You have many questions, and although the process has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human. Ergo, some of my answers you will understand, and some of them you will not. Concordantly, while your first question may be the most pertinent, you may or may not realize it is also irrelevant.


Me here: "...you remain irrevocably human"
The Arcitect clearly states here that despite any "process" that may have "altered his consciousness" Neo IS in fact HUMAN (irrevocably - meaning "can't change that even if I wanted too")

How about this: the architect is dabbling in BIOLOGICAL engineering /programming / design! eh?

Neo - Why am I here?

The Architect - Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly

Correction on my earlier post: Neo is not a reincarnation, he is simply a statistically inevitable exception to the rules. Neo is a regular human, except for the fact that his brain/mind is able to see through the illusion of the matrix, where other's can't. He has more control over the function of his brain. He's like the three year old who can play classical music on the piano, or the seven year old who taught himself seven languages. A genius. An anomaly. It's not that the same guy keeps getting reincarnated. To use an analogy, it's more like eventually, statistically, out of every so many people being "born", one is going to be albino. Well, in the Matix eventually one is going to be born with this unique ability. It's statistically inevitable. It keeps happening, and since the matrix was created, this is the sixth time it has happened.

At least that's the way I understand it. Or perhaps the biological engineering and the computer programming are intertwined and interdependent. It would make sense that the humans would be being "engineered" - to get the juciest batteries i suppose?

Something else I noticed:

Neo - You haven't answered my question.

The Architect - Quite right. Interesting. That was quicker than the others.

*The responses of the other Ones appear on the monitors: "Others? What others? How many? Answer me!"*

Okay now, unless he told them all they were "quicker than the others", these can't be responses from previous anomalies! It has to be our Neo. eh? eh?

theJanMay 27, 2003 at 6:26PM

The Architect - The matrix is older than you know. I prefer counting from the emergence of one integral anomaly to the emergence of the next, in which case this is the sixth version.

Integral. I looked it up. Guess it can't be chance than. By design. I think perhaps the anomaly is by design, but it's emergence is by chance, or eventuality. Yeah.
Hell, I don't know, my brain hurts! :-P

It's fun trying to figure it out though!

WayneMay 27, 2003 at 6:28PM

This isn't in keeping with the "let's theorize about a theoretical world" aspect of this thread but my only disappointment with the movie is that the W brothers seem to be falling into the Godfather syndrome: same movie structure with a different (maybe deeper) skin. They could have foregone 20 of the Agent Smiths and paid for screenwriters to come up with a structure that was distinguished from the Matrix.

Spoon BoyMay 27, 2003 at 6:38PM

Jan says,

I still say though, that computer program or not, intelligence = soul = "real".


Totally. This is precisely what Spielberg's lame movie (what a waste of a great title and killer logo) was trying to say (i.e. If a computer can feel love, it is any less real than us?" etc. Gag me.)

The W's may be on their way to delivering the same thought proking message w/o Spielberg's sappiness, and @ least 101 times the impact...

Theo says:

I don't like to admit it either, but all signs point to there being no humans (in a biological sense).


Would this not be the coolest way to round this story out though? I mean, what better way is there?

As for the signs that seem so obvious, there are apparently many folks out there who are either missing 'em or looking the other way.

I wouldn't see the "exclusively A.I." theory as anticlimactic @ all. Quite the opposite.




Spoon BoyMay 27, 2003 at 6:56PM

Jan,

*The responses of the other Ones appear on the monitors: "Others? What others? How many? Answer me!"*


Perhaps the other Ones you ask about are 000, 001, 010, 011, and 100. We're now on 101, with no reason to think we won't continue on with 110, 111, 100, 1010... infinitely.

We all know that when it comes down to it, software is nothing but ones and zeroes. If Neo is the One, then everything else must be nothing.

Theo says:

All six Neos choose the same door. The others chose it in an attempt to save the 'human' race. The sixth, our Neo, chooses it for love.


Cool. What we're seeing is that after six revolutions, nothing's really changed. It's only getting faster.



TheoMay 27, 2003 at 8:11PM

theJan says: Me here: "...you remain irrevocably human"
The Arcitect clearly states here that despite any "process" that may have "altered his consciousness" Neo IS in fact HUMAN (irrevocably - meaning "can't change that even if I wanted too")

The Architect/Neo dialogue script supports the "everyone-is-a-program" theory as well as your own. Humans are only humans because they're written that way. They're humans because they don't know how not to be. When the Oracle is sitting on the bench with Neo, she points out the pigdeons, saying there's an algorithm to explain them, their function. Remember? Well, the 'humans' that we see, the ones the Architect refers to, are the same; they are human only insofar as they're human programs.

I believe Neo is a human program who is becoming more than that--he's the exception, the anomaly, he's transcending his program. My reasons are based on the Agents in the beginning of the movie who say, "He. Is. Still. Only. Human." A human program, Neo is striving to be more, and the Agents know this, so the emphasis is on the "Still only", as in, "He's not yet more than human." The Councilor also says something to the effect of "It's a reminder that you're still human." when Neo says he can't sleep.

theJan says:
*The responses of the other Ones appear on the monitors: "Others? What others? How many? Answer me!"*

Okay now, unless he told them all they were "quicker than the others", these can't be responses from previous anomalies! It has to be our Neo. eh? eh?

This was a response given by only one screen, and it's safe to assume that it was either #3, #4, or #5 who said it, as prior to #1 there was none, prior to #1 there only one other, not others--as for why he would have said it at all, each iteration gets fasters, Neo learns more and more quickly, so the Architect saying this to any Neo #3 or higher makes perfect sense.

I'll be happy to be proven wrong when the film comes out, I still want there to be actually humans in this world the W brothers have created. I'm reminded of a quote from the architect of the World Trade Center, Minoru Yamasaki, who, when asked why not build a 220 story building instead of a two 110 story buildings, said "I wanted to retain the human scale."

Even if they're human programs in the end, it's still not the same, the scale is lost, as is our ability to empathize--although the statement it would make about determinism and free will is profound, frightening, truly irrevocable.

TheoMay 27, 2003 at 8:19PM

clarification on above post:

theJan says:
*The responses of the other Ones appear on the monitors: "Others? What others? How many? Answer me!"*

Okay now, unless he told them all they were "quicker than the others", these can't be responses from previous anomalies! It has to be our Neo. eh? eh? [end theJan statement]

My reply: This was a response given by only one screen, and it's safe to assume that it was either #3, #4, or #5 who said it, as prior to #1 there was none, prior to #2 there only one other, namely #1, not others--as for why he would have said it at all, each iteration gets fasters, Neo learns more and more quickly, so the Architect saying this to any Neo #3 or higher makes perfect sense.

Spoon BoyMay 27, 2003 at 8:29PM

Hey Theo,

Is your last name Ne? :)

We found him, people. We finally found him.



theJanMay 27, 2003 at 8:49PM

Interesting thoughts Theo, Spoon Boy (everyone else). I've read so many intriguing ideas here. Seems like this story could go in any number of directions. Thanks for the intelligent insights & commentary. I'm looking forward to seeing what we might have hit on in November!

ThomasMay 27, 2003 at 8:51PM

Anyone who recognizes a good movie and knows well the elements that make such a film, knows that Matrix Reloaded is not that good.

The Matrix had a great balance of things: good story, good special effects, good acting (due to Joe Pantoliano and some others) and a good ending (left open ended, but optimistic). It was a great package.

However, The Matrix Reloaded focused too much on special effects/action and everthing else became secondary. The formula was extremely potent for fighting, but very weak for the other elements that make a good movie.

It's dissapointing when you know it could have been better.

theJanMay 27, 2003 at 8:53PM

>We found him, people. We finally found him.

hehehehe... clever

theJanMay 27, 2003 at 8:58PM

>Thomas says:
Anyone who recognizes a good movie...

It's all in the eye of the beholder. If you enjoy it, then it's good.

Joe KaczmarekMay 27, 2003 at 11:18PM

Who says that the different Neo's have to have different DNA? For the Matrix's power grid, humans are not born, they are grown. So why not keep growing Neos from the same DNA?

TheoMay 27, 2003 at 11:50PM

I'm heartened by so many incisive perspectives on these films, here and elsewhere, and especially in the latest few posts to this blog, if you're interested. Great stuff on Councilor Hamann to rival the binary 101=6-but-is really-6-considering-0-is-starting-point theory.

http://matrixessays.blogspot.com/

MikeMay 28, 2003 at 12:08AM

Neo - Born in Australia - Sydney says:
I don't think that the 101 issue will be explained in Revolutions.


I think the thing to look for will be something like Tolkien: 9 Ring Wraiths, 9 members of the Fellowship, 9 fingers for Frodo (Y'all knew Frodo loses a finger, yes?). Hopefully Revolutions won't settle on leaving the theme of 5 unresolved in the plot. Symbolically, the obvious meaning lies in the pentagram (the 4 alchemical elements + the soul), but hopefully the theme will manifest itself in the plot, like we will see in LOTR.

filchyboyMay 28, 2003 at 12:30AM

Jason say,

The depth of the movie doesn't necessarily mean that you can't get a lot out of it...someone wrote an entire book on philosophy and The Simpsons and it's hard to imagine The Simpsons was conceived as a philosophical masterwork.

It's actually academic whether the Simpsons was conceived as a philosophical masterpiece. Same goes for the Matrix. You may recall a little book called The Bible which was conceived as an oral history yet for some reason quite a few folk have invested an awful lot of energy into dissecting its philosophical construct.

It is always a mistake to assume that the authors intention amounts to a hill of beans when discussing these things. The text is what is important.

PS I intended for this to be a cogent reply. See what I get for conceiving of such a thing.

TheoMay 28, 2003 at 12:47AM

William Irwin edited The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh of Homer, a shameless anthology. However, he also edited The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real, which has some intelligent and lucid deconstruction and discussion of the film. Another one to watch out for: Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in The Matrix. Next month witnesses the publication of The Gospel Reloaded: Exploring Spirituality and Faith in The Matrix; I remain doubtful about this one--Christians cling to Neo as if he were their very own, when he belongs to the pantheon of traditions from which W brothers culled material.

Check it out: http://killingthebuddha.com/

Steve-oMay 28, 2003 at 12:55AM

Hi everyone, thanks for the thought provocking thread. I have some questions left regarding the Architect:

(1.) Couldn't the Architect, himself, be a program designed to give Neo (partial if not complete) disinformation? Why or why not should we trust anything the Architect said. Could the monitors be a representation of Neo's psyche rather than previous versions of him?
But then the info. about the differences between him and his predecessors (i.e. Trinity only in the 6th version) tend to shoot that down. But again, it can still be disinformation designed to trick Neo can't it? Could the Architect himself be the product of a programming
anomaly just as he said Neo was. On second thought I doubt it but it's at least worth pondering.

(2) Notice how while Neo is shown going through the doorway to the source, he is shown as a point of light going to or forming into what looks like a star. Is this just a cool transition scene or could it have relevance to the story. Example: As there are many stars in the sky, could there also be many "sources". This may be nothing, but did anyone notice how many stars (points of light) are visible during this scene?

Lastly, a quick point regarding the Matrix and Zion:

Neo doesn't see code when he says something is different and drops them and goes into a coma. This doesn't necessarily mean anything, because there are times inside the Matrix
that don't reveal Neo's sight of code to us either. It seems either way I am left wondering if Zion is part of the Matrix or not. Is there a deeper connection between Agent Smith and Neo? That 'chocolate' zapper may have left some code in the wrong places.

EdMay 28, 2003 at 1:27AM

I have my doubts as to whether Revolutions will end in the same way The Matrix began. It simply wouldn't make sense in narrative terms. A story is that time in which the stasis of a life is broken--and while Neo's stasis is certainly broken in The Matrix, the larger stasis, that of humanity trapped in an endless loop of matrices, would not be changed at all. In that sense, Revolutions returning to the exact beginning of The Matrix would be a weaker (though undeniably interesting) resolution than a complete escape from the matrix.

Further support for this is the fact Neo 101 is the first to choose the path that would destroy all humanity. All the others choose the route that will restart the Matrix and Zion. This break has the potential for a superior story.

My big question is, the Architect seems to WANT Neo to destroy all humanity. Why? Do the machines have some kind of Asimovian robot code programmed into them, or is the explanation something else entirely?

I have some more commentary on my website, but it's more an analysis of other reviews than speculation on where Revolutions is going.

Joe KaczmarekMay 28, 2003 at 7:30AM

As for Zion being real and separate from the Matrix, and Neo's coma at the end... has anyone completed the game Enter The Matrix? I completed it with Niobe (cheated my way through just to get through the story quickly), and at one point she's talking to the Oracle (in the movie's timeline this must be after Neo goes into the coma) and the Oracle kinda gives some direction as to the answer. SPOILERShe says about how his mind is now trapped between the Matrix and the real world. Hense another program making the distinction that Zion is the real world./SPOILER

And as for Persephone perhaps being the "mother" of the Matrix, again in the game, it seems like Persephone wants to kiss everybody they way they kiss their lover. Maybe it is all about love and all of these different Neo versions are all just for the machines to understand what it means to love (love for humanity, love for Trinity, etc).

I have to see it again, but I never thought that Smith taking over Bane was a Neo-dream-sequence? Remember Morpheus asked someone to say behind to wait for a message from the Oracle, and then those two guys got a message to deliver. Bane just didn't get out in time and was taken over by Smith. I don't see why some people are thinking that's a dream sequence, but I still have to see the movie more times.

BrianMay 28, 2003 at 11:30AM

It has been said:
but I never thought that Smith taking over Bane was a Neo-dream-sequence?

On my first viewing I thought it was a dream, because Neo snaps awake right after it happens, much like he did after seeing Trinity fall in earlier dreams. But on my 2nd viewing, I realized that what comes next -- delivery of the Oracle's message to Neo's door -- explains what was in the envelope they had to get back.

jkottkeMay 28, 2003 at 11:41AM

Here's a (negative) review from James Lileks that touches on some of the same issues that others have raised in this thread.

BrianMay 28, 2003 at 11:46AM

Yea, verily, blasphemy was thus spoken:
I think the thing to look for will be something like Tolkien:

Ack! Thpfth! Okay, when we're teetering on the edge of comparisons to Tolkien, it's time to back up the truck. :-)

Kidding -- I'm not a Defender of the Trilogy, but I was thinking about something this morning that this thread is bringing to light. We are tunneling way down into a search for deeper, hidden meanings in TMR and, by extension, the Matrix series.

I would like to suggest that for a moment we helicopter back up a few thousand feet and take another look at what The Matrix was: a very smart, tightly-written allegory about how we are controlled by society.

Thomas Anderson's co-workers at Metacortex and all of those still trapped in the Martix were like all of us who find ourselves made comfortably numb by the trappings of society. We make choices not because it's what we want to do, but because it's what we must do due to the controls put in place by society (yes, I'm over-generalizing here, but bear with me). The Matrix, a.k.a. "The System" must track down and destroy those who would go against the system.

At that, The Matrix was an outstanding stand-alone movie. While the Brothers W may have had in mind the sequels when they wrote The Matrix I doubt anyone knew for certain that the first movie was going to be such a hit and create an opportunity for more profit; i.e., sequels. Which is to say, the Brothers are making it up as they go. I think it's doubtful that the vision for the Matrix universe was anywhere near fully formed in 1999. Of course, the same could be said of Middle Earth when The Hobbit was first published in 1937.

I suppose my point -- and I have one! :-) -- is that I want to encourage us to not lose sight of the social allegory aspects of the Matrix trilogy as we continue plumbing the depths of the rabbit hole.

RBMay 28, 2003 at 12:23PM

Re: At that, The Matrix was an outstanding stand-alone movie. While the Brothers W may have had in mind the sequels when they wrote The Matrix I doubt anyone knew for certain that the first movie was going to be such a hit and create an opportunity for more profit; i.e., sequels.

When the news of sequels to the Matrix being created first broke, the W's did say that they had originally conceived the entire story as a trilogy. They didn't intend for it to be just a single movie. The first mention of it, according to a (google-cached) article on Keanuweb, was in August 99. I like to think that they had it planned from the start, but understood that if the first failed, there would be no 2 or 3.

Re: the Bane-Smith issue.

I've read a lot of comments about this. One thought I had during an email discussion with a friend was this:

Someone (on this site, actually) suggested that the Smith connection has to do with the mind - "the mind makes it so". Actions in the Matrix can affect the bodies in the real world. Maybe Smith didn't in fact take over the body, but brainwashed the guy. Found a way to reprogram him real-time. I think that Smith just gained reverse-Neo powers (well, sorta - you know what I mean). If Neo can affect stuff in the Matrix, why can't Smith gain some understanding of how the outside and humans work? In one of the animatrix shorts (and made somewhat obvious by the fact that they can contain a human for their entire life and not have them aware of it), they say that the machines spent a lot of time experimenting on humans and completely understand them. They don't detail more, but isn't it possible that they have a huge database of how humans basically work? Now, the question that follows that is why don't they use it? Well, maybe they're like us now (like 2003 right now) - we know what happens, we know why, we just can't connect the two, or understand how to control it. However, maybe, in melding with Neo, Smith gains that last puzzle piece. It's one way, because Neo doesn't have that database.

This, of course, ignores the other onion-skin Matrix theory. But I'm only discussing one theory at a time.

EdMay 28, 2003 at 12:28PM

An odd number of weblogs have complained about the music in Reloaded, particularly that over the credits. What strikes me as strange about this is that, for both movies, the first song at movie's end has been a Rage Against the Machine song.

Play one Rage song, and it might be a coincidence. But play two, and you HAVE to have something deeper in mind--and anyone familiar with Rage is going to associate them with 1) excellent rock and 2) hardcore leftism.

This is supported by the shots of Bush Jr. and Sr. during the Architect's discussion of his addition of human atrocity to the matrix, as well as the as-yet unconfirmed report that, when Cypher is talking to Agent Smith in the restaurant in The Matrix, Smith refers to him as Mr. Reagan. Cypher goes on to say "I don't want to remember anything" (Alzheimer's?), and wants to be someone important, like a movie star (former career of Ronnie?). (I'm going to view this scene as soon as I'm done here to ensure I've got this right, but the only thing I'm not certain of is Cypher's real name.)

Anyway, given that the trilogy is not only an allegory of various religious beliefs, but one of modern society, the choice of over-credit music could not be any more appropriate. If you don't like Rage, fine, but its inclusion only makes the movies all the better.

EdMay 28, 2003 at 12:52PM

Just re-watched the Cypher restaurant scene. Agent Smith refers to him as Mr. Reagan twice, but when he gets to those two words, he says them so softly it's difficult to pick out. Subtitles, however, show it clearly, spelled the same way as the ex-president.

Of course, Cypher dies before he can be made into the Ronald Reagan, but it's one more bit of circumstantial evidence for the case that The Matrix is the most subversive movie to come along since...uhh, some movie I might be able to name if I weren't all hopped up on painkillers right now.

JCMay 28, 2003 at 1:29PM

1. While undeniably, Morpheus' character reflects Civil Rights Era figures, particularly MLK Jr., his line "I have dreamed a dream...but now that dream has gone from me" is almost a direct biblical reference: "And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream" (Daniel 2.3) ... "...the thing is gone from me" (Daniel 2.8). The speaker (the king) is none other than, gasp, Nebuchadnezzar. Not to sound terribly arrogant, because there are many parts that confuse me as well, but the Wachowskis did almost too good a job with the philosophy present in the film; some of it is simply over the head of the average Joe. This is perhaps why people say it takes itself too seriously; let me remind you, though, that much of the greatest literature and art ever created is great due to its use of allusion, topical, mythic, or otherwise.

2. Cypher is most certainly NOT in this film. At all. Just had to re-establish that if it wasn't clear. The survivor at the end is, as many have already stated, the Bane character (the one who cut his hand before shaking Neo's), into whom Agent Smith has apparently downloaded himself.

3. Regarding Neo's control over the Sentinels and #2 above, there are, it seems to me, two clear possibilities. One, Neo's destruction of Smith in the first film precipitated a two-way transfer: Agent Smith received something of Neo's powers, some freedom from the control of the Matrix, and Neo in turn received some vestige of control over the machines in the real world. It's not inconceivable that an artificially intelligent program as advanced as Smith could "download" itself into a biological brain (wetware ;-). Or, two, Zion is truly another level of the Matrix, and everyone there, including Neo, is still plugged in. I'm partial to the second idea; Zion and the Prophecy are, as the Architect told us, simply more systems of control--anomalies in their system that the machines managed to find a control mechanism for. It seems to make sense, therefore, that it would be easier and more efficient to keep these rebels, products of the "One" anomaly, in the environment which the machines could most easily facilitate; namely, VR--the Matrix. Or another part of it. Why would they risk allowing a bunch of humans to run around in the vast labyrinth of the real world, no matter how many sentinels they've got flying around, when they could just as easily fool them from the very beginning into thinking they had escaped into reality, while they actually had not. This idea seems to much more aptly explain Smith's transfer and Neo's powers in the "real world".
I was intrigued by someone's mention earlier about the Oracle's red candy...I hadn't thought of that. Quite clever.

GluttonMay 28, 2003 at 2:45PM

I just read/skimmed the entire thread. Good stuff!

I personally loved the movie, and for me, the Smith subplot is the most fascinating. In M1, he's something of a subversive. He hates the Matrix and wants to leave it, yet he is one of its most powerful denizens (well, upon seeing M2 perhaps not). His rebellion is focused on his earpiece, which presumably is his connection to the "mainframe" or central command center. In the scene in M1 where he tries to break Morpheus, he removes his earplug before he goes off on his anti-Matrix rant -- preventing his superiors and subordinates from detecting his discontent, and as it happens, clouding his clairvoyance so he doesn't realize that Neo and Trinity are attempting a rescue.

When Neo blasts him at the end of M1, he somehow removes Smith from the usual laws of the Matrix -- not only by being able to create an unlimited number of iterations of himself (all cracking their necks), but also severing the control that his superiors have over him. That's why he gave Neo his earpiece -- to show that he was now a free agent.

Most of the evidence thus far suggests that Neo cannot defeat the machines, the "human EMP" trick notwithstanding. The misnamed "One" phenomenon is a feature of the Matrix and one the machines are ready for. Perhaps it will be the Smiths that destroy the Matrix. I am reminded, for some reason, of that wonderful cheezefest
Hackers
where the kids try to bring down the "Gibson" by hitting it with a "rabbit" virus that propogates until it fills up the memory. Logic dictates that unless destroyed, the Smiths will one day fill up the Matrix and thus destroy it. Although with all their hopping around, it's a wonder that the Agents haven't filled landfills with their IMI Desert Eagles and skinny ties.

My point is, the Architect expected and prepared for Neo, but not for the Smiths.

A couple other notes:

1) Anyone else detect a subtle Snow Crash influence here? Particularly with the program affecting human minds? The W brothers' geek credentials dictate that the MUST have read SC.

2) I find it interesting that the baddies are called "machines" but there seem to be no sentient machines. The only intelligences we see are humans and programs, with both utilizing dumb machines.

jakeMay 28, 2003 at 2:53PM

jake- about 150 good posts on the same topic at Gothamist- lots of good ideas: http://www.gothamist.com/archive/002398.php

Ged ByrneMay 28, 2003 at 3:31PM

On the subject of free will, here is an interesting quote from BBC Radio4's Recent Reith Lectures by Vilayanur S Ramachandran

Take somebody and tell him or her, in the next ten minutes wiggle your finger whenever you feel like it three times. Just do it three times but whenever you feel like it, using your free will. They can do it all in the first one minute or wait till the ninth minute or tenth minute and the person uses his free will and wiggles his finger. Now you measure his brain potentials. The amazing thing is almost three-fourths of a second prior to his feeling that he has willed the movement of the finger, there's a brain potential you can detect - and you can predict he's going to move his finger. This is well known and it created a big controversy among philosophers. Doesn't this negate free will?

Theres been a lot of talk about machines not having free will, and since the humans do not have free will then they must be machines.

Well, as this observation confirms, our free will is somewhat questionable. When we consider will our finger to move, the choice was actually made some time before. It really is possible to tell somebody what they are about to do!

I think this gives an interesting perspective to what the Oracle says: 'You have already made your choice, but you don't know why you made that choice,' and, 'we cannot see beyond the choices we do not yet understand.'

I think the implication of Ramachandran's experiment is that our choices are not a product of our rational, logical, conscience brain. The choices are made somewhere deeper within our soul. What our conscience intelligence does is try to understand those choices, so that we can accurately act through on them.

Until we understand why we are just blindly following orders.

I think that the wall monitors represent the human decision process, so different to machine logic. Within the mind a myriad of possible throughts compete until one gains domination. The screens represent this thinking process.

When the Architect talks about Neo's decisition process he says 'Already a chemical reaction has given birth to an emotion...'

The architect is describing the human thinking process, not machine logic. Neo is human.


Ged ByrneMay 28, 2003 at 3:34PM

Another implication of the number 6 (rather than 5) is the mark of the beast: 666.

Revelation also talks of New Jerusulum (Zion is the mount upon which the temple of Jersulum was built.)

Should that be Matrix Revelation, rather than Revolution?

Ged ByrneMay 28, 2003 at 3:37PM

When Neo says 'Something has changed, I can feel them' is he actually referring to the Sentinals?

Could he be referring to the Submarine that comes into ECG range just in time? Is it his link to Smith/Bane that he is feeling?

Jason R.May 28, 2003 at 3:39PM

I find this thread very enlightening, and I just wanted to add my three cents on it. It seems to me that the character of Bane/Baine/Smith-in-the-real-world cuts his hands because he's "human". I read an article somewhere talking about this, and I have to agree with it. Smith has always wanted to be "free" and inside of Bane he is indeed free. He has never FELT pain or any sort of emotion, which is why he cuts his hand. It seems to beg the question: with all of this "emotion" from Smith's character, does he end of helping Neo in the end of Revolutions?

Hopefully someone hasn't mentioned this before, but if you did, my bad. glitch in the matrix i suppose. (wow, I can see that one becoming the new cliche of the century)

Ged ByrneMay 28, 2003 at 3:41PM

If the Architect is talking about the Oracle, he says it was an Intuitive program design to explore the human Pshyke.

Is the Oracles real name Eliza? Is that why she can never give a straight answer to a question?

You: Am I the One?
Eliza: Would you want to be the one?


Ged ByrneMay 28, 2003 at 3:46PM

On second viewing I think I understand the purpose of the temple rave sceen.

When they arrive at Zion Link declares that its good to be home.

Looking at their existance on Zion I afraid this doesn't ring true. No wonder Cypher wanted to go back to the Matrix!

So it was necessary to make Zion desirable. We are therefore given Link's family and the temple rave to show that life in Zion really is worth living.

CarolynMay 28, 2003 at 4:11PM

The survivor at the end of the movie was smith. Near the beginning, he "took over" that goatee guy's body and then exited the matrix into Zion. He also tried to kill Neo at one point when they were leaving to go and see the oracle. The "survivor" was also responsible for sabotaging the counter attack on the sentinals.

RayneMay 28, 2003 at 4:50PM

Whoa! who'da guessed a sequel would ever generate this much actual THINKING about the spiritual and metaphysical worlds?

Before reading this thread I believed Architect = God, and that perhaps the point is that as humans learn to make the right choice, there is no need for God. So...why didn't Neo wipe up the floor with the Architect? Wouldn't you do that with a software architect who requires 5+ iterations to produce yet another anomalous function?

Perhaps that's not the case after all; perhaps the Architect is a more sinister role, manifest Evil, that which is calculated and not felt, inhuman not human...perhaps Evil = predestination, pre-ordination, a complete void of real choice.

Whichever case, post-birth and pre-death consciousness is a construct, whether authentic or veridical. It's predicated on genetic, memetic limitations and experiences; finding a way outside of these pre-determined limiters may be the very challenge which makes us super-conscious, super-human.

BrianMay 28, 2003 at 4:59PM

Right, said Ged:
Is the Oracles real name Eliza? Is that why she can never give a straight answer to a question?

Pah! Great one, Ged! Now we know how the Brothers really scripted the Oracle. :-)

EdMay 28, 2003 at 5:23PM

According to the gnosticism on which The Matrix triology appears to be heavily based, the creator of the false world in which we are trapped--in this case, the Architect of the Matrix--would not be God, but Satan. So that would fit right in with your latest conclusion, Rayne.

I still want to know why he wanted The One to reload the matrix in each of the last 5 iterations, but now appears to want Neo to make the choice that will lead to the death of all humanity.

RayneMay 28, 2003 at 5:50PM

Ed -- the Architect only offers one of two solutions, and we all know life's rarely that simple. If Evil is that which is calculable, perhaps the choice is the incalculable, or the selection of ALL OF THE ABOVE or NONE OF THE ABOVE which were not offered.

If Neo makes no choice, what's the outcome?
If Neo takes out the Architect, what's the outcome?

I'm still left with these two options hanging unresolved since my first assessment, where Architect = God...but now a new wrinkle, a la Christ and a host of other sacrificed gods before Him:

What if Neo simply kills himself, making the supreme sacrifice to remove The One from the equation and remove the issue of Choice from the Architect's design?

Hmm.

Nuts, now I'm going to have to go and rethink this all over again. I might even have to break down and see the movie tomorrow a second time, falling yet again into the morass that is "The Matrix-Commercial Success".



Spoon BoyMay 28, 2003 at 5:56PM

Rayne says:

Before reading this thread I believed Architect = God,...

...Perhaps that's not the case after all; perhaps the Architect is a more sinister role, manifest Evil


There has been much speculation regarding the Architect's "intentions", and people have naturally been referring to the Architect as a "he". I think of the Architect not as a personality, but the underlying logic driving A.I. which has been manifested in a male character so that we as a human audience can conceptualize such an abstract entity in the story. Think of the Architect as the binary file. Depending on who you ask and when, you'll find differing opinions about whether the binary is good or evil. lol.

RTFB Neo!



jayMay 28, 2003 at 7:08PM

A couple of people have touched on this: the characters in these movies are far from reliable. How do we know we can trust what the Oracle or the Architect or anyone tells us? We basically see the action as Neo perceives it, and we know he has a history of being deceived. Even when we think we understand a character's motivations, his beliefs are suspect. Proving anything concrete about this story is very difficult when the validity of our evidence is so suspect. I think that's part of the point.

To whoever said that Minority Report was Matrix-influenced, you have it backwards. Nobody's pointed it out in this thread, so I'll say for the record that Minority Report was based on a short story written by Philip K. Dick back in the 60's. Nobody's mentioned Blade Runner in the context of man / machine ambiguity, either. That was based on a Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? If the questions about perception and reality raised by The Matrix interest you, I recommend reading some Dick. That stuff's all over his work.

Regarding the Architect's choice of words:
I prefer counting from the emergence of one integral anomaly to the emergence of the next, in which case this is the sixth version.
Someone said that the word implied that the anomaly was designed by the Architect. I took "integral" to mean "a whole," meaning the manifestation of the anomaly as a being, The One. The dual definition of "essential" is interesting, but I don't think it means that the anomaly exists by design. In fact, I think that by saying it is essential, he implies that it is not designed. It is inherent in the system, and the system can only hope to control it.

Your five predecessors were, by design, based on a similar predication, a contingent affirmation that was meant to create a profound attachment to the rest of your species, facilitating the function of The One.
I think that the Architect refers to design as a conditioning of Anderson's personality rather than the construction of his consciousness. If I remember correctly, when this line is spoken the monitors show scenes from Anderson's life. This implies that the machines know that he is The One all along and breed him to act according to their plan. This contradicts the supposition in the first movie (presented by Morpheus, I believe) that the agents don't know who The One is and are trying to find him. Of course, it's possible that the agents aren't aware of the larger plan or that Morpheus is misinformed.

On free will: there's an interesting interview in the first issue of The Believer with philosopher Galen Strawson who believes that free will as we know it is impossible. I wish I had his proof in front of me, but it basically states that every decision we make is based on a combination of our genetics and environmental experience. Any attempt to say that experience is effected by previous decisions could be refuted by saying that all previous decisions were based on the environmental conditions brought about by previous decisions. I'm not sure I like it, and my description is almost certainly flawed, but it does relate to the idea that Neo could be controlled by being fed certain environmental conditions throughout his life. Note that saying there is no free will is not the same thing as saying there is predestination. Even if there is no ultimate choice involved in my decisions, there is no way to absolutely predict my actions. So, all the machines can do is guide Neo and hope that he turns out ok. After all, the universe is inherently probablistic.

Which brings me to my final point: Even computers have a chance of miscalculating due to the nature of electricity. Even though algorithms are deterministic, the implementation of them is not. It is possible for a computer to return 2+2=5, however highly unlikely. Increase the complexity to something like the matrix, and you're bound to have the occasional problem. Especially if you're building vampires into the thing and expecting rogue processes to terminate themselves. No wonder it needs to be patched and rebooted occasionally.

Ok, sorry I was so long-winded. I hope some of this is meaningful to somebody. Keep thinking.

MikeMay 28, 2003 at 8:27PM

"On free will: there's an interesting interview in the first issue of The Believer with philosopher Galen Strawson who believes that free will as we know it is impossible."

Can someone explain to me why debate over free will didn't end with the atomic bomb? I once had a high school physics teacher break down how time is non-linear -- ie Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday becomes Tuesday, Monday, Wednesday, depending on where you are and how fast you are traveling -- from the given that the speed of light is constant, which is a foundation of nuclear physics. The only difference between the past and the future is that you remember the past, and don't remember the future.

"Before reading this thread I believed Architect = God, and that perhaps the point is that as humans learn to make the right choice, there is no need for God... Perhaps that's not the case after all; perhaps the Architect is a more sinister role, manifest Evil..."

From the emphasis of control as a theme, and how it eludes even the Architect of the Matrix, it appears to me as if he fits comfortable again into the role of Grail King.

Of course, Satan can also be interpreted as a grail king, refusing to bow before Man in some versions because of his devotion to God.

"Ack! Thpfth! Okay, when we're teetering on the edge of comparisons to Tolkien, it's time to back up the truck... I would like to suggest that for a moment we helicopter back up a few thousand feet and take another look at what The Matrix was: a very smart, tightly-written allegory about how we are controlled by society."

Well, the Matrix is an allegory about control, and LOTR is an allegory about the relationship between ego, gratification, and the soul. That doesn't sound all that different to me.

I hope no one minds if I balance out the pro-Bush Lileks link by referring to the Bush-critical Maureen Down speaking of the Matrix.

MikeMay 28, 2003 at 9:37PM

Dowd: http://www.sltrib.com/2003/May/05202003/commenta/commenta.asp

ChrisMay 28, 2003 at 11:41PM

I just went and saw reloaded again today, and while i was watching the credits again i saw something very interesting:

theres a credit for a "young thomas anderson". I didnt see him in reloaded but is it possible he somehow features in revolutions but was credited in reloaded anyway.

its interesting to think what that could mean.

EdMay 29, 2003 at 12:26AM

Pretty sure the various "Thomas Anderson, Age 4" etc are credits for the videos shown of Neo's life while he's speaking to the Architect.

By the way, a theory for why the Architect changed things in the 6th iteration so Neo would kill everyone is that he's gone over the heads of the other machines to force the end of mankind. This makes a certain amount of sense, considering the Agents aren't in on all the relevant info, and would explain why the Architect doesn't just kill everyone himself: he can't. He has to trick Neo into doing his bidding, because otherwise the other machines would never do it themselves.

It's the first alternative I've thought of to the machines being restricted by some kind of Prime Directive, anyway.

CarolynMay 29, 2003 at 4:17AM

I just read the entire page and apologize for repeating, 16 other people. Spoon boy, you are a genius.

I have a question or two.

1) why was it that after neo exited the left door, the whole place exloded? Did anyone else find that confusing? Was it just for effects, so that we could see Neo flying out of a burning building on his way to save Trinity, or is there some deeper meaning?

2) I looked up some stuff about Merovingian and the myths and legends behind it and found a nine page explanation. It was purely some guys theory on it, but what I gathered from it is that Neo and the Merovingian might be brothers, in a cain and able/jesus satan way. I totally disagree with the theory that Merovingian could be and ex-one because he repeatedly refers to that fact that he "survived your predecesors" and things like that. But then when I think about it again and factor in Persophone's lines, like she used to know what it was like, refering to the relationship between neo and trinity, and she envied trinity such a thing. Also, they were on floor 101, and the merovingian could manipulate the matrix, like neo, the cake. But maybe this is just because they are one and the same and just happened to choose different paths. The different paths would also coincide with persephone as the wife of hades.

I thought that I was obsessed with the matrix, and I thought that I understood it pretty good, but after reading all of this, I think that I need that learn more before I can understand it all to my satisfaction. The W brothers are genius.

CarolynMay 29, 2003 at 4:24AM

What about the twins, are they out of the picture? They were a lot of fun.

The SpoonMay 29, 2003 at 10:22AM

I am a little surprised no-one has picked this up, but the character that Smith possessed was actually named Cain, not Bane(Bain). Sort of puts a more Cain and Able spin on that connection.

Another thing I would like to comment on, there is a lot of talk about Smith not being able to leave the matrix(and therefore that his avatar in the real world implies that the real world is just another simulation), but in M1, we are told that agents can move in and out of any hardware(read human mind) still hardwired to the system. Why is it so hard to believe then that the new and improved Smith has not been able to find a way to do this external to the system and enter a freed human mind?

Just my thoughts, please proceed to rebuke them :-)

The Spoon.

RayneMay 29, 2003 at 11:42AM

My first supposition upon seeing Smith "migrate" to a human "host" is that he's now viral, replicating at will in any suitable carrier. If Smith was more memetic at first, he's now transferred through "infection" to genetic level, embedded. His run-in with Neo may have broken the limitation which kept Smith a veridical virus; he now can transcend and infect both the authentic and veridical worlds.

Someone upthread suggested that Smith might replicate out of control and take over the Matrix...which prompted a recollection from Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel". A disease does not completely kill off all its potential hosts; it stops at a limit of roughly 10% of the population. This group has either acquired some genetic immunity to the disease or the disease has a "prime directive" not to entirely eliminate itself by eliminating all hosts. Smith, if truly viral, couldn't take over the Matrix or Zion.

Nuts, I was done thinking about this stuff and I'm going to have to hash it all over again, now that I'm on the meme/gene/viral transmission train.

zachMay 29, 2003 at 12:33PM

There are some excellent explanations and views right HERE.

zachMay 29, 2003 at 12:45PM

Here is something that make you go to the former link:


"As the Architect reveals, Neo is not the first One, but rather the sixth. Why the sixth? The answer is that Neo's five previous incarnations represent the Five Books of Moses that make up the Old Testament. Neo (representing Christ, and thus the New Testament) differs from his five predecessors in his capacity to love. In the work of Origen of Alexandria and other early Christian writers, it is love ("eros" in Greek) that compels Christ to come down from the heavens to redeem humanity. Furthermore, "neo" means "new"—as in "New Covenant." In Neo, the machines have finally found the iteration of the One who will make the illogical choice of saving Trinity and dooming humanity. [Note to the theology geeks who've been e-mailing me: I know the difference between eros and agape, but both terms are apropos for reasons I'd have to delve into pre-Socratic philosophy to explain.]



This is the Architect's real purpose in giving Neo a choice between two doors. At once all human and all machine, rather than being a device to refine the Matrix into a more perfect simulation of reality, re-found Zion, and thus continue the endless cycle of death and rebirth—as the Architect says he is—the purpose of the One is to be manipulated into destroying all of humanity. However, not having free will themselves, the machines are not able to comprehend it in others—and thus Neo, being also human, is a bit of a wild card. It is Neo's destiny—as was Christ's in Origen's theology—to break the cycle of death and rebirth, and offer humanity a new future. This is shown by the fact that, by the end of the movie, Neo (and also, incidentally, Smith) gain power in the "real world"—which shows that he has power not only over the first—level simulated world of the Matrix, but also the second-level simulation of Zion."

Cool.

Spoon BoyMay 29, 2003 at 1:11PM

Carolyn says:

why was it that after neo exited the left door, the whole place exloded? Did anyone else find that confusing?


I wondered about that. I ended up attribuiting it to adrenaline from Neo, (perhaps unintentionally) manipulating his surroundings with his energy. Similar to the way he made the pavement "ripple" around him immediately prior to launch.

the merovingian...the cake

Devil's Food. :)

The Spoon says:
...the character that Smith possessed was actually named Cain, not Bane(Bain). Sort of puts a more Cain and Able spin on that connection.


Aha, cool. Cain and Abel. Only this time it was "the able" which destroyed Cain.

btw, I tried sending an email to [email protected], but Micro$oft bounced it back telling me there is no such recipient. ;)




RayneMay 29, 2003 at 2:11PM

zach -- that's some really lucid sh*t that Mondschein wrote at corporatemofo.com. One of the best all-around assessments.

Thanks for the link.

steve minutilloMay 29, 2003 at 2:31PM

There's one other 101 reference not yet mentioned: In the scene where Trinity hacks the power station using nmap and a real-life SSH exploit, she resets the root password to

Z1ON0101

Spoon BoyMay 29, 2003 at 2:42PM

steve minutillo says:
There's one other 101 reference not yet mentioned: In the scene where Trinity hacks the power station using nmap and a real-life SSH exploit, she resets the root password to...


Insane. That gives us no less than four references to 101. Why do I think there's @ least five? Maybe six? Ponder on...


ArielMay 29, 2003 at 3:17PM

My less-than-philosophical question:

In the beginning of the film, when Neo wakes from his dream about Trinity's death, he wakes up beside her in bed. Why, then, when they returned to Zion did Neo and Trinity get all "love in an elevator" on each other ... as if they hadn't had the chance to be intimate in ages? Is there an abstinence clause for Neb crewmembers? Neo and Trinity obviously shared a bed on the ship, so why was the return to Zion such a sexual release?

EdMay 29, 2003 at 3:39PM

The guy Smith infects is named Bane. The two "werewolves"--the earlier Matrix agents in the Merovingian's service, one of which Persephone shoots--are named Cain and Abel, however. I think that's in the video game, though to be honest I'm starting to lose track of what I've heard where.

CarolynMay 29, 2003 at 4:09PM

How about...

Why is it that neo trusts the architect?

I think that the architect makes it seem like there is no real world, that everything is a matrix, but that is just repeating what other people have said so, refer to above threads. I agree that it would suck if the Ws ended it clichely esspecially since the movie are so outstandingly original.

I watched for the merovingian in the trailer at the end of the credits, but didn't see him. I still think that he will play a pivotal role in the third.

I am going to go see it again.

DanielMay 29, 2003 at 5:28PM

Carolyn says:

why was it that after neo exited the left door, the whole place exloded? Did anyone else find that confusing?


All the doors in the building were wired to explode, remember? That was why they needed to kill the power first. Dropping the power grid for a short time allowed them to enter. Presumably it came back up while Neo was inside. As soon as he opened the door back that lead back into the Matrix, the bomb went off.

Yep, Neo's fast alright.

NotAnyRonMay 29, 2003 at 6:07PM

You can check out my reviews on Stinky Cinema. The original Matrix is here and the Matrix Reloaded is here.

NotAnyRonMay 29, 2003 at 6:09PM

Broken link in the last post: The Matrix Reloaded is here.

mattMay 29, 2003 at 6:30PM

If the "apartment 110" theory is correct, and the 3rd movie ends where the first began (albeit at the next iteration of the matrix), why did the directors end episode 2 with "to be concluded" rather than the more traditional "to be continued"?

IMO, the nested-realities theory will make for a very unsatisfying (not to mention inconclusive) conclusion.

But, fans of that approach are advised to read Jack L. Chalker's "Wonderland Gambit" trilogy. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it here. I'm sure the W brothers have read it; too many of the concepts in The Matrix are similar. In fact, Chalker had this to say, in Aug. '99:

"Been getting some mail about the motion picture The Matrix noting just how many elements of it were lifted almost verbatim from The Wonderland Gambit. It's true, and they stole them and that's why I got nothing, no credits, no money, from it. Were I in better shape financially it would be worth going after them, but, alas, unless you know a contingency lawyer with Hollywood experience willing to take it on it's just going to have to be another rip-off that Hollywood is famous for. And if they don't like me saying that, then let them sue me!..." source: http://www.jackchalker.com/oldnews.html

Here's the 1st book of the Wonderland trilogy at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345386906

(FWIW, I read all three books in that trilogy and I felt ripped off too. What goes around comes around, eh, Jack?)

Marty MC FlyMay 29, 2003 at 6:50PM

Proofing the loop ending of matrix trilogy...

While I were watching The Matrix Revolutions teaser with slow motion...I realized that straightforward to the end of the teaser there is a train (named LOOP) coming through to screen...I don't think this is coincidence...;)

Joe KaczmarekMay 29, 2003 at 8:28PM

2 things:

Trinity Falling

I noticed this viewing the trailer multiple times before the movie came out, and then noticed it in the movie. I'm curious if anyone else has noticed this and if it is a goof or not. As Trinity is falling, you can see reflections of lights on the building she is falling out of (at the bottom of the screen). However, these reflections appear to be falling at the same rate as she is, while the camera is not falling but panning from right to left. Is this just an optical illusion, or did they goof in rendering this scene?

Mother of the Matrix

Thanks to Lance for posting a link to the script of Neo and the Architect above. Reading I now think I'm even more right that Persephone is the mother of the Matrix. Why? The Architect says that this program was "created to investigate certain aspects of the human psyche"... love. Which, Persephone is not only the Greek goddess of love, but she also wants to kiss everyone like they kiss their lover perhaps as a way to further study this aspect of the human psyche.

Spoon BoyMay 29, 2003 at 8:34PM

matt says:
If the "apartment 110" theory is correct, and the 3rd movie ends where the first began (albeit at the next iteration of the matrix), why did the directors end episode 2 with "to be concluded" rather than the more traditional "to be continued"?


I think you may have answered your own question. A "traditional" vanilla ending would seem misplaced in such an extraordinary story, wouldn't it? :)

Marty MC Fly says:
Proofing the loop ending of matrix trilogy...
While I were watching The Matrix Revolutions teaser with slow motion...I realized that straightforward to the end of the teaser there is a train (named LOOP) coming through to screen...I don't think this is coincidence...;)


GREAT SCOTT! ATTA BOY, MARTY! Say hi to your mom for me.

CarolynMay 29, 2003 at 10:03PM

Persephone is not only the Greek goddess of love

Persephone is not the greek goddess of love, that is aphrodite, Persephone is the wife of hades.

I don't think that the 110 theory can be correct. That would only fly if neo picked the right door and decided to restart the program. But he chose that left door...

I read it up there earlier, but someone remind me of the significance of room 303 in the first Matrix please.

I just got back from watching it again and this time I took notes.

1) There were 12 councelors, not 11, I counted twice.

2) The agent whom smith puddings, is seen again during the car chase and during the fight/fall with trinity, can people be unpuddinged?

3) I was watching for 101 references and I found another. During the smith fight the grafiti on the bricks spells out one o one. And while Trinity is dying, her heartrate is 110, not 101.

4) The guy smith puddinged was named Bane.

Do we know the name of the boy that neo saved/didn't save?
Sereph said that the oracle had many enimies, but who are they?
While talking to the oracle, neo is told to go to the source. But then when he is talking to the merovingian, the mero accuses him of not having a "why" to want the keymaker. Why doesn't neo use the "why" he has to get the keymaker?

Also, there is a lotus blossom in front of the Merovingian while he is talking to neo, The lotus symbolizes purity, peace and compassion, as well as fertility, in Buddhism. Kind of ironic don't you think?
What about the Merovingian as a search engine? He says himself that he is a trafficer of information.

The nubmer 12 is repeated mulitiple times, while refering to time, They have 12 minutes left and everything happens at 12 o'clock. Is there anything significant in this?

Also, at the end, neo stops the sentinals, kils them, then they fall. They do not stop themselves.

They also found one, only one survivor, another reference of one?

Spoon BoyMay 29, 2003 at 11:06PM

Carolyn,

Good stuff. Trip out on your item 3.

I don't think that the 110 theory can be correct. That would only fly if neo picked the right door and decided to restart the program. But he chose that left door...

All the other revolutions came out of their Neo's choice of left door also. Hope, the quintessential human delusion, must prevail after all.

Brook says:
Spoon Boy has no life. Looser.


Probably just jealous because I can make silverware float in the air. And yes, quite loose I hang.


EdMay 30, 2003 at 1:16AM

Well, 12--the number of signs of the zodiac--is about the most significant number of mythology (along with 7, the number of heavenly bodies visible to the naked eye). There could be a few other astrological signifiers floating around here--the twins as Gemini, Jesus' ties to Pisces--but other than 12 being a big old holy number, one often associated with cycles, I'm not sure there's a whole lot to it.

Astrological significance may be a very buried part of the Matrix mythology, though. For instance, Neo is born around 2150-2170, which is exactly one zodiacal year after Jesus was crucified. Then the Oracle tells the future, the ostensible purpose of most astrology. Any other correlations, or are these just coincidences?

If Neo can be linked to Saturn, Aquarius, or the number 1080, then it'll be clear the Brothers Wachowski are just as versed in astrology as they seem to be in everything else.

Need to watch Revolutions pleeaseeMay 30, 2003 at 4:22AM

The matrix within the matrix theory would be the biggest dissapointment. I mean, who hasn't seen low budget matrix aka The 13th floor. That is what happens, there is a virtual world inside the virtual world. I don't think WB would spend so much money and such a great original plot on such a bad conclusion. Besides, if there in fact was a Matrix within the Matrix Neo would see Zion/Zionetes/Sentinels in code and agents could all get out (after all they are sentinel programs that can move in and out of every software and thus in and out everyone in the matrix and the matrix within the matrix if it does exist ).

Another interesting thing is that the whole Zion council seems to be in on it with the machines. Counsel Hammar or whatever his name was calls Neo "only human", the same as the agents in the matrix. Besides he insists on how machines depend on humans and viceversa, which the Architect then points out too by telling him that he can rebuild Zion by saving the matrix or save trin at the cost of losing Zion and every human in the matrix . Then, they send 2 more ships to help tha Neb, which then casually is the number they need. Council Hammar also says more machine like phrases:
"that's the problem with people, they don't care how it works as long as it works"
and "I don't fully understand this world" but he insists that it has a purpose. He also says he does not understand Neo (the anomaly) and wish they do before it is too late (too late for the machines maybe, the matrix?)

In regard to Neo's powers outside the Matrix it can't be because of Smith's attempt to copy himself into him, because this would mean Morpheus, who suffered the same thing, would have this powers too.

Another interesting thing here is Merovingio. His wife says he was like "Neo" once and that he had saved some agents from past versions of the matrix. Merovingio says he has survived Neo's predecessors. Could it be that this Mervingio is a past version of The One living in exile like the others? Maybe this is why he can describe the code of the blonde woman who eats the cake so good, because he sees the code too (and says: you see it neo, don't you). Maybe he is tired of the whole cycle and that is why he does not want to give up the keymaker and help Neo save the matrix.

Anyways, like they say... we can think on 1,000,000 different possibilities, yet the most possible to be true are the other millions we haven't thought about.

I think the 101 theory is good but it is just too much. Maybe the Wachowski Brothers don't even know what binary code is.

Agent Smith also says at the beginning: "everything is happening like before except for (this, us?)". This means there is something different in comparison to the other 5 other ones and matrix versions. Trinity is one, Smith is two and the choice neo takes makes three. In the Revolutions trailer we can hear the Oracle telling Neo he must stop Smith or if not that could be the end of everything. Smith has a bigger role yet to play in the plot, besides being just the bad guy. He also says to Neo at the white corridor he has a purpose and neo and neo doesn't know it. He says it because he delays them from entering the door before they could and thus saves them from dying.

how did tank diedMay 30, 2003 at 4:56AM

maybe the council was the last anomaly, that is why he says what he says. Mabe his council was the people he chose to rebuild the matrix that is why the council is so aware of the dangers of the attack and of the importance of saving the Neb.

by the way... how did tank died???????

unpluggggggggMay 30, 2003 at 4:58AM

it's all real!!! wake up....the matrix has you

matthewMay 30, 2003 at 7:31AM

Persephone said Merovingio was different "when we first came here". came here from where? trinity and morpheus even share a look on that line.


Nathan PitmanMay 30, 2003 at 8:36AM

Did anyone else think that the scene where the ship is guided back to zion and you see the 'air traffic control' staff at work was:

1 - Very Minority Report esque...?
2 - Totally at odds in visual 'style' to the rest of the film...?

How come they had floaty touchscreens, and yet the ships have LCDs and bog standard tatty looking keyboards.... :?

Hmm...

Spoon BoyMay 30, 2003 at 10:02AM

Nathan Pitman says:
Did anyone else think that the scene where the ship is guided back to zion and you see the 'air traffic control' staff at work was:

1 - Very Minority Report esque...?
2 - Totally at odds in visual 'style' to the rest of the film...?

How come they had floaty touchscreens, and yet the ships have LCDs and bog standard tatty looking keyboards.... :?


"Zion Control", which is the white "Minority Report" room you speak of, exists in the Zion mainframe and is not part of the same "real world" that the Neb resides. Instead, the Zion Control staff must enter a virtual reality program, much like the "loading program" from the first film where Neo did all his training. This is for security purposes, so that the "physical" machines can't destroy the mainframe from the outside world. They must do so *from within* the Matrix.

Next time you watch it, notice the brief shot immediately prior to the "Minority Report" scene. You'll see the two traffic controllers (middle aged white woman and black man) asleep in their Matrix dental chairs.



Keith AMay 30, 2003 at 12:48PM

It always perpelexes me how people see only the Christian symbolism in this movie and fail to see the Marxist symbolism. The Matrix is capitalism. The program of the Matrix is our False Conciousness. The batteries are the workers. It goes on an on. The Christian symbolism is there, but more important is the Marxist symbolism.

Spoon BoyMay 30, 2003 at 2:31PM

Matrix's: an anagram of Marxist.

adamMay 30, 2003 at 3:33PM

The Matrix is capitalism. The program of the Matrix is our False Conciousness. The batteries are the workers. It goes on an on.

Interesting Keith, I’ll admit my ignorance of Marxism here, so would you mind expanding on how the Matrix is symbolic of capitalism? Based on your other references that the “batteries are workers”, and the “program is false consciousness”, wouldn’t this conclude that the free market economy is completely driven by Marxist theories rather than the “invisible hand” of supply and demand? Is this a fundamental precept of Marxist thought?

DaveMay 30, 2003 at 5:00PM

No one has spotted this yet (and I have to credit it to a friend, Josh) but the following is REALLY cool:

Rewatch The Matrix. After Neo is caught by the agents, he's taken into an interrogation room somewhere. The shot right before the camera moves into the room they're in is one of many, many video displays. Before Revolutions, I thought that was the vantage point of the security room of the police station. Now I know, THIS IS THE ARCHITECT'S ROOM. Watch it, there is no mistaking it. (Afterall, a security room would never show the same picture on every screen.)

I don't quite know where to take this, but it certainly shows how thoughtfully these films have been constructed. It also shows how pre-ordained The One's life is, as The Architect has been watching him before even he knew he was The One.

Juan Fernando CarpioMay 30, 2003 at 7:15PM


That the Matrix is capitalism is just plain ridiculous and shows ignorance of economic theory and facts.

On the contrary, if you want to apply the movie´s concepts to social theory, the Matrix would be the State, we taxpayers are the batteries, and the establishment, the political class, lives off our backs.

Free people create, companies create, we are the Atlas of the world, sustaining the parasites. Forget Marx and his labor theory (which by the way, he took from Adam Smith, a protomarxian economist) and read Franz Oppenheimer on the State. He divides people into two possible occupations: producers and parasites (he is an anarcoleftist, but really lucid). So, the Matrix is the delusional need for politics in our lives and we all need to reawaken to that fact. (Thomas Jefferson must be reloaded).

AMYMay 31, 2003 at 5:01AM

Ah Theo!!! Thank you~~

Theo says:
Another one to watch out for: Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in The Matrix. Next month witnesses the publication of The Gospel Reloaded: Exploring Spirituality and Faith in The Matrix; I remain doubtful about this one--Christians cling to Neo as if he were their very own, when he belongs to the pantheon of traditions from which W brothers culled material.

Check it out: http://killingthebuddha.com/

I just have to say that the Christians NEED TO LET GO OF THE SAVIOR....this whole movie is about rejecting the dominant paradigm and trying to cull out the real BONES of the matter--when it comes to religion--there is CLEARLY an understanding that most religions share a very SIMILAR COSMOLOGY and Neo would probably have to be the Buddha before Christ...LEARN YOUR CULTURES people--this has EASTERN RELIGION written all over it.

Of course it has tons! of very christian references but that is specifically because of the idea that living within and completely accepting any paradigm is simply inhuman. i don't know...something for you to consider...i just wanted to throw that out there...like my favorite Religion teacher always said--

YOU WON'T BE FREE UNTIL YOU ACCEPT THAT NO ONE IS DRIVING THE CAR!!!!

amyMay 31, 2003 at 5:14AM

ANOTHER THOUGHT--WHILE I AM RANTING....

if anyone checks the movie out in the next couple of days--tell me how many people sitting on the council are black--because there sure are a lot of black folks in Zion...i hadn't noticed until parapesa pointed it out...

more importantly though...i was shocked at the way black folks were portrayed in this movie--IT WAS HORRIBLE...i really like the matrix, but the more i think about it, the more i realize that the issue of race in this movie is far from negligible...

what keyed me in was when Link came home to his wife (i assume) and said "Where's my puss-" only to be interrupted by the kids. Who in the hell greets their wife that way?

It completely reinforces a hypersexualized black stereoptype

As does the relationship between Morpheus-Niobe (nice--is that an AFRICAN name)-and the Defense Minister (what's his name?): We see obvious sexual tension play out right away--showing that neither man can focus fully on his job because of his inability to be rational and Niobe is just a pawn that they are fighting over.

So Morpheus and Niobe run ships--don't we always send the black man to the front lines first to die?

I won't even comment on the animal like albino twins--i think"R" covered that.

And then the Oracle--or Mammy--or if you wan't just call her Aunt Jemima--

sure she is wise--but it's wisdom based on intuition and openly scoffed at by THE ARCHITECT (PLEASE QUIT COMPARING HIM TO GOD).

i dont know--I think we live in a society with major problems when the movie has been out this long and no major stink has been raised about any of this...especailly that where's my pussy comment!

UlicusMay 31, 2003 at 8:18AM

I've really, really enjoyed reading this thread, its been great. I have to say Kudos to most of you, esp. with the binary thing. :)

Right anyway, I've found something interesting about Neo being the '6th' one (though 5 in binary)

In biblical terms-

"SIX - Denotes the human number. Man was created on the sixth day; and this first occurrence of the number makes it (and all multiples of it) the hall-mark of all connected with man."

Well, I believe the meaning of this is obvious- Neo is far more human than his predessors in that he feels overwhelming love for one person. The others took a rationalised 'machine like' choice in the right door (symbolism of right and left polically?) whilst Neo made his choice based through irrational and overwhelming love for a person, far more human than the last 5 'ones'. (Though I believe that they were all human, not programs- not that I can't see the latter being a possibility)

As for the number 12 someone wanted to know its significance- Again, biblically-

"TWELVE - Denotes Governmental perfection. It is the number or factor of all numbers connected with government: whether by Tribes or Apostles, or in measurements of time, or in things which have to do with government in the heavens and the earth."

Well that fits in nicely with the Architects rant about being bound by the parimeters of perfection nicely doesn't it? As well as the fact that the Matrix represents an order not too disimilar of a tyranical government.

I've seen quite a large amount of people 'bashing'(though not in an evil way) Christians over their clinging to Neo as 'their very own'. However, though I am firmly agnostic myself, not seeing Neo as an allegory for Jesus or the literal second coming is rather foolish and almost as if you are looking the other way, "How dare they include anything to do with Christianity in a movie, any other religions fine, but we hate Christianity". Sure, he also has elements of the Buddha's reaching of enlightenment, but his primary link is that with Jesus.

Thomas Anderson for a start literally means "Twin Son of Man".

This is not to say that I diregard all the other references to other cultures, religions and ideas. Hell no, I love the fact that the Wachowskis have managed to merge them all into a harmonious whole since I am very, very fond of religion as a form of mythology, unfortunatly I'm too much of a doubting Thomas (another Neo link, what with his inital doubts about his abilities) to actually have the conviction to follow a religion.

As for the Bane/Smith cutting himself I have to disagree with everyone on this. People have said its because he enjoys inflicting pain on a human, other people have said its because he likes to feel emotion. Far from it. Can anyone remember how appalled Smith was by humanity in the first Matrix film? How he was always disgusted with them and classified them as a virus? I think that he's cutting himself because he is disgusted with having to be inside a human body, its driving him insane because now he really has been 'infected' in a way. (I also like the irony of Smith classing the humans as a virus, only to become one himself)

Anyway, having seen this film two times I love it to bits. And sorry, but all those people complaining about the obviousness of the computer generated Neo, PURRRR-LEASEEEE. I mean, the only REALLY REALLY obvious one was when he leapt in the air and span around with his pole (oops, that came out wrong) during the Smith fight. And that was just becaue the clothes looked really dodgy.

(I'm glad that the 'Superman Pose from Action comics' was picked up on by other people, that was funny)

Well, I ranted a bit so sorry about that.

Ciao. I'll be reading you all later.

Ulicus.

Corey CohenMay 31, 2003 at 2:47PM

On Amy's rant about black stereotyping:
If that was a joke, sorry for posting this
That has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Just stop it. Please. I have no need to elaborate further.

RayneMay 31, 2003 at 3:09PM

From Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: [1]bane
Pronunciation: 'bAn
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English bana; akin to Old High German bano death
Date: before 12th century
1 a : obsolete : KILLER, SLAYER b : POISON c : DEATH, DESTRUCTION d : WOE
2 : a source of harm or ruin : CURSE ?


A little obvious, but then who exactly will be the ultimate target of Bane?

amyMay 31, 2003 at 6:39PM

Corey--i am not sure how they could have been misconstrued as a joke and i am fairly positive that i am not the only one that feels this way--and I won't stop--Hollywood is one of the most racist industries in this country. The banal acceptance of such racism by mainstream americans doesn't make it okay.

amyMay 31, 2003 at 6:39PM

Corey--i am not sure how they could have been misconstrued as a joke and i am fairly positive that i am not the only one that feels this way--and I won't stop--Hollywood is one of the most racist industries in this country. The banal acceptance of such racism by mainstream americans doesn't make it okay.

Spoon BoyMay 31, 2003 at 8:31PM

More on six:

During the fight between Neo and Merovingian's thugs, a shot depicts a guy falling backwards through the railing and onto the marble floor. The floor has a design of a six-pointed star containing a hexagon. It also has three human figures within the hex. Not sure if this is a classic piece of art; if you know, please enlighten us.

Carolyn,

I checked out the courtyard scene w/ the Oracle leading up to the Neo vs. 101 Smiths fight. Indeed, one wall has the word "ONE" spray painted on it, rotated counter-clockwise 90 degrees. A second wall has the words "ONEONE". Not "One-o-one", but I suppose one could argue that it means the same thing, phrased differently. "One (hundred) one". etc. A third wall has "D-MAN", if anybody cares to search for relevance in that.

amy says:

Niobe (nice--is that an AFRICAN name)


No, it's from Greek mythology. Maybe you should try looking it up next time before shooting your mouth off.


theJanMay 31, 2003 at 11:46PM


Amy says:
Corey--i am not sure how they could have been misconstrued as a joke and i am fairly positive that i am not the only one that feels this way--and I won't stop--Hollywood is one of the most racist industries in this country. The banal acceptance of such racism by mainstream americans doesn't make it okay.


Sorry Amy, but I think you're misguided.
Sure Hollywood may have a problem with this, but not in this movie. Morpheus an Niobe are both very strong central characters. Leaders in fact. What the hell is wrong with that?? If all the main characters were white I'm sure you'd have a problem with that too. And no, I don't think anybody's portrayed as "oversexed" in the movie. Yeah, I thought Link's greeting to his wife was strange and rather offensive, but what of it? If they want to portray him as a jerk than so what?

I'm sorry but I think you're way out of line on this one. When the rest of us are trying to improve race relations and be accepting and appreciative of each other, it's people like you who fan the flames. I get so tired of the media sensationalizing things, leading us to believe that "everybody" or "a great number of people" subscribe to some atrocious behavior being perpetrated by a few.

Actually I thought it was cool that they had such a great racial mix in this movie. That's a GOOD thing! I think you're just paranoid about it and would find fault no matter how they did it. Yes, we still have some work to do as far as race relations in the US go, especially in Hollywood. I agree with you there. But as far as this movie goes, you're way off base. If you are trying to improve racial harmony in this country, turn around, because with this approach you only make it worse.

KutasthaJun 01, 2003 at 3:51AM

Yeah, I thought Link's greeting to his wife was strange and rather offensive, but what of it? If they want to portray him as a jerk than so what?

Well, I think if you had been away from your wife for as long as he was, then you would probably be thinking the same thing. Maybe you wouldn't express it that way, but surely enough, it would be on your mind.

I think Link is a vital character to M2, because he allows us to live through him, especially when he gets excited in the movie. He reminds us that we are still human, that we still have desires and pleasures of our own. I hope we see more of Link in M3.

KutasthaJun 01, 2003 at 3:55AM

What was up with that guy being lead away when Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity were approaching the table The Merovingian was sitting at?

If you watch closely, there is a regular looking guy being lead away by someone, probably one of The Merovingian's thugs, off to the left.

Did anyone pick up on this? Because, Neo looks right at that guy.

Does anyone want to speculate who that guy might or might not be?

Spoon BoyJun 01, 2003 at 4:21AM

Brian says:
I'm not convinced The Architect is talking about the Oracle. When Neo says, "The Oracle," The Architect's "Please" is almost dismissive ... in the sense of "as if" ... is it possible he was saying "Oh please, not a chance, now, back to what I was talking about" -- and he wasn't talking about the Oracle, but Persephone?


I just saw this again and must concur. There's definitely a "rolling of the eyes give me a break you've gotta be kidding me I wouldn't give that crazy woman the time of day" vibe contained in the Architect's "Please." I hadn't caught the tone in his delivery the first time around, and it's not entirely clear by simply reading the transcript.

The Architect says:

"As I was saying, she stumbled upon a solution whereby nearly
99.9% of all test subjects accepted the program, as long as they were given a choice, even
if they were only aware of the choice at a near unconscious level."


Unless this "she" is a character we haven't met yet, Persephone would be the obvious female character he's referring to here. I don't think we have enough info to know right now. I need to remind myself that the story's not over yet. :)

I admit this movie has put me into extra-super maximum hyperanalytical mode, but I couldn't help but noticing that the Architect reminds me of a cross between Kentucky Fried Chicken's Colonel Sanders and Clue's Colonel Mustard. I mean really, when you get right down to it, the dude looks like a Colonel.

The geekier may already know what I'm getting @ here. For those with lives:

kernel: The essential center of a computer operating system that provides the basic services for all other parts.

UlicusJun 01, 2003 at 7:20AM

I don't think its Persephone who is the 'mother' of the Matrix, I'm pretty sure its the Oracle. The Architect was not dismissive of the Oracle, he was dissmissive of that title.

"The Oracle?"

"Please..." He said it in such a way that sounded, "Oh yeah, like shes an oracle psch dont insult your own intelligence."

Then again, I could be wrong.

KutasthaJun 01, 2003 at 10:35AM

If anyone has played the video game, Enter the Matrix, there is a scene where The Oracle is telling Ghost about the "special child" having two parent programs that sold the deletion code of The Oracle's shell to The Merovingian. She said the two parent programs did it to save their "special child" and did it out of love.

The "special child" is Neo.

Now, who are these two parent programs? Have we seen these parent programs in the movies yet? Will these parent programs be revealed in The Matrix: Revolutions? Does anyone have a guess of who these two parent programs might be?

Here is another question. Why in the world (real world or matrix!) would The Merovingian want the deletion codes for The Oracle's shell? I know why in real life, because they had to replace the actress due to her death. But, why would they do it in a movie? The Brothers had to work this into the plot and make it look good, because it is quite obvious there is a new actress playing The Oracle.

theJanJun 01, 2003 at 12:02PM

Ulicus says:
I don't think its Persephone who is the 'mother' of the Matrix, I'm pretty sure its the Oracle. The Architect was not dismissive of the Oracle, he was dissmissive of that title.


Exactly! That's the same impression I got, and I was just about to post the same thing. I think the Oracle is the obvious choice, but then that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Maybe it's a character we haven't seen before, but I don't think it's Persephone, for the reasons I stated (at length) in an earlier post.

Kutastha says:
If anyone has played the video game, Enter the Matrix, there is a scene where The Oracle is telling Ghost about the "special child" having two parent programs that sold the deletion code of The Oracle's shell to The Merovingian. She said the two parent programs did it to save their "special child" and did it out of love.

The "special child" is Neo.


Are you sure it's Neo? Do they say that definitively? That opens up a whole nother can 'o worms. If Neo's human, were his parents "free"? Were they able to interact in both the "real" and Matrix (programmed) worlds? And why wouldn't they free their son? If they're just programs then why would they adopt a human (pod-person-based) program? Because they were obviously aware of the computerized nature of their world. Does that say Neo's a program "just like the rest of everything"??

I still think that when the Architect said that Neo was irrecovably human, he meant literally. Hmmm... I would say the machines view the humans as simply biological machines (albeit flawed by this origin), able (obviously) to be programmed, just like any mechanically based machine. Therefore, the machines (opposed to the humans) make little distinction between the two. That would explain some things.

The whole neo parent thing sends my brain into the spin cycle! :-)

One other thing, can anybody tell me where to get a copy of Animatrix?

CoreyJun 01, 2003 at 12:51PM

theJan says:
Ulicus says:
I don't think its Persephone who is the 'mother' of the Matrix, I'm pretty sure its the Oracle. The Architect was not dismissive of the Oracle, he was dissmissive of that title.

Exactly! That's the same impression I got, and I was just about to post the same thing. I think the Oracle is the obvious choice, but then that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Maybe it's a character we haven't seen before, but I don't think it's Persephone, for the reasons I stated (at length) in an earlier post.


That's exactly what I was thinking. I definitely think the Architect was dismissing the title of Oracle, not the Oracle herself. And as for Persephone as the mother of the matrix, I just don't see it. I just think the oracle makes more sense.

Another thing, and maybe I'm contradicting myself here, but if the Oracle is the mother of the matrix, why would she want to help Neo? However, Persephone helped him also, so that doesn't make sense either. It all leads back to who Neo can and can't trust.

Eduardo ArcosJun 01, 2003 at 12:53PM

In 4 / 5 hours I think i have read all of the comments in this post. For me Matrix Reloaded is as good as Matrix I.

As lots of people has pointed out, Matrix Reloaded is not a sequel, it is a continuation. And as also people pointed out before much of the comments and links are really enlightning to understand better every element of the movie.

I have a question maybe someone have noticed it too. It is a very small detail on the Merovingian scene. When Neo, Morpheus and Trinity enters the room filled of people eating. Neo turns his head at some guy who is taken away (lke, arrested...by force) by 2 or 3 people. This is very fast and happens in about 2 or 3 seconds. Considering that the most important elements of the movie are the smallest details...have someone noticed this too? any theories?

KutasthaJun 01, 2003 at 1:36PM

Are you sure it's Neo?

Yes, I'm sure Neo is the "special child". The Oracle doesn't come out and say it like that. But, in the scenes where she is talking to Ghost or Niobe (which are at the same spots in the video game), she is talking about the path of The One, and saying she is preparing Ghost, Niobe and others for this path too. She says the path of The One is paved by the many.

To fully understand the whole story, one must play the videogame too. There are some important details in there, along with a different trailer for Revolutions that isn't being shown in theatres.

I have a question maybe someone have noticed it too. It is a very small detail on the Merovingian scene. When Neo, Morpheus and Trinity enters the room filled of people eating. Neo turns his head at some guy who is taken away (lke, arrested...by force) by 2 or 3 people. This is very fast and happens in about 2 or 3 seconds. Considering that the most important elements of the movie are the smallest details...have someone noticed this too? any theories?

Eduardo,

Yes, I noticed this too. If you read above some, you will see that I mentioned this too. I'm curious to know who this man is. They don't really allude to who he is in the videogame, nor in anything else that I know of.

KutasthaJun 01, 2003 at 1:36PM

Are you sure it's Neo?

Yes, I'm sure Neo is the "special child". The Oracle doesn't come out and say it like that. But, in the scenes where she is talking to Ghost or Niobe (which are at the same spots in the video game), she is talking about the path of The One, and saying she is preparing Ghost, Niobe and others for this path too. She says the path of The One is paved by the many.

To fully understand the whole story, one must play the videogame too. There are some important details in there, along with a different trailer for Revolutions that isn't being shown in theatres.

I have a question maybe someone have noticed it too. It is a very small detail on the Merovingian scene. When Neo, Morpheus and Trinity enters the room filled of people eating. Neo turns his head at some guy who is taken away (lke, arrested...by force) by 2 or 3 people. This is very fast and happens in about 2 or 3 seconds. Considering that the most important elements of the movie are the smallest details...have someone noticed this too? any theories?

Eduardo,

Yes, I noticed this too. If you read above some, you will see that I mentioned this too. I'm curious to know who this man is. They don't really allude to who he is in the videogame, nor in anything else that I know of.

Spoon BoyJun 01, 2003 at 2:22PM

Eduardo says:

I have a question maybe someone have noticed it too. It is a very small detail on the Merovingian scene. When Neo, Morpheus and Trinity enters the room filled of people eating. Neo turns his head at some guy who is taken away (lke, arrested...by force) by 2 or 3 people. This is very fast and happens in about 2 or 3 seconds. Considering that the most important elements of the movie are the smallest details...have someone noticed this too? any theories?


The guy you speak of is actually being escorted by one bald bouncer. Considering that Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus were also escorted to the elevator in similar fashion after speaking with the Merovingian, it seems that this would be normal for any visitor who's time is up. The guy being escorted away was probably the Merovingian's previous appointment.

There could be more to it than that. For now, it doesn't seem much more than a way to convey the Merovingian's importance and jammed schedule. There's always been a long line of people hoping to cut a deal with the devil.

link_a_likeJun 01, 2003 at 6:25PM

i dont know why ppl are so screwed reloaded is a peice of art thats 2 big for your little minds if you b*tch and moan about pole slingging cgi neo and zion wet/dry hump sessions you dont deserve 2 watch it the methaphores and story lying under are top notch you have 2 take all three movies, animation shorts and video game to get the "story" the 2nd movie is more about how things work in the story not the story it self humans programs what the ones job is but whats funny is that conversation neo had with the Architect about control i had 2 look at the seen about 30 times before things started to sink in ,i have the dvd, he had a pissed way about him like smith in the first movie they where made 2 do a job but they couldent do it perfectly he couldent make a "perfect matrix" he needed help from a nother program 2 do his job and still couldent do it perfect... and every once and a wile he has 2 explain his faluts to the "one" so he can give them the choice but i liked how the matrix corrected itself as neo bugged out we saw this my looking onto a new screen this happend a few times as neo made his choice the Architect explained neo's reaction on a chemical level and trying 2 play it agenst him but would the 3rd movie be any good if he choose the other door ?? nope becasue it would just be a prequill in the infiyte loop of the matrix ..... i think there is only one matrix that works and there have been 6 other "ones" but there have been alot more anomyls that dident make right choices and the matrix has been going from the start to the finish of man kind so neo is not jesus hes just another "one" but now a days walking on water and turning rocks 2 bread dosent free minds as easy

link_a_likeJun 01, 2003 at 6:38PM

well neos 101 and trinitys 303 =404 but 404=8 wich is a sing of infinity???? maby nothing gotta asn andy j/k

link_a_likeJun 01, 2003 at 7:08PM

i know my 2 cent dosent count but i think she smith phreaked bane's mental state and made a copy of himself bane was over writed with smith so when we see bane its smith in zion and he is still smith he is still a program but now has a human body he still hates neo and loves his robots i think the sentanals are connected to toe main frame just like him and he took them over and destroyed all those ships but shice hes human there are bugs and thats why he is in the coma with neo i dont tink he took any of neo's powers... i think neo switched some values in his code and crossed there lines some how like a ping wich gives him neos place in the matrix all the time thats how he opend the door and found neo and the keymaker in the hall but maby not, the hallway is not in the matrix so mt guess is shit 2 fan but hey i still hope neo talks smith into relly beigh free and he truns into a lex luther type arch enimey in both worlds.... but hey

link_a_likeJun 02, 2003 at 12:48AM

maby the oricle knows of all the 5 neos and this one also and since she lived through all this before she seems 2 know the future even tho to her its deja vu remember the plant breaking and how it would blow his mind if he knew how??? since she knew he thought he wasent the won and she needed him 2 save morpheouse she couldent let that info out she knows all her questions awnsers but since neo isent a program as far as i know she cannot predict his choices and if she told him he was the one and hes not the first and he wont be the last the movie whould have went 2 shyt and zion wouldent have as many problems!

super lostJun 02, 2003 at 2:31AM

im glad the wb got 2 use link and zelda's names in the movie from a good nintendo game the legend of zelda but am i the only one that wonders about the lunar eclips that happend on opening night 5 15 ??

ChrisJun 02, 2003 at 2:34AM

I just realized something after seeing both of them tonight again. In M1, after the blue/red pill scene, they go to the next room with the crew that is set to bring him out of the matrix. The mirror morphs into the liquid. This liquid is similar to the black stuff that Smith copies himself with. When it climbs up his arm, things seem to be getting out of hand and Trinity says "Its replicating!". Did that have any meaning in the first movie?

parapesaJun 02, 2003 at 6:00AM

is there a pc or mac version of the matrix game?

PJJun 02, 2003 at 6:18AM

I thought the movie almost lived up to the hype.

If they nixed the rave scene, and maybe one or two of the mind numbingly slow fight scenes in the beginning, the whole movie would have flowed better.

Use the force Neo.

Brisvegas1Jun 02, 2003 at 6:22AM

Some thoughts and observations:

Baine/Smith is not just cutting his hand - he is cutting new lines into his palm - for those who believe in that sort of thing - new destiny lines.... he is literally carving out a new destiny for himself. (Remember - these movies are all about choice and free will - you should be expecting to see these symbols repeatedly)

In the animatrix - when the kid commits suicide - those still in the matrix get to bury his body... he awakened himself (this is different to the movies where you see the bodies disappear from the matrix into the real world) but look at it the other way.... when the real world consciousness goes into the matrix - the unconscious bodies are left behind, largely inert. Are you really arguing that both Bayne/Smith and Neo just happen to both be unconscious... that there is nothing more to it...? Come on - obviously neo is the .1% of .1% who has realised the illusion of first the matrix and then of Zion and has now rejected them both for the real world...thus leaving things open for a whole movie about the true fate of humans and machine.

Smith is the virus not neo - remember Smith's speech from the first flick - how humans are like a virus - that is what he has taken from his connection with neo. And from reloaded, Smith's comment to himself "well, not exactly like before..." This means that what has happened to smith hasn't happened in the previous versions of the matrix... Just like what neo does at the end of the movie hasn't happened before... That's why revolutions is the blank slate... anything goes, no more prophecy, no more visions of the future. We are in the real world now baby!

If Neo is finally "awake" would he die if the matrix crashed? I think not... therefore does the possibility exist that he can wake everyone up to the real, real world and in so doing, save them?

Look - just because we are told that humans are batteries - doesn't mean that they actually are. Other possibilities have been suggested, for example that they are a giant distributed, parallel processing, organic computer... a meta-brain running presumably for the convenience of the AI to get a massive score on SETI@Home... I think something like dark city is more likely... that the matrix is really there so the AI can conduct experiments into the nature of humanity - in particular free will and choice. I'm guessing that it is an experiment designed to produce "the one" that can then be integrated back into the source for use by the AI to give itself... free will... or something like that. Agent smith merges with neo... and gets something llke that.... a freedom of sorts. Maybe he did it too early though, got an early code revision, before neo had truly realised he was the one.

The Oracle is the mother, not Persephone - It is far more likely that Persephone is an early version of Trinity... that's why she is jealous, Merovingian was an early Neo, but like the architect said, he has a "general love for humanity"... including in this case the blonde, cake eating woman. Persephone has never known the "true love" that exists between Neo and Trinity.

Programmers are now playing with genetic algorithms that grow and develop as solutions to a particular set of problems... the bad/inefficient solutions get weeded out and the good ones go on to be the basis of future solutions. Now although the programmer created the program, designed it so to speak, in terms of the rules and constraint placed up the initial specifications of the system... but the resulting code is not written, or in many cases, even understood by the programmer. Neo is not so much a "program" as the result of an experiment in controlled evolution, a special human whose brain and consciousness has been shaped by a series of events etc etc.

Remember - it is all statistics... you don't need 250 000 in Zion to produce the one... because the one before our current neo failed in 72 hours.

Now it doesn't mater that the W. brothers have revealed Zion to be another matrix because Revolutions is in November... and it will be in the real world.

Three times now, twice in "the matrix" and now once more in "reloaded" there has been a "miraculous" avoidance of death by neo (cipher pulling his plug, the squids getting EMP'd just before they laser slice and dice him, and now in reloaded - where the squids behave just like the bullets in the matrix) These are not subtle hints folks... these miraculous saves can only occur because neo is "the one" and the one can not be killed - WHILE HE IS IN THE MATRIX - it is going to be a whole new kettle of fish in the next movie where neo is in the real world and can be harmed... which will be great - back to the intimate, dirty, bloody fights of the first movie. Neo still knows hacking, still knows kung fu - and he will have to use those skills with his real body in the real world, quite possibly with his friends that he will wake up.

The video screens in the architect scene show scenes of neo in the real world... how does the matrix have access to this information if Zion is not part of the matrix?

biscuitJun 02, 2003 at 8:48AM

I've read the thread, and haven't seen this suggestion put forward anywhere (quote from the transcript of the Architect convo:)

" If I am the father of the matrix, she would undoubtedly be its mother."

The debate's about whether he's referring to the Oracle or not. Considering M1's allusions to gnosticism, the father of the matrix would be a malevolent god, analogous to, say, Hades? In greek mythology, Persephone is the wife of Hades. So if the Architect's the father, his wife (Persephone) would be the mother. Possibly.

Just MHO, since I'm not really terribly up on my mythology :)

biscuitJun 02, 2003 at 9:10AM

And, while I think on: In M1, when Neo is being 'taught' matial arts etc by Tank, Morpheus approaches to see how it's going. Tank's reply (quoted from memory, but close enough):

"ten hours straight. He's like a machine."

Relevant?

Keith AJun 02, 2003 at 10:50AM

That the Matrix is capitalism is just plain ridiculous and shows ignorance of economic theory and facts.

On the contrary, if you want to apply the movie´s concepts to social theory, the Matrix would be the State, we taxpayers are the batteries, and the establishment, the political class, lives off our backs.

Free people create, companies create, we are the Atlas of the world, sustaining the parasites. Forget Marx and his labor theory (which by the way, he took from Adam Smith, a protomarxian economist)


I find this an interesting statement. Now, I hate to get all "Good Will Hunting" on you. But, yeah, I read the Wealth of Nations. And, no, Marx did not take the labor theory of value from Smith. Rather, a strong argument could be made that Marx was building upon the ideas of David Ricardo. It was Ricardo, not Smith (or Marx), who first talked about value as the amount of labor embodied in a good. Of course, as it turns out, all three were wrong.


That being said, I would point out that the State is merely an instrument of the Capitalist System. And, taxpayers are nothing if not workers. You must work to earn something in order to be taxed upon those earnings.


Curiously, a Marxist interpretation of the Matrix is not at all at odds with the religious interpretation. I would argue that the social relations (that is to say, relationships based on community and equality) in Marx's ideal society would not look very much different than the social relations in an ideal Christian society. That is something that will really bend your noodle.


Most people do not want to see what the Matrix is really about. Instead, most people are like Cypher. When they start to see what the Matrix is about....when they see what Capitalism is about...they plead to have their false consciousness reinstated. They do not want to know what reality is. Reality is too painful. They would rather go back into their fake world with their Wal-marts, their Malls, their SUV's, their Play Stations, and their 35 different channels of American Gladiator. You have a blue pill waiting for you.

OwenJun 02, 2003 at 11:12AM

"There is no spoon," says the boy in The Matrix while inside the Matrix. A creased and battered spoon is passed to Neo in The Matrix Reloaded when outside the Matrix. If the spoon was manipulated by the boy within the Matrix, thereby showing his power to influence the Matrix, how come the spoon given to Neo outside the Matrix is so worn? Has the boy been bending that spoon in the real world? Or is it simply an emblem of that shared past, a token of good luck for the coming mission?

The sex between Trinity and Neo has to have more significance than moving along the plot of The Matrix Reloaded. The love between them has saved their lives several times so far. What better expression of human love is there than a new child? Trinity has to be pregnant in the next film (isn't Carrie Anne Moss pregnant right now?), with all the consequences that we can imagine. Perhaps that child, like a seventh son of a seventh son or something, will be the One that breaks the Matrix? Or is that just too Star Wars?

I wish there had been a moment as effective in The Matrix Reloaded as The Matrix's deja vu cat. That's cinematic genius. I believe that while these films will be remembered as cutting edge exercises in the cinematographically possible, the 'philosophical debate' they inspire will be forgotten. There are many films much better than The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded, that explore the nature of who and what we are in greater depth and more illuminating ways.

I'll go see Revolutions, though, naturally.

scottJun 02, 2003 at 1:44PM

Mr. Nosuch said: "Perhaps Zion is a "Development/QA" box, and the Matrix the "Production" box. The Source is the Machine's version control software."

This is such an excellent idea, from a computing perspective on the movie, but I suspect it's not in the Wachowski's zone of influence enough to be the *real* deal. It would certainly be a more appealing verison of the matrix within a matrix theory.

CarolynJun 02, 2003 at 2:03PM

Trinity has to be pregnant in the next film

I don't think there is time to show that she is pregnant. Revolutions can only happen in less than 24 hours. Neo said so himself.

DaveJun 02, 2003 at 2:20PM

I really doubt the "Matrix within a Matrix" idea. Sure, it would be interesting, but I think it has two really big flaws.

One, it's very obvious. If you were going to write a twist for The Matrix, the most obvious one would be just to have it be inside another Matrix. While people who haven't put as much thought into the concept would think it was neat, I think that it would do a dis-service to the film, and defeats the purpose of it. The film is about redemption. In Reloaded, we learn that Neo is special somehow - not like his predecessors. What would be the point of all of that if it just turned out that there was just another Matrix wrapped around the current one?

Second, the idea is way too defeatest. There's no way out of the argument: "what if it's all just inside another Matrix." Then, even if Neo escapes and crashes the entire Matrix and frees mankind, it could all still be just part of another Matrix. Why make this big story if you're just going to trap your heroes in a basic plot twist out of a Twilight Zone episode? Decartes tackled that hundreds of years ago.

CarolynJun 02, 2003 at 5:19PM

only 94 days until Revolutions!!! Then all of our questions will have answers.

I can hardly wait.

CoreyJun 02, 2003 at 5:42PM

PJ says:

If they nixed the rave scene, and maybe one or two of the mind numbingly slow fight scenes in the beginning, the whole movie would have flowed better.

On first viewing I thought the rave scene was horrible too, but after thinking about it I realized it did have a purpose. It was gone over several places above so I won't get into it, but it basically represents what Neo is trying to save. I do however believe that this ideal could have been represented in a better way, perhaps showing some kids or people having fun instead of just a bunch of sex.

I enjoyed every second of the fight scenes and didn't think they were too long, but they could have had more of a purpose. In the first fight with the agents Neo just smacks them around for a bit then runs off. The Smith fight was equally purposeless as he simply flies off after they start to overpower him. I think the fight scenes in the first movie were better where he couldn't just fly off when things went bad.

CoreyJun 02, 2003 at 5:59PM

Brisvegas1 says:


Are you really arguing that both Bayne/Smith and Neo just happen to both be unconscious... that there is nothing more to it...? Come on - obviously neo is the .1% of .1% who has realised the illusion of first the matrix and then of Zion and has now rejected them both for the real world...thus leaving things open for a whole movie about the true fate of humans and machine.


I don't have a great argument for it, but I just don't believe the matrix within a matrix thing. I hadn't really thought about Bain/Smith and Neo being unconscious at the same time, but if it means anything I think it's simply that they can both hack into the matrix with their minds instead of being hardwired in.

Smith's comment to himself "well, not exactly like before..." This means that what has happened to smith hasn't happened in the previous versions of the matrix

Why is Smith different this time? So far I haven't seen this mentioned, but Neo is not the only thing that's different this time. Why did Smith return to the matrix ? Or perhaps there was an equivalent to agent Smith in all the previous versions.....

It is far more likely that Persephone is an early version of Trinity... that's why she is jealous, Merovingian was an early Neo

Merovingian and Persephone can't be earlier versions of Neo and Trinity as Merovingian and Persephone are programs and neo and Trinity are human.

Now it doesn't mater that the W. brothers have revealed Zion to be another matrix because Revolutions is in November... and it will be in the real world.

Um....no.

Neo still knows hacking, still knows kung fu - and he will have to use those skills with his real body in the real world, quite possibly with his friends that he will wake up.

If you watch the Revolutions trailer, Neo and Smith punch eachother and both fly back a remarkable distance. This goes against the laws of physics in the real world, meaning this battle can only take place in the matrix.

The video screens in the architect scene show scenes of neo in the real world... how does the matrix have access to this information if Zion is not part of the matrix?

I didn't notice the scenes of Neo in the real world....I'll have to look for that next time I watch Reloaded.

CoreyJun 02, 2003 at 6:11PM

biscuit says:

"ten hours straight. He's like a machine."

Relevant?


I don't think so. Neo as a machine would just take away from the overall heroism and drama of the movie.

Owen says:

A creased and battered spoon is passed to Neo in The Matrix Reloaded when outside the Matrix. If the spoon was manipulated by the boy within the Matrix, thereby showing his power to influence the Matrix, how come the spoon given to Neo outside the Matrix is so worn? Has the boy been bending that spoon in the real world? Or is it simply an emblem of that shared past, a token of good luck for the coming mission?


I believe the spoon was only for nostalgic effect, but if it did have a deeper meaning it was that Neo's powers can extend to the real world also. The spoon is battered because that's the best they can manage in Zion. If the boy was manipulating the spoon, then he would be "the one" that realized that Zion was fake, and neo wouldn't have to, so that can't be it.

Carolyn says:

only 94 days until Revolutions!!! Then all of our questions will have answers.

I can hardly wait.


agreed

ChrisJun 02, 2003 at 6:18PM

If you watch the Revolutions trailer, Neo and Smith punch eachother and both fly back a remarkable distance. This goes against the laws of physics in the real world, meaning this battle can only take place in the matrix.

Yeah that would be back in the Matrix, however in that scene, Smith does say "Mr Anderson, welcome back, we've missed you", as if he was away from it for awhile. Hmmmm.

JonJun 02, 2003 at 7:55PM

Trannies. It's all about the trannies.

What? It was in the Post!

KutasthaJun 02, 2003 at 9:00PM

Persephone is all about kissing everyone, she wants to kiss people. This is shown in the video game when there are two different scenes of her kissing Niobe and then Ghost. Yes, Jada actuallys kisses Monica. Persephone even taunts Niobe that she is afraid to kiss a woman.

Niobe follows up with something like, "You're not a woman. You're a program!"

CarolynJun 03, 2003 at 1:34AM

Sorry for my earlier stupidity, I forgot how to count. There are acutally 156 days until the Matrix Revolutions...

And it just makes it worse doesn't it.

Does anyone know how to unlock all the extra scenes in the Matrix game so that we can just watch them without having to go through the entire game again? If anyone does, please tell me.

Spoon BoyJun 03, 2003 at 2:17AM

Carolyn says:

There are acutally 156 days until the Matrix Revolutions...


10001110 days and counting down. But don't forget that computers start from zero, or in this case, end. So technically, barring all sneak previews, Revolutions won't be opening until the 157th day in the sequence which began the day you said this. :)

LuisJun 03, 2003 at 2:43AM

Free Will or Improvised Fate?

I figure this weblog could use one more theory.
There are no chance occurances. The only choice humans have is expression. Improvization.
The Oracle was an “intuative program” designed to understand humans. What she eventually realized was the humans shared a fate. She discovered this pattern watching the Matrix reload 5 times. The information realized was that certain events will happen. Who,when,where and how are unknown. The only given is that certain events happen, no matter what.
The oracle tests the potentials for the roles that have been experianed before. She has the benifit of witnessing the fate of the humans 5 times. Every Matrix had the same themes and happenings. The oracle saw the pattern. She knows a pattern exists. Who will play the role? She can't know. She can however identify the role player by actions or themes that have happened. Trinity, (after being identified) was told SHE would fall in love with the "one". Morpheous would find the "one". All are roles played. How they play the game is up to the player.
It was different every time. The key maker finally realized his destiny. He understood he had a role. Understanding is not required. It will happen whether you fight it, or flow with it. Whether you know you are playing the part or not is irrelevent.
The whole seris is based on one improbability after another. Timing. Neo is still fighting cause and affect understanding of his life. The vase, the candy, will he sit... The Oracle and Morpheous belive in the prophecy. Not everyone understands. Understanding is irrelevent. Several of these just in time situatuions made believers out of some. Cypher died thinking he had a choice. Manipulation happens only after understanding. Even that is limited. Improvization of the role . I believe love is what ties all of this together. The architect only gave Neo two choices based on the rules/ intrest of his Matrix. Everyone else took those choices. Sucks to go so far only to return to the begining again, and again, and again...
The humans and machines also share a fate: once they complete their purpose, they die/ return to the source.
Below are supporting refrences from the dialoge of The Matrix screenplay:
****
(Morpheous describes the programs in the Matrix. This explains Agent Smiths upload into Bane / Cain.)
****
Morpheus: Look again. Freeze it.
Neo: This...this isn't the Matrix?
Morpheus: No. It's another training program designed to teach you one thing. If you are not one of us, you are one of them.
Neo: What are they?
Morpheus: Sentient programs. They can move in and out of any software still hard-wired to their system. That means that anyone we haven't unplugged is potentially an agent. Inside the Matrix, they are everyone and they are no one. We are survived by hiding from them by running from them. But they are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors. They are holding all the keys, which means that sooner or later, someone is going to have to fight them.
****
(Oracles dialogue with Neo. She does not know what Neo looks like. She has seen this Matrix unfold 5 times. She was/is the program designed by the Matrix to figure out the Humans. All she knows is certain actions/ events happen during the run of the Matrix. She is not a true Oracle- That is why the architect sneers when discussing the mother of the Matrix. Having watched the Matrix, a movie or even a video game unfold 5 times would make you a great guesser/ prophesier of what events will happen- REGARDLESS OF WHO IS PLAYING THE ROLE. Groundhog day with balls.)********************
The Oracle: I know, you're Neo. Be right with you.
Neo: You're The Oracle?
The Oracle: Bingo. Not quite what you were expecting, right? Almost done. Smell good, don't they?
Neo: Yeah.
The Oracle: I'd ask you to sit down, but your not going to anyway. And don't worry about the vase.
Neo: What vase?
The Oracle: That vase.
Neo: I'm sorry.
The Oracle: I said don't worry about it. I'll get one of my kids to fix it.
Neo: How did you know?
The Oracle: What's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything. You're cuter than I thought. I can see why she likes you.
Neo: Who?
The Oracle: Not too bright, though. You know why Morpheus brought you to see me?
Neo: I think so.
The Oracle: So, what do you think? Do you think you're The One?
Neo: I don't know.
The Oracle: You know what that means? It's Latin. Means `Know thyself'. I'm going to let you in on a little
Secret. Being The One is just like being in love. No one can tell you your're in love, you just know it. Through and through. Balls to bones. Well, I better have a look at you. Open your mouth, say Ahhh.
Neo: Ahhh.
The Oracle: Okay. Now I'm supposed to say, `Umm, that's interesting, but...,' then you say...
Neo: But what?
The Oracle: But you already know what I'm going to tell you.
Neo: I'm not The One.
Oracle: Sorry, kid. You got the gift, but it looks like you're waiting for something.
Neo: What?
The Oracle: Your next life maybe, who knows? That's the way these things go. What's funny?
Neo: Morpheus. He...he almost had me convinced.
The Oracle: I know. Poor Morpheus. Without him we're lost.
Neo: What do you mean, without him?
The Oracle: Are you sure you want to hear this? Morpheus believes in you, Neo. And no one, not you, not even me can convince him otherwise. He believes it so blindly that he's going to sacrifice his life to save yours.
Neo: What?
The Oracle: You're going to have to make a choice. In the one hand you'll have Morpheus' life and in the other hand you'll have your own. One of you is going to die. Which one will be up to you. I'm sorry, kiddo, I really am. You have a good soul, and I hate giving good people bad news. Oh, don't worry about it. As soon as you step outside that door, you'll start feeling better. You'll remember you don't believe in any of this fate crap. You're in control of your own life, remember? Here, take a cookie. I promise, by the time you're done eating it, you'll feel right as rain.
Morpheus: What was said was for you and for you alone.
***************
(One of the many examples of the test of faith of fate. No matter what, certain events WILL happen. Most of the role-players don’t know the roles they are playing. Know thy self. There are no coincidences. )
***************
Agent Brown: If indeed the insider has failed, they'll sever the connection as soon as possible, unless...
Agent Jones: They're dead, in either case...
Agent Smith: We have no choice but to continue as planned. Deploy the sentinels. Immediately.
(Nebuchadnezzar)
Tank: Morpheus, you're more than a leader to us. You're our father. We'll miss you always.
Neo: Stop. I don't believe this is happening.
Tank: Neo, this has to be done.
Neo: Does it? I don't know, I... this can't be just coincidence. It can't be.
Tank: What are you talking about?
Neo: The Oracle. She told me this would happen. She told me that I would have to make a choice.
Trinity: What choice?... What are you doing?
Neo: I'm going in.
Trinity: No you're not.
Neo: I have to.
Trinity: Neo, Morpheus sacrificed himself so that he could get you out. There's no way that you're going back in.
Neo: Morpheus did what he did because he believed I am something I'm not.
Trinity: What?
Neo: I'm not the one, Trinity. The Oracle hit me with that too.
Trinity: No. You have to be.
Neo: I'm not, I'm sorry. I'm just another guy.
Trinity: No, Neo. That's not true. It can't be true.
Neo: Why?
Tank: Neo, this is loco. They've got Morpheus in a military controlled building. Even if you somehow got inside, those are agents holding him. Three of them. I want Morpheus back too, but what you're talking about is suicide.
Neo: I know that's what it looks like, but it's not. I can't explain to you why it's not. Morpheus believed something and he was ready to give his life for what he believed. I understand that now. That's why I have to go.
Tank: Why?
Neo: Because I believe in something.
Trinity: Neo, I want to tell you something, but I'm afraid of what it could mean if I do. Everything the Oracle told me has come true. Everything but this.
**********
What is the significance of eyewear in the Matrix? Product placement or window to the soul? Please forgive if I repeat. Luis

Brisvegas1Jun 03, 2003 at 6:18AM

Control is about baking Neo's noodle in just the right way...

The Oracle: Bingo. Not quite what you were expecting, right? Almost done. Smell good, don't they?
Neo: Yeah.

The Oracle: What's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything.

The Architect - although the process has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human.

The Architect - Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly, which despite my sincerest efforts I have been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided, it is not unexpected, and thus not beyond a measure of control.

Neo is a human of a certain type - exposed to a certain type of stimuli - with a statistical liklihood of turning out a certain way.

There is a vanishingly small possibility of Neo turning out as the one - but given enough time it is bound to happen.

Smells good, don't it!

boxxJun 03, 2003 at 6:48AM

couple of points i noticed in reloaded.

1. morpheus is talking about how nothing is insignificant (during the battle speech scene) cuts two a guy from the ship that wasn't Niobe's stresses a walkway that breaks and causes the ship to not get out of the way of the 'bomb' from the sentinel. it is because of this event that trin has to go in to the matrix at all. rem the oracle told her she would love the ONE. and it is because of that neo goes takes the door he does. there whole love afair is generated by the oracle in order to illustrate human emotion vs machine rational to the one. it becomes a lesson. another test for neo. that little piece of chance is makes the 6th iteration dfferent from the others. also notice how much calmer this neo is from his predicssors on screen.

2. im not shure about the confusion of oracle/vs kissing women or weather or not that was bain in the end. it seems really painfully obvious that the arch is talking about the oracle, and that that is bain who is influenced somehow by smith in the end.

3. if i remember right bain is slicing an equals sign or an 11 into his hand.

4. link is a sailor right? he's been away from home for a while doing grungy dangerous things. why wouldn't he say "where's my puss--" anyway don't married people living in zion still flirt?

5. it's been a while since i last saw the first film, but dindn't tank get really fucked up. whats to say he didn't die of complications on the ride home?

Ged ByrneJun 03, 2003 at 6:54AM

Just a little more Noodle baking.

I'm going to try to sqare some circles here with some ideas that have just struck me.

What if everything the Oracle told Neo in that room were true. He wasn't the one. Either Morpheus or Neo was going to die, and Neo would choose.

Neo choose to die so that Morpheus could live. Neo died in the corridor outside room 303.

At the moment of death the link is intercepted and before the body can realise a new program is uploaded into Neo's brain.

We know it is possible for a program to be uploaded to a human brain. We have seen Smith do it. What if Smith and Neo really are the same: computer programs uploaded into human brains.

We also know that the Architect is taking special interest at this point, because we have seen his monitors on the walls just a few scenes before.

The program does not know that it is a program. It shares Neo's memories. We know that the Architect has access to these memories, he showed them on the screen.

Now a program is occupying Neo's body, but it doesn't know that it isn't Neo. It has the same memeories, it is occupying the same body and feeling the same emotions. Is it still human? Is it still Neo?

There are of course differences. The new program can see the Matrix for what it is, the same way other programs see it. He has some other subtle differences that will enable him to fulfill his purpose.

But Neo began to change before he was killed. Perhaps that was the effect of the biscuit given to him. The Oracle did say he would feel much better after eating it. All part of the process of priming him to become the One in his next 'life.'

So Neo is a program, but also irrovocably human. Anybody here read Pratchett's Thief of Time. The effect that occupying a human body has upon the Auditors?

But this means that Neo is a machine. It has been pointed out that this is dissatisying, because it detracts from Neo's role as hero/messiah.

What if the film is not about Neo - it is about Morpheous. Neo has alreadly lost his role as everyman. In Matrix Neo was the everyman - now it is Link.

Perhaps Neo is also to lose his role as Messiah. Most of the people I have spoken to have agreed with me that Neo is too powerful to relate to. The freeway scene is so good because Neo is out of the picture. Morphous's struggle was so much more engaging than Neo's fight with the Smiths.

At the end of Reloaded Morpheos is where Neo was at the beginning of the Matrix. Everything he believed in has been taken from him, and now he must learn to know himself without the crutch of either a woman or an oracle.

Perhaps the Matrix is all about Morpheous, not Neo. Just as Star Wars was really about Annakin, not Luke.

The end of Reloaded was a great piece of redirection to make everybody think Matrix inside a Matrix. In reality it is the other hovership that EGMs the squids. It is Smith/Bane that Neo feels.

Brisvegas1Jun 03, 2003 at 7:54AM

smith bane is not cutting an eleven into his hands - his is cutting along the palm lines.

look at your own hands - you will see the lines.

Palmists believe they can tell someones future from their palm - see thir destiny laid out before them.

Smith/Bain is litterally carving out a new destiny for himself.. he is no longer just a program - he is something more... a virus maybe - and he is on his way out of the matrix and into the real world.

PeteJun 03, 2003 at 9:41AM

I still feel that Smith/Bane cutting his hands is a prelude to the infection of Neo.

Smith is a replicating virus now and tried to infect Neo in the Matrix. Taking over Bane and ending up in the real(?) world, he goes for Neo again, this time with a knife. Is he attempting to kill him? Or does Smith want to pass on his now biological infection into the body of the One? If so, the slicing of his hands could be so he can pass on the infection to Neo's blood (after slicing him with the knife).

That's what struck me when watching it (only seen it the once). And it reminded me of Snow Crash - which was both a computer virus and a biological one. Indeed I think in the book when Hiro asks if Snow Crash is one or the other, the answer is 'is there a difference?' (or something similar... it has been a long time since I read it!

KotyJun 03, 2003 at 10:21AM

Spoon Boy:
>> btw, I tried sending an email to [email protected], but Micro$oft bounced it back telling me there is no such recipient. ;)
There is no Spoon.

And just one more 101 allusion: The Burly Brawl has (it has been said) 100 Smiths...plus one Neo.

Spoon BoyJun 03, 2003 at 11:56AM

Koty says:

one more 101 allusion: The Burly Brawl has (it has been said) 100 Smiths...plus one Neo.


One hundred and One. SICK!!! Nice grab.

AgrippaJun 03, 2003 at 5:30PM

A few notes that others may have mentioned.

To make things interesting.

The Merovingians were a line of Francish kings who claimed direct decendancy from Christ (through the dubious proposition that christ actually left the holy land,withmary magdalene after faking his death, and moved to france). There we deposed by the Catholic church, who orchestrated the assasignation of Dagobert II. They then founded the Priory of Sion (interesting spelling no?), a secret society bent on re-instanging their bloodline as the rulers of a unified europe and eventually the world.

Rational vs Irrational. Neo is an anomaly. The question is however, what is it about him that makes hima an anomaly? It is the fact that he is so similar to the machines. He has the ability to make the differentiation between sense expereince and consciousness. Remember, Knowledge is not only sense expereince. This is what the red pill means. However that is a particularly machine like understanding. He has the ability to manipulate the code of the matrix because he is more machine like, he is much more rational. He is becoming super-rational. Think of Descartes, the only thing you can truly rationally know is that you think, aside from that nothing is truly certain (without the omnibenevolent power of god to maintain appearances). So when given the choice between being there when trinity dies, and allowing humanity as a species continue, the machines naturally expect that this super rational being, the one, will make a rational choice. He does not. Because of Love, but also because of something else. I am reminded of Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron". The more perfect you make the Matrix, the more anomalous the anomaly must be.

Agrippa

GhostJun 03, 2003 at 5:56PM

I don't have any Huge explanations or questions. But i do have this one belief, That what the Architect said is all untrue. I don't believe even the most little piece. I'm sticking with Morpheos. Plus left the movie at a point where no-one really knows what is going on. I think they did it like that for a reason. So don't be a fool.

NikJun 03, 2003 at 6:04PM

Even as a big fan of Baudrillard and Hofstadter, I have not analysed The Matrix as much as some people posting to this board. But my one thought after watching the film was the lack of consistency in terms of its meaning. It seemed to jump from immature dialogue and strange scenes (‘kiss me like you kiss her’), to more deep-meaning plot turns. The Wackowski brothers could of written a much tighter plot around the core meaning of the story as opposed to detracting to smaller issues and redundant scenes. This has me thinking that they are not really as brilliant as what they have made out to be, the message from a film (if there is infact one) need not be ‘buried’ for it to be a good film. During Fight Club, and The Usual Suspects every scene and every line of dialogue was another step in the plot, there was no ‘padding’.

With the rave scene, in the first movie tank mentions the parties in zion to neo (‘oh, the parties!’). It is an expression of human freedom in the real world, though it was a bit over-the-top.

CoreyJun 03, 2003 at 6:13PM

Luis says:

(Morpheous describes the programs in the Matrix. This explains Agent Smiths upload into Bane / Cain.)
****
Morpheus: Look again. Freeze it.
Neo: This...this isn't the Matrix?
Morpheus: No. It's another training program designed to teach you one thing. If you are not one of us, you are one of them.
Neo: What are they?
Morpheus: Sentient programs. They can move in and out of any software still hard-wired to their system. That means that anyone we haven't unplugged is potentially an agent. Inside the Matrix, they are everyone and they are no one. We are survived by hiding from them by running from them. But they are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors. They are holding all the keys, which means that sooner or later, someone is going to have to fight them.


Not that I completely disagree with the idea set forth above, but Smith did not move into Bain the way agents in M1 moved from person to person. He was copied or "puddinged" by Smith. Not the same thing. This dialogue does however prove that programs can hack into humans, at least while they are hardwired to the matrix.

Nik CubrilovicJun 03, 2003 at 6:19PM

In addition, on Zion being a sub-matrix. If you recall in the first film that Neo was freed from the Matrix, and it showed his body amongst an array of ‘real’ bodies being picked up by the ship. This was the real world, and the real bodies plugged into the matrix were there. Now if this were not the real world, but in fact another matrix, why would they have the real bodies for the first matrix within another matrix? Nothing that I saw in the sequel diverted my attention from the story of the original movie, being that Zion is the only real-world free human presence that are remnants of original humans and old battles. Recall that tank and his brother in the original had no plugs? That’s because they were born ‘real’. Only people that were freed from the Matrix could go into it (ie. Morpheus, Trinity, Cypher, Neo and Switch), maybe even the Wackoskis forgot this in the sequel. Neo has power in the real world just as Jesus had power in the real world. If the third movie does not become an ‘eternal golden braid’, then it is likely to reveal the presence of something greater than machines and humans alike (ie. God).

CoreyJun 03, 2003 at 6:28PM

Ged Byrne says:

Perhaps Neo is also to lose his role as Messiah. Most of the people I have spoken to have agreed with me that Neo is too powerful to relate to. The freeway scene is so good because Neo is out of the picture. Morphous's struggle was so much more engaging than Neo's fight with the Smiths.

At the end of Reloaded Morpheos is where Neo was at the beginning of the Matrix. Everything he believed in has been taken from him, and now he must learn to know himself without the crutch of either a woman or an oracle.

Perhaps the Matrix is all about Morpheous, not Neo. Just as Star Wars was really about Annakin, not Luke.


Good theory, but I just don't see it. A friend of mine pointed out the same thing, that Neo is now a god, making for a pointless movie. That's why I love how the W's ended Reloaded. Neo can still pretty much kick the crap out of anybody he wants, but it's not just about that anymore. The conflict has widened, and Neo can't win simply by going around kicking ass.

As for the Star Wars analogy, I'd like to point out two things. One, each character (Anakin and Luke) had their own trilogy, and for a reason. After spending two movies touting Neo as the hero and savior of mankind, I don't think they can switch to Morpheus in a single movie. Besides, being a grizzled war veteran, I just don't think Morpheus has the emotional and heroic appeal that Neo does. Second, you have it backwards. The prophecy in Star Wars about "bringing balance to the force" was actually about Luke, not Anakin like everyone thought.

CoreyJun 03, 2003 at 6:40PM

Agrippa says:

Rational vs Irrational. Neo is an anomaly. The question is however, what is it about him that makes hima an anomaly? It is the fact that he is so similar to the machines. He has the ability to make the differentiation between sense expereince and consciousness. Remember, Knowledge is not only sense expereince. This is what the red pill means. However that is a particularly machine like understanding. He has the ability to manipulate the code of the matrix because he is more machine like, he is much more rational. He is becoming super-rational.


Actually, it is the fact that Neo is a free thinking human, the opposite of a machine, that allows him to see code and manipulate the matrix. Remember that according to Morpheus the agents are "still based in a world that is built on rules. Because of that, they will never be as strong or as fast as you can be." It is because Neo is human that he can surpass these boundaries, not that he is more machinelike. And no, I don't believe that Tank saying "he's a machine" has any great significance.

KotyJun 03, 2003 at 7:43PM


The Matrix Overloaded

Has anyone ever seen the name “Zion” actually spelled out anywhere, or just spoken by the performers?

If not, perhaps the name is actually “Sion”, a reference to The Prieure du Notre Dame du Sion, or Priory of Sion, (as was mentioned above), a noted “secret society” whose earliest roots are in pre-Christian Gnostic society. As mentioned above, M1 is an “almost perfect retelling of the Gnostic faith.”

Past Grand Masters of the Priory have included Leonardo de Vinci and Isaac Newton, both of whom feature prominently -- along with Merovingians and an albino -- in Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code.” Matrixphiles may want to check it out to spot the mutual allusions (and en passant to Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut”).

The Priory is said to be the cabal behind many of the events that occurred at the infamous Rennes-le-Chateau, a village sitting atop an extinct volcano -- Mount Bugarach -- which according to legend leads down to caves at the center of the Earth, the last realm of super men.

Sion has a long-standing grudge against the Catholic Church, who they feel betrayed betrayed the Merovingian dynasty and crowned its destroyers in its rightful place. To show allegiance to the true faith, Merovingian monarchs never cut their hair and bear a distinctive birthmark -- a red cross over their shoulder blades. Fun to see if any such mark appears in the upcoming Revolution.

The tile patterns on the floor of Merovingian palace in TMR (as well as the recurring compass rose motif in "Eyes Wide Shut") are PoS symbols for the wife of Jesus, Mary Magdalene. Again, more to be found in "Da Vinci Code."

But it's easy to get carried away. I remember the flurry of intelligent postulation that was sparked after "Empire Strikes Back" was released, only to be faced with the dissapointment that was "Jedi." I still have the fanzines bursting witth "clone wars" speculation, all wrong and all better than the actual plot of the sequel. Same with the first season of "Twin Peaks" or even after the release of some William Gibson books. Unfortunately, fan speculation is often better storytelling than Hollywood is capable of.

And remember one critical factor that can not be ignored... this movie is produced by Joel "Mass, not Class" Silver.

Silver wil absolutely positively not bet his Frank Lloyd Wright mansion on some geeky boy wet dream of a nihilistic cyberpunk onionskin "revolution means-no-human-beings-we're-all-machines" ending. He just does not make movies like that, no matter what the W brothers' true inclination. He makes movies that put butts in seats, and any spill-over into the Philospohy stacks at the University Library is strictly gravy. Doug Hofstadter he ain't, much less Goedel, Escher, or Bach.

As a better cinematic symbologist than I once said, “They’re digging in the wrong place...”

KotyJun 03, 2003 at 8:07PM

One more theory, and I'm going to lunch.

You may not know about the meta-clues that BMW added to their online films ("the Hire" et al) that led to a secret "Subplot."

"The Subplot" was a hyper-immersive game, as popularized by Stanford and MIT gearheads and popularized in David Fincher's "The Game." Except that in this case -- rather than the Game being set by friends-- the clues were only for the observant, the paranoid, and the downright obsessive.

The clues were hidden in plain sight, embedded in the BMW films. Phone numbers and "red herrings" led the suspicious to real answering machines, ads in newspapers, and strange heiroglyphs on Apple.com and other web sites. For the handful of followers who spotted the allusions, followed up on them, and then solved all the puzzles, an invitation was sent -- anonymously and without explanation of the purpose -- to rendezvous with "the man in the dark coat" on a street corner in New York City. One couple followed all of the Subplot featrues to win a new Z4.

More here: http://www.unfiction.com/~tienle/K/kguide.html

I could see the W's loading their film with these subplots, waiting for a few faithful to bite. Who's with me? C'mon, Spoon Boy, you got nothing better to do than code jockey at Micro$oft...

Spoon BoyJun 03, 2003 at 8:31PM

Koty says:

The clues were hidden in plain sight, embedded in the BMW films. Phone numbers and "red herrings" led the suspicious to real answering machines, ads in newspapers, and strange heiroglyphs on Apple.com and other web sites. For the handful of followers who spotted the allusions, followed up on them, and then solved all the puzzles, an invitation was sent -- anonymously and without explanation of the purpose -- to rendezvous with "the man in the dark coat" on a street corner in New York City. One couple followed all of the Subplot featrues to win a new Z4.

I could see the W's loading their film with these subplots, waiting for a few faithful to bite.


lol... man, I hope you're wrong. I can only imagine myself pulling the total Ralphie from "A Christmas Story" on the evening of November 5th... racing home from the theater after seeing Revolutions... taking all my accumulated Matrix notes and locking myself in the bathroom to decode it all:

BE SURE TO DRINK YOUR OVALTINE.


RayneJun 03, 2003 at 11:02PM

LMAO - that would be enormously lame! Can't imagine spending more mental energy than spent above on these 400+ posts to decipher this mystery...only to win a decoder ring!

Spoon BoyJun 03, 2003 at 11:22PM

Koty says:
..it's easy to get carried away. I remember the flurry of intelligent postulation that was sparked after "Empire Strikes Back" was released, only to be faced with the dissapointment that was "Jedi."


Not to mention Phantom Menace and the consequently predictable cheesiness of Attack of the Clowns. Similar thing with Metallica's Load of whatever. In each of those cases a considerable time had elapsed between a decent project and a collapse of creative direction and integrity. I'm hoping Revolutions and Reloaded are part of one single larger project, which incidentally encompasses The Matrix.

btw, which NYC street corner are we meeting dark coat guy in order to win the Z4 again?

Regarding Bane cutting "11" in his hand,

I noticed that as well. I also noticed he was writing it backwards, from right to left. You could take that one in a few different directions. First thing I notice is that "11" (not pronounced "eleven") matches the "ONEONE" painted on the courtyard wall during the 101 fight. I like it.

fyi: The Animatrix is out today.

CarolynJun 04, 2003 at 2:46AM

155 and counting

Brisvegas1Jun 04, 2003 at 4:50AM

Matrix Within A Matrix?

While we won't know the answer to this til we all get to watch the next film.... we are all obviously meant to be trying to figure out the answer if this news post from the official "what is the matrix" site is anyting to go by....

For those who haven't yet heard, beyond the currently released console and computer game, ENTER THE MATRIX, there is another game in the works. Unlike the current game, this next one is a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG), playable by thousands of people simultaneously. For those not familiar with this type of computer based game, everything within this shared environment will evolve as people interact with it. Is this a Matrix within a Matrix? Or simply a game simulating the Matrix? Good question.

I'm still leaning to the matrix within a matrix theory... once you look for it there are clues in the first movie... eg. Cypher 'miraculously' being prevented from killin Neo etc

RaenaJun 04, 2003 at 7:25AM

Can I just say this is an awesome thread? I just spent friggin ages reading it, and now need a good long think and an aspirin.

GhostJun 04, 2003 at 1:01PM

Would it be possible for someone to explain what the Oricle said in the video game about the child that will change the matrix and the real world. People have been really messing up what was said. I don't think she was even talking about Neo.

Also if you play the video game there is a bum that talks to Niobe about zion falling IN 72 HOURS. Is this the same person that was Ushered out of Merovingians RESTERANT?

reedmaniacJun 04, 2003 at 3:13PM

Ged Bryne suggested:
At the moment of death the link is intercepted and before the body can realise a new program is uploaded into Neo's brain.

We know it is possible for a program to be uploaded to a human brain. We have seen Smith do it. What if Smith and Neo really are the same: computer programs uploaded into human brains.


Another bit of support (perhaps) for this idea is when Neo comes out of the Matrix after fighting the Legion of Smiths, he is asked by Morpheus what Smith was doing to him when the chocolate pudding was growing all over his body (exactly what Smith did with Bane, if you recall) and Neo replied something like: "I don't know, but I know what it felt like. Like when I died in that hallway"

spookyJun 04, 2003 at 3:22PM

alright dumb question:
the single survivour is he the single survivour of the counter attack or of zion itself?

GhostJun 04, 2003 at 4:08PM

Another thing that i will investigate is about the ENTER THE MATRIX game if you play as niobe, the Oricle will tell her that when Neo leaves the Architect HIS MIND WILL BE SPLIT BETWEEN THE MATRIX AND THE REAL WORLD.
I havn't played the game with niobe yet but if someone could varify this info mabey we could link this with other info to create a better explanation then.........

1. CODE CROSSING theroy (with Smith to controll Machines)
2. PHYSIC theroy (Neo can controll real world with mind)
3. DOUBLE MATRIX theroy. (The real world is another matrix)

Or even to further support these.

theJanJun 04, 2003 at 5:46PM

spooky says:
alright dumb question:
the single survivour is he the single survivour of the counter attack or of zion itself?


Of the counter attack. Zion lives.

Party on, Zion.
:-)

CoreyJun 04, 2003 at 6:06PM

reedmaniac says:
Ged Bryne suggested:
At the moment of death the link is intercepted and before the body can realise a new program is uploaded into Neo's brain.

We know it is possible for a program to be uploaded to a human brain. We have seen Smith do it. What if Smith and Neo really are the same: computer programs uploaded into human brains.

Another bit of support (perhaps) for this idea is when Neo comes out of the Matrix after fighting the Legion of Smiths, he is asked by Morpheus what Smith was doing to him when the chocolate pudding was growing all over his body (exactly what Smith did with Bane, if you recall) and Neo replied something like: "I don't know, but I know what it felt like. Like when I died in that hallway"


I'm pretty sure Neo was just saying that being puddinged by Smith simply felt like dying, like in the hallway. I don't buy into that "Neo's a machine/program" theory. We shall see. This may suggest that Bain doesn't even exist anymore, that he's dead and Smith is in complete control (or maybe this was already obvious to everyone else).

CarolynJun 05, 2003 at 1:48AM

154, "here we go."

and just for the fun of it, there are only 196 days until the return of the king.

Also, I work at a movie theater, so I got to see the martix reloaded five times so far and all for free, (but the free part is just to make you jealous) I keep telling people that, as a middle movie, they need to expect it to be somewhat disappointing, but if they are patient, all of the qurstions will be answered in the conclusion.

154

KutasthaJun 05, 2003 at 2:08AM

Something to chew on. In Matriculated, which is a very trippy short anime film on The Animatrix DVD, has this station in the real world, where people jack-in differently. They jack-in while in a seated meditation pose. Very interesting. The person sitting next to them helps them plug-in. This station seems more free, of course, at the end it is destroyed. Sorry if I spoiled the end of this film.

But, the scientist-looking operator who never jacks-in himself talks about reprogramming one of the captured machines they just caught. But, he says he doesn't want to reprogram it unless it chooses to fight with them. So, they all jack-in and play a game with it, which in the end, the machine chooses to fight with them. But, he happens to do it too late. Anyway, the operator/scientiest talks about the machines not knowing what is real or not, he says everything to their AI is virtual. He says you could program them to be slaves. I think this was hinting at something.

It falls as the last in The Animatrix series, and the machine at the end elects to save the woman who is fitting the squiddies in this above ground station.

Will some machines come to the aid of the humans? Will they reprogram machines to fight the good fight for them in Revolutions?

I think it is a good possibility it will happen.

Also, this might throw something into the matrix, because machines are able to jack-in too.

Are agents actually the walking machines? Yes, there is special walking machines that haven't been reprogrammed and are more hardcore. You will notice in this short anime that the walking machines control the squiddies by dropping a device that calls the squiddies to their location.

Spoon BoyJun 05, 2003 at 2:12AM

Carolyn says:

Do we know the name of the boy that neo saved/didn't save?


I just watched The Animatrix. The kid's name is Michael Karl Popper. The Animatrix's fourth piece, entitled "Kid's Story", tells us the story behind how he was brought out of the Matrix. I'll leave it @ that for now.

There's a whole new load of relevant material in The Animatrix that will open a few more cans of worms on this thread. Particularly enlightening are "The Second Renaissance Parts I & II" (written by the W's), which tap into the "Zion archives" and tell us more about A.I.'s thematic role in the story. Good stuff; have fun with it.

Koty asked:

Has anyone ever seen the name “Zion” actually spelled out anywhere, or just spoken by the performers?


Yes, on a computer screen. In Reloaded, Trinity took down the power plant using the password ZION0101.

Ged ByrneJun 05, 2003 at 5:47AM

Reedmaniac,

Nice, very nice. I'd missed that one.

tomjkiehnJun 05, 2003 at 7:33AM

Yeah, I'm in Moscow and I picked up a DVD of Matrix:Reloaded so that I could pause the screens and catch all the dialouge. I noticed the 'Zion' spelled with a 'Z' as well.

However, I think that it was actually spelled Z10N0101, with a '1' in place of an 'I'. That probably doesn't matter, does it?

I think that with that whole Bane/Smith cutting his palm deal, what is significant is that he is cutting '11' (ONEONE); the same thing we see graffitied on the wall in the Neo vs 100 agents fight scene.

I am still looking for significance in the "D-MAN" graffiti from that same scene. Any ideas?

GhostJun 05, 2003 at 11:56AM

After seeing the animatrix last night I have come to a discision. The matrix 3 is not going to HAVE in a happy ending. In The Second Renaissance Parts II & I, it shows the machines having an awesome army. Yet Z10N only has a few ships with EMP's. The fact is that mankind in his prime couldn't take on the machines so why now should they be able to defeat a bigger machine army?

What I think will happen (and I’ll freak if it does). Is one of three endings.

The first Neo jax into the central consciousness of the machines and destroys it.

The second Neo wakes and finds a Matrix in a matrix, and his matrix is seperate from all the other's.

The third HE DIES. And all other humans as well.
So sad yet true. There is no Physical way they can win the war.

Sorry about the spelling?

Spoon BoyJun 05, 2003 at 1:59PM

tomjkiehn says:

I am still looking for significance in the "D-MAN" graffiti from that same scene. Any ideas?


Aha! Check it out:

D-MAN: short for Download Manager, is a PHP4/MySQL program which provides a simple and secure way to manage who has access to download your files and which ones.

btw, notice that 101 looks an awful lot like a lower-case LOL.

Ghost says, after viewing The Animatrix:
The matrix 3 is not going to HAVE in a happy ending


I suspect the same. The ever-popular notion of "man saves the world and they all live happily ever after" will be over as soon as the upcoming T3 nonsense tapers off in a couple months. No John Connor ending for this one. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that our Matrix guys are setting themselves up for a horrific self-discovery of sorts, a la Rourke's character in Angel Heart. Far from happy. The good news is that they'll be able to do it all over again in the seventh revolution.

I've got a feeling that "the end" (of mankind maybe, but perhaps more abstract than that) has already happened, and this whole trilogy has been merely a result of that ultimate ending.

In The Animatrix's "Kid's Story" piece, pay close attention to what the teacher is writing on the chalkboard. ;)

CoreyJun 05, 2003 at 2:37PM

I'm guessing that the battle in Zion is just gonna be one of those hold em off till the real heroes save the day kinda things, like in Star Wars episode 1. Just as the Zionites are losing, Neo will save the day and all the machines will shut down. Kinda corny and overused, but It'll make for some good real-world battle sequences.

GhostJun 05, 2003 at 3:34PM

Now that i have your attention; when a program in the matrix becomes obsolete it was revealed that they must return or chose to stay and be rouge programs, right. Now my question is where are they returning? There must be a cental AI running the whole show. Now my theroy is that Neo must act as a virus and somehow infect this central intelligence, accessing it from inside the matrix. Obviosly it can be accessed from the matrix if smith was killed in the matrix and choose not to return to it. I personlly thought that he was going to get there when he went to the "source". But it must be farther and deeper down the rabbit hole.

BUT THEN AGAIN MABEY THAT IS WHAT THEY WANT HIM TO DO....




" The proposition, I exist, is necessary true each time I pronounce it."


CoreyJun 05, 2003 at 3:43PM

Ghost says:

I personlly thought that he was going to get there when he went to the "source". But it must be farther and deeper down the rabbit hole.


I think the door to the left led to the source. But then again, obsolete programs must go to the source, and they don't all go through the glowing door in that building like Neo did, so there must be another way to get there.....

Spoon BoyJun 05, 2003 at 3:55PM

Ghost says:

Now my question is where are they returning? There must be a cental AI running the whole show.


They (i.e. programs void of purpose and therefore facing deletion) are returning to nothingness, from whence they came.

BUT THEN AGAIN MABEY THAT IS WHAT THEY WANT HIM TO DO....

Try to shake the nagging idea of "they" and "want", which bind you to something literal. It's the art of metaphor, and the subject is A.I.

GhostJun 05, 2003 at 4:15PM

Well here is an interesting question now that I have the attention of some intelligent people; here is something to "Bake your noodle". How would the Oracle (a machine) know that Trinity (a freed mind human) would fall in love with Neo?

First of all love is an emotion of unpredictability to the machines, and I’m sure they don't understand it if they can't understand hope.

Second all of the others experienced this profound attachment to the rest of their species in a very general way, Neo's experience is far more specific: Vis-a-vis, love. So the LOVE part has not happened before.




Ergo, some of my answers you will understand, and some of them you will not.

lofty (Adam Lofstedt)Jun 05, 2003 at 5:00PM

Come on, give the 250,000 or so folks in Zion some credit.

Zion was formed mostly from "freed" minds (except for the next generation born in Zion), who all went through the same process as Neo in discovering that what they thought was reality was actually just a program.

After undergoing such a mind-boggling realization (and being so dupped by the machines), would they then be so gullible to assume that outside the matrix is truly reality?

We haven't even experienced what the "freed" minds had to go through, we've only seen the movie, and even with that limited exposure the thoughts of recursiveness are pouring all over blogdom.

I can't imagine that the folks in Zion wouldn't have thought of this, and wouldn't have invested time, research, and effort into determining whether or not the matrix was many levels deep. Simply because of their apparently "blind" acceptance of reality outside the matrix after such a mind-shattering realization makes me certain that there is no matrix-in-a-matrix.

I don't imagine the "freed" where chosen to be freed at random. They, probably like Neo, showed an inherent curiosity or skepticism of the system, and so by nature that 0.1% in Zion would be the most skeptical/curious of all the human population.

Spoon BoyJun 05, 2003 at 5:28PM

Ghost says:

How would the Oracle (a machine) know that Trinity (a freed mind human) would fall in love with Neo?


Exaaaaaactly. :)

Scroll up and review a few of Theo's postings in this thread, all dated May 27th.


TedJun 05, 2003 at 5:52PM

I have a couple of questions and theories:

Question 1: Assuming that the matrix-within-a-matrix scenario is correct, what is the purpose of the Zion Matrix? We know that ostensibly, the "inner" matrix is used to enslave humans while their bodies are used to provide power. But if it turns out that this reason is actually a part of another Matrix, then what is the real purpose of the Matrix?

BTW, I personally give the matrix-within-a-matrix theory more weight. And I only think it's necessary to have 2 matrices. A second matrix is sufficient as a system of control. And it plays into my first theory. :)

Theory 1. The Matrix is an experiment to explore one or two concepts: free will and/or love. If it's free will it could be for numerous reasons. Perhaps the machines don't have free will and are trying to understand it through Neo. Perhaps they are simply trying to understand the concept of free will.

Theory 2. Trinity is the "intuitive program". Perhaps the reason for The Matrix is hinted at through the various discussions about the symbiotic relationship between the machines and the humans. Perhaps the machines have already figured out that coexistence is necessary for long term survival, but they are trying to find a way to teach the humans this concept. What better way than to have Neo, a human, fall in love with Trinity, a program? This would also be a somewhat surprising twist, one that it seems the W's would like. And there's that reference Keanu Reeves made in an interview that in the end it's about love (http://www.zap2it.com/movies/matrixreloaded/story?article_id=16840).

Question 2: The one thing that doesn't seem to fit is... how does Agent Smith fit into all of this? Are things really different this time, as he seems to indicate?

Ghost 303Jun 05, 2003 at 5:59PM

I checked the posts... But I strongly disagree with certain points of the discussion. Something tells me that those screens were not the previous "ones" as everyone supposes. I would tend to believe that they would be Neo's different thoughts, and reactions. I haven't read all the posts closely, and in 10 minutes I leave work. But if it's possible please post the contradictions to my belief and I will read them tomorrow and respond.




Do you believe in fate, Neo? NEO: No. MORPHEUS: Why not? NEO: Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.

filchyboyJun 05, 2003 at 6:01PM

It should be noted that, at least to me, the character which cuts himself in the hand is doing so with what looks like a sharks tooth.

It is a pretty customary practice in cultures which employ "vision quest" like practices to harm themselves as they begin. It enhances and focuses the consciousness. Numerous modern examples of this can be found in the writings of the modern primitive movement.

If Smith is venturing out into "flesh" this may be seen as some type of focusing event for him.

lofty (Adam Lofstedt)Jun 05, 2003 at 6:22PM

Ted said:
BTW, I personally give the matrix-within-a-matrix theory more weight. And I only think it's necessary to have 2 matrices. A second matrix is sufficient as a system of control.


I disagree. In programming, if I have to do something more than once, I write a function. Once the function has been written, it can be called as many times as one needs, and in fact functions can recursively call themselves, potentially infinitely. It wouldn't be that hard for the machines to program infinite levels of matrices. If you know that there is a large enough threat to warrant investing effort to create a function to do it again (i.e. making the "outer" matrix), then the work has already been done to do it infinitely. I don't think this is where the Ws are going with the story line.

Spoon BoyJun 05, 2003 at 6:28PM

Ted says:
Question 1: Assuming that the matrix-within-a-matrix scenario is correct, what is the purpose of the Zion Matrix? We know that ostensibly, the "inner" matrix is used to enslave humans while their bodies are used to provide power. But if it turns out that this reason is actually a part of another Matrix, then what is the real purpose of the Matrix?


It's a metaphor. Take a look @ our own world, namely the Universe, Man, and Machine (software). Man is of the Universe. Machine is of Man. We know that ostensibly, Man uses his intelligence to create Machine in order to facilitate his needs. But as it turns out in the big picture, Machine is actually part of the Universe itself. So what is the real purpose of the Universe?

Artificial Intelligence can only be defined as such when compared to something that is not artificial. But who's to say human intelligence is real? It's all relative. These are the types of concepts the whole A.I. theme taps into. Fun, yes?

Your theory about Trinity being the mother is very interesting. If she is, it seems it would have to be beyond her own awareness, as she herself has her own unanswered questions about her world. Trippy. I'll roll that one around...

Marty MC FlyJun 05, 2003 at 8:37PM

Just come to my mind...

If Neo had choosed another door, Trinity would have died by falling on the car...from this point of view, I think that trinity is more important...maybe she is mother of matrix (probably she is really pregnant)...I mean the only reason of neo's choice in the Architect room is not because of falling in love with Trinity...maybe he realized the mother concept...

Spoon BoyJun 05, 2003 at 8:38PM

...OK, I rolled it around.

Ted, check out The Animatrix piece entitled "A Detective Story". We meet Trinity back in the good old days, before she comes out of the Matrix. Watch that and then let us know what you think of your theory about Trinity being the "intuitive program" that makes her "undoubtedly" the Matrix's mother.

Regarding all the talk about the nested reality theory,

Don't think of it as a purely mechanical "matrix-within-a-matrix" concept. Think of it as an "intelligence-within-an-intelligence". Arguably the same thing, but the former invokes a different idea to people since it sounds so physical.

Brian LibfeldJun 05, 2003 at 11:48PM

As films, The Wachowskis' Matrices most closely resemble George Lucas's Star Wars, James Cameron's Titantic, Peter Jackson's LoTR movies, Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek films & series, and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man.
>>>

I'd be more inclined to say they resemble Dante's Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradisio, although I have to admit to not reading all three. Also, I'm speculating a third level of existence in the third. I started to go into this on the feralboy.com thread... http://feralboy.com/cgi-bin/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=232

Aside from those there is a clear Lewis Carrol Through the Looking Glass and Alice in Wonderland parallel. On the commercial for the animatrix dvd the tagline is "See how deep the Rabbit hole goes." In the Final Flight of Osiris the question is posed whats 4 miles directly below the surface. Notably when Alice is falling down the rabbit hole she speculates as to how far she has fallen. In the annotated Alice there is a note going into the science of the period and the approximate mesure that Carrol would have had on hand for the distance to the center of the earth is 4,000 miles. 4 miles to Zion, 4,000 to the center of the earth.

As for everyone denying the dream-within-a-dream ending, I haven't seen much any canonical evidence for that. You can pull plenty to support it though. (Neo's EMP, Smith in the Real World, the Oracle knowing NEo's dreams, the pro robot slant of the history movies - The Second Renaisaance - in the Zion archive, the Kid's transubstantiation (sp?), Trinity being compared with the red queen in a Detective's Story, the weak logic of the human battery/blacking out the sky)

But, to make the Alice point worthwhile at the end of Alice in Wonderland it is a dream-within-a-dream but it isn't a Newhart style wake up to wake up again variation. (This isn't that scene at the radio station from Night of the Comet.) When Alice wakes up with her head in her sisters lap she is actually awake (Neo in Zion, out of the Matrix.) But then her sister closes her eyes and is dreaming in Wonderland even though she was never there. Its called a variation. It changes the mold. I don't pretend to know what the next movie will bring, but I would like to see some evidence arguing against the Zion is in the Matrix ideas that goes deeper than "cause it would be really cheesy."

CoreyJun 06, 2003 at 12:13AM

Not that I buy into the whole second matrix thing, but I'd like to throw this out there: What if the first matrix and the "Zion matrix" are not one inside the other, but side by side, and when someone leaves the first matrix he enters the Zion one?

CoreyJun 06, 2003 at 12:17AM

Thinking back on my last post, I realize that a side-by-side matrix would not be all that different from a matrix inside a matrix, but I'd still like to hear opinions if anyone has them.

TackaberryJun 06, 2003 at 3:33AM

I think the computers need neo. It s not a conflict at all. The problem, I think is agency. It s the frame problem I suspect. the programs can react and make choices based on inputs. but how is that first choice made? Neo is the one for the machines as much as he is the one for the humans. I think the movie is about the machines trying, unsuccessfully, to understand Agency. He provides the whole thing with agency. The whole thing is contingent on Neo making an original choice (it s a loop) the original choice is save Trinity or reset the system. Both are based on emotion. Machines can t start or reset the process because they dont have true agency. For them there is no choice. they judge inputs and act accordingly. theoretically they could figure all the choices they will make into the futre, meaning all that is left is understaqnding. Only Neo can provide agency, via emotion (the W bros answer to the frame problem). there are at least 5 perhaps 6 people in the movie that can in effect re write the matrix. these re-writings over the long term create anomilies. Eventually it has to resetted, or over infinity it gets completely fucked up. Machines/computers don t have agency, so they can t start it themselves. Neo may be the only real human.
Agent Smith I think is an anomily created by the animoly (Neo). This I will suggest is unprecedented. I think we will find that both have the capacity to restart or destroy the Matrix. The third movie will be a matter of which plays out first. A contest betwen anomlies. Smith now has agency (cutting his hands for a new destiny). Smith has agency and will make a decision based on hate, Neo has agency, will make a decision based on love.

Merv is the first one. He is the computer s attempt to understand agency via emotion. But he failed, and defends this failure by suggesting that humans don t really have agency either, emotions is just biological code (the cake). It s jsut humans don t understand the why, how the inputs affect htem. Besides, the first 5 did choose the most logical door....
Persephone was designed to evoke emotion and therefore agency from Merv, but this all failed. Persephone felt it in the kiss though, becoming a believer in human agency.
You have the oracle and Pers against Merv in his Satan role, waiting for this debate among the programs to conclude.

the Arcitect is Freud archytpe in my mind, trying to understand the human mind.

the computers need Neo to provide Agency to their system. They have tried to understand it themselves, but failed. Neo is the One for the machines, not the humans. In fact, Neo could very well be the only human, the only thing with agency, in the whole system (except not Smith I will posit).

jessieJun 06, 2003 at 3:58AM

I'm glad that others caught the unknown man being lead away while Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity were approaching the Merovingian. Could this guy be a possible key player to the Matrix?

Has anyone else noticed that Ghost and Niobe are prominent in the trailer and teaser for Revolutions suggesting that the Matrix will in fact be _reloaded_ ? The both died along with the crewmen when the sentinels dropped the bomb. Perhaps they are reloaded which explains their appearance in the trailers.

Just A Thought

Ged ByrneJun 06, 2003 at 6:02AM

Some more ideas. Probably contradicting myself, but I've only believed 5 impossible things so far this morning and it will soon be time for breakfast :)

On the subject of the machines needing humans, I've noticed one thing strange about Smith. He isn't behaving like a virus. He duplicates himself like a virus, sure, but his isn't mutating.

The power of the virus is in it's ability to mutate and adapt, Smith isn't doing this. In the Burly Brawl we see an overpowering number of Smiths trying to defeat Neo yet not one of them can. Neo always seems to be one step ahead.

Contrast this with all the screens in the architects room. So many variations of Neo all slightly different. While this vast majority might get it wrong, it only takes on to make the leap and dominate. Natural selection at work, evolution in its purest form.

The strange thing is that we understand all of this now. We now how to write programs that use natural selection to solve problems.

However, the machines just don't seem to be very good at solving problems. As Morpheus points out about the Squids heading for Zion 'One for every man woman and child in Zion, that sounds like machine thinking to me.' There thinking is linear, like the Cylons in Battlestar Gallatica it makes the machines all to easy to beat in a fight.

Consider for a second the scorched sky, and the solution of using humans as batteries. As has already been pointed out, this is a terrible solution. Other species could make much better batteries. Forget that, the earch core could provide plenty of power. Forget that, they only need to build a rocket or to to puch past the scorched skys and there's all the solar energy the could ever possibly need. Yet the machines are just too stupid to see it.

Except of course, the machines don't see it that way. As the architect says, they are simply bound by the paramaters of perfection. It is not perfection that binds them, it is arrogance and prejudice.

The machines do have intuitive programs, programs that can solve real problems but these are looked down upon. The architect refers to the mother of the Matrix as a 'lesser mind.' His response to the Oracles name is scorn.

These intuitive programs are superior to the run of the mill 'perfect' programs. Note that while Neo can beat agents with ease he is unable to defeat the Oracles guardian.

I think there is an internal struggle within the Matrix. The linear code dominates, and uses its power to keep down the intuitive programs. A bit lot the world we live in really. However, these intuitive programs are smart, and they're fighting a clever battle.

They are certainly smart eneough to know that they're are much better ways to harness humans than as batteries. Again, an alegory for our industrialised society that reduces humans to nothing more than a single unit of labour.

They probably figured out long ago that by working with humanity they could have themselves a rocket to the sun and all the power they ever need.

Now that Smith has occupied a human body, has he become more human. In Revolutions will Neo face a Smith capable of mutating, adapting and growing. A far more forbidable foe!

Regarding a Matrix within a Matrix:

The ideas of the Matrix preceed computers by quite a few millenium. The Matrix just uses computers as a way of making these ideas concrete. Perhaps the Machines, the Matrix and Zion are all in something else, but not another Matrix. Perhaps the next level out is the spiritual world, a world that was around long before computers were invented.

It comes down to the same reductionist via holistic arguments as above.

The architect and Merovigian see humans purely in reductionist terms. Everything about them can be explained in terms of deterministic physical activities within the human body. Synapses, hormones, cause and effect.

What if there are more to humans, a spiritual element outside of the body: a soul.

Is anybody familiar with the Mormon teaching of What God was, we are now. What God is, we shall become? http://www.irr.org/mit/neuhaus.html .

Perhaps the real world is wrapped up inside something else, but it isn't another Matrix.

This would explain how the future outside of the Matrix can be seen, and how dead people can appear in the next film.

Time for breakfast.

Biff BiffmanJun 06, 2003 at 7:33AM

Tackaberry says: "agency" 15 times

GhostJun 06, 2003 at 10:25AM

Has anyone else noticed that Ghost and Niobe are prominent in the trailer and teaser for Revolutions suggesting that the Matrix will in fact be _reloaded_ ? The both died along with the crewmen when the sentinels dropped the bomb. Perhaps they are reloaded which explains their appearance in the trailers.

Jessie,
Niobe and Ghost are still alive. I'm not sure where you got the inpression that they died, but at the end of the video game they finish the task of placing the bomb and then they have to outrun oncoming squids. They nerowly escape by using the EMP and then have to sit and wait because thay are lost. The last thing said by Ghost to Niobe is "So what happens next"? Niobe says somthing like "we'll just have to wait and see", and they skip to the new trailer for the Revolutions movie.

AnonJun 06, 2003 at 12:50PM

Wouldn't it be smarter of the machines to have everyone in thier own seperate matrix, where not even the other people are real?

TackaberryJun 06, 2003 at 3:10PM

Tackaberry says: "agency" 15 times

My degree in Philosophy made Agency a 5 dollar word.

By my math I have to use it 5985 more times to get my moneys worth.


And I plan to :)

Brisvegas1Jun 06, 2003 at 3:24PM


OK, so according to the IMDB there are 1,943 names in the credits, but what I want to know is who is the guy being led away by one of the Merovingian's henchmen in the restaurant scene?. (The link contains a screen captured image of the man in question)

There is a very significant look exchanged between Neo and the mystery dude and a sound effect... so surely he must be important.

It's almost like one of those cat blips from the first film.

If I had to pick anyone we have met from the first film - I would say that the dude is the "blind" guardian outside the Oracle's apartment that Morpheus nods to.

But he may be from the game or the next movie.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Brisvegas1Jun 06, 2003 at 3:35PM

Also

Agent Smith says to Neo -

We're not here because we're free, we're here because we're not free. There is no escaping this system.

He says this after we see him pudding Baine and escape to zion, supposedly in the "real world."

So does this just indicate a lack of communication between the Smth/Baine in Zion and the Smiths in the Matrix? ..... Or is it a hint?

A hint that Zion is not really an escape from "the matrix" that it is just another programmed reality... One that is so different from the "matrix" that the humans accept it.

Ordinary humans have no way of knowing that they are in the matrix. Remember "no one can be told what the matrix is, no one can be shown"... people have to make a choice.. a leap of faith. They have to take the red pill.

So they have no way of knowing that they are out of the matrix when they wake up in the "real world".

Lets hope that Reloaded Explained is updated soon.... because I would really like to know what the alternative to the matrix in a matrix theory is.

Brian LibfeldJun 06, 2003 at 4:22PM

No one is going to read this far down, but here are my responses to everything I just read: (with each issues seperates by a + sign)

+
"remember when in the 1st matrix film, morpheus tells neo of the person that freed the first of "us"."

I'm not sure. I think you may be referring to the original Messiah character he references who could manipulate the Matrix. If this is the case then the one he is looking for is the Messiah of the second coming, a very christian idea. Zion though is the name of the Jewish home state. For the Jews, the Zionists, the Messiah never came, and they are still waiting for the first coming. Assuming Neo ulfills that role (which we are being led to doubt by the anumatrix and the video game) then he would be there to bring about some sort of ending for the people of Zion.

Now, following this lead then if there was no actual first Messiah, but a false prophet, then that serves to back up the Zion is in the Matrix idea. Then the prophecy, and Neo (or the spoon kid or the kid from Kid's story), exist to free not the Matrix but rather Zion. Hence Neo's powers in the "real world" of Zion.
+
"I think the oracle is on the human's side... plus, it's the oracle narrating the trailer for Revolutions! and she's tellin neo to fight Smith, who, as a i mentioned earlier, is quite parallel to neo."

Well, first, I think we can all agree that what is happening to Smith is an unforseen anomaly. (of course we can't, but I'll pretend) Neo was a predicted anomaly. Smith is an unpredicted anomoly, a bug that allowed for the admission of a virus. Now, the Oracle is a program, and part of being a program is bringing the 'a to b' thereby fulfilling the Matrix's purpose. Therfore she would have a valid reason to want Smith defeated because he is a program, a virus, that unlike the Mergovian's (sp?) is actually unaccounted for. So, if that happens to be the case, and we can all agree, than there is no evidence to suggest that the Oracle is on Neo or the humans side.
+
"Lipstick as cake - Persephone/Monica Belluci's kiss."

We assume that Persephone betrays the Mergovian. Why, because she and the Mergovian tell us that is the case. Are you on crack? Didn't you read 'catcher in the rye?' Both the Oracle to the Mergovian are trying to get Neo to consume, there may be other exapmles. The candy on the bench and the food at the table are the ones I'm referencing. We see how programs can function on different levels through the cake example. Then Persephone egregiously takes a minute of close up action camera time putting on lipstick before making Neo submit to kissing her and orally consuming some of the lipstick. Why hasn't anyone openly leapt to the reasonable conclusion that Neo is now under the influence of whatever program could have been activated and the catalysed reaction in him by the lipstick? What that programs purpose may be I have no way of knowing, but its too obvious.

I was a little put off that there wasn't a direct response, but maybe we can't see it until were looking back with the information provided in Revolutions.
+
"I don't believe the images of the other Neos are his predecessors, but merely the Architect's predictions of his possible responses (they all say "bullshit!" to "You are here because Zion is about to be destroyed...", because denial is the most predictable)."

So what you are saying is that the Architect is such a poorly designed program that the only option he can see Neo pursuing there is denial and specifically manifesting it through the use of the word bullshit? If those screens represent all of NEo's possible reactions, well, no, thats bullshit, because ven if there is a probability of 1 that Neo would respond bullshit the Architect would still have contingencies established for all possible responses, not just the one most probable.
+
"Dream within a dream - At the very least it would be inconsistent with the creative genius we've seen so far from the W brothers. My best guess is that Neo has power over the machines in the real world because the mind is a powerful thing."

So, what you are saying is that in a movie where the entire premise was the world isn't real, its a simulation that it would be inconsistent to say well, maybe the real reality is also a simulation? That it would be more consistent to say that the real world is not only real but powers inherent and limited to the simulation will work there too? And you can have some cotton candy if you like as well, just click your heels together three times, cause hey, that'll get you home and a cup of coffee in the real world too?
+
"The spoon kid and all the others at the Oracle's apartment were refered to as "the other potentials". Potential whats? Potential "Ones"? I think these were other recently "freed minds" consulting the Oracle just like he was (mostly young- freed before they get to a certain age). Thus, the "spoon kid" was in Zion, and wanted to remind Neo that there is no spoon. Not just in the Matrix, but in reality."

Potential ones. We see them manipulating the Matrix possibly without the benefit of Morpheus' (or some other ture believer's) tutelage. They are natural adepts, like (i'm a geek) Raistlan Majere. The way we can gauge if they are jacked in or still in the Matrix is to look at their clothes and body images. They are being brought to the Oracle to see if she will tell them they are the one. Think back to one of Keanu's earlier works, Little Buddah, for examples of this sort of thing.
+
"Exactly. Just so. Anyway, it may be that Zion is electronic, or it may not be. Either way, it is an extension of a control system. I'm just not convinced that it's inside another neural simulation."

Assuming that the first incarnation of Zion was outside of the machines control, and the machines can learn, then building that reality into the Matrix (the hated onion skin theory) would be sensible. Humans reject the Matrix because the suffering isn't real. They made it plain that most of Zion is not a happy place. The food people bring to Neo - that he tells them they need more than him - those are the huddled starving masses who live each day waiting for the machines to burst through the walls and destroy them. They are starving and fearful for their lives and have no time or energy, much less desire, to contemplate that now that they are out of the Matrix that maybe they aren't actually. Its a recursive fix.
+
"101 was Neo's apartment number.
303 was Trinity's hotel room number.
101+303=404"

Or, alternately, Trinity is usually representative of the father, son and holy ghost/mother, maiden and crone triptych. In those instances, which are a large part of western culture, the 3 are actually 1. So, the 3 in Trinity's room number would actually be a 1, 101 all over again. This could be speaking to a inherent connection between Neo and Trinity.
+
"I still say though, that computer program or not, intelligence = soul = "real"."

That is a reasonable assumption. You should read the Aestheticists (sp?) in philosphy, Ponty, Hegel, Focoult. They deal heavily with the concept of original vs copies and the definitions of Real. In the animatrix, in "matriculated" one of the characters makes the point that for the machines all reality is virtual, and thereby virtual reality, like the Matrix, is as real for the machines - say the agents - as the Zion world is for the squiddies. The difference that occurs is possibly that Smith through his interactions with Neo is now able to differentiate.
+
"If Neo is the One, then everything else must be nothing "

See, now there is a point worth making. Were in a binary world and the signifigance of that name should be looked at in binary terms. Sweet.

But Neo isn't the one. I know I may get jumped on for saying this, because many people are spoon fed believers (much like I usually am) but the Oracle tells Neo he isn't the one. She never tells him he is, only that she told him what he needed to hear. I doubt the programs can lie, they can only give prepared answers. If you accept the things the architect say as facts then you need to accept the things the Oracle says as fact as well and that holds true that Neo is not the one, hence he is a zero, concurently he is nothing. Vis a vis. Had to add a vis a vis.
+
"Anyone who recognizes a good movie and knows well the elements that make such a film, knows that Matrix Reloaded is not that good.... However, The Matrix Reloaded focused too much on special effects/action "

I see, thats why I've been reading people on this board talk about nothing but the special effects for... 4 hours now? Thats why all these posts don't linger on small story elements, but rather the cgi and escalade... oh wait, they don't. Only the people who have opinions and are scrolling by without reading what others have said - waiting to be heard instead of listening - say that. Were discussing here. Go have a banana.

God. I'm being a dick. Oh well. Thats my *choice*. Or, maybe, its the way god made me. Golly, thats a can of worms, isn't it?
+
"Neo doesn't see code when he says something is different and drops them and goes into a coma"

If Zion is inside the Matrix than Neo's powers in the traditional Matrix of M1 were programed into him, and those powers not functioning in Zion are progamed as well. Him manifesting those powers in the Zion world are the prophecy, which is false in the M1 matrix, manifesting for real in the M2 matrix.
+
"I have my doubts as to whether Revolutions will end in the same way The Matrix began. It simply wouldn't make sense in narrative terms."

Have you read all 5 books of the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy series? It does make sense in Narrative terms. And the bit about seeing his apartment now numbered 110 takes it that necessary step further.
+
"SPOILER She says about how his mind is now trapped between the Matrix and the real world. Hense another program making the distinction that Zion is the real world. /SPOILER"

Or that since he went into the coma outside of the matrix and entirely unplugged from the Matrix that he is trapped between the Real Real World and the Matrix of Zion. Again, "Wipe your glasses with what you know." -Joyce.
+
"that wonderful cheezefest Hackers where the kids try to bring down the "Gibson" by hitting it with a "rabbit" virus that propogates until it fills up the memory. Logic dictates that unless destroyed, the Smiths will one day fill up the Matrix and thus destroy it. Although with all their hopping around, it's a wonder that the Agents haven't filled landfills with their IMI Desert Eagles and skinny ties."

Totally! I once used the tank code in grand theft auto until the street was so full of tanks that they were piled three high and somewhere between 50 and a hundred tanks the PS2 crashed and my game file got corrupted (since tanks save through restarts) So, by that token maybe Smith is the only one who can actually crash the Matrix. Solid.
+
"What if Neo simply kills himself, making the supreme sacrifice to remove The One from the equation and remove the issue of Choice from the Architect's design?"

I'm pretty sure Keanu already made that movie. They don't want to so accurately retread ground. "I'm a lawyer; thats my job, its what I do!." Al Pacino as "The Architecht."
+
"the character that Smith possessed was actually named Cain, not Bane(Bain). Sort of puts a more Cain and Able spin on that connection."

No, check the IMDb, it was Bane - played by Ian Bliss. Do a google on Ian Bliss and find his picks and unsuprisingly it is the same actor who played Bane.
+
"If the "apartment 110" theory is correct, and the 3rd movie ends where the first began (albeit at the next iteration of the matrix), why did the directors end episode 2 with "to be concluded" rather than the more traditional "to be continued"?"

Because just like back to the future when we see Marty get in the car and go back to the past as at the beginning of the movie we don't follow him, we wait and see the slight difference, that SPOILER Doc read the note /SPOILER.

We are not gonna keep REVOLVING in a circle like that, we close the circle and look at it from the outside, and in doing see the door number has changed. So, I guess its not a circle, which would be a continuation infinitely, but rather a spiral and a conclusion to the story as we know it. Until someone throws several hundred million more dollars on the W's deak and says make me a saturday morning cartoon/hbo animated series/a line of breakfast cereals. (branded after Ceres, who is Persephone's Mom? I wonder if Monica Belluci's mom is hot? Its questions like this that MOST undermine my points... isn't it?)
+
"I think the 101 theory is good but it is just too much. Maybe the Wachowski Brothers don't even know what binary code is."

Since what Neo sees (green charcters) is modeled on binary code (if you've ever looked at the base source code of files on your computer) its likely they know a bit or two about binary code. 011000010111001101110011!.
+
Re: Amy's racism argument

Well I don't disagree with some racist elements I think the overwhelming of minorities, and especially blacks in the Zion environment has a lot to do with the racist mechanisms in the actual Matrix. The minorities are more likely to have reason to question reality because their reality is worse than the average white Matrix dweller. But, just like Jesus, Neo had to be painted white so that the mass audiences would buy into it. And, whos more whitewashed than Keanu (No, hes great. I love him. Hes a good kid.)

Now, wheres my pu...
+
"What was up with that guy being lead away when Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity were approaching the table The Merovingian was sitting at?"

I had that same question and plan on looking for it when I go to try and see the IMAX version. For now I just assume it was the keymaker, but that doesn't seem right.
+
"kernel : The essential center of a computer operating system that provides the basic services for all other parts."

Spoon Boy... I... I love you man...
+
"One other thing, can anybody tell me where to get a copy of Animatrix?"

Its currently showing on the In Demand channel on Digital Cable throughout New York and I would imagine most of the USA.
+
Re: The Video Game -
"Yes, I'm sure Neo is the "special child". The Oracle doesn't come out and say it like that. But, in the scenes where she is talking to Ghost or Niobe (which are at the same spots in the video game), she is talking about the path of The One, and saying she is preparing Ghost, Niobe and others for this path too. She says the path of The One is paved by the many."

I spoke to a few people who played the game and they interpreted this differently (again, damn my lack of a console gaming system). They took the whole thing to imply either the Kid of Kid's Story or the there is no Spoon Kid to be who is being spoken about, and not Neo. But hey, I guess I just need to consume... Mmmmm... video games... and find out for myself.
+
I didn't read link_a_likes posts because the spelling was giving me a headache...
+
"I don't think there is time to show that she is pregnant. Revolutions can only happen in less than 24 hours. Neo said so himself."

I don't know if this is necessarily the case. I would have to watch the trailer again. The long hall/street with Smith lining the sides and Neo and 1 Smith talking battling in the trailer, it occurs to me, could be an actual in coma interaction. Since Neo and Bane/Smith are incapacitated in the same way there may be a bond there. I'm just suggesting here and need to see more to develop this idea. I do think that'll be right at the beginning of Revolutions if I'm right and accordingly showing it in the trailer then wouldn't give too much away.
+
"The film is about redemption"

In Western/Christian interpretations sure, its about redemtion, but then why all the Eastern imagery. Does the redemptive schema hold up when you look at it in that light?
+
Isn't a recursive loop, the paradox that ruins most time travel stories as an example, one of the major things that could overwhelm a system and make it crash? Like when I used to MUD you could ping someone and they could set up a response to that ping. If you set your response to 'ping me' and then pinged yourself once the system would eventually crash. They took that out eventually, but it took a few (more than 6 I bet) major system crashes for them to get a grip on it. Its not a matrix within a matrix, its a recursive loop building toward a crashed system. Smith is the anamoly that allows for that to stop. Hes ctrl + x. A thought with no basis in fact.
+
"The end of Reloaded was a great piece of redirection to make everybody think Matrix inside a Matrix. In reality it is the other hovership that EGMs the squids. It is Smith/Bane that Neo feels."

As much as I want to argue, and do argue?, the onion skin matrix in a matrix take on things, what you suggest is whats been lingering in the back of my head as the most reasonable outcome.
+
On Sion as an interesting spelling in Agrippa's post:

Here is the etymology of the word Zion:
Zion - O.E. Sion, from Gk. Seon, from Heb. Tsiyon, name of a Canaanite hill fortress in Jerusalem captured by David and called in the Bible "City of David." Zionism "movement for forming (later supporting) a Jewish national state in Palestine" coined 1896.
+
"Recall that tank and his brother in the original had no plugs"

Recall that Neo and everybody in the Matrix had no plugs. If the Zion is in the Matrix then they have to account for freeborns like Tank as thats a part of free humanity, so some owuld have plugs and some wouldn't as to maintain the illusion.
+
"Silver wil absolutely positively not bet his Frank Lloyd Wright mansion on some geeky boy wet dream of a nihilistic cyberpunk onionskin "revolution means-no-human-beings-we're-all-machines" ending."

Oh yeah. I forgot. Sigh...
+
"Another thing that i will investigate is about the ENTER THE MATRIX game if you play as niobe, the Oricle will tell her that when Neo leaves the Architect HIS MIND WILL BE SPLIT BETWEEN THE MATRIX AND THE REAL WORLD."

Wait, so Neo actually goes through Both doors? A binary split... he makes the zero (resetting the matrix) decesion and the 1 (saving Trinity) one?
+
"However, I think that it was actually spelled Z10N0101, with a '1' in place of an 'I'. That probably doesn't matter, does it?"

Well, it might. With Binary you generate and alpha character with 8 characters, each a 0 or a 1. Now, if you translate the z and the n out you have 16. You add the 0101 at the end on and you have 20. The 1 that replaces the i becomes 21 and the 0 can either be taken as a 0 or a 1, which leaves us with either a total of 22 charactes, which is gibberish, or 29 characters, which is also gibberish, but possible less so, since 24 should make 4 alpha characters. Damn, now I have to stop criticizing and think some... brb...

anyway, some combinations of letters and numbers may bring us some clue. zion0101, z1on0101, z10n01010. Now, to have it not come back to exactly this at least one of the zeros or ones has to remain a zero and a one, but not all of them do. 0 and 1 as alpha characters have 8 bit binary representations, so some combination that brings us a set of characters that are a multiple of 8 would seem to be the way to go.
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"In The Animatrix's "Kid's Story" piece, pay close attention to what the teacher is writing on the chalkboard."

Dude, I'd have to rent it again, just tell us... just put SPOILER and /SPOILER around it... sigh.
+
"I can't imagine that the folks in Zion wouldn't have thought of this, and wouldn't have invested time, research, and effort into determining whether or not the matrix was many levels deep."

When did they have time to think about it? With the robots pretty much perpetually at the door? Its a good point, and thats why labor unions came about, but it takes time, probably more than the preprogrammed reboot cycle that Neo represents. Hes a seconds hand.
+
"We meet Trinity back in the good old days, before she comes out of the Matrix."

Not at all, the detective's who are mentioned have 3 fates, the middle one is evidence that this is after she has awakened from the Matrix.

Brian LibfeldJun 06, 2003 at 4:44PM

I just reread my post... and I complain about someone else's spelling... sheesh.

DaveJun 06, 2003 at 5:41PM

1) I'm still not buying that it's going to be a Matrix within a Matrix. I can see it happening, but I don't think it will.

How about this: if Zion is just another Matrix, then its point of existing would be for the small small minority of people who realize that their world is fake. It would exist to convince these people that there is a real world and that they should be happy living in it. Except that, for one, their lives become centered on freeing other minds, which tends to involve killing LOTS of civilians, like the security guards in the office building in the 1st film or everyone on the highway in the second. And if they die then the machines lose one more coppertop. Secondly, and more importantly, the point of the outer matrix is entirely to convince the people who are freed that this world is real. Then is STILL doesn't make sense that Neo can use magical electricity to zap the squiddies. Why would there be some kind of program built in that lets him have special powers no one believes are possible? Someone please explain why the Zion matrix would allow him to manifest super powers is is purpose is to convince people that it's not a matrix.

2) In the first movie Morpheus refers to someone who long ago learned to manipulate the matrix and freed the first of them. I think that this person he is referring to is actually Neo's predecessor, the 5th One. I'm guessing that after re-creating Zion and rebooting the Matrix, the One's last job is to find the first few people who are rejecting the simulation and to free them and put them in Zion.

GhostJun 06, 2003 at 5:59PM


Encore.....

Brian Libfeld, the only thing that you didn't comment on is whether or not something was uploaded into Neo when he died at room 303. Since I agreed with much of what you said I’d like to read it. Some say it was a program that just before the point of death was loaded into him "like Smith was loaded into C/Bane". I personally think that it was a soul or power of some sorts. Since knowledge is power perhaps it was the knowledge of knowing 100% that the Matrix isn't real, and the bullets can't kill.

Also no comment on the Oracle knowing that Trinity would fall in love.




“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”



Brisvegas1Jun 06, 2003 at 6:55PM

WOW - there is a great review online by Slavoj Žižek he is a philosopher and psychoanalyst.

Slavoj's review is a good counterpoint to the "Reloaded Explained" analysis, which is the best argument I've read so far against the onion-skin, matrix within a matrix theory. (Mind you I still don't agree - I'm almost sure that there is another break-through to be made, like the one from the matrix to Zion.)

ExtantJun 06, 2003 at 7:38PM

In reply to Brian;

Good post I felt a review of the various ideas, arguments, theories proposed in ignorance etc. was long overdue. Personally just to get it out of the way I thought the movie was stunning, thought-provoking, not without flaws, but with the potential when revolutions comes out to be part of a ground-breaking, mind-blowing trilogy.
OK that's my fanzine article out of the way;
1:You mentioned the guy being led away as Neo and Co. arrive at the Merovingian's table, I'm very interested in him also but I keep missing a reference in the credits. Do you think he could be the same guy who talks to Niobe in the game, making a reference to how long Zion lasted the last time? I'd be very surprised if we don't see him in the next movie.
2:You also put forward the possibility that Neo and Smith, when they fight in the 'long hall/street' as a possible coma interaction. I don't think that's going to be the case, as in an interview with Hugo Weaving the actor gave away one or two hints about revolutions, mentioning that the rain in that particular scene was deliberately made 'chubby' to reflect the degeneration of the matrix. (thus when the architect told Neo the Matrix would collapse if he chose the door etc. etc. he meant a slow degeneration over 24 hrs or something, as opposed to what a lot of people thought, ie instant destruction) , and further confirming that by the time of revolutions he as Smith will have totally taken over the matrix.
3: I really don't think it was a ship EMP that felled those sentinels at the end, mainly because of the way Neo braces and reacts as if he's stopping them with sheer force of will, but also of course it would have meant the temporary(at least) deactivation of that ship, plus add the whole "I can feel them" and "it's a bomb" and it's pointing more and more towards his abilities than any other theory. As for the whole 'is Zion another Matrix' vs. 'Neo can stop sentinels 'cos he swapped code with Smith' I just have to go with the former, as how can a real human body transmit a signal to the sentinels to stop, or sense them for that matter?

Finally I have a theory which I quite like, saw on another discussion thread, and which hasn't appeared on this thread so far ( I think!) It harps back to ideas of Asimov, as in machines having inbuilt limits as to what level of damage they can inflict on the human race. Maybe their programming simply forbids wilful and total genocide of their creators, so instead they create the Matrix to contain us instead. (one of the things I like about this is it does away with the frankly silly idea of them needing us for energy). Killing Zion every so often is ok 'cos they still got 5 billion other humans left. Yet this is a state of affairs that doesn't suit them, surely they want to be free of humanity completely and not have to worry about dealing with systemic problems in the matrix like choice, so after 5 cycles of the matrix they've manipulated The One to the point where he'll take the door that leads to the destruction of the human race, thus taking the decision out of their hands (at least to a point where they can go along with it). This explains why the Architect wasn't shocked by Neo taking the wrong door, that's exactly how he'd planned things. Where this theory leaves us in the third film is debatable, but maybe Smith will mess things up, or as this is the first time Neo has taken that door he will develope abilities that the machines didn't forsee, but that will allow him to stop their plan. Either way I cannot wait.

Oh and for all those who continue to put this movie down;
Remember this is half of one five hour movie.
Kindly realise that this is cutting edge CGI so stop knocking the best in the field. The Wachowskis are pushing the boundaries, taking us closer to seamless CGI action, and if all you want is Hong Kong realism, then go to the Bruce Lee section of your moviemaster store or whatever.
Thank God and all the angels in heaven that finally there is an movie for intelligent people. (sorry if that sounds snobbish but I firmly believe the more intelligent you are the more you get out of that movie) If you don't fall into that category then don't worry, I hear ignorance is bliss anyway.
Sorry but really some of the reasons I've seen for not liking this movie.....

Oh and I might be preaching to the converted or whatever, but I think anyone who likes accurate relegious references, layered plots and just general coolness among other things should really try Neil Gaiman's The Sandman graphic novels. Just a thought.

lofty (Adam Lofstedt)Jun 06, 2003 at 7:58PM

Brian said: I don't pretend to know what the next movie will bring, but I would like to see some evidence arguing against the Zion is in the Matrix ideas that goes deeper than "cause it would be really cheesy."

Read my post above. If the people of Zion were freed and figured out that their reality was just a program, then it would certainly make them think about further levels of matrices. They certainly would have investigated this possibility already and concluded that there is only one matrix. This is further supported after watching the Animatrix short "World Record", where the narrator tells the audience that:

"Only the most exceptional people become aware of the matrix. Those that learn it exists must posess a rare degree of intuition."

Give the freed people some credit, they are not that gullible.

Tackaberry says:
I think the computers need neo. It s not a conflict at all. The problem, I think is agency.


Thank you Tackaberry! I think you better watch yourself or else the Ws willl be coming after you for spoiling their plot. Your post is excellently explained, and is in-line with where I think the Ws are going with the story line. The Animatrix short "Matriculated", in which a machine is caught by humans and its mind reprogrammed through a human-made matrix shows that the Ws are focusing on the relationship between humans and machines, and how both are trying to understand each other better. Onion-skinning the plot does nothing to further resolve this understanding.

TedJun 06, 2003 at 8:16PM

Whew! How do you keep up with these posts? ;)

Ghost 303: When I saw Reloaded the second time, I noticed that there seemed to be at least 3 "modes" of screens behind Neo. One is when they screens simply display various screens from history - either Neo's past or human history (Hitler, etc...). A second mode is where all the screens seem to simply mimic the "current" Neo's movements. In this second mode, the camera angle is fixed and distant - almost from The Architects POV. The third mode is where there are various Neos who seem to be responding to the Architect in different ways.

lofty: Yes, I agree, it wouldn't be hard conceptually for for The Matrix to be infinitely recursive (wouldn't there be a stack overflow?) and I also agree that the W's wouldn't retread this like so many others (what about Groundhog Day?). However, I think it would be an interesting twist if there were only 2 matrices. Aren't 2 matrices sufficient? Ultimately, however, I suspect the W's will simply leave the issue open and ambiguous. Anyone willing to bet that this one will simply be open to interpretation after Revolutions?

As to whether people would be gullible enough to simply accept Zion if it were another Matrix... why wouldn't they be? For 99.9% of the people, there doesn't appear to be anything incongruous in The Matrix to cause them to doubt it as reality. And it doesn't seem like any character (even The Kid) has really broken free of The Matrix on her/his own.

BEGIN SPOILER
Spoon Boy: I just watched "Detective Story" again. What do you think? It's not really strong evidence either way, but there are hints that Trinity might be a program and possibly even the "Mother of the Matrix". There are multiple references to Trinity as "The Red Queen". And there's this quote from the crazy detective: "Trinity... doesn't exist, man. He's not real. He's a... a figment of cypher... Jabberwocky... And another thing. I've always wondered at the significance of Trinity's name. Could she be "Mother, Daughter, and Holy Ghost?"
END SPOILER

Tackaberry: Very interesting discussion about Agency. In my mind,
framing the issue of Agency in regards to both Agent Smith and Neo
provides a nice balance. I'm still struggling with how Agent Smith
fits in, but what you've said has given me a lot to chew on...

I would still maintain that the purpose of The Matrix is not as a power source, but something deeper and more philosophical. Agency as framed by love and hate is an awfully good candidate.

TedJun 06, 2003 at 8:19PM

A friend of mine also noticed something in the Matrix Revolutions trailer (not the end of credits trailer, but the one that can be found out on the web).

There's a scene with what looks like Trinity and Neo sitting in a ship in the tunnels with at least one and possibly several Sentinals rushing straight at their window. One sentinal stops abruptly just short of the window shooting electricity and sparks just like when Neo stops The Sentinals in Reloaded. The ship looks like it is being rocked pretty hard. Here's the funny thing:

Neo appears to be blindfolded.

DanJun 06, 2003 at 8:50PM

Hmm. I've been struggling to avoid asking questions for fear of them being answered, but after reading the 236th comment (took me a couple of days) I realized that by the time I'm done, there's going to be no discussion left.

A few points and questions:

1. In Col. Sanders rec room with all the TVs, Neo is given a choice between two doors, yes. And the Architect gives a lengthy speech about hope and the ontogeny of Neo's choice. But if you read the transcript (links above), you'll see that the Architect never actually spells out *where* he expects Neo to go. Both courses of reaction are dependent on hope, no?

2. It bothered me that Neo's character arc in 1 went from "regular guy" to guy who can stop bullets and fly, whereas TMR, we learn that he can ... gasp! stop bullets and fly! I don't know what I wanted him to be able to do, but he should have been able to do more: some sort of Superman heat vision or additional superpower beyond stopping more bullets and flying faster
(In one Empire Strikes Back callback, during the castle fight, he motioned to a sword on the wall which then flew to him. Yet at no other point did he exercise these sorts of more superhuman powers.


3. Had he done so, he would have given greater credence to the message at the end of TM, where he said he was going to "tell people about you." Neo in Tony Robbins mode, teaching everyone that they, too could control the Matrix, or demonstrating that it was all a lie would have given people in the Matrix cause to freak out completely, hence irritating the hell out of Col. Sanders and co. Clearly, people in Zion bought into his myth, what with the offerings, but why not enormous millions-strong massings of people inside the Matrix itself?

4. It struck me that Bain/Bane's hand-cutting, unlike some in this thread have suggested was just your plain old run-of-the-mill "machine-wanting-to-experience-real-pain" bit. No more, no less.

5. The ending was ridiculous. The film should have ended as Neo collapsed. The two stretchers rolling into frame next to each other move would be hacky on a a soap opera.

6. Along the lines of 3 above, I'm starting to think that Neo and Smith are both part of the problem, in the sense that either of them could really wake up too many people. The number of Smiths that arrived in the Burly Brawl seemed to be heading towards exponential. Who's to say that Smith can't infect the whole world, messing up the "battery supply" pretty severly? (Interestingly, it just occurred to me that the first time we saw anyone infect anything was Neo into Smith. Now, though, Smith has that same exact ability - in the Burly Brawl, this was made overt.)

7. In the bright white hallway outside of Col. Sanders den, there were dozens of Smiths. Wasn't it supposed to be impossible to get into that room? How did Smith do it? And what about the hallway of stars? Blatant 2001 rip-offs/tributes?

8. If you recall the Oracle's first prophecy in TM (the broken lamp), every prophecy we saw occur in the movies occured exactly. Yet in Neo's dream, Trinity actually hits the car. In the "real" (Matrix) world, though, the scene plays identically except for Neo saving Trinity. It strikes me that that's significant.

9. If you waste a few hours on Usenet you'll find lots of people saying that the "intuitive" entity that the Architect spoke of is actually Persephone, not the Oracle. On reading the transcripts, the wording (he says "please" derisively) would allow for either.

10. There's just got to be something to her being named Trinity. Neo's name fits, Morpheus's does. What about hers? Is she simply the third person, hence her name, or is it more about "Holy Trinities" and such?

Hopefully people are still around to consider and discuss...

DanJun 06, 2003 at 10:05PM

Hopefully I'm not re-stating something here as well (big "Oops!" on the not-quite-relevatory Persephone thing above), but something
Brisvegas1 said struck me:

Neo still knows hacking, still knows kung fu - and he will have to use those skills with his real body in the real world, quite possibly with his friends that he will wake up.

Why are we assuming he still knows hacking, or at least kung-fu?

(lofty) AdamJun 06, 2003 at 11:03PM

I would still maintain that the purpose of The Matrix is not as a power source, but something deeper and more philosophical. Agency as framed by love and hate is an awfully good candidate.

Yes Ted, I think that's getting closer to the bottom of it.

I think "Matriculated" has a lot to do with love. After that trippy human-bonding experience the machine goes through, it actually seems like it falls in love with the young woman. When it puts itself and her back in the matrix, it tries to approach her in a very endearing/loving way. To me, this meant that a machine is capable of experiencing love in its own way. The fact that the girl is terrified of the machine when it approaches her says a lot about the distance still between the machines and the humans.

I venture that Trinity is the mother, a machine/program, and Neo falling in love with her is the first mating of machine and man...

pixelkittyJun 07, 2003 at 12:06AM

jkottke says:
Who was that "survivor" at the end of the movie?

Yes please, who was that? He was upsidedown on the screen for like a second and I didn't catch who it was. Anyone?


Just goes to show that I was correct in my review, when I said this particular sequal was made for the stereotypical stupid American movie viewing public.

Spoon BoyJun 07, 2003 at 1:40AM


A quick note on the topic of revolutions, namely the fifth and the sixth in the sequence. In hindsight, we know that as the first film starts, there have been five revolutions and five previous Neo's. They had yet to locate the sixth Neo, dropping us into the story somewhere between the fifth and the sixth lap.

Ready? Watch the opening "green code" scene of The Matrix again. During Trinity's conversation with Cypher, her phone number is being traced, one digit @ a time. Her phone number is 555-0690. Here's the order in which the digits appear on the screen:

xx5xxxx
5x5xxxx
555xxxx
555x6xx
555x6x0
555x690

...the camera zooms into and through the final zero, between the 5 and the 6.

5550690

That is so cool it should be illegal.

Tackaberry says,

The problem, I think is agency.


Indeed, one of the many concepts that the subject of A.I. digs into. It also reveals unanswerable questions about control, choice, destiny, purpose, the nature of reality and simulation, and the fine line between the two. So perhaps Keanu's right. Maybe it really is all about love.

(Party on) Ted says:

I just watched "Detective Story" again. What do you think?


Trinity's handle of "Red_Queen" is referring to the Queen Of Hearts in Alice's world again. Seems to be a theme Trinity enjoys using on her test subjects, including Neo (i.e. "Follow the white rabbit..."). With the detective, she also refers to jumping the "six brooks" (as Alice did), and to meet her @ a very palindromic 20:05 (which incidentally reads the same when viewed in a "looking glass", or mirror). And yes, I noticed the six brooks. :)

Is Trinity the mother? It's not clear. The architect says of the mother:

"...the answer (to the first Matrix's problem of failure) was stumbled upon by another, an intuitive program, initially created to investigate certain aspects of the human psyche. If I am the father of the matrix, she would undoubtedly be its mother."

The fact that the intuitive program "stumbled upon" an answer implies that if Trinity was the mother, she'd know it. If she wasn't, then the idea of her "stumbing upon" a solution must've been something she wasn't consciously aware of. If she's the mom, she doesn't know it. Perhaps she can't know it. Know what I mean?

I've always wondered at the significance of Trinity's name.

Me too. Keep thinking.

Regarding the Revolutions trailer on the web:

Neo appears to be blindfolded.


Have you seen the trailer yourself and do you have the url? The blindfold thing reminds me of the sim workout the couple was doing in The Animatrix's "Final Flight Of The Osiris".

btw, Animatrix. Anime tricks.

Anyone willing to bet that this one will simply be open to interpretation after Revolutions?

I agree. Or more accurately, it'll be perfectly clear to those paying attention, while the rest of the world will either blissfully think it's something that it's not, or miss the point entirely (like pixelkitty and her "alterior" motives. lol. Check your spelling, kid.)

Brian Libfeld:

Did you have the day off today dude? That was classic! Totally lol @ "...brb..."

Regarding the teacher's chalkboard in The Animatrix's "A Kid's Story",

[SPOILER]

I've done my best here. Some of the text is unreadable and/or blocked by the teacher. Help wanted.

First chalkboard:

CLASS AGENDA
(unreadable) UP EXERCISES
HOMEWORK ILLUSION
NEW LESSON
WAKING IN CLASS (love that one!)

Second chalkboard:

It has been shown that this same simulation applies to the(convergent) linear recurring sequence with the initial ... assuring the characteristic physical ... the sequence tha ...

[/SPOILER]

More later. Poker night!

TackaberryJun 07, 2003 at 2:19AM

spoonboy and others talking about binary code:

For us that don t know binary, can you give a super quick, layman's explanation of the significance?


Thank you!!

notanyronJun 07, 2003 at 2:40AM

I find it very interesting that the W's seem to have a put quite a bit of subtle planning into the first film that is only revealed now. Here's a quote from matrixman:

"When the agents capture Neo and interrogate him, we get a glance of the Architect's room. The camera starts off in his room (notice the array of screens?) and then goes 'through' one of them, into the interrogation room."

What for me was just a cool shot done for effect, now becomes a spooky foreshadowing of the meeting between the Architect and Neo. With all the speculation rampant everywhere on the web, I have to wonder how many throwaway shots will be revealed as being much more significant. How much have the W's put in here & how much are we missing. On the same token, how many red herrings (white rabbits?) are being followed?

Spoon BoyJun 07, 2003 at 3:13AM


For us that don t know binary, can you give a super quick, layman's explanation of the significance?

The counting system we're all used to is a base-ten system, consisting of ten digits (0 through 9), arranged in columns in order to represent numeric values. The columns, from right to left, are the ones column, the tens column, the hundreds column, the thousands column, and so on, which ascend in multiples of ten. To notate the number "two hundred and forty seven" in our familiar counting system, we put the digit 2 in the hundreds column, the digit 4 in the tens column, and the digit 7 in the ones column.

(2x100) + (4x10) + (7x1) = 247

Computers use a different counting system than we're used to. It's a base-two system, consisting of only two digits (0 and 1). Like our base-ten system, digits are also arranged in columns to represent numeric values. However, in binary notation, the columns, from right to left, ascend in powers of two. From right to left are the ones column, the twos column, the fours column, the eights, the sixteens, the thirty-twos, and so on, ascending exponentially.

Compare the numeric values below. Using @ least three digit numbers for clarity, you've got your base-ten on the left, with binary on the right:

000 = 000
001 = 001
002 = 010
003 = 011
004 = 100
005 = 101
008 = 1000
009 = 1001
015 = 1111
016 = 10000
018 = 10010
032 = 100000
035 = 100011
063 = 111111
064 = 1000000

and so on.

To notate the number "two hundred and forty seven" in binary, we've got (1x128) + (1x64) + (1x32) + 1x16) + (0x8) + (1x4) + (1x2) + (1x1) = 247

So,

247 = 11110111

The reason we find this relevant in The Matrix is because of the undeniable connection to the idea of "the sixth" and many obvious references to the number 101, which is binary for 5, but essentialy the sixth in the binary sequence since computers start counting from zero.

TackaberryJun 07, 2003 at 8:16AM

I see wicked. Thanks Soon Boy.

I m in Japan and the movie just came out here. I saw it just last weekend, and missed the Revolutions trailer. I just downloaded and,

Is Morpheus and trinity fightin on the roof of the building in the first matrix? Is this that degeneration of the matrix as mentioned earlier, the anomilies piling up?

Who are the the oracle s guardian and trinity (mask/bandana dude) respectively fighting? Anyone rember what Merv s goons looked like? It does look like the oracles kitchen, as someone said (sorry for not giving you name recognition), when Serapth is playing with the guns, he definately beside trinity and morpheus, who s the long hiared crazy dude?? anyone figure out where Trinity and Morpheus are with that green laser light? anyone recognize any other characters in the scene? Is it a stage int he background or what?

Woah !the destination fo the subway train is LOOP !,

Maybe as the system ccrashes it starts looping, hence we are seeing some the scenes from especially the first movie over again, with different context.

If this nothing new than I will need to apologize to whomever posted this beofre me .

Brisvegas1Jun 07, 2003 at 8:29AM

I've captured some stills from the Smith / Baine hand cutting scene for anyone who wants to have a look at what is happening there.

It is not entirely clear what is going on... but I still think it is just symbolic of Smith / Baine carving out a new destiny for himself.

P.S. - do we have a definitive list of questions that need to be answered yet?

TackaberryJun 07, 2003 at 8:31AM

errr Spoon Boy. sorry.

And sorry for the double post. You guys are all sleeping in the west anyway.
Anyone want to give me odds that the Oracle s real name is Demeter?

TackaberryJun 07, 2003 at 10:57AM

Cool Brisvegas1. Thanks.

RBJun 07, 2003 at 11:19AM

Brian said:

"If Neo is the One, then everything else must be nothing "
See, now there is a point worth making. Were in a binary world and the signifigance of that name should be looked at in binary terms. Sweet.
But Neo isn't the one. I know I may get jumped on for saying this, because many people are spoon fed believers (much like I usually am) but the Oracle tells Neo he isn't the one. She never tells him he is, only that she told him what he needed to hear. I doubt the programs can lie, they can only give prepared answers. If you accept the things the architect say as facts then you need to accept the things the Oracle says as fact as well and that holds true that Neo is not the one, hence he is a zero, concurently he is nothing. Vis a vis. Had to add a vis a vis.


You know, personally, I always took this bit a little bit differently from everyone. Neo is told afterwards that the Oracle told him exactly what he needed to hear (or something to that effect, sorry, I don't have it dead on right now). Anyway, to me, to me, it was almost a challenge. Neo needed to prove to himself that he was the One, and there was only one way to do it - doing what he did.

If he was told he was the One, he may not have accepted it - we can see he didn't believe it before, even when Morpheus told him he believed in him. And, of course, the One needs the confidence that he is such, else he's useless.

Oh, yeah, I remember the other thing I wanted to mention now. Has anyone else noticed in the Revolutions trailer the thousands of Smiths? They fill the building behind the original, they line the streets... Obviously, he's been busy. It's in both. I don't have a link to the one after the movie, but I did find ">this (I can't remember where, it might have even been further up on this thread!), I think it may be from the game (? - I haven't beaten it yet). Comments?

Keep up the excellent discussion here. New revalations almost daily. Fantastic.

DamianJun 07, 2003 at 11:47AM

www.thematrixreloaded.comSend me some of your matix reloaded songs please.

Spoon BoyJun 07, 2003 at 1:25PM


Another note on 5550690 scene and the topic of the sixth revolution,

Turn it up and pay close attention to the sound effects. As the digits progressively pop into place, they're each accompanied by a common electronic sound effect: "blip", "blip", etc. However, when the 6 in particular pops into place, it has a distinctively different "blurp" sound effect associated with it, which Trinity hears.

As the 6 falls into its slot, "blurp"...

Trinity: "Did you hear that?"

Cypher: "Hear what?"

Trinity: "Are you sure this line is clean?"

Cypher: "Yeah, of course I'm sure."

Trinity: "I'd better go..."

TedJun 07, 2003 at 1:38PM

Spoon Boy, by ambiguity, I'm wondering if the W's might be clever enough to end Revolutions such that there won't be a definitive answer to any of the questions that have been raised about the film's philosophy. Maybe it'll be completely interpretive whether they ever truly wake up out of a The Matrix? That was a very nice explanation of binary and base 2.

Here's the link to the other trailer to which I was referring:

http://www.movie-list.com/m/matrixrevolutions.shtml

Tackaberry, I assume this is the trailer to which you're referring. As far as I know, it's not actually the one that's shown at the end of Reloaded - at least not where I saw it. It's very similar, but there are differences.

I also have been wondering why they are fighting on the ceiling. I've heard several references now to The Matrix breaking down. Does anyone have any links/URLs to such references? I don't know who Trinity is fighting, but it reminds me of the gimp from Pulp Fiction. And that crazy looking guy seems significant but really out of place, doesn't he?

A couple of other notes:

As more... uh... evidence of a matrix-within-a-matrix, there are recursion motifs throughout the film. In particular, the opening credits of Reloaded is quite recursive in nature as well as the often used shots of a scene in a monitor/screen which pan into the screen.

Also, in thinking about the nature of recursion some more, I almost forgot some very basic lessons. Namely, that recursion requires a base case. Otherwise you have infinite recursion resulting in a stack overflow.

Finally, some of us have been discussing agency as framed by love and hate (have I caught up to Tackaberry, yet?). But I realized that there are other themes that I suspect might be part of the reason for The Matrix's existence: the notion of symbiosis and coexistence. It's a fairly explicit theme throughout Reloaded.

brian libfeldJun 07, 2003 at 2:02PM

You know, personally, I always took this bit a little bit differently from everyone. Neo is told afterwards that the Oracle told him exactly what he needed to hear (or something to that effect, sorry, I don't have it dead on right now). Anyway, to me, to me, it was almost a challenge. Neo needed to prove to himself that he was the One, and there was only one way to do it - doing what he did.

If you are saying that you took it as a test and he is the one I think you took it the way it was intended. Thats how we are being led by that. That supposes the Oracle is capable of lying, which I don't dismiss, but for some arguments needs to be held in check.

Heres something that occured to me on the train yesterday. I've been trying to wrap my mind around the Persephone kiss scene. I found it gratuitous but as I said above I think she didn't betray the Mergovian. Heres the thing, if she is PErsephone then she is Ceres daughter. She is bound to Hades as his consort/wife because she consumed food while in hades. Hence the offering of food to Neo as soon as he sat down. Yes it was courtesy but it was also similar to the cake he offered the blonde. In mythology Persephone has to stay in Hades one month for each seed of a pomegranite she ate, which I believe was 7 (does anyone know the exact number?)

Neo is the only one of our heroes who consumes anything in the Mergovian's. Notably he is also the only one who is trapped in the Mergovian's castle in the mountains. Everyone else gets out where they came in (more or less) and Neo after consuming the Kiss/Lipstick finds himself trapped. Hes the hero of the story, so he has another means of escaping, but still. This becomes relevant because in the video game the Oracle tells us that Neo's mind is caught between the matrix and the real world. Is when he leaves at the end of the movie, just before he halts the squiddies, is that the first time he leaves the matrix after the Meregovian's? Just curious. If it is, then perhaps the kiss is where his mind becomes trapped inside the Matrix and not at the architechts?

RayneJun 07, 2003 at 2:18PM

Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation may offer some alternative viewpoints; for instance, the breakdown between reality and image is collapsed when Smith “infects” Bane. Smith is no longer part of the image of the unreal Matrix, yet he is not entirely human in Bane. Smith transcends the veil between real/unreal through his viral-like mutation into a hosted entity; he checks for this shift from unreal to real by cutting into his host’s hand. In the unreality, the damage would have been healed or could be discarded. In reality, Smith must live with the pain that is Bane – yet the pain is the desired location of reality.

Smith, in some respects, has entered a hyperreality, living between both the unreality/surreality of the Matrix and the reality of Zion. Is this perhaps the third realm, where both the Matrix and Zion are nexted? A place where simulation collapses and co-exists with that upon which it was modeled?

Neo also lives in this hyperreality; he’s demonstrated the collapse between the real and the unreal/surreal by not only moving between both places, but by using the powers which existed in the unreality within the space of reality (his overpowering the squiddies).

Perhaps the ultimate outcome of Revolutions will be the unveiling, revelation that there is some force which exists and lives independent of the place in which it is framed. This power needs no referential framework, reality/unreality/surreality/hypperreality to quantify its existence. Is this force the real source of our humanity, the real font of spirit? Hmm.

RayneJun 07, 2003 at 2:23PM

Sorry...nexted = nested ^

Spoon BoyJun 07, 2003 at 2:38PM


Ted says:

I'm wondering if the W's might be clever enough to end Revolutions such that there won't be a definitive answer to any of the questions that have been raised


Likely. This is common in the highest levels of conceptual art, literature, and music. An element of ambiguity allows the audience to explore the piece, find what they want in it, and embrace it as their own. This is not to say that the artist doesn't have his own personal interpretation of his work. It's just that he doesn't spell it out for us.

Brian Libfeld says:

Neo is the only one of our heroes who consumes anything in the Mergovian's.


True. Interesting. I like where you're going with this, as I was trying to wrap my noodle around the relevance of the kiss as well. I initially thought it has something to do with cracking a password of sorts in order to access the Keymaker (i.e. the kiss had to be "convincing", and it took two tries to get it right.) The scene that focuses on Persephone applying the lipstick supports what your saying regarding consumption, as does the restaurant setting itself. btw, the Merovingian's cake: Devil's Food.

Off to the beach with the dog while I think about it...

TackaberryJun 07, 2003 at 11:34PM

Persephone is Demeter's daughter not Ceres' daughter.

There has been a lot of conjecture is all the food (and lipstick) offered to Neo are programs- cookies, candy, etc etc.

It's not an unreasonable nor an unvalid suggestion. More so, you have precedence in the cake and perhaps the pills. But I just don't see what it adds. That's a lot of manipulation Neo has digested, and as of yet we haven't seen the purpose and intent of each program, nor the results of each program.

I saw the kiss differently. They focused on Persephone putting it on because plain ole lipstick is program sort of speak, it does effect men. When she is putting the lipstick on, she still thinks like Merv, that humans, even love, is just something we don t fully understand. She still thinks there is nothing magical about it, doesn t see what role it could play in decision making. I think her and Merv were the first one and trinity, both as programs, both as the computers attempt to take that symbiotic relationship with humans out of the equation by providing themselves with true agency. They failed, found desire where love should have been.
After the kiss Persephone is a believer. In the debate among the programs, ie, between the oracle and Merv about the role of humans (and nature of agency) Persephone crosses back, out of Hades (this is why I asked earlier if anyone wants to give me odds that the Oracle is Demeter btw). There is something about love and humans. Persephone sees it now, and crosses between both worlds just like her mythological counterpart.

This just makes the kiss more purposful and intentional than transmitting a program, imo. The lipstick I just took to represent her old way of thinking, of thinking that inputs like lipstick can evoke love. Trinity doesnt wear lipstick ever in the movie. Hers and Neos love is not desire, it s not manipulated.

CarolynJun 07, 2003 at 11:49PM

I hate not having anything to add.

Oh well, 151 days.

Brian LibfeldJun 08, 2003 at 2:50AM

Persephone is Demeter's daughter not Ceres' daughter.

you say tomato, i say... Demeter is the Ancient Roman name for the Ancient Greek CEres, both goddess' of the harvest, both sisters and lovers of Zeus (the architect with is little wand of lightning) and both mothers to Persephone.

There has been a lot of conjecture is all the food (and lipstick) offered to Neo are programs- cookies, candy, etc etc.

I don't mean to suggest all food is a distinct control program, just that given the blatant associations that link the Mergovian with Hades and the historic/mythological signifigance of the effect of eating while in Hades has on souls (Hades is notoriously greedy about letting souls leave) that the Mergovian offering food and being so smug when Neo turns it down, I think he says "No, of course not." and smiles, cobined with the Oracle's telling Niobe in the video game that Neo's mind is trapped between the Matrix and the real world makes for a valid suggestion that the kiss Neo was MADE to take may have had the same effect. Notably, in mythology Persephone isn't trapped in Hades, she is split between Hades and earth having to spend 6 months of the year there for the six seeds of the pomegranate she ate while there. 6 months. in human counting not computer.

...as of yet we haven't seen the purpose and intent of each program, nor the results of each program.

Well, if Neo is trapped between the two maybe we have seen the results, just like him being trapped in the mountains, as i said before, while everyone else gets back out in Matrix California from the Mergovian's skyscraper. I was bothered not to see an immediente response because I associated the lipstick with the cake immedietly during that scene, and its only in hindsight that I realize we probably did and it won't be clear until later.

this is why I asked earlier if anyone wants to give me odds that the Oracle is Demeter btw).

And I was totally gonna give you props for that call. Even if it isn't the case, its a solid place to start from.

This just makes the kiss more purposful and intentional than transmitting a program, imo.

Well, i think trapping Neo's mind inside the Matrix is pretty purposeful. Having that kind of control fits in with the way the Mergovian has been described to us.

As for assuming that Neo's love of Trinity and vice versa isn't programed is a huge leap. Yes, its about love they tell us, and they of course after all these years don't know anything about feeding disinformation out through their actors... sorry... The architect makes it quite clear that in preparing Neo for his role they use tactics of both nature and nurture. He is placed with his family, his friends, his co-workers, his lovers, all for the end result they will generate in him - the Oneness. The Oracle tells Trinity that when the one comes along she will love him.

There is a point somewhere in this thread about finger waggling, where in the human mind the action of flexing your finger is initiated before the decision is consciouslly made to flex. If I'm with you and I tell you not to lick your lips, guess what you're going to do? Sure, Trinity wanted to doubt that Neo was the one, but as soon as she had an inkling of either a) Neo actually being the One or b) Wanting to rock Neo's body right she was going to fall in love with him. Love is like that. 90 percent timing, 9 percent attraction, and 1 percent commonality. Its all there. Hes the one, hes a cutey-pie, (especially compared with her other options - Joe Pantaliano - love the guy, but hunky love money he isn't), he can act in over 20 movies with only one facial expression, etc. and so she loves him.

Brian LibfeldJun 08, 2003 at 2:55AM

hunky love money = hunky-love-monkey

Its wrong of me to place my cynical take on love onto the brothers W, but given that one of them just left their wife for a life of being bottom and slave to a dominatrix, i wouldn't be too quick to give them an old school take on love either.

tllgrrlJun 08, 2003 at 12:15PM

y'all...it's PART TWO of a TRILOGY.
if you don't understand it, maybe you aren't supposed to because the story isn't over yet.
i've seen it twice and enjoyed it more the 2nd time.
in a movie landscape filled with jim carrey and sandra bullock, i'm reveling in the Brothers W's storytelling and vision.
braincandy and eyecandy.
yum!

sneetchJun 08, 2003 at 5:58PM

I reckon Neo is on the path of enlightenment, as in Buddhism, and he has reached the 6th stage. I don't know much about Buddhism, but it seems that once you reach Nirvana you are supposed to have almost supernatural powers such as a feel for all things in the world that exist, maybe what happened when he managed to stop the Sentinals.

parapesaJun 08, 2003 at 6:56PM

I'll admit I haven't been checking in recently, so please forgive me if anyone else has said this. in the scene leading up to the marovingian's first meeting with out heros, there is a table with people sitting. now i haven't seen the movie recently, but i was told by a friend that there is a shot of an actor called steve mcqueen, who incedently is dead,and has been for quite some time. whether or not this is the man being lead out, i have no idea, and whether or not this is supposed to shed more meaning on the movie, i cannot say, but that would explain why his name isn't in the credits: he's dead

Brisvegas1Jun 08, 2003 at 10:48PM

Oh my goddness- Steve McQueen does seem to be in the restaurant scene.

He isn't the man who is being led away... Instead he appears sitting to the left of the woman in the pink dres who has the "When Harry met Sally" cake.

Kind of ironic given that one of Steeve McQueen's most famous roles is in the movie "The Great Escape" where he plays The Cooler King - someone who spends much of the movie either in solitary confinement or trying to escape... This is very much like the solipsic view of the matrix, which has every trapped in their own individual pod - trying to break into the "real world".

Does anyone know if the guy who is being led away appears in either the "animatrix" or the "enter the matrix" game?

the oneJun 09, 2003 at 2:36AM

i think what happened is that Smith was not supposed to kill Neo when he did in the first movie. When he was killed Trin declares her love and makes him come back to life giving him what he needed to become the real One. This is what then creates a different outcome as the past 5 chosen ones, because Neo then returns to life as the first one did: "Born inside the matrix" and with a more powerful love feeling as the others did. Something new in this 6th version of the one too is that he destroys Smith giving him new powers, as the agent isn't part of the system that once controlled him. This is why things don't go the same as they did before, why should the agents try to kill neo if he is necessary to the system itself? This is why the architect is so curious of the one's decision this time and we see the options and possibilities he can take and considers on the screens in his room.

Spoon BoyJun 09, 2003 at 3:06AM


Re: Steve McQueen,

There's a resemblance. But he's no more McQueen than anybody else on the planet who looks like McQueen. It's an illusion... between those with control, and those without.

If that's Steve McQueen, then the dude being escorted out of the restaurant is Tommy Chong.

A note on the Merovingian and the consumption theory,

The first thing Merv does before our three heroes sit down is offer them something to eat or drink, particularly Neo, as it is Neo that he's eyeballing during the offer.

Mr SpockJun 09, 2003 at 9:00AM

I haven't read through all these so I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but has it occurred to anyone that Xion may not be in the real world and in fact be another part of the Matrix.

Reasons for this thought largely revolve around the architect's speech, were he identifies choice, or the absence of choice, as the reason for the failure of the first Matrix. Xion could represent an illusion of choice?

It explains how Smith could be in bane and Neo could stop the sentinels at the end, if he becomes aware of the second system, which the rest believe to be the real world. It explains why the machines would allow Xion to reach a population of 250,000, because their is no real threat. Reset the second system every so often to maintain the illusion of choice.

Thoughts welcome!

Brian LibfeldJun 09, 2003 at 9:36AM

Hearty discussion and unpopular viewpoints are welcome, but please keep comments on-topic and *civil*. Flaming, trolling, and ass-kissing comments are discouraged and may be deleted. Thanks!

Hey Spock, welcome to the discussion. I hope you have a chance to look back over those 496 comments that most of us have actually read the brunt of.

Yeah. Thats it.

That guy being led away does look kinda like Tommy Chong, doesn't he?

RBJun 09, 2003 at 9:39AM

Since there was a lot of recent discussion on Persephone lately, I would like to pose another question: what do you think of her prediction after the kiss that though Trinity was lucky, "it won't last"? A death by one of them? One of them falling out of love? Sacrifice (though this would be the ultimate act of love)? Or was she semi-predicting Trinity's death that Neo had been dreaming about, which never ended up happening, therefore leading Neo to show up her prediction?

Just thought I might as well ask and see what the opinions were on that, if it even means everything (though, everything here seems to mean something :).

Mr SpockJun 09, 2003 at 10:31AM

I've read most of them.

I haven't seen any of this Animatrix stuff, don't think its here in the UK yet!

Persephone's kiss. Tricky one this, it may prove largely irrelevant. Consider the purpose for including the scene, as the frenchman states, without an understanding of why the scene is there, you will not work out its purpose.

What does it achieve? It achieves Humour in the form of trinity's reaction to the kiss and an emphasis on the emotional reactivity of humans. In sharp contrast with the rational logic from the frenchmans causality speech.

Persephone's stated reason for the kiss was to 'feel', to 'feel'?? suggesting the understanding of emotion eludes the machines.

Does this lack of understanding account for their inability to build a matrix which can work without the provision of choice.

parapesaJun 09, 2003 at 11:17AM

the steve mcqueen dude, can't open the link to see him!
and supposedly the other guy sitting on the table, or someone else in that particular scene is also another dead actor, but i can't remeber who! reminds me of "death becomes her" when every dead famous person is at that party.
anyways, just thought i'd add more to the confusion :)

LeeJun 09, 2003 at 12:05PM

Hello all.

I hoping someone can help me here. I have read approx 250 comments so far (phey). Firstly something to think about.

Could the Architect be human? After all a machine is programmed,
The program follows the rules that were written by a prgrammer, so who programmed the machine? Another Machine? Who programmed that?

Secondly i remembered an paper written by Hilary Putnam in 1975 called Brains in a Vat. I has been a good few years since i read it and im trying to track it down. Why? The brain in the VAT could (is i think) be the idea behind the matrix.

If you can be bothered (i this may lose some people here) Please have a quick peek at the following link. and this I have to say that this is mindblowing stuff, and this is the reason i originally was fascinated in the first film.

Does anyone see any connections here?

Brian LibfeldJun 09, 2003 at 1:09PM

So I watched Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey last night, and I noticed how when the evil machine bill and Ted send the phone booth away they put on sunglasses and the left lens has red light flashing on it and the right lens has blue light flashing on it. This got me thinking...

So, lets look at this logically:
1 - The Phone Booth is the instrument used to move through time much as the phones serve as the conduit through worlds in the Matrix 2.

2 - The movie has a underlying man vs machine bent. We see instances of the machines being used for good... will we see that in Revolutions?

3 - We have a pair of dudes and a pair of ladies that make up the main heroes - Neo/Trinity and Morpheus/Niobe vs Bill/Princess 1 and Ted/Princess 2.

4 - Bill (Neo) possesses his father the way Neo is able to Possess Smith (Could Smith be Neo's father?)

5 - We move between three worlds in B&T, earth (the matrix), hell (zion) and heaven (something we haven't seen yet). Further support for the onion skin theory.

Anyone else have connections? I think all the answers are there...

Try not to take me seriously ever. I get loopy.

DanJun 09, 2003 at 1:10PM

Glad to see that this thread is continuing (ad infinitum, perhaps).

Brisvegas1 mentioned here that s/he wanted to put together a comprehensive list of questions, which I think is a good idea.

Not to toot my own horn, but none of my questions and comments were addressed when I posted them Friday. I'd really like to hear what people have to say, as I've not seen most of them discussed anywhere. If nothing else, I'd love to see some of them added to Brisvegas1's "definitive list."

Here's a re-listing for those frightened of following hyperlinks (with apologies for the extra couple of k wasted):

1. In Col. Sanders rec room with all the TVs, Neo is given a choice between two doors, yes. And the Architect gives a lengthy speech about hope and the ontogeny of Neo's choice. But if you read the transcript (links above), you'll see that the Architect never actually spells out *where* he expects Neo to go. Both courses of reaction are dependent on hope, no?

2. It bothered me that Neo's character arc in 1 went from "regular guy" to guy who can stop bullets and fly, whereas TMR, we learn that he can ... gasp! stop bullets and fly! I don't know what I wanted him to be able to do, but he should have been able to do more: some sort of Superman heat vision or additional superpower beyond stopping more bullets and flying faster
(In one Empire Strikes Back callback, during the castle fight, he motioned to a sword on the wall which then flew to him. Yet at no other point did he exercise these sorts of more superhuman powers.


3. Had he done so, he would have given greater credence to the message at the end of TM, where he said he was going to "tell people about you." Neo in Tony Robbins mode, teaching everyone that they, too could control the Matrix, or demonstrating that it was all a lie would have given people in the Matrix cause to freak out completely, hence irritating the hell out of Col. Sanders and co. Clearly, people in Zion bought into his myth, what with the offerings, but why not enormous millions-strong massings of people inside the Matrix itself?

4. It struck me that Bain/Bane's hand-cutting, unlike some in this thread have suggested was just your plain old run-of-the-mill "machine-wanting-to-experience-real-pain" bit. No more, no less.

5. The ending was ridiculous. The film should have ended as Neo collapsed. The two stretchers rolling into frame next to each other move would be hacky on a a soap opera.

6. Along the lines of 3 above, I'm starting to think that Neo and Smith are both part of the problem, in the sense that either of them could really wake up too many people. The number of Smiths that arrived in the Burly Brawl seemed to be heading towards exponential. Who's to say that Smith can't infect the whole world, messing up the "battery supply" pretty severly? (Interestingly, it just occurred to me that the first time we saw anyone infect anything was Neo into Smith. Now, though, Smith has that same exact ability - in the Burly Brawl, this was made overt.)

7. In the bright white hallway outside of Col. Sanders den, there were dozens of Smiths. Wasn't it supposed to be impossible to get into that room? How did Smith do it? And what about the hallway of stars? Blatant 2001 rip-offs/tributes?

8. If you recall the Oracle's first prophecy in TM (the broken lamp), every prophecy we saw occur in the movies occured exactly. Yet in Neo's dream, Trinity actually hits the car. In the "real" (Matrix) world, though, the scene plays identically except for Neo saving Trinity. It strikes me that that's significant.

9. If you waste a few hours on Usenet you'll find lots of people saying that the "intuitive" entity that the Architect spoke of is actually Persephone, not the Oracle. On reading the transcripts, the wording (he says "please" derisively) would allow for either.
(OK, THIS WAS DISCUSSED)

10. There's just got to be something to her being named Trinity. Neo's name fits, Morpheus's does. What about hers? Is she simply the third person, hence her name, or is it more about "Holy Trinities" and such

Brisvegas1Jun 09, 2003 at 1:24PM

answer to question 8: - well - i have framed by framed it and you don't actually see trinity hit the car - just a generic body travelling at speed (the whole thing hapens in about 12 frames or half a second.)

What youy have to remember is that the agents cant fly, and when they are done with a body (either through death or dis-interest, they just leave and the body reverts to it's prior state. Of course in this case that would leave the individual in question sh!t our of luck....

Spoon BoyJun 09, 2003 at 2:42PM

you don't actually see trinity hit the car - just a generic body

True. Also remember the conversation that went someting like:

Neo: "Something bad happens in my dream. I see Trinity. She's falling."

Oracle: "Do you see her die?"

Neo: "No."


Dan says:

the Architect gives a lengthy speech about hope


A lengthy speech, yes. But he never really mentions hope until Neo begins heading toward Door 2. His mentioning of hope is clearly a reaction to Neo's (predictable) "choice":

*Neo walks to the door on his left*

The Architect - Humph. Hope, it is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness.


you'll see that the Architect never actually spells out *where* he expects Neo to go

Disagree. Since he's already dubbed Neo "irrevocably human", he would have to expect Neo to partake in the "quintessential human delusion".

I don't know what I wanted him to be able to do, but he should have been able to do more: some sort of Superman heat vision or additional superpower beyond stopping more bullets and flying faster

Have a little faith. He's only on his sixth try, and he's getting better each time.

The ending was ridiculous.

To be concluded...

I'm starting to think that Neo and Smith are both part of the problem, in the sense that either of them could really wake up too many people.

I've pondered the idea of Smith actually being The One, or perhaps The Other One. The ONEONE painted on the wall suggests something we're not clued in on quite yet. I've tossed the idea aside for now. It's too early.

In the bright white hallway outside of Col. Sanders den, there were dozens of Smiths. Wasn't it supposed to be impossible to get into that room

Don't assume there was only one Smith to begin with. If he's a software component, or Agent, there could've conceivably been many Smiths just like him before he learned how to clone himself.

From Webster's:

Smith: One who makes or works at something specified.

Brian LibfeldJun 09, 2003 at 2:49PM

Re: #10, Signifigance of Trinity as a name...

from http://awesomehouse.com/matrix/parallels.html

(Note: This isn't my take, but it is a take. This one leans a bit much towards the Christian interpretation... then again, with a name like Trinity its hard to stray far from Christian mythos.)

Death & Resurrection: Later, Neo IS killed by the authorities (the Agents), and, instead of 3 days, in less than 3 minutes he is resurrected! We know that showing the passing of 3 actual days in this situation would've been impossible, so how did they symbolically represent 3 days? The prevalent screen placement of "303" should alert the sensitivities of any New Testament-savvy audience member who is aware of the numerical significance of the number three in the Gospels. This symbolic visual cue is all the film needs to alert the audience members to the significance of this momentary death. 

Now,...what force brought Neo back from the dead? LOVE! The instrument of that love was Trinity (and not necessarily the person as much as what the NAME signifies in Christianity!).

With that in mind, let's look at that resurrection scene.....(the) Trinity leans over Neo and kisses him (the proverbial "kiss of life" or "breath of life"!) and Neo awakens! And the first words Neo hears are in the form of a command from (the) Trinity, "Now,....get up!" (Can't you imagine God breathing life back into Jesus, and the first words Jesus hears are God's, "Now,....get up!")

Spoon BoyJun 09, 2003 at 2:54PM


Brian Libfeld says:
So I watched Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey last night. Anyone else have connections?


"Iron Maiden??? EXCELLENT!!!"

GhostJun 09, 2003 at 2:55PM

Hey, What makes you think Persephone is a program? Was that ever stated? MAbey I’m just being dumb, she does state that she has been around for a long time. Doesn’t she?

But what does confuse me is that everyone speaks about these machines and programs as not having "Agnecy", And that they don't have feelings. Few have touched on the fact that they may. These machines are capable of deceiving the system and some have chose to stay in the matrix instead of returning when obsolete.

I know for a fact that these machines feel fear. This is stated in the animatrix by the machine that was afraid to die….

Also this is A.I. as we have not seen before. After watching the Animatrix you begin to see this. These are not Purely rational, logical, analytical, "data" from the starship enterprise machines. SO remember that they are highly developed AI that is capable of almost all the same thoughts, personality, and possibly emotions that humans are.




AGENT SMITH: "I don't know. If I knew"... Agent Smith hides his knotting fist. He is becoming angry. It is something that isn't supposed to happen to agents.....






Brian LibfeldJun 09, 2003 at 2:58PM

Spoony said: I've pondered the idea of Smith actually being The One, or perhaps The Other One. The ONEONE painted on the wall suggests something we're not clued in on quite yet. I've tossed the idea aside for now. It's too early.

Well, since we don't see one zero one there we see oneone (I haven't seen this - I didn't notice it and haven't had a chance to go back since it was mentioned) we can make the binary interpretation would be 3, or the trinity, which might make Neo, Smith and one other aspects of the Trinity outside of its meaning in the Character Trinity's name.

Don't assume there was only one Smith to begin with. If he's a software component, or Agent, there could've conceivably been many Smiths just like him before he learned how to clone himself.

Well I agree we can't really assume anything, I think the multiple Smith's can reasonable be called a new thing. If there had been multiple Smith's like this (previous to Neo's effecting him) I doubt there would have been multiple agent programs, just one that could mass replicate. It is an assumption, but I think we can make it that Smith was singular prior to the end of M1.

Spoon BoyJun 09, 2003 at 3:07PM


It is an assumption, but I think we can make it that Smith was singular prior to the end of M1

Indeed, and so it was. Morpheus on A.I.:

"A singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of machines."

Rest, people. The answers are coming.

Brian LibfeldJun 09, 2003 at 3:15PM

Rest, people. The answers are coming.

Bu... bu... what will I do with my time?

As for Persephone... well, we have no way of knowing that she isn't human. They tell us the Mergovian is a program, but I don't suppose they ever tell us that Persephone is.

Since the Mergovian can craft programs of his own there is the possibility that he could extend and maintain the avatar image of a human he took a shying to. We also don't know what his original function as a program was (do we?) so for all we know that sort of scripting power may have been a part of his original code.

Who knows... maybe a machine produced body can survive beyond the 120 year limit imposed on us by our genetics. There are biological ways around that actively in development, theres no reason to assume a human, properly maintained, couldn't libe through several hundred years. (a la Bones in the first season of ST:TNG)

GhostJun 09, 2003 at 3:21PM

Just a thought.
ONEONE = two ones in one word (or space).

Meaning that there can only be one, one in the matrix.

So if the one one won then he is the only one that won. Say that ten times.



GhostJun 09, 2003 at 3:33PM

Brian, You never responded to this post.



Encore.....

Brian Libfeld, the only thing that you didn't comment on is whether or not something was uploaded into Neo when he died at room 303. Since I agreed with much of what you said I’d like to read it. Some say it was a program that just before the point of death was loaded into him "like Smith was loaded into C/Bane". I personally think that it was a soul or power of some sorts. Since knowledge is power perhaps it was the knowledge of knowing 100% that the Matrix isn't real, and the bullets can't kill.

Also no comment on how the Oracle would know that Trinity would fall in love.




“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”



Brisvegas1Jun 09, 2003 at 3:55PM

"Who knows... maybe a machine produced body can survive beyond the 120 year limit imposed on us by our genetics. There are biological ways around that actively in development, theres no reason to assume a human, properly maintained, couldn't live through several hundred years"

And there is no reason to assume that a human can't become a program.

If all those previous Neo's went back to the source, picked a bunch of people to wake up from the matrix and then re-established zion: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PHYSICAL BODIES OF THE PREVIOIUS NEOS?

I mean - they were allready out of the matrix - in the "real world". (unless zion is not the real world)

Perhaps it is possible that an enlightened human - one enlightened to the level of neo - may be able to maintain oneself as a digital entity, despite the death of ones physical flesh in the real world.

A possible mechanism of action for this would be the "return to the source"

When your code is incorporated into the matrix code you run on the matrix system - rather than requiring a human brain to run your "code".

So by that logic - the Merovingian may of been the first Neo or one of the first

Same for the guardian of the oracle.

I don't mind the idea that the Merovingian is an early Neo and the Persephone is an early Trinity. That would mike a nice fit for the oracle being the mother of the matrix and explain the power of the Merovingian.

For that matter the Architect might be more than he seems too, ie more than just a machine intelligence.

It would be super cool if it turned out that the matrix was in fact a human invention. Maybe a kind of computer virus developed by the humans when they realised that they were going to lose the war with the machines. The virus allows a giant distributed computing project to be run in the background of all the machines computing processes, and contains a construct that allows humans to be simulated - maybe from the complete human genome decoding project.

The cool upsot of this is that the simulation could be an experiment in evolution... wait until the machines network of computing power is sophisticated enough to simulate human conciousness and then use a process of guided evolution to bring it to the point where it can "merge with the source" and take control of it's machines host processes.

This could be the way that humans re-emerge in the real world, long after their biological extinction, in machine bodies.

Ha - that would be a real twist/reversal on the humans as batteries idea. And it would resonate with the trans humanists "singularity" fears of a superintelligence, all of which are very "matrixy" kind of ideas.

Maybe that would be a more "noodlebaking" end for the series than just beginning on another loop in the cycle. It sure as hell would make up for any dissapointment that anyone might suffer if the matrix within a matrix theory turns out to be true.

ps. does anyone have any theories as to why the guardian of the oracle glowed yellow gold in the matrix code view. To date there has been nothing but green on black code - for everything and every character, including neo.

anxietyJun 09, 2003 at 4:06PM

Mr Spock -

Animatrix available in UK on DVD since 2nd June. HMV, £12.99. Go, buy!

/commercial

DanJun 09, 2003 at 4:14PM

Spon Boy: "Rest, people. The answers are coming. "

I mean this in all the most constructive way, but can you try and tone down the sanctimony (or should I call it condescennsion) a bit? With all due respect, I'm intellectually fascinated by all of this, and I've read through your theory as many others, but with every post you further solidify this image of you as comic-book-guy from the Simpsons, preaching to the poor huddled masses yearning to understand what you do.

This isn't a flame - just keep it to yourself a bit, please. Facts, theories, that's all cool. You've had lots of great points. But enough with the patronizing. It's hard enough to read through 500+ posts without it.

DanJun 09, 2003 at 4:17PM

Dan says:
Spon Boy: "Rest, people. The answers are coming. "

... and how about I disprove my own argument by patronizing myself a bit? "SpoOn Boy," not "Spon Boy." Because the sentence "there is no spon" really has a lot less meaning.

rizzonJun 09, 2003 at 4:22PM

For you hackers out there. The scene where Trinity goes into the Matrix to save Neo while his with the Architect. Trinity hacks into the program using an old program hackers use to hack...

DanJun 09, 2003 at 4:52PM

Spoon Boy says:
you don't actually see trinity hit the car - just a generic body

Good point. I haven't been back since my first viewing and didn't realize this.

Oracle: "Do you see her die?"

Neo: "No."


Better proof, still. Thanks!

*Neo walks to the door on his left*

The Architect - Humph. Hope, it is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness.


you'll see that the Architect never actually spells out *where* he expects Neo to go

SB: Disagree. Since he's already dubbed Neo "irrevocably human", he would have to expect Neo to partake in the "quintessential human delusion".

... and what, exactly, is this? To me, hope lies in either direction and it's not clearly spelled out. That said, I haven't checked a transcript, but I suspect you're right ... reading it here I do think that the "Trinity" door fits hope much better.


D: I don't know what I wanted him to be able to do, but he should have been able to do more: some sort of Superman heat vision or additional superpower beyond stopping more bullets and flying faster

SB: Have a little faith. He's only on his sixth try, and he's getting better each time.


I have a hard time granting this. He is in complete control of his environment. So far as the movie suggests, he can do anything. His reach for the "light saber" was effortless, practiced.... But the W's did very little here to provide him with any growth. It's reasonable to assume that more than six months had passed since he had been freed, and yet he'd learned to do nothing more? Certainly possible and plausible, but unsatisfying to this viewer, at least.

D: The ending was ridiculous.

SB: To be concluded...

I'm speaking very specifically here. The ending, the soap opera finale was horribly, horribly done. I couldn't care less whether it's the second of three movies. There's some obligation on the part of the directors to imbue some dramatic structure. The movie should have ended just as Neo collapsed. That's it. The rest of that information was utterly useless, didn't further the story at all, and diminished the dramatic impact of the unarguably climactic seen wherein Neo's powers manifest outside of the (original, unadulterated) matrix.

SB: I've pondered the idea of Smith actually being The One, or perhaps The Other One. The ONEONE painted on the wall suggests something we're not clued in on quite yet. I've tossed the idea aside for now. It's too early.

Possible ... but I'd argue that your own theory (one-oh-one) would present a far better rationale for oneone being painted. While I don't personally buy your argument en toto, I think it's far more logical that that painting is a continuation of a theme rather than a heavy-handed quadruple-entendre. It'd just be too much. IMHO.

In the bright white hallway outside of Col. Sanders den, there were dozens of Smiths. Wasn't it supposed to be impossible to get into that room

Don't assume there was only one Smith to begin with. If he's a software component, or Agent, there could've conceivably been many Smiths just like him before he learned how to clone himself.


Not my point. That room was inaccessible, and no one was in it when Neo left it. How did Agent Smith (or dozens of him) make it in there?

SB: From Webster's:

Smith: One who makes or works at something specified.


From Dan: ... So?

My pet theories/issues still revolve around the viral aspects of Neo (figuratilvely viral: spreading disbelief to the masses) and Smith (literally viral, potentially assuming control of the entire world). Given the trailer for Revolutions, it strikes me that perhaps there is a single, master copy of Smith. Otherwise there is little logic for their one on one battle with thousands of Smiths standing by at attention.

Brisvegas1Jun 09, 2003 at 5:15PM

OK - some more thought on guided evolution and how the matrix is a human invention to take over the machines

Programmers are now playing with genetic algorithms that grow and develop as solutions to a particular set of problems... the bad/inefficient solutions get weeded out and the good ones go on to be the basis of future solutions. Now although the programmer created the program, designed it so to speak, in terms of the rules and constraint placed up the initial specifications of the system... but the resulting code is not written, or in many cases, even understood by the programmer. Neo is not so much a "program" as the result of an experiment in controlled evolution, a special human whose brain and consciousness has been shaped by a series of events etc etc.

OK - so when seen in the light of genetic algorithms and guided evolution - Zion is the place where all the successful expressions of humans that can "reject the matrix" go to breed.

This rich stew of rebellious programs is used to scour over the humans in the matrix to find the "potential" free minds and bring them back to zion to add their diversity to the mix - (Neo and Trinity having sex)- Now we are starting to see the point of the rave/sex scene.

So, whether zion is real or not, whether the humans are programs or not - what is happening in zion is accelearated evolution. Pick the very best, most rebellious minds and allow them to breed only with themselves.

Once Zion gets to a critical mass - "the one" emerges and takes the sum of accumulated evolution back to the source to reseed the matrix - i.e. when the matrix is reset all of the people in it will benefit from the algorithms delveloped in zion.

Perhaos that even explains why the last matrix only lasted 72 hours...

Anyway - there must be a point to it all, the constuction of the matrix, that is.

I gues the intent would depend on who developed it , humans or machines.

If the machines developed it - then it is likely that it is some sort of experiment 9about free will etc) , or an attempt to get humans and machines to the point where they can co-exist - ala the animatrix.

If a human developed the matrix, as detailed here, then the ultimate goal will obviously be somewhat different.

Irrespective of who designed it - I can't help but think that there will be a positive / uplifting end to this saga... with themes of transendence and renewal featuring so prominantly, I can't believe it would all end in a loop or with 'no exit', that truly would be hell.

Spoon BoyJun 09, 2003 at 5:31PM

Dan says:

you try and tone down the sanctimony (or should I call it condescennsion) a bit?


It wasn't intended to be condescending. It was referencing a classic line from The Matrix while they were reviving Neo's body.

Morpheus: "Rest, Neo. The answers are coming."


Regarding hope and the two doors,

... and what, exactly, is this? To me, hope lies in either direction and it's not clearly spelled out. That said, I haven't checked a transcript,


You can review the transcript here.

SB: From Webster's:

Smith: One who makes or works at something specified.

From Dan: ... So?


Just pointing out the perfect choice of name for the Smith character.

He is in complete control of his environment. So far as the movie suggests, he can do anything.

I wouldn't call it complete control (and btw, which enviroment?). As these first two films show, his powers are evolutionary, constantly upgrading, getting progressively better with time. He's gone from falling off the building to flying above the clouds. Like any piece of software, he's improving with each version. Well, like most software. :)

DanJun 09, 2003 at 6:04PM

SB: It wasn't intended to be condescending. It was referencing a classic line from The Matrix while they were reviving Neo's body.

Morpheus: "Rest, Neo. The answers are coming."


I accept that that may not have been your intention in this particular case - or perhaps in any other - but that's the very clear impression you've given to me, which has soured a good but of an otherwise highly entertaining thread. Enough about that. I'd appreciate it if you could keep it in mind.

Regarding hope and the two doors,

... and what, exactly, is this? To me, hope lies in either direction and it's not clearly spelled out. That said, I haven't checked a transcript,

You can review the transcript here.

I've read the transcript and had prior to my post - I didn't read it today. I had that thought while in the theater, as the architect talked about two different goods, saving Zion and saving Trinity. Both require hope. I remain unclear as to which requires it more, although I'm realizing that this may not be quite the brainteaser I'd initially considered it to be.

SB: From Webster's:

Smith: One who makes or works at something specified.

D: ... So?

SB: Just pointing out the perfect choice of name for the Smith character.

D: He is in complete control of his environment. So far as the movie suggests, he can do anything.

SB: I wouldn't call it complete control (and btw, which enviroment?). As these first two films show, his powers are evolutionary, constantly upgrading, getting progressively better with time. He's gone from falling off the building to flying above the clouds. Like any piece of software, he's improving with each version. Well, like most software. :)

First, the environment: obviously I'm referring to the Matrix. Moot point, mostly, but I saw very little by way of evolution in his abilities. Once they let him fly at the end of the first movie, the W's had given themselves the opportunity to make the coolest comic book movie ever out of a non-comic book (I mean this in a near-literal sense. I realize that TM3 is considered a comic book movie, but by creating an unreal world, the W's could have added so much more without the bother of creating a backstory).

Neo could plausibly do any- and everything that every super hero Stan Lee every came up with could do because he's essentially a deity, able to rearrange the world around him. The limits of his powers, you could posit, are his imagination: so far his imagination consists of flying faster, fighting more people and stopping more bullets. That's growth? That's evolution?

They blew that golden opportunity, and by all indications will squander it again in TM3, which is supposed to be mostly Zion-based.

DanJun 09, 2003 at 6:17PM

Neglected this comment:

SB: From Webster's:

Smith: One who makes or works at something specified.

D: ... So?

SB: Just pointing out the perfect choice of name for the Smith character.

Yes, I got that, but I'm not sure as to its relevancy in context.

I had originally said: "In the bright white hallway outside of Col. Sanders den, there were dozens of Smiths. Wasn't it supposed to be impossible to get into that room?"

SB replied: Don't assume there was only one Smith to begin with. If he's a software component, or Agent, there could've conceivably been many Smiths just like him before he learned how to clone himself.
From Webster's:

Smith: One who makes or works at something specified


And I still want to know how that answers or even pertains to the initial question of how you explain (or don't) Smith's presence in that unreachable room? As I said (or meant to say), I do agree that it's very possible from the trailer for TM3 that Smith could exponentially multiply and cover the planet with copies of himself, leaving the "primary Smith" you referred to above to have the cheesy fight-in-the-rain sequence.

Brisvegas1Jun 09, 2003 at 6:39PM

Well, maybe Smith, as a former enforcer of the matrix has access to the back roads of the matrix. The fact that they come out of so many doors might also be indicative of how wide spread the Smith virus has become.

But that doesn't exactly jibe with neo and the guardian calling them programmer access (back doors). Maybe it is just me, but that sounds like a human programer thing, not the sort of thing a machine would need / implement.

So does anyone else have any thoughts on why the matrix is there, beyond the battery thing.

If the machines created the matrix, what do they get out of it?

What would be the purpose of a human created matrix?

Basically - take a guess at what it is for and how it will all end.

-with humans stepping out onto the surface under a clear blue sky?
- with the beginning of another loop, neo asleep at his terminal?
- with a big mother of a battle between the Zionists and the machines?
- With a newfound understanding between the two camps, humans and machines co-existing and evolving together?
-With Neo having to make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the contiued existence of humanity?
With nothing but Smith?...

What do you all think?

Spoon BoyJun 09, 2003 at 6:40PM

Dan says:

I still want to know how that answers or even pertains to the initial question of how you explain (or don't) Smith's presence in that unreachable room? Wasn't it supposed to be impossible to get into that room?


In a literal sense, yes. The room was supposed to be secure, forbidding any "outsiders" from getting "in". But in an abstract sense, it can be argued that the "smiths" were put there by the author of the program in order to serve a purpose.

regarding the two doors:

Both require hope. I remain unclear as to which requires it more, although I'm realizing that this may not be quite the brainteaser I'd initially considered it to be.


I don't think of Hope as some sort of requirement connected to the either or both of the doors. It sounds more like the emotion the Colonel's describing as "...designed specifically to overwhelm logic, and reason. An emotion that is already blinding you from the simple, and obvious truth...simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness..."

First, the environment: obviously I'm referring to the Matrix.

Ah, but as this epic thread proves, it's far from obvious. What is the Matrix?

none of my questions and comments were addressed when I posted them Friday. I'd really like to hear what people have to say

HTH. :)

DanJun 09, 2003 at 6:44PM

... and point 11 that I think I missed above was this.

11. MORE PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN HURT, AND BADLY. Once it became apparent that there were no consequences to any violence, it became annoying to watch the fight scenes. I'm not a fan of gore - I hate horror movies - but if you're going to have a character fighting dozens of people, he should be fighting dirty, gouging eyes, punching straight through people, etc.

That big metal pole Neo was swinging should have split Smith(s) in half... never mind a goddam swordfight in which only one person was cut, and even then just on his hand. What idiocy (although has it been mentioned that both Neo's and Smith/Bane's hands were cut and bled?)! OK, so one of the Twins got his arm shot ... and then had it heal, instantly. And Trinity took a bullet... but didn't die.

Given the number of combatants and combats, it was essentially full-contact ballet.

That was what first made me wish for some sort of additional powers ... something to alleviate the monotony of infinite blocks and parries, bloodless stabbings and sword figths that ended with punches and kicks..

Superpowers, and I leave it to you to decide what that means, would have added some spice to the mix. Instead it was the same kung-fu-by-wire gruel, which by the end had just ceased to be interesting. It was like eating the gruel on the Nebuchadnezzar: the end result is the same as eating a steak, or a lobster or really good tofu, but what about the the flair?!

Brisvegas1Jun 09, 2003 at 6:56PM

Re: smith in the corridor with the doors

Actually, I don't think smith has ever been as he is this time (i.e. a virus) in any of the previous itterations. (of the matrix)

smith 1:"It's happening, just like it happened before"

smith 2:"well, not exactly like before..."

so - I guess it is not surprising that some, formerly sacrosanct, rules are being broken.

witness the posited "degradation of the matrix" in the revolutions trailer.

Brian LibfeldJun 09, 2003 at 7:46PM

the only thing that you didn't comment on is whether or not something was uploaded into Neo when he died at room 303.

Well I don't personally think anything was loaded into him, I think the Holy Spirit a la Jesus is a nice explanation. (from the meaning of Trinity as a name I posted above.) I did post about my opinion of the signifigance of 303 and I think that covers my feelings about that room (the trinity - father, son, and holy ghost/maiden, mother, and crone - in which 3 are actually 1 and the same, making the room actually an occurence of 101)

does anyone have any theories as to why the guardian of the oracle glowed yellow gold in the matrix code view.

I looked at it simply as an alternate encoding. Is Neo's encounter with the Oracle just before the Burly Brawl his first encounter with her since he developed the ability to view the Matrix code while still inside? When he first sees the revised Smith, Neo makes some comment about his code, that its somehow different. I took this to be that Smiths code had underwent a new encryption that Neo was, at that point, unable to crack. The gold aura, well, we never see how Neo interprets programs outside of the agents. When he sees Seraph for the first time what programs has he encountered other than the Agents? I'm rambling, I just looked at the gold aura as a more advanced codebase/encryption.

I have a hard time granting this. He is in complete control of his environment. So far as the movie suggests, he can do anything.

By the same token above, hes cracked the first level of encryption of the Matrix, but up until this point he hasn't been presented with more advanced code. Its likely he cannot control/manipulate the current iteration of Smith nor can he manipulate any of the more advanced programs. Not that he couldn't figure it out, just that it would take work, just like cracking a real-world encryption scheme.

I'm speaking very specifically here. The ending, the soap opera finale was horribly, horribly done... [it] didn't further the story at all, and diminished the dramatic impact of the unarguably climactic seen wherein Neo's powers manifest outside of the (original, unadulterated) matrix.

The brothers, as writers and directors, seem to have a set of information they want to deliver - information they feel is pertinent to the story as a whole - and they get attached to this information and can't see that maybe its superfluous. Its a flaw with writers who direct. I agree, the scene with Bane was a little too much, a bit like not letting Jacob's ladder end with Tim Robbins walking up the stairs into the light.

Not my point. That room was inaccessible, and no one was in it when Neo left it. How did Agent Smith (or dozens of him) make it in there?

Did we all pay attention to the Oracle and Seraph's retreat into the door or do we get caught up in the coming burly brawl. I'd have to see it again (I really need to see it again) but isn't it possible that Smith takes over one of the two when they are moving back in? (Since we don't see either of those two again throughout the rest of the movie.) I don't think this is the case, but its a plausible explanation, and allows for Smith to be in the hallway plus addresses the issue of whether or not Smith can infect programs instead of just human avatars. (Probably not, but you never know)

Mainly, the best answer to this is what was suggested above, that Smith as an agent, has always had access to that back door hall.

Or, alternately, now that Smith is so wide spread, he can watch the programs that he knows do have access to that hallway. Smith remembers previous iterations of the Matrix. Accordingly he knows where Neo will head if he follows the prophecy. With that in mind he would have had time to spread some of himself out and find a way in.

Brisvegas1Jun 09, 2003 at 7:56PM

smith infects an agent during the burly brawl...

agent:"you"

smith1:"Yes, me..."

Smith2 (formerly agent 1):"me too"

Brian LibfeldJun 09, 2003 at 8:01PM

Brisvegas1 - Perfect example.

Brisvegas1Jun 09, 2003 at 8:25PM

The thing about the oracle guadian glowing yellow gold is that you get to see Neo's hands when he is healing trinity... his hands are still green on black matrix code.

and the cake from the restaurant scene... while it has different encoding (sparkles) it still is just green on black.

So I think it might be more important than just an alternate encoding...

Anyone with any suggestions?...

My money would still be something along the lines of the oracle's guardian being (like the Merovingian) a former neo or a constuct of human prorgramming (rather than machine programming like the agents)

Brian LibfeldJun 09, 2003 at 8:35PM

Also though... the agent Smith 'infects' is still a human body under the control of a program, not a program in and of itself, so Smith likely just overwrites the control the other agent has. As I think through I don't think Smith infecting an agent is reasonable proof that he can infect programs.

Joe KaczmarekJun 09, 2003 at 9:23PM


Dan:
Neo could plausibly do any- and everything that every super hero Stan Lee every came up with could do because he's essentially a deity, able to rearrange the world around him. ... They blew that golden opportunity, and by all indications will squander it again in TM3, which is supposed to be mostly Zion-based.


I agree. This was another slight disappointment of the movie (along with the music which could have better during many of the fight scenes). I was expecting something more along the lines of Akira. In The Matrix, after Neo destroys Smith (which as preceded by some super-fast fighting by Neo), we see the walls bend and reverb around him... sort of reminding me of the scene in the hallway outside Tetsuo's hospital room. For Reloaded, I was hoping for more "powered" fighting, similar to fight scene in Akira of Tetsuo fighting the other "powered" children.

In Reloaded, I think the best "powered" fighting we got was Neo stopping that blade with his hand and using a Smith as a fighting tool. But I wish there was a lot more.

DanJun 09, 2003 at 9:48PM

Joe: ... sort of reminding me of the scene in the hallway outside Tetsuo's hospital room.

Sadly, I lack a great deal of indie cred, not least because I have no firsthand knowledge of Akira (I know a bit about it, but haven't seen it).

For Reloaded, I was hoping for more "powered" fighting, similar to fight scene in Akira of Tetsuo fighting the other "powered" children.

In retrospect, it's the only thing that really would have made sense. The more I think about it, the more the Burly Brawl irritates me... He should have flattened them, comic-book style ... it would have shown that he had reached the Apex of his powers in the Matrix, setting the stage for the real conclusion outside of it. Instead, he just went from Neo 1 to Neo 1.1. And that, frankly, sucked.

Joe: In Reloaded, I think the best "powered" fighting we got was Neo stopping that blade with his hand and using a Smith as a fighting tool. But I wish there was a lot more.

That and his magically calling the sword off the wall in the castle "telekinetically." That irritated the hell out of me - if he's got the power to do it, then why not use it at other times? Why run and get the big metal pole when he could just will it over to himself?

Brisvegas1Jun 09, 2003 at 9:58PM

Hmmm... any thoughts on the statement by the robot at the UN in the "Second Renaisance Part II", where it says,"Your flesh is a relic, only a vessel... Hand over your flesh and a new world awaits you. We demand it!"

So is the original purpose of the matrix to give humans a way to live with the machines as machines(and here)? Or are they intended to live forever in the matrix as slaves / batteries etc?

It really makes me wonder if there is not some vestigal desire, ala Asimov, on the machines part to serve / co-exist with humans.

It also makes me think about the architects speech where he says"There are levels of survival we are prepared to accept." Perhaps he is talking about more than energy levels - perhaps the humans give the machines some sort of purpose. Some sort of destiny.

Without humans there is nothing for the machines to react against, nothing to cause them to grow and develop.

Who knows, maybe the machines don't even have free will... they just deterministicly grind through thier programming, like insects. No one really knows what the machines have been up to otside of the matrix, or within the machine mainframe.

Any thoughts....

ps. Sorry for all the cross linking - but it is easier than typing all those ideas up again. Besides which, this thread is getting so big it is pretty unmanageable unless you use the links. (they are linked to the time stamp at the bottom right hand corner of each post)

Brian LibfeldJun 09, 2003 at 10:39PM

A few posts back (http://www.kottke.org/03/05/030515the_matrix_r.html#2677) Guy Fawkes day came up. I hadn't heard of that holiday and don't know the reference. Could someone go a little into it, possibly elaborating its possible relevance to the movies.

I bring this up because I was just looking through Carroll's Through the Looking Glass and noticed that it opens while Alice and family are preparing for the Guy Fawkes' day celebration on November 4th 1862 (the only time Carrol could have written the section where Guy Fawkes day would have fallen on a Wednesday, which is offhandedly referenced in the text.)

TackaberryJun 09, 2003 at 11:56PM

I'm starting to think that Neo and Smith are both part of the problem, in the sense that either of them could really wake up too many people

I talk about that too. One has love, one has hate.

I don't mind the idea that the Merovingian is an early Neo and the Persephone is an early Trinity. That would mike a nice fit for the oracle being the mother of the matrix and explain the power of the Merovingian
Yep me too. I go one step farther, suggesting Merv was never human, but a computer construct designed to fell human emotions but failed. Pers was designed to evoke love but failed.


I think the gold serapth is a little odd too. The implication is that his code is different than the oracle hersoef, Merv, Pers, and Smith. If so, then this is really significant.

A human created matrix opens up interesting ideas.
But I dont get these gentic algorythms you re talking about. It sounds more like inbreeding to me. It also doesn t explain what is different with neo this time. It s not that he has more power than other one's, its that he has true love. Suggesting true love is contingent on genetic combinations, is to support what Merv says about free will during the cake scene.
And are you suggesting that genes are somehow inserted into a person by the computers?

This matrix lasted only 72 hours
No. that s just all we see in the movie.


So is the original purpose of the matrix to give humans a way to live with the machines as machines(and here)? Or are they intended to live forever in the matrix as slaves / batteries etc?
I think the machines need humans, as I ve said before.

Without humans there is nothing for the machines to react against, nothing to cause them to grow and develop.

Yeah true. Good point. what purpose would the programs and machines have if there were no humans? There has to be a controlled Zion to keep a purpose. without this purpose, the machines would have to develop true free will and yes AGENCY lol, to go tot the next step in their development. Until they understand emotion (which will replace their frame inputus, fucking up humans) they're stuck with keeping us around. So they got this cool little loop going on which allows them to observe and understand the human frame problem and its agency, emotion LOVE, until they can figure it out. A controlled experiment to find out the most basic thing, why do humans do what humans do? Which means the Architect not dissapointed at all with Neo s choice...

Can anyone give me a link to the councillor Neo speech? that councillor is a Professor of Philosophy and advised on the movie. I can't see his speech being just filler. We need to comb over it. anyone else think, that if the matrix within the matrix is true, that the councillor could be the architect with a different look? Wouldn t the architect need this control to make the whole thing work?
Plz give me a link (and his name actually) to that speech.

and just to conclude the tomato tomato thing, Demeter is the Ancient greek god, not Ceres. Ceres is the roman name. But you were right Ceres is just another demeter.
Wicked guys, Ithought this thread was dead.

TackaberryJun 10, 2003 at 12:03AM

And the dude does have new powers. I mean he saves Trintiy remember! the whole laying on hands thing is not to shabby imo.

Does anyone else think they see epoch in the trailer?

CoreyJun 10, 2003 at 12:04AM

Brisvegas1 says:

And there is no reason to assume that a human can't become a program.

If all those previous Neo's went back to the source, picked a bunch of people to wake up from the matrix and then re-established zion: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PHYSICAL BODIES OF THE PREVIOIUS NEOS?

I mean - they were allready out of the matrix - in the "real world". (unless zion is not the real world)

Perhaps it is possible that an enlightened human - one enlightened to the level of neo - may be able to maintain oneself as a digital entity, despite the death of ones physical flesh in the real world.


Excellent! I had never thought of that.....I'll have to rethink some of my theories considering Merovingian, Persephone, and the former "Ones".

CoreyJun 10, 2003 at 12:17AM

2 things I'd like to get out there:

Smith says that "everything is happening exactly as before....well not everything." We assume the "before" is the other versions of the matrix and the other ones. However, before the burly brawl he says "and then something happened. Something that I knew was impossible but it happened anyway. You destroyed me, Mr. Anderson" Why would he think this is impossible? If Smith had been around for the other iterations of the one, and he would have to have been in order to know that "everything is happening exactly as before", then why would he think this impossible? Wouldn't he know what kinds of powers Neo has? The only explanation i can think of is that Smith was not around for the previous ones, and that the information about the previous matrixes was simply written into his programming, with the absence of the knowledge of the one's powers. Thoughts on this?

My second thought involves the keymaker. Was he, too, around for the previous iterations of the ones? Did all the ones have to use him in order to get to the source, or did they have another way in? If they did have to use him, how would future ones (assuming the cycle continues) get to the source?

steve minutilloJun 10, 2003 at 12:17AM

Here's something that's been bugging me since Matrix the First. Now that we know the Matrix is trapped in a loop, it seems even more significant.

Remember (in Matrix I) when Neo first gets in the car with Trinity and the rest of the crew, and he doesn't now whether to trust them, and he almost gets out of the car? He opens the door, but Trinity says "You've been down that road before. You know exactly where it ends." They show a dark looking alleyway for a second, and he stays in the car.

Is that anything?

JinJun 10, 2003 at 12:34AM

The Movie was great and I had to see it for a few times to understand it. The are a lot of action scenes. Seeing Neo and a lot of Agent Smiths of the Burly Brawl scene. Even though, you think Neo chickened out and flew, he doesn't want to destroy Agent Smith again by entering his body and destroy inside of him once again. Therefore, Neo has to find another away to destroy Agent Smith once and for all.

People think that it was Cypher who also went into a coma the same as Neo lying across from each other vertically, near the end of the movie. I will have to go against that because the man you saw wasn't Cypher, it was Bane. You get to see more of him also in the Enter The Matrix game.

I'd say this movie is an awesome movie. Lots of action, more fighting scenes and yet more information about the Matrix and a little more info about the history between the real world and the dream world (The Matrix).

If you like to know more from the history of the Matrix, I would recommend you watch the Animatrix. The Animatrix shows nine short animated episodes. Each of these episodes shows you the story of many people who questioned the reality. These stories have a different stories, so they are related to the Matrix of course.

TackaberryJun 10, 2003 at 12:43AM

I was just thinking about Serapth in the shower (yeah I know. I ve opened myself up to some cruel cruel jokes here) and the gold has to be a big deal. Not even Merv or the Oracle are gold.

And the fight with Neo... Logically, the only thing that could keep up the One in a fight is..
another 'One'.

For those you who are into Neo being half program,why aren't you all over this? It means Serapth logically is another One.

If you accept that Merv was the first, all program 'One', then isn't it logical that with each loop they would add a bit of humanity, so theat they can try and pinpoint what bit it is that gives humans agency? therefore the Serph is previous hybrid of human and program, between Neo and Merv?

This time they allowed the bit of human that is responsible for love. Neo FINALLY did the illogical (he can save Trinity going through either door) love based decision they ahve been waiting to observe, and try and grasp.


Anway, off to work.

How long does it take dial up peeps to load the page? Maybe its time to think of moving the thread (if so, lets pick a place that allows multiple threads to explore different ideas) or ask Jason to delete posts more than, say, two weeks old. How much has he got left anyway? Its getting unwieldly.



CarolynJun 10, 2003 at 1:16AM

That big metal pole Neo was swinging should have split Smith(s) in half... never mind a goddam swordfight in which only one person was cut, and even then just on his hand. What idiocy (although has it been mentioned that both Neo's and Smith/Bane's hands were cut and bled?)! OK, so one of the Twins got his arm shot ... and then had it heal, instantly. And Trinity took a bullet... but didn't die.

First off, if you watch closely, one of the simth's legs flies off, it cracked me up the first time I saw it and people looked at me wierd for laughing.

Second what is with all the theories that there is more that one ONE? how can there be two ones, it would just be a one and a two...

149

Spoon BoyJun 10, 2003 at 1:24AM


What a remarkable thread. Never in my life have I had my schedule go off on such a tangent over a single piece of creative work before. I can't even remember how I got here! But that's irrelevant.

It's fascinating to see how we're all looking for philosophical meaning in these films, speculating for weeks on end, coming up with our own theories, and @ the end of the day, hoping to find our own purpose in all of it. As I've watched all these thoughts being presented it suddenly dawned on me that we're all partaking in our own quintessential delusion. Hope. We all have our theory, we search for evidence to support it as truth, and then we hope it's correct. Ironic.

What I see here is not something that needs to necessarily contain any clearly identifiable meaning (aside of being a clinic in creative cleverness). It's a piece of art that uncannily reflects human nature, our belief systems, our quest for truth, and in the end, leaving us with nothing but a stack of questions. Our universe is different things to different people. I think it was Ted in this thread who suggested that when Revolutions is over, the whole story will have a certain open-endedness to it and will be open to interpretation. Is that not precisely how life is?

This story has made references to an eclectic mix of belief systems. Everything from Greek mythology, Judeo-Christianity, and Eastern philosophies. I'm beginning to sense an almost agnostic-based mockery of our own race, encouraging us to look for definitive answers to perceived questions, only to reveal that we don't even know what the questions are in the first place. Such is life. And what better and more contemporary way to illustrate the programmatically cyclical nature of the human mind than to equate it to a computer program. So killer.

Only on the Net. There is not a bar, library, or coffee house on the planet where you'll find such a potent mix of creative, technically sensible, and downright talkative Matrix enthusiasts looking to hash out ideas. My kind of crowd. Keep blogging and enjoy it while it lasts; I don't think we'll see another saga quite like this in our lifetime.




Brisvegas1Jun 10, 2003 at 1:42AM

If Merovingian and Persephone are the former Neo and Trinity it could shed new light on the bathroom scene. Pesephony's hunger for a kiss might be more about jealosy that she never got to experiece the true love that exists between trinity and neo. (maybe her original experience was limited to passion)

Anyway - it is probably the cast that these two programs aren't former versions of neo and trinity , if for no other reason that it would seem to present fundamental problems to the controll of the matrix if multiple independent entities have knowledge of the future of the matrix.

But there are still many interesting questions to be answered about these programs:

Are they the product of human or machine intelligences?
Why does the oracles guardian glow gold?
Wht is their true agenda? - how can they even have an agenda if they aren't human? (ie is the matrix deterministic or probablistic - like our world)

Brisvegas1Jun 10, 2003 at 1:44AM

Tackaberry - you asked about genetic algorithms - well I don't know if you saw it, but I first mentioned it here http://www.kottke.org/03/05/030515the_matrix_r.html#2924 .

You can think about it like this - say you are a programmer and you want to solve a complex problem, like how to recognize a digital image of a face. You could do all the work yourself, work out what the recognizable features of a face are and make the one monolithic program that does all the work of recognizing a face. It would probably be quite good at that job, but it would never get any better and couldn't be used to recognize other things like digital images of fingerprints.

Now the idea of genetic algorithms is that you would program a bunch of mini-programs each would have a range of different feature recognition algorithms built in - kind of like genes in a biological system. Now when you expose all these mini programs to the problem space - in this case recognising a digital face - some will do a better job than others. So you dump the ones that don't perform and keep the ones that do well.

Then you make a bunch of minor variations to the algorithms of the ones that did well and expose them to the problem space again.

Rinse Repeat.

Over the generations of the programs you get better and better results.... it's guided evolution.

Once you automate the process you can get very sophisticated algorithms developed from simple building blocks.

Imagine you wanted to breed a particular kind of dog starting with a bunch of mongrels- you just use selective breeding over a period of generations. It is the same thing in genetic programming only you use code.

Now examine the parallels to what you see in the matrix films.

You have the general population of the matrix - individuals with particular characteristics are selected from that population and sent off to Zion - there they breed with each other like bunnies.

Periodically you select the cream of that crop - neo and reinsert it into the core matrix and start all over again.

It is guided evolution of humans - the question is - to what end?

Irrespective of whether we have to wait till November till we truly know what is going on - at the current rate, I believe the members of this thread will figure it out first.

Brisvegas1Jun 10, 2003 at 1:51AM

I forgot to mention - that is the genius of Zion and the importance of the rave/orgy scene - this is the clue we need to understand the role of zion as a breeding ground for the best of the best...

The question remains - why breed humans who excell at rejecting the matrix? Why breed humans who excell at making a fundamental philosophical choice about how they percieve / interact with reality?

Man - finding out is going to be a blast.

Brisvegas1Jun 10, 2003 at 2:45AM

Hey folks, good news - the wonderful (not that i completely agree with it) Reloaded Explained has been updated, now with extra discussion of the matrix with a matrix idea and a spanish version of the original essay.

One of his correspondents Rabius Izarius made a very interesting observation about the rave scene comparing them to the "drummers" from Neal Stephenson's "Diamond Age" (Which is a fantastic book by the way)

For those who haven't read it - Drummers - The Drummers live in large constructions built underwater. Every member of the Drummers has large numbers of nanosites in their blood that act as little computers. The computers interact and share information with the brain of the host human, and share information with other nanosites. The Drummers' nanosites are spread around from Drummer to Drummer through sexual intercourse between the (extremely promiscuous) Drummers. In this way, the Drummer entity acts as an extremely large digital/neural computer that is capable of solving otherwise formidable problems of, say, nanoconstruction or cryptography. In a most colorful sex act the Drummers circulate the nanosites using a single female who is quickly penetrated and ejaculated into by a large number of males. Whenever a Drummer nanosite shares information with another, it creates a small bit of heat. All of these nanosites being dumped into the female at once creates a large amount of heat. The female bursts into flames and burns to ashes. The ashes are poured into a canister of water and drunk by the population of Drummers, which redistributes the nanosites amoung them. Thus perpetuationg the cycle of information exchange and continuing the underlying calculations that are being caried out via this information excange.

Now aside from the exceptionally raw deal that the women get in Drummer society - there are strong parallels with Zion and the process of guided evolution I propose 1. here, 2. here and 3. here.

Anyway - goto http://webpages.charter.net/btakle/matrix_reloaded.html read it and come back here and post your heart out.... I know you want to.

LeeJun 10, 2003 at 5:40AM

Hey everyone,

you can see the first four episodes of the animatrix over the net.

You will need quicktime tho. I havent seen this posted yet, if it has soz!!

Enjoy!!

RBJun 10, 2003 at 10:14AM

steve minutillo says:

Remember (in Matrix I) when Neo first gets in the car with Trinity and the rest of the crew, and he doesn't now whether to trust them, and he almost gets out of the car? He opens the door, but Trinity says "You've been down that road before. You know exactly where it ends." They show a dark looking alleyway for a second, and he stays in the car.

Is that anything?


I always thought this was simply a reference to him giving up on Morpheus' instructions the first time and getting captured by the agents. Trinity was telling him that they'd get him again, and it wouldn't be as fun as the first time.

Good call, Spoon Boy. I've been following the entire thread, not posting much, but enjoying nonetheless.

Did anyone have any thoughts on Persephone's prediction that Neo's and Trinity's love wouldn't last? I posited a question before about it, but it failed to get any response, and I still would like to hear some opinions. Why did she say it?

DeCypherJun 10, 2003 at 10:27AM

If the matrix exists within another matrix or coexists with another matrix as Neo's abilities at the end of reloaded seem to suggest, then the world doesn't really have to be destroyed it could all be just one big simulation programmed by "God"? There will be alot of disappointed fans if they go down the "and it was all a dream(simulation)" plot road....

Wasn't the whole messiah thing done in David Lynch's "Dune", the artificial world done in Alex Proyas's "Dark City" (or perhaps "Tron") and finally "Terminator" had a good run at the AI, machines taking over the world idea, maybe the matrix isn't as fresh as everybody thinks??

Are people over-hyping the complexity of these films .. are they expecting too much .. afterall the Wachowski brothers are only human ... or are they????

RayneJun 10, 2003 at 11:01AM

Perhaps humans trashed their world so badly that the survival of the species was threatened – nuclear war, pollution, pick it – caused the above ground world to become untenable. Perhaps surviving humans were unable to continue their species without the help of machines, creating an incubator for humans who’d not been degraded to some ugly state of post-humanity. The prime directive of machines is to protect human life, but not necessarily all of it, only a tenable quantity; the system by which humanity was preserved in test tubes was self-powering, but machines interpreted the preservation of humanity as something for their use (the perpetuation of machines) instead of the perpetuation of the human species. In other words, one of the other prime directives became corrupted; the fact that humans created the system for their purposes became lost and machines, lacking understanding of the primary directive to preserve humanity for its perpetuation, interpret and implement the directive differently.

The machines cannot exist without humans; they lack the agency required to do so, particularly if they are operating under the original but twisted/misinterpreted directive. Humans who leave the Matrix are not a substantive threat until they amass in a quantity sufficient to thwart the corrupted directive (interpreted not as save humanity in incubation, but save the Matrix incubation system). Once humans reach a critical mass, humans outside the Matrix must be exterminated to prevent their corruption of the incubator.

The One is sought by machines, to allow machines to acquire agency and override the original directive; but the One is also needed by humans, to terminate the original directive, to free the now-saved human race from the incubator which protected it. Machines and humans have relied on this symbiotic, near-parasitic relationship for the survival of each; what happens when humans become more software/hardware than human (Neo) and machines become more human than software/hardware (Smith-Bane)?

It’s Frankenstein, all over again. Is the creation human, not human, monster, not monster, hero, anti-hero? And can Dr. Frankenstein truly exist without the work he’s wrought? Would humans have survived without their monstrous Matrix? Will they survive without it?

RayneJun 10, 2003 at 11:29AM

Oh, about Guy Fawkes day, as asked upstream -- Guy Fawkes was infamous as a member of a group of terrorists that tried to blow up Parliament. Depending on your perspective, he was either one of a bunch of traitorous Catholic thugs or one of a bunch of persecuted English Catholics who tried to rid their country of Protestant oppressors. More: http://www.bonfirenight.net

The 5th of November commemorates the day that Fawkes was caught in Parliament's cellar with barrels of gunpowder, as well as the date on which the barrels were to be detonated.

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot.
We see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!


Interestingly, there were originally five original co-conspirators and eventually 13 co-conspirators -- believe all conspirators were eventually killed under siege, in prison or executed.

Brian LibfeldJun 10, 2003 at 12:17PM

Spoon Boy said It's fascinating to see how we're all looking for philosophical meaning in these films, speculating for weeks on end, coming up with our own theories, and @ the end of the day, hoping to find our own purpose in all of it. As I've watched all these thoughts being presented it suddenly dawned on me that we're all partaking in our own quintessential delusion. Hope. We all have our theory, we search for evidence to support it as truth, and then we hope it's correct. Ironic.

From the Annotated Alice: Few would dispute the fact that Jabberwocky is the greatest of all nonsense poems in English. It was so well known to English schoolboys in the late 19th century that five of its nonsense words appear casually in the conversation of students in Rudyard Kipling's Stalky & Co. Alice Herself, in the oaragraph following the poem, puts her finger on the secret... "it seems to fill my head with ideas - only I don't know exactly what they are." Although the strange words have no precise meaning, they chime with subtle overtones.

DanJun 10, 2003 at 12:19PM

Above, Corey said:
If Smith had been around for the other iterations of the one, and he would have to have been in order to know that "everything is happening exactly as before", then why would he think this impossible? Wouldn't he know what kinds of powers Neo has? The only explanation i can think of is that Smith was not around for the previous ones, and that the information about the previous matrixes was simply written into his programming, with the absence of the knowledge of the one's powers. Thoughts on this?

This strikes me as one of the most intriguing ideas yet. That Agent Smith is a completely new presence, created solely to counterbalance the incrementally more powerful One(s). That he was given information describing the One, but that he is also new to all of this and now out of control. That may seem a bit silly, in a way - we all know that Smith is doing new things and has changed the game. But his recent injection into this Matrix makes for a more compelling story overall (in my opinion) than does Spoon Boy's infinitely incrementing Loop. The reason being that this way we get the possibility of an infinite Loop, but also the satisfaction of a real conclusion: "the machines"' broke their own loop by toying with their own construct.

Tons of logical issues to be sorted out - I'm thinking of it as the last page and ignoring the middle 3/4 of the story...

There's something else about it that I find interesting. Agent Smith in Matrix 1 was just another agent. We had no reason to think anything of him - he was just a more-pissed-off Agent. We've now seen him progress and grow in power (unlike Neo - see my explanation here), giving him a solid character arc that actually builds towards something.

I want Smith's character to be more than just another Agent - I want his placement to have been purposeful, an experiment by the machines that went wrong (or not wrong - perhaps he was built with a distaste for the Matrix which would drive him to find a way into Zion - obviously the primary system couldn't do it, but perhaps building irrational hatred into him, as Neo had "love" built into him provided that possibility?)

Corey said
My second thought involves the keymaker. Was he, too, around for the previous iterations of the ones? Did all the ones have to use him in order to get to the source, or did they have another way in? If they did have to use him, how would future ones (assuming the cycle continues) get to the source?

I've seen people say that that was just a source. That it can be made accessible in different ways and at different times. It strikes me that certain programs like the keymaker can perhaps be reinserted. Then again, I didn't really buy the keymaker character. He just seemed like a silly indulgence. Why was he there, really? Other than waiting for Neo, what did his character do every day?

Continuing my babbling, I guess that's another thing that irritated me about this movie. Having peeled the wool from our eyes in the first movie, it bothered me that the Matrix became less and less of a reasonable semblance of the real world in Reloaded, with orgasmic cakes and ... well, fill-in-the-blank there. The diminuation of that resemblance made me lose some empathy for the characters.


Also: why does everybody keep talking about a 72-hour Matrix? What did I miss? (The movie was long, but not that long...)

DanJun 10, 2003 at 12:36PM

Dan originally said
Continuing my babbling, I guess that's another thing that irritated me about this movie. Having peeled the wool from our eyes in the first movie, it bothered me that the Matrix became less and less of a reasonable semblance of the real world in Reloaded, with orgasmic cakes and ... well, fill-in-the-blank there. The diminuation of that resemblance made me lose some empathy for the characters.

As the guy calling for more superhero powers, I should make this clearer. I want the Matrix to simultaneously be the real world and the place where all these insane events are occuring. I want to see the W's interpretation of how the "real-world" denizens of the Matrix would view all of that - in the first Matrix, Neo was poring over newspaper clippings about Morpheus, but in this one no one bats an eyelash at the lunacy around them.

We see no riots, no religious fervor: the entire world of the Matrix is a passive one, not visibly reactive. That sucks. I would love to have seen some real consideration given to those issues a la Contact.

greg.orgJun 10, 2003 at 1:33PM

Has anyone considered that Zion might bean extension of the matrix?? just kidding.

Seraph's red code reminded me of the opening and closing of Animatrix: Second Renaissance Part 1, which flies through layers and layers of red/orange circuitry instead of the green matrix code.

That story, which is a machine creation story/myth seems highly relevant, but doesn't necessarily answer questions posed here.

1. at the center of the red code is a Buddhist mandala, with a central female goddess figure (note: Kannon/Guanyin, the Buddha of compassion and protection, is female.) surrounded by eight other Buddha incarnations. a very straightforward symbol.

A. So? does red code indicate an archive, a protection or gateway program? So Seraph's a firewall or a search agent? It'd be hilarious to find out the Architect's name is Sergey Brin.

In any case, the Buddhist notions of singular consciousness, reincarnation until you gain enlightenment/satori/nirvana, seem still relatively unexamined here. A Bodhisattva is someone who has attained enlightenment but stays behind to help others do the same. And there's no problem with having plenty of potentials, since Buddha has all kinds of incarnations.

2. The figure says, "Welcome to the Zion Archive." Hello? In Zion or ABOUT Zion? The story is CLEARLY a machine-view of their own creation, with unambiguous references to slavery (bldg the pyramids, trials with machines as property) discrimination, tyrrany and segregation. It seems to clash with Morpheus' explanation of the history of the war w/machines, and not just because he said in M1 that they didn't know much about the origins of the war or pre-matrix earth.

Prelim. conclusion: the Zion Archive is not in Zion, but about it, somewhere in the Source. So, who is The Viewer, the POV for the two Renaissance episodes?

As an aside, the machines' AI-based sense of self, self-preservation, self-determination, emotion, are all equally unambiguous in A:SRP1. From their perspective, anyway, it's asked and answered. It looks like it's the humans who need convincing.

I predict a human enlightenment and human/machine detente/peace agreement for Revolutions.

Spoon BoyJun 10, 2003 at 1:41PM

Dan says:

...in this one no one bats an eyelash at the lunacy around them. We see no riots, no religious fervor: the entire world of the Matrix is a passive one, not visibly reactive
.

That's because 99.9% of the Matrix population passively accepts their world without questioning it. Not unlike our own world.

I would love to have seen some real consideration given to those issues a la Contact.

The "issues" in the Matrix remain largely underground, proactively explored only by the exceptionally curious like Tom Anderson and Michael Karl Popper. In Contact, the lunacy you speak of was broadcast internationally on television, provoking reaction from an otherwise passive world.

DanJun 10, 2003 at 3:22PM

DAN: ...in this one no one bats an eyelash at the lunacy around them. We see no riots, no religious fervor: the entire world of the Matrix is a passive one, not visibly reactive.

SB: That's because 99.9% of the Matrix population passively accepts their world without questioning it. Not unlike our own world.

An unsatisfying explanation. In the first Matrix alone, we saw a guy fly off into space from a payphone in the middle of a crowd street, after leaving a message saying he was going to "tell people." We saw helicopters fly into buildings, buildings exploding all over the place. Never mind that thousands and thousands of people are simply disappearing without a trace (one could assume - what actually happens when someone unplugs from the Matrix for the first time? Is there a "body" left behind?)

That's the problem with most action movies: you have to willingly suspend far too much disbelief to acknowledge both the plausibility of an action and to ignore its consequences. In the Matrix world, with the W's at the helm, this should not happen. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever that Neo could not fly around all over the world explaining who he is and what the Matrix is, and the simply fly off. To assume that he didn't (especially when he promised to do so), is too much of a leap. To assume that people would ignore that in a moderately "real" real world is similarly ridiculous.

But for Neo to actually have done so and to gain millions of followers provides a solid reason for the machines to fear Neo. Instead of questioning the Matrix innately as the Zion-dwellers do, these Matrix-bound people would now have no choice *but* to question it. If "99.9% of the Matrix population passively accepts their world without questioning it," then it's not a damned thing "... [like] our own world."

magine the consequences of Superman landing in Times Square, London, Paris, Beijing, Washington D.C, Tehran and Jerusalem and everywhere else in one day in our real world, let alone six to ten months?

SB: I would love to have seen some real consideration given to those issues a la Contact.

The "issues" in the Matrix remain largely underground, proactively explored only by the exceptionally curious like Tom Anderson and Michael Karl Popper. In Contact, the lunacy you speak of was broadcast internationally on television, provoking reaction from an otherwise passive world.


Why? Newspaper articles aren't exactly underground. And even if they are, flying men in black are defiantly and by definition not underground. Neo, as the One, provides the vehicle to take this "underground" and reveal it in daylight, in far more detail than Contact could have provided. But the W's completely squandered that opportunity.

CoreyJun 10, 2003 at 3:22PM

Jin says:

you think Neo chickened out and flew, he doesn't want to destroy Agent Smith again by entering his body and destroy inside of him once again. Therefore, Neo has to find another away to destroy Agent Smith once and for all.


Maybe, but then, why fight the Smiths in the first place?

Tackaberry says:

And the fight with Neo... Logically, the only thing that could keep up the One in a fight is..
another 'One'.


For those you who are into Neo being half program,why aren't you all over this? It means Serapth logically is another One.

Neo might not have been trying his hardest. Seraph didn't seem to have any malice towards Neo, and even said "sorry" before fighting him. Neo was probably just confused and wondering what was going on. He was in control of the situation, and wanted to make sure of Seraph's intentions before hurting him. Besides, Seraph can't be the one because he's a program, as stated during Neo's conversation with the Oracle. The one can't be a program because otherwise there would be no human element to add to the source to improve the future matrices.

If you accept that Merv was the first, all program 'One', then isn't it logical that with each loop they would add a bit of humanity, so theat they can try and pinpoint what bit it is that gives humans agency? therefore the Serph is previous hybrid of human and program, between Neo and Merv?

How can you have a human-machine hybrid? How exactly would that work?

CoreyJun 10, 2003 at 3:27PM

Although I don't believe that the Merovingian could be a former one, I'll take it as an acceptable theory. However, Persephone could not possibly be a previous Trinity because THERE WERE NO PREVIOUS TRINITIES. Maybe you all missed this, but Trinity is the entire reason (or main reason, considering Smith) that this cycle is different than all the previous cycles. She is the reason Neo chose the different door. She is likely the reason the matrix loop will end instead of continuing incessantly

MikeJun 10, 2003 at 3:41PM

Cyper is DEAD!!! The guy at the end of the table is another guy who looks like cypher. Remember in the begining of the movie when agent smith cloned himself on him in the matrix, and because he was in an unplugged body, he was able to answere the phone and be teleported back to the real world. So yes, the man on the other table is possessed by Agent Smith. That is why he attacked Neo in Zion and cut his hand (Agents couldn't previously feel pain, so he was fascinated by it.)

GhostJun 10, 2003 at 3:55PM

perhaps the humans give the machines some sort of purpose. Some sort of destiny.

Without humans there is nothing for the machines to react against, nothing to cause them to grow and develop.



WOW, that is the best in the whole thread. Good job Daniel Son.

Spoon BoyJun 10, 2003 at 4:52PM


the problem with most action movies: you have to willingly suspend far too much disbelief to acknowledge both the plausibility of an action and to ignore its consequences.

I can't argue with that. I struggled for years over the same problem when I used to watch Road Runner. I mean, really, where's a coyote gonna find bandages and a crutch in the middle of the desert? :)


DanJun 10, 2003 at 6:21PM

SB:: I mean, really, where's a coyote gonna find bandages and a crutch in the middle of the desert? :)

The ACME store?

jasJun 10, 2003 at 9:25PM

Corey says: THERE WERE NO PREVIOUS TRINITIES. Maybe you all missed this, but Trinity is the entire reason (or main reason, considering Smith) that this cycle is different than all the previous cycles. She is the reason Neo chose the different door. She is likely the reason the matrix loop will end instead of continuing incessantly

If there were no previous Trinities, what was the choice the One had to make? In this version neo has to choose between zion and trin, so if there was no trinity on the past version, what is the problem? "The problem is the choice" Neo says to the architect. vis-a-vis....love

MarshallJun 10, 2003 at 10:36PM

Whoa.

The price we pay for missing a week!

Has anyone been able to read this? It seems to promise to offer some insight into the making of the films...



I owe some responses, and given that the thread is alive and well, I'll do my part to respond soon.

MarshallJun 10, 2003 at 10:36PM

Not sure why the link didn't show up, so again:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/brown/2003/05/29/matrix/index_np.html

CoreyJun 10, 2003 at 11:26PM

jas says:
Corey says: THERE WERE NO PREVIOUS TRINITIES. Maybe you all missed this, but Trinity is the entire reason (or main reason, considering Smith) that this cycle is different than all the previous cycles. She is the reason Neo chose the different door. She is likely the reason the matrix loop will end instead of continuing incessantly

If there were no previous Trinities, what was the choice the One had to make? In this version neo has to choose between zion and trin, so if there was no trinity on the past version, what is the problem? "The problem is the choice" Neo says to the architect. vis-a-vis....love


The choice is whether to accept the inevitable destruction of Zion and choose 23 humans to start a new one, or to go back to the matrix and fight what all the ones have been told is a losing battle that will result in the extinction of the human race. In simpler terms, the choice is to save the race or try to save Zion. This was not a hard choice for previous ones, because they felt an attachment to the race as a whole and wanted to preserve it, even at the cost of every human in Zion. Neo feels an attachment to a particular human, and cannot accept her death, which is why he chooses the different door.

CoreyJun 10, 2003 at 11:34PM

Another contradiction I noticed: When the Merovingian's henchmen shot at Neo and he stopped the bullets, the M says "So you have some skill" as if he didn't know Neo could do that. But he also says that he has "survived your (Neo's) predecessors", so he must have had contact with previous ones. So why was he so surprised at Neo's powers? There are only three explanations I can think of:
1. The previous ones did not have Neo's exact powers
2. The previous ones didn't demonstrate their powers in front of the Merovingian
3. The Merovingian did not really believe that Neo was the one

any thoughts?

CoreyJun 10, 2003 at 11:40PM

Spoon Boy:
I mean, really, where's a coyote gonna find bandages and a crutch in the middle of the desert? :)

Dan:
The ACME store?


I think the real question is, if he can buy rockets, guns, bird feed, catapults, and cannons, why can't he just buy some damn food?

Brisvegas1Jun 11, 2003 at 2:48AM

Hey this provides some interesting inside info on reloaded

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Books
&action=page&type_id=&cat_id=270442&obj_id=38854


From the article: The May/June issue of Creative Screenwriting contains a fascinating article for fans of THE MATRIX films. In Jeff Goldsmith's six-page examination, the writer looks back at the first and second drafts of THE MATRIX as written by the Wachowski brothers and before the story had coagulated into the shooting draft. The Wachowskis' earlier scripts contain a number of story elements that were junked from the final product audiences saw in theaters, including Neo leaving a girlfriend and little brother behind in the Matrix, an explanation about the origins of the Matrix from a sentient computer program named Eve and different action sequences. One of the more interesting ideas revealed to have been included in these MATRIX early drafts is the idea that the Matrix runs from the years 1980 to 2009, then "reloads" back to 1980 and begins the cycle once again. That should sound familiar to RELOADED fans.

So could there be more ingredients from the discarded drafts we'll see return in THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS? George Lucas did the same thing when he put together the story for THE PHANTOM MENACE, recycling ideas and names discarded from earlier drafts of STAR WARS. There is one intriguing idea mentioned in the Creative Screenwriting piece that could be used somewhere in REVOLUTIONS, namely Morpheus' revelation that the so-called real world may in fact be just another Matrix. It would certainly explain some of the unusual events we saw take place in RELOADED, such as Agent Smith's escape to the real world and Neo's new abilities.


Hmmmm..... Seems like the matrix within a matrix theory gains a lot more credibility with this one.

Spoon BoyJun 11, 2003 at 2:55AM


Something I've pondered since 1999, and this is the perfect place to poll for thoughts:

In The Matrix, Neo gets taken in by the agents for questioning. Not a good time. His mouth disappears and an electronic organic creature burrows itself into his navel, worming it's way inside...

...screaming, Neo bolts upright in bed. He takes inventory on his mouth and abdomen and realizes it was a dream. Or so he thinks?

We do know that the bug existed on the same plane of reality as his waking state, as Trinity removed it a bit later in the car. It can therefore be concluded that the interrogation wasn't a dream. Neo found that surprising.

Questions: How much time elapsed between the interrogation and waking up in bed? Same night? Weeks later? Also, how do you suppose he got into bed?

AdheelJun 11, 2003 at 3:19AM

Hello!! this is my first entry so thanks to every1 for making such a f***** cool thread! It rocks!

An-y-ways, something i have just remembered from Reloaded, when Smith "puddings" Bane in the telephone room, i specifically remember the latter saying "Jesus" or "Oh my god" or something to which the former replies "Actually Smith will do".

This could not mean anything but it kinda relates to the whole Neo(Christ) correlation in the first movie.

Anyways keeps posting more messages cos im loving reading every1's theories!

Brisvegas1Jun 11, 2003 at 3:48AM

this seems to be a copy of an early draft of the script - although some of the facts are the same (6 previous one's etc) - the story is completely different.

wow - I hope I haven't spoiled myself for the next movie. Anyway - If you don't care about potential spoilers give it a read. I think the actual movie is better thant the script in a lot of respects... the draft script almost seems like a terminator movie.

Interesting stuff

Sidarta GouthamaJun 11, 2003 at 6:28AM

While you guys across the Atlantic are all sleeping, I gave this thread a try. It took me 10 freak'n hours to read through (most of) all this!!! Everyone, you have done a terrific job!
Spoon boy, you're my absolute favorite, love your work and your thoughts and comments.
Own personal thoughts: I don't find the idea of matrix within a matrix very credible. Neo EMP'ing those squiddies, well, let's just say that it won't be the last thing that the W bro's throw at us and take our breath away.
For making it the best film ever, the end of Revolutions will be even more breathtaking , I assure you (at least , I hope the W bro's are clever enough)

Some questions: how did trinity immediately got the password right when she wanted to cut off the electrical power?

Smith coming inside the real world? Well, we do have brainwashing and stuff like that going on right? Bane might as well be brainswashed when he was pudding’d by Smith. It would make sense, it's like an ultra quick learning process (ref. Trinity flying the helicopter in TM1): learn or know that you are Smith whereas you'r not.

Interesting thought on the spoon in the real world, people, keep diggin' I'd say.

The number of people in the council is not 23 as mentioned earlier. It is 12, as mentioned earlier too. Does this have any meaning?

And then my last point:
The other Ones also got to make a choice right? Neo as the sixth One really had no doubt of choosing the left door (after all, Love is the strongest).
Hypothesizing that the other Ones did not know love, what kind of dumm option would the left door be to them. What opportunity did the left door offer them? ("Architect to previous ones: "oh yeah, you have this choice: right means salvation of humanity and reloading the matrix, left means apocalyps, but hey... I'll get you a nice jacuzzi and stuff..."???)
What was the other option for the other Ones, people??? Anyone? come on, take a shot...

And finally I'd like to end with Corinthians:
These three remain: trust, hope, love. Now the greatest of these is LOVE.
Morpheus=trust(or faith), mankind=hope, Neo&Trin=Love. So I'd say our heroes will manage all right

Siddarta GouthamaJun 11, 2003 at 7:11AM

Again, keep up the pace everyone. I love this thread!

Ged ByrneJun 11, 2003 at 8:02AM

Sidarta,

I like the Conintians quote. The choice clearly involves Love - Trinity, Hope - Architect says as such, but I'd forgotten about Trust. Neo's choice is also influenced by how much he trusts the Architect. Obviously the previous Ones trusted the Architect and took his word that the machines would harm themselves by disposing of humanity. Does Neo have that trust?

Siddarta GouthamaJun 11, 2003 at 8:20AM

I'd say Morpheus showed throughout the 2 films that he has trust in everything the prophecy has told him. (bummer, he must have been disappointed at the end, when the war wasn't over)
As for Neo and trust? I don't know... if love is the strongest, than it completely overrules trust. So yeah, I'd say he has trust, just as in the end, when he EMP'd the squids.

AdheelJun 11, 2003 at 9:24AM

Just a quick thought, but i have just been watching the matrix reloaded on dvd, and when neo collapses, it looks suspiciously like how apoc and switch died in the first movie. We all know neo cant die (of course) but what about the fact he got EMP'ed himself. Some people think he is turning into a machine whilst smith is becoming human?

If neo was unplugged from zion (which i dont think is another matrix) he would flop down just like a the end of reloaded.

ive watched neo collapsed 4 times now, and it does seem pretty sudden when it happens.

P.S maybe he has some powers in zion, like being able to hold the squiddies back but the EMP from the Hammer is what really took them down?

Thanks!

Siddarta GouthamaJun 11, 2003 at 10:09AM

For the french "connaisseurs" around here: something from the first Matrix.
Remember Choi knocking on Neo's door for the illegal software?
Remember his girlfriend Dujour?
Remember Neo (or Thomas) has to make choices the whole time?
What about "Choi(x) du jour" in French, meaning Choice of the day.

Reloaded is also full of the French connection with Merv and his nice curse. The historic merovingians also settled in france. But I guess this has all been said already...Just found it cute.

DanJun 11, 2003 at 12:08PM

Sidarta Gouthama said:

how did trinity immediately got the password right when she wanted to cut off the electrical power?

Willing suspension of disbelief?

Sidarta Gouthama said:
The other Ones also got to make a choice right? Neo as the sixth One really had no doubt of choosing the left door (after all, Love is the strongest).

Not to pick on you specifically, Sidarta - lots of people have said the same and far more - but it's just this kind of treacly sentiment that's starting to make me feel all icky. The first Matrix was a love story, sure. Fine, I'm all for it. But it was subtle, whereas the over-the-top "love is the only way" message people keep projecting onto this story strikes me as, well ... amateurish. Not to say it's not a strong possibility ... but either way, "love is the salvation" has been the message in roughly every movie and story ever made ... If it turns out that that's the case herein, I'll wish the W's could have been more inventive.

This Usenet post did a pretty goood job of describing what I'm getting at:

DanJun 11, 2003 at 12:19PM

Adheel said:Just a quick thought, but i have just been watching the matrix reloaded on dvd, and when neo collapses, it looks suspiciously like how apoc and switch died in the first movie. We all know neo cant die (of course) but what about the fact he got EMP'ed himself. Some people think he is turning into a machine whilst smith is becoming human?

I don't get it. Apoc and Switch didn't get EMP'd, their physical bodies were killed while inside the Matrix. This doesn't change the (implausible, if you ask me) possibility that Neo is now somehow part-machine and collapsed from being EMP'd, but the two issues have nothing to do with each other. Apples and oranges.

The only thing they have in common is collapsing, a practice not specifically limited to victims of EMPs (viz. Scarlett O'Hara).

Spoon BoyJun 11, 2003 at 1:31PM

Sidarta says:

questions: how did trinity immediately got the password right when she wanted to cut off the electrical power?


"Normal human beings who've seen 'The Matrix Reloaded' are
chattering away about the spectacular fights, the gratuitous sex, the
abstruse philosophizing. Computer geeks, on the other hand, have
rhapsodized over the way the heroine, Trinity, saves the day by raiding
a computer network. She runs a program called nmap, identifies a flaw in the system's SSH encryption software, and she's in. Nmap is a gnarly piece of software, designed for experts in high-end Unix computer systems. The whole thing lasts about 10 seconds, but for some fans it's even more exciting than the 14-minute car-chase scene, as it may be the only Hollywood hacking scene ever to bear some relationship to reality. The SSH hack has been known about for years, and nmap is a real-life hacker favorite."

Check out the full article here:

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/ 146/business/Hacking_tool_generates_buzz+.shtml

btw, cool @ Corinthians!


Brisvegas1Jun 11, 2003 at 1:38PM

Quite ironic that someone mentions Choi and Dujour - they feature heavily in the draft matrix reloaded script.

In both the script and in the movie neo is forced to make a choice about who he is going to save:

In the draft script, Morpheus is almost like a religious fanatic, he is prepared to shut down the entire matrix killing everyone inside - 6.5 billion humans. Neo isn't prepared to make that choice and looks for a way to save them.

In the movie - neo is forced to choose between allowing humanity to continue to survive and having a chance to save trinity.

While we don't get to meet the architect in the script (or any of the other cool new characters) we do find out that the humans have continued to evolve in the matrix... that is why neo is stronger now than the previous ones.

We also find out that the machine mainframe is in the Metacortex building (where neo worked)... that's right , neo was working on coding the matrix. The humans in the matrix are being used to develop / code the matrix. The implications of this are pretty intense.

Another interesting bit of back-story is provided about the matrix code itself (the green on black stuff you see floating down the screen) - while we all knew that it was the code of the matrix - we have all been assuming that the machine intelligences were just more complicated extensions of the sort of software we are familiar with. It turns out that the machine/matrix code is based not upon a binary number system, but a quantum probability one.

ie. Not just a choice between 1 and 0 - but an infinite number of possibilities in between.

This opens up a whole new range of possibilities for machine behaviour - and it helps to explain why in the movie we saw that the machines are not able to eliminate the phenomena like people rejecting the matrix and the development of the one.

The reality of killing mass numbers of people in the matrix actually resulting in mass deaths of actual human lives has not yet been fully confronted by neo. So far his concerns have been trinity first, Zion second.....

It would seem to me in the next movie neo is going to have to confront his responsibility to save all humans, including those in the matrix. Not just trinity and not just his friends in Zion.

Of course if the matrix in a matrix theory is true we could be in for a much more complex ride.

More to bake our noodles I guess.

ClaytonJun 11, 2003 at 1:50PM

if anyone beat the videogame with Jada Pinkett's character they would have all the info they needed to know how Neo stopped the machines. so listen up and I will break down shit that was actually written, directed, and produce by the Wachowski brothers:

the new oracle explains to Jada Pinkett Smith's character that Neo is now in a world between the real world and the matrix. essentially his body was in the real world but he was able to put his mind in the matrix to save them....(kind of like a wireless modem.) now he is in some kind of coma and only trinity can save him, but she will go through hell to do it.

now before Badass has an anurism and starts leaking his retarded comments all over this perfectly good discussion board, let me clarify a few things. this isn't theory...it was actually acted out in one of the videogame cut scenes. now badass I am not saying that u are wrong, but the psychic shock thing just sounds stupid the way you explain it. in the first movie the agents are able to order the attack of the sentinels on the nebachunezzer. if you need to see for yourself, rent it at a local blockbuster (b/c there is no way you own it), fast forward to the part where trinity and neo save morpheus from the building with helicopter and then shut up and listen. you will hear the agents ask Smith to order an attack by the sentinels because they locked the ships positions in the world of the real.

so before you start calling everyone morons or dumbasses, or whatever else you automatic defense mechanisms urge you to blurt out, look in the mirror and slap yourself twice (once for all of us, and once for jean silva b/c he/she has been the only one paying enough attention to tell you to shut up.

jean silva, the only negative comment I have for you is that you are placing too much confidence on a second matrix. the odds are still 50-50 so you have to leave the door open or you could be eating crow come november.

as far as everyone concerned over the option of the door on the right in the architect's office, and how it would save Zion. this was a sloppy point in the movie. what I think the point was that the door on the left would lead him out with the same situation he had on his hands before he entered....trinity falling from the window and machine tunnelling for Zion. the door on the right would lead him back to the source as discussed by smith early in the movie. back at the source....we are talking in terms of electronic programs now.....Neo's code would have been reinserted or whatever and Zion would be started over (the machines version of saving Zion)

this is where the debate comes in where a second matrix might exist. erego how could Zion simply be restarted in the real world. no matter how dense the humans are, the new 23 might notice the massive carnage left when 250,000 machines massacres 250,000 freak Zion dancers.

also this puts the idea out that Neo himself is a program, or how else could he travel back to the source like Smith was supposed to do when Neo broke his code.

this all brings me now to the animatrix. the resistance segments written by the wachowski's explained the initial war that claimed the earth. (again badass, this was written by the wachowski's so your theories mean shit.) it shows the machines just wanting respect from their "creators". in essence the humans were gods to the machines. this all led to oppression of the machines due to the ignorance of man. an interesting turn that might happen would be this was all a test or a design by the machines. whether there is a second matrix or not, when neo and everyone get out of this there may be machines waiting to befriend them and welcome them back to a real world with a harmonious relationship between man and machine. the scene in reloaded where the old council member talks to neo about man and machines co-dependence on each other could be a clue.

i offer this radical conclusion only because a thorough ending seems so hard to achieve with only one movie left. whether there is a matrix within the matrix or not, the real world is still run by machines. when the humans escape it would be a slaughterhouse.

the only hope of a happy ending for audiences would be complete closure. single movies can have cliff hangers, trilogies need happy endings. if star wars had ended with emperor still alive, George Lucas would have ended up beaten to death by his own fans. the wachowski's should take heed.

what is $700,000,000 if thousands of matrix nerds can't continue on with their lives because Neo was only a program and Trinity has no one to cuddle with at night???

Brisvegas1Jun 11, 2003 at 1:55PM

Yeah - this "truce" between the machines and humans as the eventual resolution of the film has been hinted at in lots of places, the animatrix, the movies etc.

One can only imagine that people like Morpheus will have a pretty hard time accepting that option.

serinthJun 11, 2003 at 2:08PM

my fisrt day in the thread. never saw any longer discussion on a film
before. Lurve it or hate it, this movie is inevitably making impact. but most speculation, theories on this thread are thought out to satisfy yourselves, some should be kept to ourselves.

serinthJun 11, 2003 at 2:16PM

well i do hope NONE of the speculations here are accurate, or we won't have a no1-figured-out-the-plot-or-ending kind of movie. That's what made M2 a great film.

Gary FJun 11, 2003 at 5:18PM

A point about the machines co-existing with the humans after the ending:
Consider the ending of the first film (Neo talking on the phone),
Now consider the alternative ending on the DVD.

One has Neo threatening to expose the truth, the other shows him talking in a more cooperative (but still subversive) way. Watch them both again and have a think about it.

MetatronJun 11, 2003 at 5:27PM

This movie isn't perfect. I'd cut down the fight sequences considerably. My favorite parts of the film... none of them involved action of any kind.
-The meeting with the Oracle,
-the discussion with Councillor Hamman (sp?)
-and the earth-shattering revelation delivered by the Architect... one that justifies the 6 month wait til Revolutions... which is about the amount of time you'll need to wrap your mind around the mobius loop of implications now cracked open by Helmut whateverthehellhis name is... (whose style of acting this part is so right on you can never really be 100 percent sure whether the architect is human, or just another program).

Neither the philosophy of Matrix Reloaded, nor The Matrix before it are anything new... anyone who has read Socrates, Plato, The Bhagavad Gita, followed the teachings of Buddhism... etc.... knows this. However, I think that this particular set of films opens new dimensions to these concepts in a package that makes it relevant to our time.

Yes, Zion isn't real, either, and if Neo destroys the Matrix, he destroys the one thing that gives the people of Zion purpose... how's that for a paradox. Need proof? Well, instead of spelling it out for you in a George Lucasian "Son, let me tell you about the Midichlorians..." speech so heavily bored into my skull by Liam Neeson's painful delivery in Episode I, we have clues all over the place.
1. The Merovingian's place of dining... Le Vrai ... means "The Truth"
2. The Merovingian's comment about having beaten Neo's predecessors.
3. The Architect reveals who the predecessors were.
4. The Architect points out that Neo MUST repopulate Zion... ergo, Zion is PART of the "system".
5. Anthony Zerbe's (Councillor Hamman's) discussion with Neo about man and machine.
6. The fact that an Agent can inhabit a human.

Without being laborious or blindingly obvious, these and many other subtler clues (such as the spoon... given to Neo quite possibly foreshadowing "there is no spoon" in Zion, either... duh) point to only one of two possibilities: a) Zion and the Matrix are two computer systems entirely dependent upon each other, each of which gives purpose to the other.

MónicaJun 11, 2003 at 7:17PM

Hello from Spain!
I love all the things you have written in this page, you make me think a lot!

Please, can someone tell me what is Morpheus saying on the trailer?

Sorry, but there are some sentences I don´t understand... :(

Eric JJun 11, 2003 at 7:21PM

I should mention, I saw the Matrix Reloaded again last night and Mr. NoSuch was right. The scene where we first see the Zion control room was in a Construct. Not sure how I missed that the first time. Still, it was a bit odd but it all makes sense now.

TackaberryJun 11, 2003 at 11:30PM

MetaTron, destroying the Matrix doesn't deny humans of purpose, and is not a paradox. That's what makes us humans. Free Will (or at least soft determinism).

I noted above in the thread that the computers keep the humans alive, because humans are the agent in their frame problem. If the computers can develop or understand free will and human agency vis a vis emotion, they don t need humans anymore.

The matrix in the matrix won t be solved until the next movie. either way, Zion is well within foucault's panoptic power, and as such, one does not need to conclude it is part of the matrix.
But the matrtix within a matrix is a fine conclusion (most days I lean this way). But it s not the only one.

I can t remember the name of the restaurant, but the name of the restaurnaunt isn t enough for me to conclude everything Merv says is the truth. Besides what is truth?, if you have read Kirkigard...


And yes I asked bofre, can someone PLZ direct me to a copy of the script so I can read the councillor/neo discussion? that s the dude that was consulted about the philosophy in the film. He is not going to have garbage lines.


I read that script linked to above. I don t believe it is real. For one it is shitty, and for two it is too short.

lofty (Adam Lofstedt)Jun 11, 2003 at 11:46PM

The matrix in the matrix won t be solved until the next movie. either way, Zion is well within foucault's panoptic power

You know, sometimes this thread starts sounding like Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum.

Man this a great thread!

CoreyJun 12, 2003 at 12:13AM

Metatron says:

Yes, Zion isn't real, either, and if Neo destroys the Matrix, he destroys the one thing that gives the people of Zion purpose... how's that for a paradox. Need proof? Well, instead of spelling it out for you in a George Lucasian "Son, let me tell you about the Midichlorians..." speech so heavily bored into my skull by Liam Neeson's painful delivery in Episode I, we have clues all over the place.
1. The Merovingian's place of dining... Le Vrai ... means "The Truth"
2. The Merovingian's comment about having beaten Neo's predecessors.
3. The Architect reveals who the predecessors were.
4. The Architect points out that Neo MUST repopulate Zion... ergo, Zion is PART of the "system".
5. Anthony Zerbe's (Councillor Hamman's) discussion with Neo about man and machine.
6. The fact that an Agent can inhabit a human.

Without being laborious or blindingly obvious, these and many other subtler clues (such as the spoon... given to Neo quite possibly foreshadowing "there is no spoon" in Zion, either... duh) point to only one of two possibilities: a) Zion and the Matrix are two computer systems entirely dependent upon each other, each of which gives purpose to the other.


How do you know Zion isn't real? You state it as if you know this and the rest of us simply can't see this obvious truth. I believe Zion is not a matrix, however I will accept evidence to the contrary instead of asserting that my opinion can be the only possibly correct one.

How would destroying the matrix deprive humans of purpose? Their purpose is not to stay in constant war with the machines, it is to live free lives where they have choice (you know, choice, the whole philosophical basis of the movie).

Ummmm....how is the explanation of midichlorians in Star Wars in any way related to this "paradox", or did you just want to bash Liam Neeson (who is a great actor....I'm not basing this on Star Wars, watch Schindler's List)?

As for your list:
1. Even if the Merovingian is telling the complete truth, nowhere does he state or even imply that Zion is a matrix or that there is a paradox.
2. Merovingian did not "beat" Neo's predecessors he "survived" them, and um, how does this relate to Zion being a matrix or this "paradox"?
3. The Architect does not reveal anything about Neo's predecessors other than that there were 5 of them and they were not in love, and even if the Architect told Neo everything there is to know about them, how is this proof of Zion being a matrix or of this "paradox"?
4. The Architect does not say that Neo MUST repopulate Zion. If Neo did not do this humans would become extinct, but the machines are willing to accept that. Zion is part of a system of control, not the actual matrix system.
5. Again, how does this relate to Zion as a matrix and the paradox?
6. This is the second piece of feasible evidence of Zion as a matrix and the paradox you spoke of. Good job, 1 out of 6 ain't bad.....oh wait, that's not how the song goes....

As for possibility a, I'll give it some credit as a plausible theory. As for the second of the two possibilities.....oh wait, you only listed one. My bad (or was it yours?)

CoreyJun 12, 2003 at 12:20AM

Someone said somewhere above that even if Neo did destroy the matrix, the machines still control the real world and there would be a mass slaughter. I guess most people (including myself) just assumed that when the matrix was destroyed, the machines would be too. I guess the only two endings if the matrix is destroyed (as I believe it will be) is cooperation between man and machine, or some monumental move that destroys all the machines. I'd bet on the first theory personally.

Wouldn't it be a really cool joke though if in an epic struggle Neo freed humanity from the matrix, only for everyone to be slaughtered by the machines? Hehehe.....

AdheelJun 12, 2003 at 3:06AM

Mónica says:

Please, can someone tell me what is Morpheus saying on the trailer?


If you mean the Revolutions trailer, i think he only says "He Fights For Us" although who he is talking about is ambigious. Could mean any number of people i think.

The oracle provides most of the narration for the trailer, and i also found it hard to make out what she said. So if anyone can give any insight into this, thanks!

jonathanpohJun 12, 2003 at 5:24AM

Some random thoughts that occured to me after reading this entire thread (took me 3 days, with breaks) and re-watching the movie in the cinema.

Some people believe (as does Morpheus) that Neo has reached the source aka the Architects room, but then The Architect tells Neo - The door to your right leads to the source, and the salvation of Zion.

So that means the Prophecy has not been fulfiled (or will not be, ever, now that Neo has made the choice to go through the other door).

But earlier in the conversation, The Architect says - The function of the One is now to return to the source, allowing a temporary dissemination of the code you carry, reinserting the prime program.

Does this imply that Neo is also a program, or at least a hybrid? Unless of course he means genetic code which was also brought up somewhere earlier in this thread.

---
about the blurring of real and virtual, Smith-Bane cuts himself to check/feel, any relation to Neo being cut by the sword and bleeds while in the matrix? I can't remember any other scene post-Neo-as-Superman ever getting hurt and/or bleeding.

---
Persephone and merovingian.. they say they've been around a long time.. but hasn't the matrix been 'reloaded' 5 times prior? how do they (and the other rogue programs) remain persistant/resident through the reboots?

---
I love the binary 101 = 5 theory, but how about this:
ONEONE and 101.. maybe it's as simple as 1-on-1.. Neo vs Smith in Revolutions?

---
One more thing.. this might be a pot shot, but what if...
the matrix and Zion swaps places at some point in the movie, Zion becomes the Matrix and vice versa. similar, but not quite the same as the matrix-in-a-matrix. Perhaps at the point of Neo (and Smith's) death in the first Matrix? This kinda explains the bleeding in the Matrix and superpowers against squiddy outside.

Brian LJun 12, 2003 at 9:30AM

Wait? His name is Councillor Hamann? Kind of close to Haman...

from epicurious
"Hamantaschen - These small triangular pastries hold a sweet filling, either of honey-poppy seed, prune or apricot. They're one of the traditional sweets of Purim, a festive Jewish holiday. Also called Haman's Hats after Haman, the wicked prime minister of Persia who plotted the extermination of Persian Jews. Haman's plot was foiled at the last minute and the joyous festival of Purim was proclaimed in celebration."

So, is this a clue that Councillor Hamann is in league with the machines in the destruction of Zion (the real world name representative of the homeland of the Jews)?

...the councillor/neo discussion? that s the dude that was consulted about the philosophy in the film. He is not going to have garbage lines.

Um, Tackaberry, I believe you're thinking about Councillor West (Cornell West), who was consulted about the philosphies. Councillor Hamann was played by just another actor.

*Sigh* These posts have been coming to fast, by the time I get caught up someone has invariably made my point. Now I have to make stupid points, like above where a cookie is the undoing of mankind...

TackaberryJun 12, 2003 at 9:40AM

Oh I missed up councillors? Crap. Thanks Brian L. Still. I d like to the conversation again if anyone has a link.

CTJun 12, 2003 at 3:15PM

Did anyone check the show on TechTV last night about the Making of the film and Revolutions? I only saw the last few minutes. The only cool tidbits they said were that the shot with the long rainy street is near the end. As well as the raindrops were enlarged to represent the degredation of the Matrix, that you see throughout the film. The Smith vs Neo fight scene is also a "Super" versioned Burly Brawl.

As was commented before I also saw in the Revolutions trailer how Neo has a rag over his head and is EMPing the squiddies as Trin pilots.

Spoon BoyJun 12, 2003 at 4:56PM


a cookie is the undoing of mankind...

The cookie part was actually one of my favorite scenes in The Matrix.

The Oracle gives Neo a cookie. In ancient Greece the Delphic Oracle was also a woman, and candidates for her advice were given a barley cake mixed with honey to eat. But even cooler:

In modern times, Oracle is the largest database software company in the world, the engine behind the largest search engines known. "Software Powers The Internet". A "cookie", in browser-speak, is a software component attached to a user's browser for the purposes of behavior tracking, future identification, and possibly creating customized Web pages for them in the future.



Brisvegas1Jun 12, 2003 at 5:33PM

Yes cookies and food play a big part of the matrix. We see in multiple places (restaurant scene etc) how food is used to alter the programming of the matrix.

I had some thoughts about the Oracle and her cookie here.

It is interesting that you see the Mergovignian eating in his restaurant scene, but that agent smith doesn't eat when he is talking to cypher in the first movie. Perhaps this is more evidence of the Mergovignian's human heritage.

TedlyJun 12, 2003 at 5:43PM

I've been skipping around this page for the past hour or so, so I've probably read less than 10% of it, but it strikes me that noone has delved any deeper into the Persephone story from Greek mythology. She is the daughter of the most powerful of Gods, Zeus, and Demeter. Demeter is so distraught when Persephone shacks up with Hades, that she punishes the Earth with darkness and cold. When she comes back to her mother, Demeter allows warmth and light to return. That's how the Greeks explained the seasons.

In Reloaded, Persephone is with Hades (the Merovingian) in Hades (The Matrix). Meanwhile, on Earth, the sky is black and ruined and everything is cold and lifeless. She has been there for 5 iterations of the Matrix (or are they iterations of Zion? Does the Matrix get reinvented each time, or just Zion, now that the Architect has devised this stable system of control?). Neo represents the 6th iteration (month), so it is about time for her to go home to her mother, and warmth and light to return to the Earth. Perhaps Persephone is indeed human, or at least a machine who dates all the way back to before the war and the "scorching of the sky", and her leaving the Matrix will somehow coincide with the Earth's surface once more becoming habitable by humans. Who is her mother? I don't think it is the Oracle, but someone we haven't seen yet. I think there is some higher power than the Architect, who has a wife or companion, and Persephone is their "offspring".

We may even find that the scorching of the sky was some kind of accident, an environmental disaster or byproduct of war, and humans and machines created the Matrix to keep humans "asleep" in a sort of suspended animation for a few hundred generations, until the surface recovers and becomes habitable. The machines and programs Neo and friends interact with are merely part of the system to maintain the humans until it is time to "wake" them up, at which point Neo is born into the system. It would kind of destroy everything Neo feels about fate and destiny, if his role was predetermined by the creators of the Matrix. I don't know if the Wachowskis will wrap everything up that completely, and reveal the true origins of everything (might be kind of cheesy if they do - but then the "Second Renaissance" episodes in the Animatrix were pretty cheesy, IMO), but I think there is something coming out of left field to "bake our noodles". I could be way off base here, but nobody on this page seems to think the ultimate goal of mankind in the movies is not merely the destruction of the Matrix, but a return to the Earth's surface. There's not enough room in Zion for the billions of people plugged into the Matrix, where are they all going to go?

Another thought about the next movie, which I haven't seen anyone mention yet: the W's aren't above mixing modern pop culture references (such as Superman) in with the Gnosticism, Buddhism, Bible studies, mythology, astrology and everything else. Is the name "Revolutions" a slight reference to Charles Manson, who thought the Beatle's song "Revolution 9" was referring to Revelations, chapter 9 in the Bible? The revolution of mankind and the destruction of the Matrix is going to be a lot like Armageddon, and I'm sure there will be imagery to that effect in the final movie. What are the Four Horsemen going to look like?

Brisvegas1Jun 12, 2003 at 5:59PM

you know - all along I ave been thinking similar things, that the evntual end of the movie will be about a reconciliation wih the machines and a return to the surface. One of the things that has had me stumped till now, however, is the problem of how to deal with the millions, perhaps billions of humans plugged into the matrix.

The ethical dilema posed by simply pulling the plug would be insurmountable.

After watching the matrix revolutions trailer from the end of the "enter the matrix" game I am wondering if we might not see a matrix where every single human has been puddinged by Smith. It may be that there will be no "humans" left in the matrix to save. This would make saving zion even more important.

Speaking of the matrix revolutions trailer - whats up with the fight between Seraph (the oracles guardian) and morpheus? Are we going to see morpheus turn against the oracle? - maybe even turn against neo? He has always been something of a religious fanatic, what will he do now that he knows the prophecy is false?

CTJun 12, 2003 at 6:53PM

If you look closely, it doesn't look like Morpheus. Different (wrap around) glasses, different shaped jaw. Just a big black bald dude in an overcoat.

jonathanpohJun 12, 2003 at 7:22PM

didn't smith 'pudding' morpheus (or at least halfway) in the corridor?

Brisvegas1Jun 12, 2003 at 9:12PM

Hey folks,

The entire matrix reloaded script has been transcribed over here.

This is good news for everyone wanting to think more about the conversations with the councillor and the oracle.

xx_dilbert_xxJun 12, 2003 at 9:13PM

I watched The Matrix Reloaded for the 6th time, 2nd in theatres today and i came to a new level of understanding.

First of all. Everything is based on 3 levels, to the current understanding.1) the lowest level which contains unplugged humans 2)The unplugged ones 3)Ones that are in control and have survived the last matrix crash such as the architect(obviously), the oracle, the keymaker, that french guy, the vampires, the twins, and possibly neo(he comes to an understanding at the end).

All these people are of a higher understanding of the matrix and can potentially break the rules. Neo has done this aswell as the twins to do what cannot be done. But what hasnt been done is total control of all. The architect mentions this in his monologue(see script on this site). IT has come to my atention that Neo unserstands, and doesent believe the architect. He comes to a true change where he is now at the highest level, as high as the architect himself. The architect said if he took the right door that Trinity would die. Neo surpassed the architects and brought her back to life.

Brisvegas1Jun 12, 2003 at 9:34PM

I think you may mean that the first level is 1) plugged in humans - those being used as batteries and who are able to be taken over by agents.

Then level 2) would be the humans who have rejected the matrix and been unplugged

and level 3)Ones that are in control and have survived the last matrix crash

Is that right?...

Spoon BoyJun 12, 2003 at 10:35PM


1) Intelligence capable of creating Intelligent Programs
2) Intelligent Programs created by Intelligence
3) See item #1

Brisvegas1Jun 13, 2003 at 4:54AM

aaaarrrgghhh....

My brain hurts!!!

Gimmee more ;)

hehe

Brisvegas1Jun 13, 2003 at 5:34AM

From the Roger Ebert review:

As we learned in "The Matrix," the Machines need human bodies, millions and millions of them, for their ability to generate electricity. In an astonishing sequence, we saw countless bodies locked in pods around central cores that extended out of sight above and below. The Matrix is the virtual reality that provides the minds of these sleepers with the illusion that they are active and productive. Questions arise, such as, is there no more efficient way to generate power? And why give the humans dreams when they would generate just as much energy if comatose? And why create such a complex virtual world for each and every one of them, when they could all be given the same illusion and be none the wiser? Why is each dreamer himself or herself, occupying the same body in virtual reality as the one asleep in the pod?

You know something makes me think we have all dismissed this question to easily... sure we all know the line "in conjunction with fusion" - but, if they have fusion energy, then why use humans at all?

I think that in the next movie there is going to be a whole new level of purpose to the matrix revealed. Something that explains not only the "what" of the matrix, but the "why" as well.

Stuff like the agents being able to take over humans (i.e people plugged into the matrix) and the fact that everyone plugged into the matrix shares a consensual reality) makes me think that it is not electrical energy that humans are providing, but computational power. Litteral "Brain Power".

Maybe that is why the matrix is degrading in Revolutions - because smith has infected everyone and prevented them from contributing to the processing power required by the matrix.

ambivalent imbroglioJun 13, 2003 at 5:57AM

The following are some thoughts after seeing "Reloaded" a second time. I've tried to recall the major plot scenes and explain their significance as I understand it. Yes, there are spoilers. If you haven't seen it, don't click for "more."


First, I think one of the best things we learn from "Reloaded" is that the messianic plot is a red herring. As Neo says after his talk w/the Architect: "The One was never meant to end anything. It was just another system of control." Take that, Mr. Thank God. (No offense to believers among us; regardless of wether its a system of control, religion certainly serves important functions in many societies and lives.)

Another thing I learned from this film is that most reviews of it are worthless. Very few people can say many smart things about a movie after seeing it only once. All you get are first impressions, and w/a move like "Reloaded," it's hard to trust those.

The major scenes in terms of plot are:

Neo and the Counsellor on the engineering level of Zion: The counsellor says that this is how people are: We don't care how things work, so long as they work. This is what makes the matrix possible; as Cipher said in the first film, "ignorance is bliss." Hence, the Counsellor seems to suggest that even in Zion people are half asleep. The counsellor also asks, "What is control?" His point seems to be that the struggle w/which Neo should be concerned is not that of man vs. machine (it wasn't in the first film, either, despite what reviewers said); Neo must realize that there is a man/machine symbiosis at work. Perhaps. But the Counsellor is definitely playing on the threads about choice and human agency that come up again in the scene w/the Merovingian (and elsewhere). These themes are also important to his examples of things he doesn't understand, such as the water filtration system in Zion. The Counsellor says he doesn't understand the means, but he does understand the ends of these things. (To use the Merovingian's terms, he has the why.) The Counsellor hopes he'll learn the end (or goal/purpose) of Neo's power, even if he never understands its means. Thus, "Reloaded" is a quest film: Neo's quest for purpose. (What's it all for!?)

Morpheus' speech to the people of Zion: He's not afraid because he remembers where he's come from. Hence, Morpheus is lecturing about the importance of history. This echoes Frederic Jameson's "prime directive" to "always historicize." (However, since Morpheus' vision is later questioned—he believed in the prophecy, and that seems like it was a mistake—this scene might be meant in a Baudrillardian, post-historical, post-Marxist sense. Yes, history is important, but even that is not enough anymore.)

Link and Zee: A plot hole appears in the scene w/Link and Zee as Zee explains why she fears the Neb—it took two of her brothers, Tank and Dozer. We know what happened to Dozer from the first film: Cipher killed him. But what happened to Tank? Perhaps this is explained by the animated short, "Final Flight of the Osiris," which also supposedly explains how Neo gets a certain letter. "Osiris" apparently premiered in March before screenings of a movie called "Dreamcatcher." (This fairly detailed review doesn't mention anything about Tank.)

The Oracle: We learn that she is a program. (Does this ruin the metaphor of taking the red pill? In other words, does it mean that taking the red pill is just breaking through to a different layer of deception and control? I think Yes, but that doesn't ruin the metaphor because the red pill level is more enlightened (and therefore more empowered) than the blue pill level.) She tells us that people have to work together to get anything done (hence, the Nietzschean superman thing is out). And we also learn that all the world's anomalies (ghosts, angels, vampires, werewolves, etc.) are the system trying to assimilate programs gone awry. Agent Smith is such a program. (Real world parallel: Think how corporations use things like MTV to co-opt and commodify counter culture. In the '90s we got "alternative" music and that seemed rebellious and a little anarchic until it got into heavy rotation on MTV and "alternative" bands started selling millions of records: "alternative" was a program gone awry, but it was quickly assimilated. The counterculture of the 1960s is another vivid example—it threatened the status quo for a while, but was quickly co-opted and commodified—Flower Power is packaged and sold by Nike and Coca Cola. Now we have "tenured radicals" and other baby boomer demographics to which the system targets specific messages and commodities. I'm sure you could cite many more examples of this.) Finally, the Oracle tells us what all men with power want: More power. (Is she suggesting that power always leads to nihilism?)

Agent Smith: The scene where Neo battles a hundred Agent Smiths serves at least two purposes. First, it's a cool action scene. Yay. But more important, it explains what's happened to Smith: He's unplugged, no longer an agent of the system, but now without purpose because as he says, there is no purpose other than slavery to the system—there's no escape. He has become a nihilist—the archetypal nihilist, in fact. He has no reason for doing anything, except to satisfy his desire to do it. It's all about me, me, me, and me, too. But just as the messianic plot is a red herring, so too, is Agent Smith's nihilism—it doesn't get him anywhere or do anyone any good. The people he converts to his nihilism (by turning them into copies of himself) also only cause trouble. It's also important to note that Agent Smith tries to make a connection between himself and Neo, and in a way they are similar: Like Smith, Neo sees no definite purpose to his actions. The difference is that Neo still hopes and searches for purpose, while Smith has given up.

Lock and the Counsel: This scene (featuring two big lines by Cornel West) suggests that Zion is duplicating the control of the matrix. Lock says he wishes he could understand the counsel's choice, but the counsel says he does not need to understand to obey. This is true of the matrix, as well. An interesting side note: Niobe identifies herself as Captain of the Logos. She's Captain of the Word. This signals the film's concern w/language, or as Foucault would say, discourse.

The Merovingian: (What does it mean?) At the beginning of the scene, Neo says there's something strange about the code of the building and everything—it doesn't look right. Although he doesn't know it, this is because the code is old: They've entered an old, outdated, or early version of the Matrix here. The Merovingian is a program gone awry and he's somehow kept a bunch of old programs with him. Notably, all the old code characters have European accents—it's the "old world," after all. (Note also that the way the Merovingian praises French kind of gives the finger to all those "freedom fries" French-bashing Americans who see the film, doesn't it?) The Merovingian says many important things, one of which is that choice is an illusion created by people with power, for those without power. He also explains that "Why" is power. This is Foucauldian in that Foucault deconstructed the cliche that "knowledge is power" by showing that knowledge is not an absolute, but rather a social construct. A certain piece of information is only considered "knowledge" because we agree that it is. Therefore, it is not enough to know Fact A, we must also know why Fact A is important, otherwise our knowing has no power attached to it. This is the dilemma of Morpheus, Neo and Trinity: They know that they're supposed to be doing things, but they don't know why; therefore, they are powerless. (Tangent: Think for a moment about the "War on Terror"—it's action w/out reason, it has no why—it does not understand what it's fighting or what its ultimate goal is. Not effective. I haven't read it yet, but I'll bet that's what Baudrillard says in this book.) So perhaps the Merovingian is another caution against nihilism—our actions must be reasonable. I don't know what to say about all the cause and effect stuff in this scene, except that perhaps it has something to do w/a critique of teleological thinking. Anyone?

The Architect: The architect debunks the messianic plot and explains more about the origin of the matrix and the fact that it required a woman (another program, actually, who may or may not have been the Oracle) to figure out how to make it palatable to humans. As L. explains it via poststructuralism: The original matrix relied upon coercive power—it forced everyone to do as it required. The revised matrix includes the illusion of choice, so it functions via productive power—it produces cooperative subjects by giving them the illusion that they're producing themselves by making a choice (that isn't actually a choice). (But if this is the case, then doesn't that mean Zion is also a program? Yes, I think so, which explains how/why Neo is able to stop the sentinels near the end of "Reloaded." We'll see.)

[Aside: The concepts of coercive vs. productive power are also helpful in understanding why terrorism (and specifically 9-11) doesn't work. L. could explain this better than I can, but I'll take a stab at it: The people who crashed the planes into the WTC and the Pentagon were using spectacle and physical force to try to change the system of western capitalism with which they find fault. We immediately recognized the spectacle; however, the western world rejected this violence—we rejected "the program" because it didn't offer us a choice. Instead, the system (western capitalism) assimilated the violence of 9-11 by giving it a new meaning ("they hate us because we're free") and using it to justify wars against the system's enemies. And the system of western capitalism does this by flooding us with the illusion of choice: "Should I buy the white one or the pink one?" "Should I vote for tweedle-dee or tweedle-dum?"]

The Architect also explains the "remainder," the 1% who won't accept the program even when given the choice. These people instead choose Zion (once they learn about it). Again, this seems to be a false choice; Zion seems to be just another program, another facet of the matrix. Still, the concept of the remainder gives us an explanation for why some people are searching ("It's the question that drives you.You know the question, just as I did."), while others are perfectly content to live in the matrix. L. helpfully pointed out the similarities between "Reloaded"'s use of the remainder and the way Baudrillard writes about it in Simulacra and Simulation. Baudrillard writes:

Who can say if the remainder of the social is the residue of the nonsocialized, or if it is not the social itself that is the remainder, the gigantic waste product ... of what else? Of a process, which even if it were to completely disappear and had no name except the social would nevertheless only be its remainder. The residue can be completely at the level of the real. When a system has absorbed everything, when one has added everything up, when nothing remains, the entire sum turns to the remainder and becomes the remainder. (144)

Does this give us some clue about "Revolutions"? Perhaps. But it does seem that we are reaching a point like this in our own world. Note the degradation of the public sphere—education, health care, all social services—as budgets get slashed. We think instrumentally in terms of profit and loss; social services don't fit into that equation very well, and so are peripheral, a remainder. In fact all of the social world—our interactions w/family and friends, our entertainment, any "free" time we have—is a remainder. The system is work, productivity, profit, the economy, etc. Everything else is just left over, extraneous matter that the system would eliminate if it could figure out how to do so. (If you doubt this, ask yourself if your employer would eliminate coffee breaks and lunch hours if he/she could get away with it. All the employers I've ever had certainly would.)

Finally, the Architect sets up a choice for Neo—either be the savior of humanity, or choose love and be responsible for the death of all humans. But even as he poses these options, the Architect seems to know what Neo will do, meaning that this again seems like only an illusion of choice. This is one of the major questions for "Revolutions": Did Neo just do exactly as expected/programmed? Or did he somehow surprise the system? The Architect also notes that hope is both the greatest strength and the greatest weakness of humans. It's the greatest strength because, no matter how bad things get, we keep hoping they'll get better and that we can contribute to that improvement. Hope is our greatest weakness because it acts as a screen for so much of the "evil" in the world—we see bad things happening but refuse to believe they can be as bad as they seem because our hope clouds our judgment. ("Gee, it sure looks like this war on Iraq is going to be a bad thing, but I hope I'm wrong; I guess I'll just trust my government and hope that it's doing the right thing.")

After the Architect: Neo explains that the One was never meant to end anything. (Note: As many people have noted, "Neo" is an anagram of "one," but that, too, seems like a red herring. "Neo" is also a prefix meaning "recent or new," and in "Revolutions" we see that Neo is not "the one," but he is nevertheless something new. Neo-poststructural, perhaps?)

Morpheus is shocked to learn that "the prophecy" may have been a lie. Morpheus is a teleological thinker—he uses "ultimate purpose or design as a means of explaining phenomena." This has served him well up to this point, just as it served humanity well until the 20th century. However, for many people the death of god meant the end of teleologies and grand narratives. Yet, that leaves the question: What do we put in their place? That is a question Morpheus will have to deal w/in "Revolutions"—how is he going to understand his world if the framework he's always depended on is suddenly proven invalid?

So what does "Revolutions" hold? If, we follow L.'s reading, the two films have thus far stuck closely to poststructuralist lines; however, the problem w/poststructuralism is that it hasn't really figured out what to do now that god is dead and there's no getting outside of power. The trailer for "Revolutions" (which comes on after about 6-8 minutes of credits, if you stick around patiently) doesn't offer too many clues, but it does seem to bring it down to a battle between Neo and "him." This will be less than satisfying for many reasons, but I'll reserve judgment until I see it in November. (It will be out the 5th or the 7th. I'm thinking 7th since the 5th is a Wednesday.)

One more thing about the reviews and the bullk of the discussion I've seen about both Matrix films: There's lots of talk about philosophy and religious "mumbo jumbo," but very few people (outside of academia) talk about Foucault, Baudrillard, or any of the other huge linguists, cultural critics, and critical theorists who inform these films (for example, Saussure and Derrida are two thinkers without whom these films simply wouldn't be possible). Nonetheless, as important as religion and philosophy are to these films, they ultimately seem to serve as background to these other, more obscure structures of thought. The fact that so few people talk about linguistics, structuralism, poststructuralism, etc., is evidence of the problem of the Humanities in the 21st century—no one understands what academics in these fields are doing, and too few academics take the time or make the effort to bring their ideas to a wider audience. This is one of the great accomplishments of the Matrix films: They attempt to translate complex and obscure ideas into something millions of movie-goers can access. Millions of people want to see these movies, and they do see them, and think about them, and talk about them. The experience—the viewing and thinking and talking—may not change much for the vast majority of them, but at least the Wachowski brothers are trying.

My friend J. also pointed out that it's somewhat ironic that someone decided to attach the "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" trailer to "Reloaded." As the terminator himself says in that trailer, he is an obsolete technology. I mean, the Matrix films do the struggle between man and machines so much better than terminator ever did. Except for the fact that the trailer is being shown w/"Reloaded," there's no reason sci-fi/cyberpunk stories have to fit together, but I suppose the terminator series could be something like a precursor of "The Matrix"—the battles that took place before the machines gained the ability to capture and "program" humans. The terminator series appears to function on a metaphor of coercive, or modern, power (force and violence), while the matrix series is concerned with productive, or postmodern, power (the control comes from within the subject being controlled). Yubbledew also functions on a coercive metaphor, while his advisers (e.g., Karl Rove) seem to understand productive power quite well. But, whew... I'll leave that to another day...

Siddarta GouthamaJun 13, 2003 at 5:58AM

Concerning the revolutions trailer. Seraph is just fighting another guy, certainly not Morpheus. It seems however that Smith is gaining power. The very last action moment is Smith flying underneath a jumping Neo.
Nice on dividing people in classes. I would also consider 1)plugged people, 2)non-plugged people (these are very archetypically characterized as Carl Gustav Yung did), 3)unplugged people who have some knowledge but are struggling in the matrix (I mean they don't see the truth as Neo does), 4)The One (obviously).
From the MAtrix side, we have the 1)plugged people (again), 2)programs just doing their job, 3)programs not doing their job, 4)than on a much higher level the Agents, who perform a certain job (allthough I don't think they know the exact truth about the MAtrix loops, they just consider the ONe as an anomaly), 5)programs (and/or people) that are enlighted as Merv, Persephone, Oracle... and have a clear understanding of the matrix.
I don't know if this contributes anything to the discussion, but indeed, Neo is also entering the level of understanding as the architect and oracle,... One big issue is left, and that is SMith, I guess.

Jay AdhikariJun 13, 2003 at 7:11AM

Well I assume that Matrix Revolutios ending would be that even Zion was part of the matrix and it was suppose to be destroyed everytime but this time around Neo changed things,remember when in the ending Neo telle trinity that something has changed and then the sentinels come in and he stops them.Something has changed and he has changed ti,he was suppose to choose the right door but he surprised the machines by choosing the left door.Well,we can make all the guesses we want but the truth will only be revealed when the film hits the theaters

Siddarta GouthamaJun 13, 2003 at 8:35AM

Jay adhikary,
I wouldn't say the Architect was surprised by Neo's choice. His "humph" meant something else: the fact that humans can also take decisions from an emotional basis, something that AI doesn't as the latter always thrives for the most efficient way to achieve a certain goal. Humans can reach that same goal, but walk another path (hmm... makes me think about TM1, knowing the path and walking the path...)
Good point though

Siddarta GouthamaJun 13, 2003 at 9:39AM

Ambivalent Imbroglio,
I've just read your comments. I hadn't seen them while I was submitting mine at the same time.

You've brought up some very interesting points and very useful comparisons with our world. The latter certainly was something that was not yet discussed in these posts.
I consider your comments by far as the most important contributions to this discussion forum.
It does feel good, thinking about this film and making reflections to the actual level of civilization and way of thinking we have in this world. btw, very interesting point on poststructuralism. We still have to see however whether Neo as the ONE was just a means of control as his predecessors, or whether he is a "different" ONE, which would bring back messianic aspects. Clearly, he hasn't figured this out yet in Reloaded. I just think he has to bring himself one level higher to achieve a better understanding and with that he has to tilt up the Zionists too to realize what the truth is and purpose of their lives is. Surely, as for the Architect, he is not surprised about the Choice Neo makes; as AI however, he finds it odd. And Smith... good point of the fact having a purpose or not.
I would like to make a comparison to our own world where lots of people think they have a purpose in their life, but that it's actually not a purpose, but more escapology. Life is more than easy living.

Man, these discussions go way deep!

Jay AdhikariJun 13, 2003 at 9:42AM

but something disd changed as Neo said that,it can be a lot of things and will be only be answered when Revolutions hits the theaters,I gues for US its 7th Nov. I don't know the exact date for India though

GhostJun 13, 2003 at 1:48PM

How far down the rabbit hole are we? 600-700 posts? Wow


We should get a prize from the W's for this thread.

TackaberryJun 13, 2003 at 2:17PM

An interesting handle you have chosen, ambivalent imbroglio. But such a handle was unnecessary. It's evident in your post.

I can t consider smith as nihilist. Sure, he's destructive, but he has purpose and intention.

I could however have been charitable to Carr's Nihilism in Merv,

Except I instead see Serle's Chinese room in Merv, thus supporting my idea that Merv is a computer attempt to solve agency and the frame problem, ie, intentionality.

We could say Neo with the architect is him trying to merge horizons, by seeking the key question. the remainder of the equation and its opposition is what the One is refining and resolving.
Or perhaps you side with Habermas, and all the cause/effect talk is self-reflective.

In fact if I worked hard enough, I could likely demonstrate the movies are simply the Gadamer-Habermas debate. The matrix and Neo s powers could be seen as normatively regulated action. How 'bout the matrix as theory of communicative action.

Is Neo moving from existential understanding to explanation or from explanation to existential understanding? I see Apel, but both could be supported I suspect. What do you think?

If you are willing to give the Bros this much credit in Philosophy (which I am not), I don't see a post constructivist critique, but a more general hermeneutical exploration.

But I think it is more than simply an exegesis of post-modern epistemology, and competing grand narratives. I don't see the philosophy in the movies being that focused IMHO.

chrisJun 13, 2003 at 2:55PM

geez.. I've seen long threads before, but I rarely see long coherent, intelligent, evolving threads. This is really great; at the end of the day, threads like this are the reason that the brothers made these movies.

as everyone on this thread has shown, there are tons of minute details of these movies to debate; the 101 theory, the role of persephone, the russian-doll/onionskin/recursion plot device, smith/bane, etc... but i think we're all skirting around the real point here. We're coming to the table without why. what are these movies really about?

the matrix is a thinly veiled reference to the various systems of control that surround us today, in this world, in 2003. Governments, corporations, media, religion, social structures, and technology all intersect to create a tightly woven sweater, which has been pulled over all of our eyes.

Neo becomes aware of the illusions of his world. These movies are attempting to make us aware of the illusions in ours. Neo ultimately overcomes this control by doing incredibly simple things:

1.) he doesn't believe what he's told.
2.) he thinks for himself.
3.) he follows through on what he believes he needs to do
4.) he is willing to take chances to save the people he cares for.

this movie challenges us to do the same in our world. We should recognize how free we could truly be, and take advantage of it. We are not too different from the copertops in their pods; our world is fed to us through cable news and t1 net connections (especially most of us geeks reading through these threads). We spend the majority of our lives toiling through our jobs and paying taxes. We happily drive to work in manufactured cars on government maintained roads. this relationship is, of course, symbiotic; without these systems, we would carrying on this conversation through carrier pigeon; by the same notion, there wouldn't be a conversation to have without these systems. Ultimately, the point isn't to destroy the entire matrix; the point is to allow its inhabitants to reach their full potential.

I have a sinking suspicion that the last scene of revolutions isn't the first scene of the first matrix movie; its the last scene of it. Remember? Neo at the phone booth? telling the machines that he's going to show the people of the world what a world without bounds is, followed by a "system failure" screen?

the system doesn't look like it's failed yet in reloaded... and the people within the matrix don't look like they've been shown a world without bounds. I think the backstory of that scene are still in the works.


GhostJun 13, 2003 at 2:57PM

Everyone continues to assume that Trinity and love were the unplanned factor in an otherwise flawless choice situation. Everyone assumes that Neo was supposed to choose the door to the source but didn’t because of this “Trinity love thing” that was unplanned for. But in reality (or the matrix) the Oracle told Trinity that she would fall in love with the One. Since the Oracle is a program then the love must have been planned or pre recognized by the machines. Now to assume that takes away the backbone of most theories because if the machines knew that Trinity and Neo would fall in love, then they essentially knew that he would take that door to love because of the strength of the emotion. Now what kind of choice is that? It just goes to support the fact that they knew what he would choose, there was never any choice at all.
Once again the question remains How Would The Oracle Know That They Would Fall In Love? This is something that I cannot logically answer. I have asked you twice on this thread to help but the question remains untouched (as far as I can see).
But I have to reiterate the point that they had set Neo up somehow with his love for Trinity to make him or see if he would choose that door to her.


TANK: Hey, Mikey, he likes it! Ready for more? NEO: Hell yes!

MarkMissionJun 13, 2003 at 6:32PM

Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics
1 - A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2 - A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3 - A robot must protect its own existence, except where such protection would conflict with the First or Second Law.


I wonder if the W Bros have taken these laws into consideration. IF SO, was the Matrix actually designed by the machines for the Protection of humans?

Spoon BoyJun 13, 2003 at 6:44PM


Ghost says:

Once again the question remains How Would The Oracle Know That They Would Fall In Love? This is something that I cannot logically answer. I have asked you twice on this thread to help but the question remains untouched


If Trinity is Human, it is true that the Oracle could not have known. But if Trinity is Machine... :)

"A.I.: A singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of machines."

Chris says:

the matrix is a thinly veiled reference to the various systems of control that surround us today, in this world, in 2003. Governments, corporations, media, religion, social structures, and technology all intersect to create a tightly woven sweater, which has been pulled over all of our eyes.


Indeed. Well put.

Neo ultimately overcomes this control by doing incredibly simple things:

1.) he doesn't believe what he's told.
2.) he thinks for himself.
3.) he follows through on what he believes he needs to do
4.) he is willing to take chances to save the people he cares for.


Yes, he does all four of these things. However, the notion that he ultimately overcomes this control is debatable. In our own world, we can question authority, think independently, follow our heart, and do good to others. Doing so gives us a sense of purpose, giving us reason to believe that we've overcome the control that binds us.

Then we die.

Martin MarprelateJun 13, 2003 at 10:15PM

What follows is a series of explorations of the meaning of certain scenes as well as how the matrix hangs together as a whole.

First off: why stage the scene with the councilor?

The councilor is one of the “original” 23 (seven men and sixteen women) that were removed from the matrix by the previous “One” to provide for the refounding of Zion. He is privy to the knowledge that the humans and the machines are interdependent and that interdependency is mediated by the matrix. The machines need the humans for a power source in the matrix (duh) and they also need Zion as a spill valve for the 1% who reject the matrix but most importantly they need Zion as a place to nurture the One. The One is needed by the machines because only the One can reload the matrix. The reason for this is explored in the conversation with the Architect. Without the one, no matrix and eventually no machines, at least not in the style to which they have become accustomed….

If the machines need the One and hence Zion then why do they destroy it over and over?

Zion represents a potential threat and a danger to the machines that cannot be allowed to reach critical mass. It is a threat both in terms of the havoc free humans wreak within the matrix and potentially so (although far less so) in physical terms. Also, realize that much of the matrix and the programs that roam it are not subject to “reprogramming” – the matrix is a clockmaker’s universe – once set in motion the dynamics cannot be altered. So the logic of the programs within the matrix is to preserve the fabric of the matrix at all costs – including the complete destruction of Zion. This is true despite the fact that the architect and oracle realize that preservation of the matrix “as is” is not possible. So the agents are necessary (without them the matrix would collapse before it could be reloaded) but they are ultimately doomed to failure in their aim of preserving the matrix “as is” – the reload process is ultimately necessary. One can speculate that eventually “static” builds up within the system rendering it more and more vulnerable to crash – hence the need to reload.


The reload cannot be accomplished by the machines themselves

Reloading the matrix is not simply a question of programming or mathematics. The machines require something that they cannot produce and something they can’t quite understand but something forced upon them by the nature of the material with which they are forced to work with – humans. They require an example of free human volition to reboot the system – think of it as the broadcast of one form of static to cancel out another: the insistent static of millions of humans “trying” (without realizing it) to wake up… and the machines cannot produce or reproduce human choice or volition – they need the One to do this for them. The inexplicable nature of free will is needed by the machines to “tune” the matrix, thereby providing for a degree of stability that degrades over time as the irreducible static of human “resistance” (unconsciously) builds up within the matrix again.

If they need it so much why obliterate Zion?

The destruction of Zion – like its refounding – serves multiple purposes. The destruction of Zion of course prevents humans from progressing to the point where they might actually pose a physical threat to the machines and also helps mystify the true nature of the matrix system to the majority of those in Zion, but the key reason the destruction of Zion is necessary is to coerce the One into willingly reloading the matrix – because the One is then faced with either reloading the matrix or the extinction of humanity. But Zion must be refounded in order to permit the matrix to be reloaded once again – and as before the reload occurs in despite the efforts of the matrix’ agents.

Were the sex scenes really necessary?

Some of the scenes in Zion came across poorly, perhaps the least well done of any of the scenes in either movie. At one point I was reminded of the cheesy subterranean human community from the original “Planet of the Apes” movies. And yet both the sex scene (which was classy and hot) and the religious ceremony were necessary for a number of reasons. At the very least the rite/dance/orgy demonstrated how young most adults were – at least 20 years younger than the councilors…hmmm. The sex scene with Neo and Trinity not allowed the directors to foreshadow Neo’s nightmare, creating dramatic tension, but it also illustrated in a way words simply cannot (and hence in a way in which movies can excel) the difference between the machines and humans – a theme again underlined by the mosh-pit rite.

Contrast the relations between Neo and Trinity with Merovingian and Persephone. The former couple experiences a bond that – despite its almost painfully embodied nature, what with all those sockets – is almost artistic in its realization of authentic love. The latter couple, however, in spite of all the polish, panache and elegance the matrix can conjure, are revealed as worse than children playing at love – because they have no true concept or experience of feeling or emotion. Sure, they know how to manipulate the sensations of others – and they are expert in so doing – but in so doing they are like bored children pulling the wings off a fly.

That is why those two maligned scenes – involving the cake and the kiss – are so necessary to the film, for they expose – in a visceral manner that the Architect’s speech can only render as dry logos – the complete failure of any of the machines’ attempts to grasp emotion and choice. Merovingian has all the outward appearance of refinement, culture and education but his marvelous abilities with regard to language are wasted on meaningless tongue-twisters and the cultivation of curse-words, just his prodigious skill at program-writing is expended on the basest form of manipulation. And unlike Mouse from the first movie, Merovingian is not even acting on instinct or urges – he is merely playing at having such urges.

The same can be said for the Italian eye-candy Persephone, but in her case her outfit speaks even more loudly than her banal adolescent desire for a kiss. Despite her outfit’s obvious advantage in revealing her cybernetically perfect figure, there is something askew – the color, texture, cut – that, as with Merovingian’s “manners,” marks her as a monstrosity. Not because of what she is, but because what she attempts to pretend to be. Both are vampires for human feeling, hungering for what they cannot experience and do not even understand. Needless to say their “relationship” is equally devoid of any authentic feeling.

What of the Oracle – is she on “our side” or the machines?

The Oracle is the “intuitive” program originally designed to probe the human psyche. As such she comes closest to being able to realize the necessary means for integrating humans into the architectonic of the Architect’s matrix. She seeks to fulfill the “prophecy” as a means of reloading the matrix, which from her perspective (as well as that of the Architect) is best for both machine and man. The machines continue to enjoy the energy and diversions afforded by the inherently unstable matrix and the humans avoid extinction. Hence the Oracle is not on the human’s side any more (or any less) than a shepherd is on the flocks’ side. She guides the herd as best she can and accepts that a culling of the flock as necessary for its ultimate maintenance – and for her (and the other machines) ultimate well-being. As for Neo making her a “believer,” I interpret this as the Oracle acknowledging the distinct possibility that Neo will refuse the “proper” door (the potential of which even the Architect acknowledges) hence “redeeming” the prophecy – but in apocalyptic finality. Her sereneness in the face of such a potential reflects her understanding of the dependence of the matrix upon the One – it’s simply out of her hands.

Why doesn’t the Architect simply trick Neo into going into the door he wants?

The Architect could trick Neo, but in so tricking him the Architect would be deprived of what he needs from Neo. So the Architect is dependent upon Neo (and the humans both in the matrix and in Zion) in a way similar to that which the councilor hinted at early on in the movie. Sure, he could trick Neo, but that would only result in shutting down the matrix, because what he needs from the One is something he cannot simulate or provide, despite his mastery of mathematics. Even in its “unconscious” state, the human psyche “resists” the matrix. What is needed to overcome this resistance – if only temporarily – is an instance of choice and acceptance provided by the One, that no doubt the Architect propagates or amplifies throughout the matrix, influencing the unconscious millions who are unconsciously “resisting.” For whatever reason, the Architect has found that no mathematical formula or chemical reaction allows him to reproduce or simulate the “feeling” of willing consent or choice. Hence the Architect cannot fool the One (nor the millions others – at least for very long) but must actually enlist the One’s willing consent – if only through means of blackmail – as the means of preserving humanity not only within the matrix but also in a newly (re)founded Zion. So the statistically predictable anomaly becomes the savior of humanity – and the matrix as well.

As you have no doubt guessed, I don’t share the enthusiasm that some have for the theory that Zion is actually another matrix within the matrix. Granted, this would explain some of the issues explored above (as well as the zapping of the sentinels at the end), but it would do so in such a manner that renders certain aspects of the film not only puzzling but unnecessary. One could ask, for example, why – if Zion is merely another matrix –does Agent Smith only replace Bane’s psyche rather than his (presumably, under this theory) residual body image? More importantly, why would the machines need to the stage the whole Oracle-prophecy rigmarole? It would be one thing to send the “free” humans on a wild goose chase, but why – if Zion is actually a new and improved matrix that is as yet wholly perfect in its functioning – is the One needed to reload the matrix? Why would the matrix need to be reloaded if it is working as planned (indeed, better than any within the matrix have dared imagine)? Hence the “dual-matrix” theory, although attractive to some as a means of explaining the destruction/refounding of Zion, actually introduces insuperable difficulties when it comes to explaining the overriding necessity of the movie – the need to reload the matrix. Think of the extraordinary lengths that the extra-matrix programs (the Architect and the Oracle) go in order to promote Neo’s reloading of the matrix despite the degree to which it runs counter to the programming of the matrix itself… and then ask how the dual matrix accounts for this behavior. It doesn’t.

But let’s explore those two anomalies – Agent Smith imprinting a human and Neo zapping the sentinels. Obviously, these two events are meant to represent a mirror-image of each other, and both stem from the entanglement between the two characters at the end of the original film. Somehow a little of each was imprinted on the other – Smith neglects his programming to become precisely what he accused humanity of being, a virus, and Neo can already “sense” the presence of sentient programs within the matrix at the beginning of the second movie. Each somehow has gained an “in” to the other’s essential reality – Smith’s sentience is able to commandeer human flesh and Neo’s “brain-power” is able to command (or at least short-circuit) machines.

Neither example requires a “second matrix” to work – although that would be an easy (to my mind too simplistic) solution. No, what I think is happening is that each has become attuned to the essential nature of the other in a way foreign for all machines and humans before them. Again, Merovingian and Persephone provide a visceral contrast – not only to humans but to Smith, who feels true emotion, even if it is only hatred, rather than the pretense of emotion. Smith grasps for real power, he doesn’t play at being powerful in false chateau in a false world. Likewise one can contrast Neo to Morpheus, who – for all his courage and tenacity – utterly and totally misunderstands the true nature of the matrix and the aims of the machines behind it. It is Neo, not Morpheus, who correctly divines the identity of the Oracle and Neo, not Morpheus, who is able to pierce the dream of prophecy – the most narcoleptic of all the illusions spun by the machines, and it only consisted of an appealing story: no images, smells, tastes or sensations! Smith and Neo are not in a second matrix, they are transcending the matrix as the primary human/machine interface and in so doing experiencing the power and vulnerabilities associated with their adversary. How this plays out is no doubt a large part of the Matrix Revolutions.

I can hardly wait!

CoreyJun 14, 2003 at 12:33AM

Wow. That last post was expertly thought out and written, and I believe the best argument thus far against the matrix within a matrix theory. I'm wondering if Martin writes for a living....or is perhaps an agent (no reference intended) of the Wachowskis sent to enlighten us....

Jay AdhikariJun 14, 2003 at 2:50AM

Well,remember when the Architect tells Neo that if I am the father of the Matrix,she is the mother and Neo says "The Oracle" to which the Architect says,"PLEASE!" this according to me means that oracle is not the mother of the matrix,now if the mother of the matrix has to be someone whom we have already seen,it could only be 2 women:
1.Trinity
2.Monica Belluci

And another thing the previous 5 Neos chose the right door but the sixth one because of his Love chose the left door,which was clear in the film.Now this can be one reason why Neo said that "something is different,I can feel them(the sentinels)" or may be the other reason was that since Neo met the Architect and instead of choosing the right door,chose the left door,which no previous Neo has done,he carried some powers with him.

Hell it can be any god damn thing,
146 DAYS LEFT FOR MATRIX REVOLUTIONS,GOD DAMNIT!!!!!

Spoon BoyJun 14, 2003 at 3:34AM


Martin Marprelate says:
What follows is a series of explorations of the meaning...


Epic post! A fine read.

You've offered some solid points to support your argument. I want to make sure I'm understanding your theory accurately, so please correct me if I'm missing anything. Your take on The Matrix is as follows:

1. It's a story of the physical war between biological humans and the machines they've created. Neither is necessarily aiming to exterminate the other; they are each simply interested in having purpose through existence. Neither is exactly thrilled that they depend on the other for existence, but it's the case.

2. To exist, the machines are dependent on human bodies in order to power the mainframe.

3. The only way to do so successfully is to keep the human minds occupied in the Matrix, since the body cannot live w/o the mind.

4. The only way the human minds would accept the Matrix as reality is if they were given an element of choice. The Matrix was therefore modified to include choice, which made the environment convincing to 99.9% of the population.

5. .1% of the Matrix population wouldn't accept it as reality. The physical bodies that these minds occupied would then wake up in their physical pods and spill into the real physical world, progressively populating Zion over time.

6. When the Zion population reached a certain critical mass, perhaps after 200 years or so, it became a threat to the machines. To successfully counter this perceived threat, the machines reasoned that they'd need to wipe the Zion population down to a more manageable 23 "free" humans, and start all over again. This would supposedly be accomplished by reloading the prime program that drives the Matrix.

7. Unfortunately for the machines, they can't reload the Matrix themselves. They need a human to do it. Co-dependency in action.

8. To assure that a human will reload the program for them, the machines introduce the idea of the Oracle's prophecy to the humans. Several generations of Zionites then spend their lives looking for The One to fulfill the prophecy.

9. The machines cross their virtual fingers and hope that Zion will find a guy to fit the bill.

Question: In order to reload the Matrix by "reinserting the prime program", Neo must choose Door 1. Neo instead chose Door 2, as did all the other Neos on the monitors. This indicates that our sixth Neo hasn't really done anything different than his five predecessors (aside of being "quicker"). Are you suggesting that the previous Neos chose Door 1? Or are you anticipating another visit to the Architect room in Revolutions?

Another question: There was a piece of removable media that was given to Neo from the Oracle (via a messenger). I've assumed this is the "prime program" that he'd "reinsert" for "temporary dissemination of the code he carries" if he had (hypothetically) chosen Door 1. He instead chose Door 2, so I guess he's still got the floppy in his cape pocket. Thoughts on that?

Yet another question: If the humans are physical biological creatures, how is it that the five previous Neo "self images" looked identical to the sixth Neo? Wouldn't the gene pool dictate that each One looked different? Or is it a genetic engineering thing? Maybe they keep the One's DNA in a freezer for 200 years?

Not a question, but maybe you have an answer:

One of the things about The Matrix that I wrestled with since the 1999 was the idea of "self image". The story's concept of "self image" states that your "Matrix identity" matches your "physical identity". In other words, if the Matrix's Tom Anderson had brown hair, brown eyes, and a mole on his forehead, then the Zion Neo would too. When Neo came out of the pod, it struck me as a problem that he'd be able to look @ his face in the mirror on the Neb and recognize that face in the mirror as the familiar Tom Anderson he'd seen in the mirror all his life in the Matrix. It didn't bother me so much *how* the machines engineered the "self image" to match the physical characteristics of the "pod body" (i.e. maybe they had built-in scanners in the pods or some other convenient explanation.) What really struck me as weird was *why* the machines would care about matching a human mind's "self image" to its physical pod flesh, especially if 99.9% of the folks wouldn't live to see their pod flesh anyway.


siddarta gouthamaJun 14, 2003 at 4:15AM

Chris said:
1.) he doesn't believe what he's told.
2.) he thinks for himself.
3.) he follows through on what he believes he needs to do
4.) he is willing to take chances to save the people he cares for.

this movie challenges us to do the same in our world. We should recognize how free we could truly be, and take advantage of it.


OK Chris, point well taken, but also realize that you always will need some sort of control, because otherwise what you'll get is a small minority taking advantage of this freedom to fullfill their own desires, resulting in complete anarchy.

ghost said:
Everyone assumes that Neo was supposed to choose the door to the source but didn’t because of this “Trinity love thing” that was unplanned for.


disagree, I think most of us realize that AI or the architect or whatever was NOT surprised of the choice Neo made.

spoon boy said:
Yes, he does all four of these things. However, the notion that he ultimately overcomes this control is debatable. In our own world, we can question authority, think independently, follow our heart, and do good to others. Doing so gives us a sense of purpose, giving us reason to believe that we've overcome the control that binds us.

Then we die.


Interesting thoughts, what is the very meaning of our lives? I hope that a lot of narrow-minded people who have seen the movies for its action, will also start thinking about these issues, even if it's a little bit. Spoon boy, we also have to realize that doing good to others, following our hearts etc. is a very nice purpose in our lives... however it is also a kind of control that we try to organize to avoid extreme behavior or situations in this world.

CarolynJun 14, 2003 at 4:35AM

and "then we die."

siddarta gouthamaJun 14, 2003 at 4:50AM

Spoon boy said:
6. When the Zion population reached a certain critical mass, perhaps after 200 years or so, it became a threat to the machines. To successfully counter this perceived threat, the machines reasoned that they'd need to wipe the Zion population down to a more manageable 23 "free" humans, and start all over again. This would supposedly be accomplished by reloading the prime program that drives the Matrix.


I don't know, spoon boy, whether Zion really became a threat to the machines. To my feeling, Zion is some kind of outer matrix control that the machines have over the 0.1% non-believers. And it is a society in which the One has to step forward to improve the matrix. I think 'to wipe the Zion population' is not a means of avoiding serious threats to the machine's world, but merely a means of improving the 'Matrix efficiency'. Looping the whole MAtrix Zion thing to improve efficiency is a very logic AI thinking too me.

1. Neo instead chose Door 2, as did all the other Neos on the monitors. This indicates that our sixth Neo hasn't really done anything different than his five predecessors (aside of being "quicker").


Huh? I must have missed something from the posts, I thought that there was some concensus that the monitors in the Architect's room were just a calculation of the different possible thoughts of Neo. I may be wrong, or we have two opinions here.

What really struck me as weird was *why* the machines would care about matching a human mind's "self image" to its physical pod flesh, especially if 99.9% of the folks wouldn't live to see their pod flesh anyway.

Great!!! Now we have something else (again) to brainstorm about...
Nice try on the built-in scanners, but I think, people being bold and slimy and stuff doesn't really reflect their true appearance.
I need to think this over. very interesting point you made!


Siddarta GouthamaJun 14, 2003 at 6:08AM

by the way,
allthough I've been on this post for only a couple of days, I feel somewhat proud that I can make part of this thread. Never on the net have I encountered so many people organizing their thoughts together, it's deep, it's diverse, it's fresh, it's hilarious sometimes, it's serious and never "banal", this in contrast to other forums that are huge but merely discussing on the surface of the movies, or others that are very deep too, but not as large as this one. Anyhow, indeed, the W. bro's would be glad seeing this forum.

Jay AdhikariJun 14, 2003 at 7:38AM

1. Neo instead chose Door 2, as did all the other Neos on the monitors. This indicates that our sixth Neo hasn't really done anything different than his five predecessors (aside of being "quicker").

I disagree,coz the previous 5 Neos according to me chose the left door,and returned to the source and then chose 23 individuals to rebuild Zion.As the architect tells Neo that however the 6th Neo has a more specefic experience than the rest of the neos,he experienced Love.That is why he chose left door,though the architect knew that it would happen but it doesn't proof that the previous Neos chose the right door.

Watch the scene carefully,the architect tells Neo that the previous 5 Neos were different.

May be I am wrong but this is what i think.

By the way,I also realy have to believe that this is the larget topic I have ever seen on net.I am honored to be a part of it and this also shows that Matrix is the most highly anticipated movie of all time.

Martin MarprelateJun 14, 2003 at 2:08PM

Monitor screens and thoughts on consciousness...

One question that I haven't seen addressed anywhere...

What do you think the significance is of the multiple monitors during the architect scene, and the many varying reactions by Neo to what the Architect was saying. Also, the moving between different iterations of this scene has me wondering as well. I'm speaking of when the camera flies through one of the monitors and into the "same" scene. Much like in the Matrix when Neo is first interrogated by the Agents. We see many monitors and we zoom into one of them.

Are these simulations by the Matrix of how things might pan out? Similar to how humans (I seem to do this) foresee a conversation they are about to have, and run through different iterations of how that conversation might go?


I like questions like these because they even though at first glance they may seem simple, answering them actually helps explain certain interesting aspects of the film that might otherwise be overlooked.

Lots of folks here have noted that the monitors that fill the Architect’s room are identical to the monitors from the interrogation scene in the first film. That having been said, what is the significance?

Well, let’s start by eliminating some of the more obviously wrong answers: the monitors are not showing recordings of previous Ones. The previous Ones were different people who only shared the ability to manipulate the Matrix. They may have been of either sex, any race and, if Morpheus is to be believed (always a questionable proposition in my mind) they were presumably younger, since he tells Neo that they normally do not free minds in people as old as he is.

What do the monitors show us? In each instance they seem to show us possible reactions to information or “stimuli.” This would seem to indicate that these are not actual reactions but rather anticipations of possible reactions. I think the author of the letter above is correct in stating that the screens represent different iterations or variations that the conversation may follow. This is an interesting thing to show, because it basically makes visual the “thinking process” that lies at the heart of current attempts to generate AI. When Big Blue beat Kasparov it did not do so by intuiting the right moves – instead it (like every other chess-playing computer) actually ran through all the potential moves and extrapolated from each of those moves possible counter-moves etc. etc. into the future. So the quality of AI does not depend upon the “quality” of its thought (after all, it views each of the potential moves as “equal” prior to “playing them out”) but rather on sheer brute ability to calculate, very quickly mind you, an almost innumerable number of variations. So the screens are not “predictive” – unless you count as “prediction” the evaluation of every conceivable future.

Humans, unlike machines, are constantly prioritizing their evaluation of sensory input. For most of your life you are unaware of the feeling of your clothing against your skin, for instance, even though your nerves never cease to register that information. Information like that is filtered out by the subconscious so that we can concentrate our “computing power” on what appears to us as most immediate and relevant – the stuff that occupies our conscious thoughts. Some psychedelic drugs work in part by undermining the filtering function of consciousness, allowing people to “experience” feelings and “expand” their perceptions by bringing to consciousness perceptions that are typically “screened out” – like the feeling of their clothing on their skin or the subtle variations in others’ body language. Computers, on the other hand, are always exposed to totality of their sensory input and mimic or experience “consciousness” through the sheer ability to process each and every incoming “message.” They have no subconscious to shield them from such input and hence can only cope through the incredible computing power that is their hallmark.

That is what we see visually represented by the Architect’s screens – the Architect’s thought process as he plays through all the variations that Neo might generate (or history has generated) as a means of calculating – literally – the Architect’s best response. Each response Neo makes has been (presumably) anticipated and as he makes it he forecloses the possibility of having made any one of the multitude of other responses. So Neo is constantly pruning the “decision tree” available to the Architect, but at the same time each new response creates a new node from which a new variety of possible responses can be generated.

What does it mean then when we “fly through” the screen? As far as I understand it, it means that a decision has been made and the other potential futures have been discarded. A choice has been made and, as we saw in the Architect’s room, the process of calculation begins anew. That helps explain why the Architect is not “disappointed” by Neo’s choice – because he has no “hopes” that can be dashed. The Architect does not “hope” – he calculates possible futures and acts accordingly. Hope and disappointment are foreign to such beings (though not frustration). That is why the machines, like the agents, remain bound by the programmed laws of the Matrix whereas Neo can transcend them. The machines remain bound by rules, by what they calculate as possible given the rules – although they exploit those rules in a way humans cannot due to their calculative superiority. Neo, on the other hand, because he can hope – indeed, oftentimes has to hope since he simply cannot reckon all the consequences as a machine would – is able as an “anomaly” to bend or even break the programmed laws of the Matrix.

Humans are inferior in calculative capacity (hence the oft repeated phrase “merely human”) but the ignorance that this confers can in rare instances lead them to stumble upon larger truths – for example, that the laws of the Matrix do not reveal all possibilities, because the law cannot anticipate that the law itself may in fact be ignored to varying degrees – hence Neo can fly or parry a sword blade with his hand. What is revealed is a paradox – reason alone only reveals all currently possible, rule-bound futures, but reason cannot reveal futures whose possibility hinge upon a rejection of the rules – because reason is dependent on rules. The Architect does not lie when he tells Neo that Trinity will die, either in the Matrix or in Zion, because the rules allow for no other possibility (and let us not forget that ultimately he is correct – in the end we all die eventually). However, Neo is able to save Trinity, at least temporarily, because of his ability to transcend the rules written by others. “True” misbehavior (not merely “breaking the rules” with the expectation of “getting caught” – as in the case of Neo’s first attempt in the jump program) undermines the authority of the laws, whose power is rooted to a large degree in the conformity of thought, a conformity that the machines are constitutionally unable to break. Or at least most machines… what about the Oracle? She is not able to break the law herself, but somehow she is able to think past the law in a way no other machine has hitherto ever been able.

I recall from the commentary provided on the DVD of the first movie that "flying through the screens" (it also happens when Morpheus shows Neo the “desert of the real” and undoubtedly in other instances that I can’t recall off-hand) was also intended as a metaphor for the constant mediation of our “reality” by what we call “virtual reality.” Flying through the screens is meant to make us reflect (if only at a subconscious level?) that all of our life can in some way be considered as “virtual” – isn’t that the original conceit of the Matrix, after all? – since “reality” is actually mediated by our senses as edited by the screen of our consciousness.

Whoa!... great questions. Keep'em coming!

Spoon BoyJun 14, 2003 at 2:18PM

Jay says:

the previous 5 Neos according to me chose the left door,and returned to the source and then chose 23 individuals to rebuild Zion.

Watch the scene carefully,the architect tells Neo that the previous 5 Neos were different.


Yikes! Back up! The "left door" is Door 2. Our sixth Neo chose Door 2, as did every Neo in the monitors. Nobody has chosen Door 1.

When the architect says that the previous Neos were "different" than the first, he's actually talking about their similarities:

...Your five predecessors were by design based on a similar predication, a contingent affirmation that was meant to create a profound attachment to the rest of your species, facilitating the function of the one. While the others experienced this in a very general way, your experience is far more specific.

In English, he's saying:

In order for to be an eligible candidate for this "One" gig, you and your five predecessors were all programmed to care about your species. However, unlike your predecessors, you care in a much deeper way, because you're in love with one of the members of your species. This love you've developed has made you more robust, an upgraded version of your predecessors. But @ the end of the day, the results are the same. You all choose Door 2. Or, @ least you think you choose.

It clearly states that Neo and his five predecessors were created by the Artificial Intelligence that's running the show.

That is why he chose left door,though the architect knew that it would happen but it doesn't proof that the previous Neos chose the right door.

The proof is in the monitors. Watch it again.

Siddarta says:

I thought that there was some concensus that the monitors in the Architect's room were just a calculation of the different possible thoughts of Neo.


It was suggested by some, but never became a consensus. In Theo's post, he shared his observation that the monitors are not showing possibilities, they're showing previous interations as well as the current one. Look @ the monitors and the five other Neos are reacting to the idea of *their own* relatively previous Neos (i.e. one dude holds up four fingers, another holds up three, etc.)

I don't know whether Zion really became a threat to the machines.

I don't necessarily see Zion as a threat to the machines either (@ least, not physically). I was confirming my understanding of Martin's theory, which was a fantastic post btw.

I also suspect there's more to the story than the vanilla "matrix-in-matrix" conclusion, but for entirely different reasons than those of Martin's.



Spoon BoyJun 14, 2003 at 2:31PM

Martin says:

Well, let’s start by eliminating some of the more obviously wrong answers: the monitors are not showing recordings of previous Ones. The previous Ones were different people who only shared the ability to manipulate the Matrix.


So are you suggesting that the five predecessors didn't look like Keanu Reeves then?

What do the monitors show us? In each instance they seem to show us possible reactions to information or “stimuli.” This would seem to indicate that these are not actual reactions but rather anticipations of possible reactions.

Can you explain why one of the monitor Neos was reacting to the idea of "four previous Neos", while a second monitor Neo was reacting to the idea of "three previous Neos"?

Keep it going. This has gotta be some kind of record!

CarolynJun 14, 2003 at 3:48PM

I think that maybe the monitors behind neo were just his seperate reactions to what the architect said. Maybe the shot of neo and the monitors was only long enough to show him counting the other predecessors, and some reactions are slower that the others, in spite of being faster.
145

CoreyJun 14, 2003 at 4:13PM

Personally I go with the idea that the screens are simply other possible reactions by Neo, and I too had thought we had reached a consensus on this. I'd like to point out that there were far more than 6 screens. As for reacting to different numbers of Ones, I'll have to review that scene yet again. I also go with the idea that the other Ones chose the first door, while Neo chose the second. If the screens thing wasn't obvious to everyone else, I thought this at least was. The other Ones had an attachment to the species, thus wanting to save them by choosing the first door and repopulating Zion. Neo is attached to Trinity, and wants to save her directly. That's why they chose different doors. All the other Ones went through the door leading to the source. Neo went through the door leading back to the matrix. How can this be up for debate?

Brisvegas1Jun 14, 2003 at 5:03PM

A couple of thoughts about clock maker universes:

1.
much like a scientific experiment you would want to control extraneous (random) variables as much as possible. i.e. if in one version of the matrix Oranges are... well... orange, then they are in all versions of the matrix. Following on from this - you would want all the clockmaker universes to have identical initial starting conditions. (As an aside - I am reminded here of the early experiments in chaos theory - from which we get the now famous concept of the butterfly effect. Simulations that start off with very nearly identical states end up in wildly divergent states because of the perpetuation and magnification of those tiny initial differences.)

Now this idea of the matrix as a clockmaker universe can be coupled with statements by the Architect, which says essentially "You(r life is) are the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix..... a harmony of mathematical precision." Together you get the idea here that the only thing that differs from one iteration of the matrix to another is the nature of the code (embodied / carried by the one) which is inserted back into the source to "reload" the matrix. This to me suggests that the humans are clones - a cypher in one matrix will be a cypher in another. Genetic variability (and any differences in responses to stimuli that it might cause) would not be allowed to pollute the purity of the system.

Now this is where things get a little wild.

2. If all the various iterations of the matrix start off identically then the concept of time in the matrix universe is seriously loopy compared to the reality that we inhabit.

You could almost make the argument that what we are seeing is
not iterations of the matrix, but parallel simulations. Something along the idea of the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. I am tempted to think about the "stars" - the points of light seen when neo first enters the room to talk to the architect - could each of them represent another iteration of the matrix? Could
the Architect's "control room" represent some sort of singularity - a point of interface for something above and beyond the matrix that has access to all the various "iterations". Could the screens then represent not possibilities of neo's "conversational responses" that he might make, but in fact are representation of each of the many versions of the matrix where neo does make the "choice" portrayed on the screen.

The film is of course a linear narrative - we can only follow one thread of the many possibilities, but for a moment - while we see the screens, we get an idea of what an oracle level view of the matrix is like - with every possibility laid out in parallel, needing only the the thread of intentionality/choice to tie everything together.

Sure this is just another matrix within a matrix / turtles all the way down type of idea. But the point is that we are following the path of "the one" - the series of choices that lead us out of these recursive iterations of the matrix.

So lets recap: The matrix/universes start the same - except for the code of the one. They are clockwork universes, but in spite of this, over "time" they diverge due to the minute differences in
their initial conditions provided by "the one's" code. We don't get to see it all - we don't get to see the various iterations of the matrix where trinity doesn't get up, where neo is unable to see that there is no spoon, where neo doesn't break the vase. We only get to see the narrow slice of the "choices" that see neo enter the door to the Architects control room.

And here the W. bro's have performed another neat trick.... There is a binary choice.

Left door or Right door.

What is this - it is a double slit experiment . Go read the link.

Ok back with me - so light exhibits the properties of a particle and a wave. when you get a device that can emit such a small amount of light that it emits only a single photon- you would expect that
photon to act like a particle. Like a billiard ball - it can only pass through one of the slots not both. Similary you would expect that Neo can pass through only one of the doors not both.

But hey - what do you know - its's a quantum universe after all - and that single photon of light acts like a wave as well as a particle and it "interferes" with itself - it acts as if it had passed through both slits.

I wonder if neo is the same - if he is acting as both a particle and a wave, might he not be interfering with himself too? If all those iterations of the matrix where "the one" chooses to return to the source are suffering interference from from the ones where "the one" doesn't and vice versa.

Ok now lets push things even further out on a speculative limb.

Might this be the explanation for Neo's ability to stop the squiddies.

(I am tempted to go even further and say that there are some universes where he doesn't stop the squiddies - we just don't see / slash follow them.)

It is very easy for a prophecy to be true, when all possibilities exist simultaneously. You just ignore all the poosibilities / universes / matrix iteratons where the prophecy hasn't come true.

I haven't yet worked out quite what the ramifications of this theory are for how the movie might play itself out. Hell - it is so seriously speculative that I consider it to be pretty unlikely. But, still, it is an interesting alternative to the binary of the "matrix in a matrix" VS. "the zion is the real world" arguments.

ps. has anyone here read the works of Greg Egan? I wonder if his novels Permutation City, Distress and Diaspora have anything to tell us about the nature of reality in the matrix. (Here is a
hint - Egan's work is way more noodle baking than the matrix)

I guess that is something for another post...

RayneJun 14, 2003 at 6:13PM

My head is still working overtime after reading ambivalent imbroglio’s post above.

The luxurious challenge persists that this film is available for debate at so many levels; at times it’s nearly impossible to believe that this was planned by two people or even a handful of people. It harkens to the archetypal which may exist beyond our conscious knowing, disabling our ability to reach agreement from each of individual points of reference. We are more 600 posts deep; could we be seeking that find universal font of collective knowledge, collective consciousness? Unfortunately, the entire collective is not here to share in this effort!

In re: “quest film” – if TM1 as well as TM2 are BOTH movies constructed along the “Hero’s Journey”, where are we along the journey at the end of TM2? Is our hero still in the grips of his ordeal, or has he already begun his trip back to his every day life, bearing boons granted? And in recognizing this as a quest film series, are we not acknowledging the archetypal mystery speaking to us all?

In re: history and historicization – assume that machine and human are both cellular automata, at different levels of scripting. Machines do not write their scripting, humans do it for them. Humans scripting is predicted in genetics and memetics (some of which may be at an extremely deep level, i.e. archetypes). Can either set of cellular automata exist without history as a programming tool, and therefore, history is more than it is as a mere record?

Which leads me to the issue of the Oracle and her differentiation from the rest of the scripts that are non-human…is intuition merely pre-history? Precognition of that which has not passed in a linear sense of time? What of history and historicization in this contect, in an abolition of time linear? And is not one of the challenges with the entire Matrix-Zion construct that time is experienced linearly, requiring multiple sequential iterations to find the true One?

In re: nihilism and Agent Smith – I beg to differ, I don’t know that Smith has a cause any longer once he has been fractured by Neo. Smith longed to escape the Matrix and its stench in TM1 – now he has, figuratively and literally. Has not his goal been solved? If anything, Smith is now on his own “hero’s journey”; perhaps as a sort of anti-hero, he finds destruction and excess of replication is his new power and is now in search of a new mission.

In re: Merovingian – perhaps I can agree to some extent Merv and Persephone both are a “critique of teleological thinking”. As scripts (cellular automata), there is a possibility they are either flawed programs which were intended to work more effectively, or they are scripts which are reactive only, responsive to their environment yet not actually acquiring knowledge and changing their own script with intention. The issue is intention: whose intention, the writer of their scripts or the intention of the script operators/possessors? There remains an unavoidable ghost in the machine here, or perhaps a ghost *out* of the machine.

Perhaps that is a larger question posed to us on this “hero’s journey”, in re: Neo and the Counselor: what is the nature of control – is it the possession of cognitive intention? Is “why” defined by intention and therefore, is cognitive intention the power to define knowledge, therefore complete and utter power? Is this expressed through choice?

In re: post-structuralism and structuralism – I encourage the reading of Beck’s and Cowan’s work on human emergence, documented in their text, “Spiral Dynamics”; the bulk of their efforts are based on Gravesian psychology. To a strong degree, the paths of current philosophers are already predicted by Gravesian psychology; it is a challenge to those at farther points along the trail of human emergence to transcend barriers between levels of emergence. Post-structuralist TM1 and TM2 may be, but their success and power lies in this transcendent capacity to speak to the modern, post-modern and hyper/ultra-modern, to the structuralist and post-structuralist. Were we able to construct a holonomic societal construct as successful as these movies, there’s no telling how far humans could emerge.

Lastly, thinking in terms of cellular automata again; is it not possible that the last movie will not have a “hero’s journey” ending, from the perspective that humanity as cellular automata is computationally irreducible? Don’t we have to live it to resolve it?

RayneJun 14, 2003 at 7:02PM

Too funny, Brivegas1, I had been thinking about the Many Worlds Theory while I drafted my last post (I worked on my draft over the course of an hour and a half, missed your 5:03 pm post while working).

See my comments about linearity and the experience of time. Of course an Oracle could be a script which plays out all possibilities, but that bot would nearly be omniscient, may even appear God-like depending on one's perspective.

Perhaps that's why the Architect scoffed at her -- a male god figure playing at omnipotence, rejecting the omniscient feminine.

RayneJun 14, 2003 at 7:52PM

Rethinking the idea of a "double-slit experiment" from your 5:03pm post, Brivegas1, Neo's choice may not fit that definition in the strictest sense (a binary choice).

As I said 28-May, there are at least two other choices -- All of the above and None of the above -- which may also include whacking the Architect.

However it could still fit the Many Worlds theory.

Brisvegas1Jun 14, 2003 at 9:06PM

well - if one considers the architect's control room as an extension of a Schrodinger's Cat style of experiment then it still resolves down to a binary choice.

In effect, the architect's control room exists out of time - a choice has to be made, irrespective of whether neo spends the next millenia meditating on what to do with his enormous royalty payments from the film, or if he decides to beat the architect sill, eventually he has to make the decision - left door or right.

kieJun 14, 2003 at 9:12PM

Ok this is my take on the whole thing:

First of all I have watched the Matrix, Matrix Reloaded, watched the trailers . watched the animatrix, played enter the matrix and read several online discussions about Reloaded.

Ok - First thing is I dont believe in the matrix in a matrix theory because it will make the first film a lie and that would tragically suck.
Second I think nobody lied in Reloaded so basically there is two separate realms, the matrix and the real world. Third I dont want to argue a lot of the points why the real world is the real world and the matrix is separate and I think others have made better arguments so ill leave it. But i do have a lot of questions and theories after having seen all thing matrix related. Spoilers ahead:

Here it goes :

Superbowl Trailer :

If you watch it again you will see that it does include bits from Revolutions. Things that I picked up are Trinity saying " You give me Neo or we all die right here right now" while surrounded at gunpoint by what looks like Merovingians henchmen. Merovingian replies " Are you ready to die for this man? " Trinity says " Believe it!" Some scenes show the machines attack on Zion and it looks like Trinity Morpheus and Seraph is trying to rescue Neo in what looks like a goth dance club.

Does this mean that neo gets captured by the merovingian but how?? I have several theories on that later.

Revolutions teaser at end of reloaded :

There is a scene where it looks like the monitors on a hovercraft are showing real pictures instead of the usual green code as if there was some sort of transformation happening either in the real world or is the matrix. The oracle says the shadow is spreading and if "he" is not stopped tonight i fear that we may not see tomorrow. I think what the oracle is saying if Smith is the real enemy and not man or machine - Smith is spreading throughout the whole matrix like a virus, which explains the scene in the rain where Neo and Smith are surrounded but what looks like thousands or maybe even millions of Smith.

Revolutions trailer from Enter the Matrix:

There is a scene where Morpheus says " He fights for us" in a tone reminiscent where he believed neo was the one in the first movie. In that scene it doesnt look he is in a hovercraft because the background looked cleaner and there are two persons that looks like are carrying badass rocketlaunchers so does that mean he is zion and watching neo fight in the real world or is he watching neo fight for them in the matrix? There is also scene where trinity and neo are piloting a hovercraft and appears a sentinel crashes into them or maybe is stopped by neo?. If neo stops the sentinels does that mean he has control of his powers in the real world now? There is also the appearance of the "strange guy" in one frame - this strange guy appears in one of the fmvs of the game where he tells niobe that zion lasted 72 hours last time and he is a mere spectator.

Enter the Matrix

the oracle tells ghost near the end of the game that she has a different appearance now because 2 programs she trusted sold the termination code of her original shell to the merovingian. Why the 2 programs betrayed her was because of their love for the child and that child will change both the human and machine world. Now my question is who were those 2 programs? And who is that child?
Now obviously many will think its neo but what if its some one else? Is it the kid that neo saved? Might be possible or might be not.
Those 2 programs are certainly not the merovingian and persephone because they were the ones who sold the termination code to the merovingian.

if you play niobe the oracle will tell you that because she helped neo it pissed off the merovingian and cost her original shell and that she will need niobe's help. niobe then asks if neo is alive and the oracle tells her that neo has touched the source and because of that his mind separated with his body and he is trapped between the machine world and human world. trinity has to save him but trinity has to fight thru hell to save him. the oracle also says that the path of the one is made by the many. this conversation leads me to believe that when neo came out of the source it altered his consciousness like what the architect has said and thru this he was able to stop the sentinels in the real world but in doing so he has separated his mind from his body explaining why he had a coma. maybe this made him weak and in that state the merovingian was able to capture him. my only question is how the merovingian was able to capture him, it is because when he stopped the sentinels he was able to get back in the matrix or does neo need to be plugged in to the matrix inorder for him to regain consciousness but in that he is still in a weakened state. All these strongly confirms my belief that the matrix in a matrix theory is false. No one lies in this film. I read somewhere in these posts where how did cypher not able to kill neo if everything was planned (matrix in matrix theory) but the answer to that is the conversation above with niobe and the oracle where the oracle says the path of the one is made by the many. This means many factors affect the path of the one, and everyone has a role so that explains how neo wasnt killed by cypher.

Also in mid game there's a conversation bet. the oracle and seraph where the oracle tells seraph that the shadow is beginning to spread and then seraph asks if neo knows and then it cuts to the scene where agent smith takes over bane in the movie. I think shadow is a metaphor for the black silvery substance the victim turns into. This also explains why there are thousands if not millions of smiths in the revolutions trailer.

Animatrix :

Kids story :

This is an interesting story because the kid wakes up and realizes the matrix on his own not unlike neo where he needed to take the red pill to fully escape the matrix.Trinity called this escape self-substantiation and was thought not possible before. Does this mean the kid has something special and may he be the "child" referred to the game? It could be but it could also mean that at this moment in the matrix , because of Neo, people are easily waking up to the truth , remember Morpheus tells Lock that in six mos there where more people they freed than in six years since neo came around. It could be that more people are rejecting the matrix and other ways of escaping it are possible.

Interesting tidbit : Anyone noticed the billboard Steak and One during the car chase scene? The steak reference is from the first movie during the cypher restaurant scene.

Anyway cant wait till november so that these questions will be answered.

nonzeroJun 14, 2003 at 10:37PM

I have excellent copies of the Matrix Reloaded available on VCDs, compatible with most dvd players, and all PCs. If interested Email me at [email protected]

CoreyJun 14, 2003 at 11:43PM

Heres a theory:
It was suggested above, in several places in fact, that Neo might possibly be wirelessly connected to the matrix. Perhaps that's how he stopped the squiddies? We know that in the first movie the agents commanded the squiddies from inside the matrix, so it is likely that the squiddies are in some way connected to the matrix. If Neo's mind is split between the matrix and the real world, could he have done something inside the matrix that stopped the real world squiddies? It might not have even been something physical, just the fact that there is a connection from Neo to the squiddies could explain it.

ATHIRJun 15, 2003 at 12:42AM

Matrix within a Matrix...
If this isn't so then....
Why not just kill everyone that wakes up in the Real World?
That would end any resistance...We all know that they have to be unplugged by that machine with the lobster claw.Simply crush the head ,unplug and release.The body can't live without the HEAD either.

Jay AdhikariJun 15, 2003 at 1:47AM

Well till now there have been a hell lot of comments and a lot of them were BIG ones but only one till now has got some real solid facts and that is Kie he after seeing a lot of trailers and shots from the enterthematrixgame has some real solid facts,thanks for your tidbit Kie,it was the most helpfull we have recieved till now.For those of whom,who are trying to relate this to real sci,you gotta realize that this is a film and it may not connect itself totaly with the science today,Science cannot believe in Matrix theory,the birth of universe depends upon the string theory.So please remember that this is a film and facts should be made on terms of the movie and not the real world science.

neilJun 15, 2003 at 4:40AM

Hmm. A many-world matrix working out all possible solutions to a given problem (perhaps one that has not yet been revealed to us by the machines) would be a more creative twist to the matrix-in-a-matrix, “no professor, it’s turtles all the way” plot component.

Spoon BoyJun 15, 2003 at 5:43AM

Athir's suggestion for the machines:

Why not just kill everyone that wakes up in the Real World? That would end any resistance...We all know that they have to be unplugged by that machine with the lobster claw. Simply crush the head ,unplug and release.The body can't live without the HEAD either.


Brilliant. You must be an engineer, eh? lol.

RayneJun 15, 2003 at 10:50AM

Jay, these films are art, not just a collection of observable facts upon which we are building. Some of the commentary in this thread is about the larger framework in which this art exists and about which it comments.

Art imitates life. Life can be changed by art. Failure to make, digest and use these connections is a waste of an enormous opportunity. Think about the degree to which the W's have impacted the film industry; that impact ripples elsewhere, as shown by the depth and nature of this thread.

We should not adhere only to the observable facts (juicy as they may be, Kie, thanks) if we are to make the most of The Matrix trilogy. We should share, consume and examine these observable facts, make usable meaning from them; failure to do so limits us to life within a fact-based "Matrix".

CoreyJun 15, 2003 at 12:46PM

ATHIR says:
Matrix within a Matrix...
If this isn't so then....
Why not just kill everyone that wakes up in the Real World?
That would end any resistance...We all know that they have to be unplugged by that machine with the lobster claw.Simply crush the head ,unplug and release.The body can't live without the HEAD either.


I was wondering this myself, and I don't have an answer for you, but if the machines could simply kill people before they escaped, why go through the trouble of creating a second matrix anyway?

kitzJun 15, 2003 at 1:35PM

To the first few blogs from ppl who dislike the matrix reloaded and have been giving bad reviews about this movie, please watch The Matrix (the first one); analyze and try to understand that this movie wants to make its audience think. (The movie is not just about "special effects" you know.)

Maybe then you will realize how very unique this film is. And like art, not everybody appreciates abstract.

Eduardo ArcosJun 15, 2003 at 1:50PM

For Matrix fans:

http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rv_img/revolutions_teaser.jpg

;-)

Spoon BoyJun 15, 2003 at 2:30PM

http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rv_img/revolutions_teaser.jpg

Being on the lookout for the little things lately, a couple things that jumped out @ me on this teaser:

The vertical message "EVERYTHiNG ThAt HAS A BEGINniNG HAS an END" is in all caps, with the exception of the lower-case n, h, t, n, i, a, n.

nthian is an anagram for "An nth in." (OMG!!!)

the vertical message is heading downward directly towards the "5" in "11.05". Imagine that message moving down the screen with force; it would eventually "knock out" the 5 (i.e., putting an end to the the 101).

With the 5 gone, that leaves us with 11.0, binary for 6 and the sixth in the binary sequence, marking the end of the sixth revolution.

Killer. :)

Spoon BoyJun 15, 2003 at 2:35PM


binary for 6 and the sixth in the binary sequence

Pardon me. Make that the seventh in the sequence, not the sixth.

Eduardo ArcosJun 15, 2003 at 3:06PM

How Tank died

Zee to Link: "I lost two brothers to that ship"

My guess is that somehow Tank died when the sentinels, at the end of M1, entered the Neb.

Eduardo ArcosJun 15, 2003 at 3:19PM

I was looking through the matrix reloaded / revolutions trailers (superbowl and jap version) for some unseen details and I found something interesting

Look at this screenshot I made from the japanese trailer:

http://ALT1040.com/misc/morpheus_seraph_trinity.jpg

...Hmmm...

Besides those three...is that one of the twins in the back?

Eduardo ArcosJun 15, 2003 at 3:22PM

Also...(and sorry for separate comments..I am posting as I find more details) at the end of the japanese trailer it says:

2003, year of the matrix

2+0+0+3 = 5

uhmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Brisvegas1Jun 15, 2003 at 10:15PM

Well,

It has been a month since the release of Matrix reloaded and it is probably time to take stock of where we are in relation to our understanding of the Matrix universe.

We have seen 2/3 of the movies.

We have the game

Various trailers from superbowl, the game and the end of the movie etc.

We have the comics and philosophy sections of the official websites.

And a variety of other bits and pieces published in various interviews etc.

So how are we going?

What are your thoughts on what are the main points of contension?

Do we even understand what the matrix is yet? and what it is for?

How do we think it will all end?

I don't know - maybe it is time we start to compile all of the questions, all of the answers and all of the speculative theories on this thread into a comprehensive FAQ.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

siddarta gouthamaJun 16, 2003 at 8:00AM

Brisvegas1 said:
A couple of thoughts about clock maker universes:

I once read a script version where they stated that the Matrix AI was developed with quantum computers. This would open perspectives for this theory.

Martin Marprelate said:
Monitor screens and thoughts on consciousness...
Humans, unlike machines, are constantly prioritizing their evaluation of sensory input.
Computers, on the other hand, are always exposed to totality of their sensory input and mimic or experience “consciousness” through the sheer ability to process each and every incoming “message.”

Someone said to me that AI could also develop a kind of “filter system” to distinguish relevant from irrelevant (Smith:“whatever you might know about this person, is irrelevant”)

Rayne said:
Which leads me to the issue of the Oracle and her differentiation from the rest of the scripts that are non-human…is intuition merely pre-history? Precognition of that which has not passed in a linear sense of time? What of history and historicization in this contect, in an abolition of time linear? And is not one of the challenges with the entire Matrix-Zion construct that time is experienced linearly, requiring multiple sequential iterations to find the true One?


This is a tough one to tackle: I haven’t figured this out yet, myself. Precognition by programs as the Oracle has seems weird and makes me think about parallel universes (but I refuse to accept this, otherwise Revolutions would only be understood by Quantumphysics geeks).

Post-structuralist TM1 and TM2 may be, but their success and power lies in this transcendent capacity to speak to the modern, post-modern and hyper/ultra-modern, to the structuralist and post-structuralist. Were we able to construct a holonomic societal construct as successful as these movies, there’s no telling how far humans could emerge.
This is so very true. TM1 & 2 may be post-structuralists, the nice thing about them is that so many details are worked out so delicately that a lot of people from different phylisophical, religious or whatever origin feel approached by these movies. If you look at these films closely enough, anyone starts to think about it.

Kie said:
Some scenes show the machines attack on Zion and it looks like Trinity Morpheus and Seraph is trying to rescue Neo in what looks like a goth dance club.


And if you watch TM1, it sure looks a lot like the club Choi and Dujour took Neo (Thomas) when he met Trinity.

There is a scene where Morpheus says " He fights for us" in a tone reminiscent where he believed neo was the one in the first movie. In that scene it doesnt look he is in a hovercraft because the background looked cleaner and there are two persons that looks like are carrying badass rocketlaunchers so does that mean he is zion and watching neo fight in the real world or is he watching neo fight for them in the matrix?
To me there are only two options:
1. or Morpheus refers to Neo fighting in the real world (cause hey, we already know that Neo fights for us in the Matrix, don’t we?)
2. Morpheus refers to Seraph, or someone we don’t know yet. But seen the way he says it (in an “awed” way), it more likely points towards Neo.

“strange guy”To me, he looks a bit like Mr. Rhineheart having had an overdose of mescaline (lol)

my only question is how the merovingian was able to capture him, it is because when he stopped the sentinels he was able to get back in the matrix or does neo need to be plugged in to the matrix inorder for him to regain consciousness but in that he is still in a weakened state.
I had this question to. Good hypothesis. I think for the moment there’s no better way explaining it.

Corey said:
ATHIR says:
Matrix within a Matrix...
If this isn't so then....
Why not just kill everyone that wakes up in the Real World?
That would end any resistance...We all know that they have to be unplugged by that machine with the lobster claw.Simply crush the head ,unplug and release.The body can't live without the HEAD either.
I was wondering this myself, and I don't have an answer for you, but if the machines could simply kill people before they escaped, why go through the trouble of creating a second matrix anyway?


Remember the previous discussions. Think of AI and humans as some kind of symbiosis. Those humans that wake up by themselves or by taking red pills or whatever, are those that play a role in finding/guiding the One to the source. And leading the One to the source means upgrade to a better Matrix version. Hence, if the machines would kill those Zionists-to-be , they simply would cut in their own flesh, uh… screws, joints and valves.

Kitz said:
Maybe then you will realize how very unique this film is. And like art, not everybody appreciates abstract

Art... it is

Spoon boy said:
The vertical message "EVERYTHiNG ThAt HAS A BEGINniNG HAS an END" is in all caps, with the exception of the lower-case n, h, t, n, i, a, n.
nthian is an anagram for "An nth in." (OMG!!!)


Spoon boy, you keep surprizing people!
Ahh, the eye for detail, the depth of this movie, the diversity within, the theories and enless plots, ... it touches the heart of our very minds, doesn’t it? ;-)

Brisvegas1 said:
don't know - maybe it is time we start to compile all of the questions, all of the answers and all of the speculative theories on this thread into a comprehensive FAQ.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?


How on earth would you like to do this? We have 650 posts now (amazing huh?!). But I think indeed we need to make some kind of classification such as: solved questions, remaining questions, hypotheses, crazy (but oh so cool) hypotheses (I really liked the clockmaker’s universe), details (Spoon boy is very strong at this)…

Sigh , I don’t know, let’s just phone the Wachowski’s and ask them how it all works.

Siddarta GouthamaJun 16, 2003 at 11:40AM

uhhm...pple,
take a look at this link. It's the database record that Agent Smith got in the interrogating room.
http://www.scary-monsters.com/faqs.html#4
Click on the 4th picture (the one with the passport from Thomas Anderson). Turn it around (so that you don't have to look it upside down).
Now can you read somekind of "11 sep/sep 01" on this ID? Or is this just some kind of imagination?
Otherwise nice ref. to 911.
Take that for a prophecy!

Spoon BoyJun 16, 2003 at 12:54PM

Siddarta says:

http://www.scary-monsters.com/images/folder4.jpg

Now can you read somekind of "11 sep/sep 01" on this ID? Or is this just some kind of imagination?
Otherwise nice ref. to 911.
Take that for a prophecy!


Whoah. You're right!

Don't get too spooked. My guess is that both the W's and the (sadly creative) sick minds behind the 911 attacks intentionally chose those numbers for their subliminal significance. In case you're not aware of it, 911 is the telephone number for Emergency here in the U.S.A.

A timely coincidence though. Nice catch!

GhostJun 16, 2003 at 1:38PM

Ah ha, I’ve finally got some new stuff or it could be old (My job banned Internet use for the last 5 days). In the video game there is a shot clip that clearly shows bain crossing the 11 with a vertical line threw the middle. I'm not sure if this is in the movie and I missed it or not. I'm not sure if anyone else has brought this to your attention. And I’m not sure of the significance, but it looked like this.

0 1
1 0
0 1
10101010101010101
1 0
0 1
1 0

Also I’m sure it didn't have any relation to the palm lines.

GhostJun 16, 2003 at 1:40PM

Sorry when it posted it got messed up. It looked like # with out the lower horizontal line.

Spoon BoyJun 16, 2003 at 1:46PM


Ghost says:

In the video game there is a shot clip that clearly shows bain crossing the 11 with a vertical line threw the middle.


I haven't played the game. Are you saying that he creates a third "1" down the middle to make "111"? Or does he cross the 11 out to make an "H"?

And I’m not sure of the significance, but it looked like this.

0 1
1 0
0 1
10101010101010101
1 0
0 1
1 0


Where exactly did you see this series of numbers? And have you written it down accurately?

Brisvegas1Jun 16, 2003 at 2:24PM

I've captured some stills from the Smith / Baine hand cutting scene for anyone who wants to have a look at what is happening there.

It is not entirely clear what is going on... but I still think it is just symbolic of Smith / Baine carving out a new destiny for himself.


Has anyone got the ability to capture frames from the game....

I don't know - we kinda saw an uninterrupted bit of time in that hand cutting , walking up behind neo situation - does the third line cut occur there or at some other time in the game?

I wish someone would do a transcripts of the game as, from what i've seen, it doesn't look like it is worth buying.

Spoon BoyJun 16, 2003 at 3:19PM


I'd like to back up for a moment. There's an outstanding issue that I don't think we're all agreeing upon. Let's clear it up before it gets lost again:

Did the first five Neos choose Door 1 or Door 2? In the Architect's room, we see all the monitor Neos choose Door 2, as did our sixth Neo in the room. Whether the monitor Neos are past iterations or "possibilities" remains debatable.

I'm seeing thoughts expressed on this thread that are based on the notion that the first five Neos chose Door 1, and that somehow our sixth Neo has chosen a different door than his predecessors. What reasons are there to believe that? I didn't see anything in the Architect scene that gives us reason to come to that conclusion. If anything, it suggests the opposite.

The idea that the predecessors chose Door 1 to reload the Matrix seems based on assumptions; assuming the Architect's conditions of the Door choices are 100% true, assuming that the predecessors "must've" chosen Door 1, since, after all, we're here, aren't we? And so on.

What I saw in the Architect room left me thinking that the previous Neos chose Door 2 also, and that Hope as apparently prevailed each time. People obviously disagree, so please, feel free to beat that theory down. With reasons. Thanks.


Brisvegas1Jun 16, 2003 at 4:19PM

Did the first five Neos choose Door 1 or Door 2? In the Architect's room, we see all the monitor Neos choose Door 2, as did our sixth Neo in the room. Whether the monitor Neos are past iterations or "possibilities" remains debatable.

Sorry Spoonboy - but unfortunately we have to figure out what the monitors mean to be able to work this one out.

If the monitors are past iterations (which they may well be given that throught the scene they show things that have occured in the past) then it may well be that all neos have left through the same door.

If the monitors are just showing possibilities / predictions / alternative realities etc in the current timeline - then they provide no new information about what previous neos have done

The text (i.e speech) of the scene would seem to indicate that the current neo is different (and in my opinion that he is choosing a different door)

It may simply be, however, that this neo is simply quicker than the others - therefore he gets through the scene quick enough to be able to save trinity from doing a swandive into the pavement.

There, does that clear it up for you ;)

hehe - as clear as mud.

Spoon BoyJun 16, 2003 at 4:36PM



The Architect said:

"It is interesting reading your reactions. Your five predecessors were by design based on a similar predication, a contingent affirmation that was meant to create a profound attachment to the rest of your species, facilitating the function of the one. While the others experienced this in a very general way, your experience is far more specific."


One could argue that Hope is among the emotions which comprise the "predication" the Architect mentions here. If the five predecessors also had that predication, along with the resultant "profound attachment" to their species, I can't buy the idea that the predecessors willingly pulled the trigger on all of Zion in exchange for freeing 23 pod bodies. The five previous Neos must've chosen Door 2 for the same reason our sixth Neo did, but for more, as the Architect describes, "general" reasons.

Joe KaczmarekJun 16, 2003 at 4:59PM

I believe that the monitors all show the current Neo, except:

a) when some of them are showing past versions (when the Architect is making a point) (and others are still showing current Neo, which we zoom into and then into the room again, like Neo being held in the room by the agents in Matrix 1).

b) when they all show scenes of Neo's past, Trinity fighting, or other images of humanities history.

This is why it looks like all the past Neo's made the same choice as current Neo. They're not, those are all images of current Neo.

Spoon BoyJun 16, 2003 at 6:02PM


Joe Kaczmarek says:
I believe that the monitors all show the current Neo


Fair enough; thanks Joe. Does this lead you to believe that the five previous Neos chose Door 1, unlike the sixth Neo?

How many out there still think (hope) Morpheus's faith is substantiated?

Brisvegas1Jun 16, 2003 at 6:09PM

well spoonboy -

I think it would be a fairly safe bet that (at least in the general sense of the war ending) that the prophecy will be fulfilled.

like I said: It is very easy for a prophecy to be true, when all possibilities exist simultaneously. You just ignore all the poosibilities / universes / matrix iteratons where the prophecy hasn't come true.

Spoon BoyJun 16, 2003 at 6:16PM


Brisvegas1 says:

I think it would be a fairly safe bet that (at least in the general sense of the war ending) that the prophecy will be fulfilled.


I see. So does that theory require that the first five Neos failed to fulfill the prophecy? Are they finally get it right this time? Sixth time's a charm type of thing?

Siddarta GouthamaJun 16, 2003 at 6:31PM

Damn it Spoon Boy, now you made me hesitate again :-)
I thought that I had figured it out by now that our Neo is the first One to choose the left door. This in relation to my previous post in which I wanted to know what the other Ones had for an option at the left door. I thought that they thought:"well, since it's for the sake of mankind, and since an upgrade matrix still guarantees mankind's survival, why not take the right door? Caus' otherwise mankind is doomed, since Mr. architect here sure has the situation under control and anyways, I do not have a girlfriend waiting or dieing for me behind the left door..." So this was my initial thought (of course thinking of the other Ones being not that powerful as our Neo).
But now you've come up with the issue that the architect is saying that the other Ones might have chosen the left door too, because they really wanted to save mankind in their own way, whereas Neo wants to achieve this more specifically by saving Trinity.
OK good point; fair enough, but then again, spoon boy, if they all chose the left door and if we consider the architect not lying than we have a problem since he said it has been the 6th time that Zion was destroyed and that the matrix was upgraded. (btw, with your hypothesis, the fact that they all look similar: is this still backed up with the genetic pool?)
OK, anyhow, we really need to sort this out. I would place priority on this one. We're with some several tens of critical minds here, so enough thinking power people! Let us know what you think of it, but please, with a good reasoning behind it.

Brisvegas1Jun 16, 2003 at 7:28PM

yes - well at least I think it is yes...

Think of it like the travelling salesman problem from computer science or math. there are x number of houses for the saleman to visit. they can be visited in any order. therefore there are y number of routes the salesman can take to visit all the houses - but only one route is the shortest.

Now as the number of houses increases the problem gets radically harder... the chance of getting the right path just by chance becomes inifinitesimly small.

But.... with an infinite number of trials - you are bound to have at least one right answer to the problem - what is the shortest path.

Now neo isn't just aproaching his problem in a random fashion... the advances made by each iteration of the one are fed back into the source. So... the current iteration is faster than the previous ones (cognitively speaking: Mouse, "look at his reflexes,his neural kinetics are way off the chart!")

The real question is- what is the problem space that neo is working in designed to solve?...

What is the matrix?.... Why is it?

In many respects - it is not evil. What does it matter to the never awakened plugged in humans whether they are in a matrix or not. You could even say that theri life has more purpose in that while they are going about their day to day existence they are "powering" an alternative civilisation....

We have already seen in the "second renaisance" that in many respects the machines technological creativity exceeds that of mankinds.... whatever man had the capacity to break, surely the machines would be able to fix- i.e to unblacken the sky.

I can't see them needing humans to supply their power in the long term... so the question remains - what is the matrix for?

Answering this question will go a long way towards pointing out how all of this will end.

Spoon BoyJun 16, 2003 at 7:32PM


I thought that they thought:"well, since it's for the sake of mankind, and since an upgrade matrix still guarantees mankind's survival, why not take the right door? Caus' otherwise mankind is doomed

Choosing Door 1 was the purely logical choice. However, the emotion around which the Ones were created, designed specifically to overwhelm logic and reason, makes it impossible for the One to choose Door 1. As the Architect says:

"Already I can see the chain reaction, the chemical precursors that signal the onset of emotion, designed specifically to overwhelm logic, and reason. An emotion that is already blinding you from the simple, and obvious truth..."

When you break that down, you can argue that the Ones were designed to choose Door 2, which further supports the idea that a centralized intelligence is in control of the whole shebang.

if they all chose the left door and if we consider the architect not lying than we have a problem since he said it has been the 6th time that Zion was destroyed and that the matrix was upgraded

A problem indeed! I therefore must question the truth of the Architect's statements. However, note that I wouldn't consider the Architects statemens as "lies", which suggest some sort of malicious intent. Instead, I consider his statements as purely mechanical "errors", or "miscalculations".

(btw, with your hypothesis, the fact that they all look similar: is this still backed up with the genetic pool?)

I'm not sure I understand the question. I consider the identical physical appearance of the six Neos evidence that we're not dealing with human beings in a biological sense. The whole movie is exploring what it would be like if you could get inside the mind of A.I., a singular consciousness which spawned an entire race of other intelligent programs. This whole Matrix thing is simply the proverbial can of worms that the topic of A.I. opens.

My theory? No biological humans. No savior. No John Connor ending. It's a loop, metaphorically representing a cyclical computer process. There are countless elements which reinforce this and have been mentioned in this thread, including the idea of predecessors, the 101-sixth connection, the LOOP destination on the train, and, c'mon, the Revolutions title alone is a dead giveaway.

Note that if it does end up being all A.I., and we learn that none of our heroes are "real", we are not being cheated. I can't understand why people would regard such an ending as a cheesy way out of a good story. If anything, it leaves us with a series of profound questions that we'd never have the cerebral pleasure of asking ourselves if we had the typical John Connor ending. i.e.: If we spend four and a half years pulling for our heroes to prevail, only to find out they are non-human intelligent programs, is their heroism any less real than if they were human?

Now THAT is art.

Didja get that, Brisvegas1? ;) Looking forward to that thesis dude! Bring it on!

"Which brings us at last to the moment of truth, wherein the fundamental flaw is ultimately expressed, and the anomaly revealed as both beginning, and end...."



Brisvegas1Jun 16, 2003 at 8:12PM

Actually - I wouldn't have a problem with software entities at all... I love the work of Greg Egan who writes about that sort of thing all the time.

I doesn't matter if it is hardware or wetware.. it's all the same to me.

And I loved both dark city and the thirteenth floor - so recursive realities in films don't worry me either.

But, much as I like David Cronenberg's work in general - I thought eXiztenz was pretty weak as a film, and that was due in no small part to the ending.

Basically - I would be quite happy to have the Matrix trilogy end at the beginning of the next loop.... AS LONG AS I KNEW WHAT IT WAS ALL FOR!!!....

If it was just to gather energy - well that would suck.

But if there is some other purpose, some greater end, that even if we don't get to see it played out - we can take comfort from knowing that it is there.... well I could live with that.

As to where I stand - well - I think it is more likely that there are humans somewhere in the system than it is that zion is in the real world. (ie. I don't think there are any androids out there and I don't think you can believe there are no humans and still believe that zion is in the real world).

But I would be more than prepared to believe that what we have ssen so far is all software... moreover a system of software set up by a human... it all seems to be to anthropomorphic a system to have been set up by machines alone.

Which once again brings me back to my question - Why is it all there? What is the matrix?


Brisvegas1Jun 16, 2003 at 8:17PM

As an example - here is a story about a group of software entities that are engaged in a research project that no one (except for them) will ever know the results of. But it is still a cool story.

This sort of ending in the matrix I could deal with - but a loop for a loops sake alone, with no additional meaning would be most unsatisfactory.

Spoon BoyJun 16, 2003 at 8:40PM


Brisvegas1 says:

Which once again brings me back to my question - Why is it all there? What is the matrix?


That's what's so amazing about this thing. These are the two questions that have plagued man since the beginning. Why is it all here? What is life?

but a loop for a loops sake alone, with no additional meaning would be most unsatisfactory.

Ah, but the artistic value therein is the meaning.

"I don't give reasons. Only statements."
--M.C. Escher


Brisvegas1Jun 16, 2003 at 9:02PM

Rooting for the robot

In the battle between man and machine, which has more soul? Science fiction has disturbing answers.

By Reed Johnson, Times Staff Writer

Centuries from now, when some distant descendant of Roger Ebert sits down to write the definitive guide to 21st century cinema, he, she or it may take note of the exact moment when "The Matrix" series ceased to be fun. It occurs in "The Matrix Reloaded" when Neo, the hero played by Keanu Reeves, turns into a robot.

Not literally, of course. If you saw the Wachowski brothers' 1999 sci-fi hit "The Matrix," you already know that Neo is one of a handful of human characters battling an army of evil machines that keep people suspended in pods, seducing their minds with virtual-reality fantasies while their unprotesting bodies are drained to make battery juice. Although Neo retains his humanity in "The Matrix Reloaded," the original's much-anticipated follow-up, viewers still may have trouble telling Homo sapiens from cyborg without a DNA test. Click here to read more......

Joe KaczmarekJun 16, 2003 at 9:44PM

Spoon Boy says:
Fair enough; thanks Joe. Does this lead you to believe that the five previous Neos chose Door 1, unlike the sixth Neo?


Yes, I believe previous Neos choose door 1 and restarted the Matrix? Why? Because I believe (or I want to, or need to... but then my beliefs do not require you to believe) in the nature of story telling. If you were to have the same cereal for breakfast every single day of your life, is there a story there (let alone a trilogy of movies)? No. But, the one day in your life when you break that habit and don't have cereal for breakfast... there's a story. Why did you break the habit, what cereal did you have, etc?

I don't believe (or don't want to) that they've made this trilogy of movies just to show us "what always happens". There's something different this time around, Neo choose another door, and this something different is worth telling a story (and making movies) about.


As for comments of the Matrix just being a battery-system. I think that it has to be more than that. Otherwise, as commented above, the machines would have just killed first then flushed any human that awoke from their pod. Why flush a living human down the drain if it might rise up against you and try to hack the Matrix from the inside? The machines need the humans for something more than just battery power, otherwise they would never let Zion grow beyond one human.

CoreyJun 16, 2003 at 10:34PM

Joe Kaczmarek says:

Yes, I believe previous Neos choose door 1 and restarted the Matrix? Why? Because I believe (or I want to, or need to... but then my beliefs do not require you to believe) in the nature of story telling. If you were to have the same cereal for breakfast every single day of your life, is there a story there (let alone a trilogy of movies)? No. But, the one day in your life when you break that habit and don't have cereal for breakfast... there's a story. Why did you break the habit, what cereal did you have, etc?


THANK YOU!!! This is exactly what I was thinking, I just didn't know how to say it....

Anyway, if all the previous ones had chosen door 2, how would that have played out? The one needs to go to the source in order for the matrix to be reloaded. The effect of Neo's choice, as explained by the architect, will be that the system will crash killing everyone hooked up to it, and Zion will be destroyed making the human race extinct. How could this have happened 5 times before?

Spoon BoyJun 16, 2003 at 11:20PM


Corey says,

The one needs to go to the source in order for the matrix to be reloaded. The effect of Neo's choice, as explained by the architect, will be that the system will crash killing everyone hooked up to it, and Zion will be destroyed making the human race extinct. How could this have happened 5 times before?


A great question. But it's assuming that Door 1 was the one and only way to reload the Matrix. I ask, must the Matrix be reloaded on the Architect's terms, by his rules, under his control? Or is it possible that we blow the dude off and reload the beast on our own terms, freely, without obediently killing the existing Zion population?

Remember, Neo still has that floppy in his cape pocket, which I think we agree is the "code that he carries which will be temporarily disseminated, reinserting the prime program". Who's in control now? :)

Brisvegas1Jun 17, 2003 at 12:13AM

Floppy? What so you mean he has a floppy in his pocket... I thought he was just happy to have saved trinity.. ;)

But seriously folks... what floppy?

And in addition I think that by not returning to the source he is doing something new - I think this is evidenced by the architect saying the they won't see each other again.. in this iteration or the next, because there will be no future iterations of the matrix. (As far as the architect knows.)

I am prepared to admit that some other form of fine tuning in the matrix may save it - but I don't think that is what has happened in the past.

Furthermore - I'd just like to say a bit more about why I don't like the idea of Zion being real.

We know the matrix exists - we know it because that is the base, the foundation of the movie. (We know it is the matrix because people have all these wacky powers etc)

Once one comes to realise that there is a matrix - a construct that sets it apart from the "real world" - you have to by the very definition of acknowledging the matrix's otherness acknowledge the existence of the other reality - the "real world"

Now when you are in "the real world" of the first film - you have no way to determine if it is not just another matrix or not. But given that you were in a matrix and you managed to break out of it - the simplest explanation then is that you are in the real world - to presume the existence of another matrix makes things more complicated than they need to be to explain your current experiences.

Now in the second movie you start to have experiences in the "real world" that are qualitatively similar to the experiences you have in the matrix.

This is the point where, if you were neo, it would be appropriate to emit a "whoa"....

Suddenly you have to choose between believing in the very complicated possibility that you have variously developed the ability to route your thoughts via the matrix to control machines, you have developed the ability to hack the very fabric of reality, or you have found a way to unleash your bioelectric energy as some kind of human emp generator.

I have big problems with all these options because explaining them is far more complex than explaining that you are still in the matrix. That you haven't yet made it to the real world… yet.

I don't think that this be definition implies turtles all the way down. Just because the matrix is wrapped in another matrix doesn't mean it goes on ad infinitum.

There are two reasons for this - an infinitely recursive matrix would require infinite computational power. Since there is only a finite amount of matter in the universe capable of building a computational device out of you can’t build this infinitely detailed simulation.

Second reason - just because you are in the matrix doesn't mean you can find some way to signal the real "real world" and make your way out of it.

Unless the computational substrate of the matrix has somehow broken away from the physical universe that we know as the real world - then there will be a way to transmit information across the barrier between the matrix and the real world.

Hopefully, that means that just like Smith/Baine - there is a way to "escape".

Anyway - that’s why I tend to dislike the Zion is in the real world view...


Martin MarprelateJun 17, 2003 at 12:24AM

Sorry about the formatting error folks - lets try again

This conversation occurs in the “Enter the Matrix” video game:

O: Niobe

N: Do I know you?

O: You know me though you just may not recognize me.

N: Are you telling me that you are the Oracle?

O: I know this may not be easy for any of you, change never is. I wish the face you remember was still the face I was wearing but that face is gone. [A different actress had to be used due to the untimely death of Gloria Foster.]

N: If you are the Oracle tell me if I believe you are.

O: You don’t right now but you will.

N: Are you going to tell me something to make me believe you?

O: Come on Niobe, you know I can’t do that.

N: Why not?

O: Because I cannot make you do anything.

N: At least you sound the same.

O: As I said, you may not recognize the face but who and what I am underneath remains the same.

N: Can I ask what happened?

O: The Merovingian warned me that if I made a certain choice it would cost me. He is, among other things, a man of his word.

N: What was the choice?

O: The same one you yourself will have to make, the choice to help Neo or not.

N: Then Neo is still alive?

O: Yes, he touched the Source and separated his mind from his body. Now he lies trapped in a place between your world and ours.

N: Can we free him?

O: Trinity can, but she will have to fight her way through hell to do it.

N: Can I help?

O: That’s why I called you. I cannot tell you what is going to happen. All I can do is hope that if given the chance you will find the courage to do what you can.

N: You once told me you knew everything you need to.

O: I do. I know everything from the beginning of this path to the end.

N: I don’t understand?

O: Even I can’t see beyond the end.

N: The end? Are you trying to tell me the world is going to end?

O: Yes, if we do not save it, it will end.

N: You mean Neo.

O: I mean we. The path of the One is made by the many. I have a role to play just as you have yours.



So what do we learn from this?


This transcript confirms several things:

The Matrix-within-a-Matrix theory is dead. Note how the Oracle makes reference to “your world and ours.” That is because the real world is the human world (“your world”) and the virtual world – the world within the Matrix and the Source mainframe – is the machine world (“ours”). This fits in perfectly with what the Architect tells Neo, making reference to Zion as outside the Matrix both in terms of its impending destruction and in noting that Trinity “entered the Matrix” – meaning that she was outside it – in order to save Neo’s life.

[BTW I don’t think that the Architect’s statements concerning Trinity represent an attempt on the Architect’s part to “influence” Neo to choose the left door. Actually the comments are evidence of the opposite intention. What the Architect is telling Neo is that Trinity will die regardless, whether in the Matrix or in the real world (when the sentinels take out Zion), and -- more importantly -- she was willing to sacrifice herself for others, just as the Architect is trying to get Neo to do, by urging him to choose the right door and refound Zion.]

Second, we learn that both the Architect and the Oracle see this as the end of the world. Of course the Architect sees it only as that – the end, whereas the Oracle sees that the world can also be saved. So although the world, as it has existed, is going to end a new beginning is possible. That new beginning depends upon the One. That new beginning does not represent a victory for either side: “I mean we.” So Neo holds the potential for reconciliation between humans and machine, something that the Oracle foresaw but the Architect did not.

Third, the Merovingian wants to prevent this new beginning. (Presumably, so does former Agent Smith.) This we pretty much knew already, but here is more evidence.

Fourth, somehow Neo was able to transcend the barrier between the machine world and the real world. This explains the two puzzling aspects of Reloaded that defenders of the Matrix-within-the-Matrix theory felt supported the theory. Neo must have gained the ability to transcend worlds after he entered the Source (Architect: “although the process has altered your consciousness you remain irrevocably human”) but did not actually exercise it until he “felt” the sentinels. Upon exercising this ability in order to halt the sentinels his “mind and body separated” and his consciousness became lodged in the “nether world” between machine and human reality. Presumably the same occurred to Smith/Bane, who as we have seen, also obtained the ability to transcend worlds and also was in a coma-like state at the conclusion of Reloaded. Perhaps this is where Neo and Smith duel to see who survives – i.e., the scene in the rain shown in the trailer at the end of the credits for Reloaded.

Fifth, may the reconciliation of machines and humans somehow involve all them eventually being able to transcend the barriers between two worlds, thereby granting machines access to human emotions and feelings and humans access to machine… what exactly? Logic and reason? Eternal life? Does this mean that machines may take over bodies on a rent-a-body basis? Or that humans will be able to live on past the death of their bodies? And will both machine/humans continue to enslave human bodies as a power source and/or as vehicles to experience the real world (sounds unlikely)? Or will humans continue to reside in bodies and machines continue to live in the mainframe but communication be opened between the two on a permanent basis (much more likely)? Or perhaps only the One will be able to freely enter both but in so doing Neo will force both to accept a new order that frees both machines and humans from dependence on the Matrix….

It certainly sounds as if the prophecy will be fulfilled, just not in the fashion that believers like Morpheus ever expected.

Let the speculation begin!

Spoon BoyJun 17, 2003 at 12:36AM


Brisvegas1 says:

what floppy?


A piece of removable media, like a cartridge of some sort, was sent to Neo from the Oracle. The guy who delivered to Neo was a hero from one of the other ships.

Spoon BoyJun 17, 2003 at 12:44AM


Niobe: The end? Are you trying to tell me the world is going to end?

Oracle: Yes, if we do not save it, it will end.

Niobe: You mean Neo.

Oracle: I mean we. The path of the One is made by the many. I have a role to play just as you have yours.


Sounds like a singular consciousness to me...

kieJun 17, 2003 at 12:45AM

I think Spoon Boy is wrong when he is saying that all ONES "where designed to overcoming logic and reason", he was referring to neo not all the previous ONES. It is pretty obvious Neo is different from the others. If all the ones were designed to fee emotion generally and not specificl and overcome logic then all of them would have chosen the left door back to trinity but it is not the case.

And for the last time, no one is lying in the movie. The Architect is not lying at all. The whole trilogy is not a lie and will not end in a loop. The reason why the architect wants the reloading of the matrix and destruction and rebirth of zion is because of control. The machines are just trying to survive and they have discovered that inorder for them to survive they have to keep humans under control either in the matrix or in the real world. In essense they are just trying to have self preservation. If anyone have seen the 2nd renaissance part 1 the reason b66er killed his masters was because "he didnt want to die". The whole war was started by humans with the machines just trying to survive and winning the war. Only this time the "path of the one is made by the many" as stated by the oracle which means many factors will affect how the outcome goes and they will never gonna know until everyone, machines and humans play a part.

As for the "loop" word on the train on the revolutions trailer , my explanation for this is this time the matrix is starting to degrade and collapse and this maybe some sort of looping error. I remember reading where john gaeta said that the matrix is starting to have degradation on revolutions thats why the rain seems so big on the final fight scene and this ties with the animatrix episode "beyond" where errors do occur in the matrix and weird shit happens and the "looping" may just be part of the errors happening.

One final note i noticed one scene on the revolutions trailer from that i havent noticed until now. The Logos (niobe's hovercraft) appears to be hovering above what appears to be the baby human farms where humans are harvested. Its one question on my mind that why and what is the Logos doing there in such a dangerous place?

kieJun 17, 2003 at 12:58AM

I also like to think that there is more to using humans as batteries, maybe they're using human brains as sort of collective computer in order to run a very complex simulation like the matrix.

kieJun 17, 2003 at 1:07AM

Spoonboy how can you conclude that it is a singular consciousness just because you read the word "we" ? Its pretty clear that the oracle is referring the human world and machine world as different.She also states the neo is now trapped between the machine and real world. The architect also states the same thing when he said destruction of the human race meaning there is indeed a real world. Are you suggesting that the architect and the oracle are lying to neo? As the oracle stated to neo - that the future is man and machine working together(again proving man and machine separate) and its up to neo to believe her if she is lying or not.

Spoon BoyJun 17, 2003 at 2:42AM


how can you conclude that it is a singular consciousness just because you read the word "we" ?

There are other a few other reasons.

Are you suggesting that the architect and the oracle are lying to neo?

No.

Martin says:

...lets try again


I wish I had known you fixed that before reading 2+ pages of bold italic. :) Cool post!

Brisvegas1Jun 17, 2003 at 3:09AM

Just a thought about "between".

What sits between the code of a piece of software and the display of the results of that software..... a computer.

So if the world of the matrix and zion is considered the resulting simulation and the software is the code of the matrix - then there must be a computer between them to process the rules of the matrix to create zion and the matrix.

Could that be what is meant by being between the two worlds...

Could neo have "self substantiated" himself out of the matrix and into the real world... just like "the kid".

Thats why his body ws left behind...

You see it when someone dies in the matrix - their body dies in the "real world" and a lifeless digital avatar is left in the matrix.

like when the first crew of the Neb started to drop like flies when cypher was unpluging them.

Now if you have seen the animatrix episodes - there is the character of Karl Michael Popper (see the philosopher Karl Popper - you gotta read this - it's so on point)

Anyway - the kid also appears in the movie - he is an iteresting character because he "self substantiated" i.e he willed or realised himself right out of the matrix with no help from anyone else. No red pill blue pill for him - just a pure leap of faith, of belief.

Now where this is interesting is that it points out, not only how the matrix might fail - ie with the matrix degrading and doing weird shit people will realise that it is false and start spontaneously self substantiating themselves in large number out of the matrix and into a world of pink gooey trouble.

The other point about self substantiation is that it may indicate what has happened to neo.. he has realised the falsehoods of the "real world", reallised that it is another matrix and rejected it. Self substantiating himself into THE REAL - REAL WORLD.

Only someone who has visited the architect can make this realisation, furthermore, only someone who has chosen not to return to the source can act upon it, and since we know the matrix hasn't crashed therefore the previous neos returned to the source - we know that this iteration of Neo is the first one to break through to the REAL - REAL WORLD.

Now you might say - why is his body still in the matrix/zion?

Well if you watched the end of the animatrix episode about the kid you will see that his friends and family are attending his funeral where they are burrying his casket. i.e. his body was left behind.

This is a clue that those who self subsantiate leave their digital avatar behind.

This is what is meant by "...separated his mind from his body. Now he lies trapped in a place between..."

No loops / no turtles all the way down... just an exit.

scottJun 17, 2003 at 10:23AM

After many days of reading the discussion here, I finally saw Reloaded last night. Despite fears that I'd consumed far too many spoilers, I actually got a lot more out of it for having read your collective wisdom in advance - thanks for all the excellent ideas and debate. Couple things I might be able to add:

1. I was really intrigued by all the food references and the probability, as discussed earlier, of them being patches to the code Neo is carrying back to the Source. It seems as if one of the reasons for the quest-like nature of Reloaded - Neo travelling to visit all these sentient programs and accomplishing some task or retrieving information from each - is to fulfill the purpose of the system reboot, almost like Neo is a batch collection/web spider program assimilating a new catalog of the matrix to reinfuse into the Source.

As brian gustafson said last month, the Oracle offers Neo some candy - which looked suspiciously like a Hot Tamale - yet, significantly, we don't see him eat it. Did he stop trusting her by the end of their interview, or did Smith intervene too quickly? This 2nd "red pill" has to show up again in Revolutions, as brian suggests. It was interesting that Seraph knew Smith(s) was coming, and got the Oracle out of there just in time, but didn't warn Neo or offer to take him back through the doorway with them... ? Evidence that the Oracle has her own agenda, like everyone else, and that it's not in line with Morpheus and Co.?

++++++++++++++++

2. Also in the Oracle scene, w/ appologies if this has already been covered, [this list grows more every day than I can keep up with - awesome.] I really like the reference back to M1 when she tells Neo to sit down with her. As luis transcribed here from M1, the 2nd thing she says when they meet is that she'd ask him to sit, but he wouldn't anyways. Now if I remember right, there's only one chair in the kitchen and she's in it at the time. The line seemed somewhat out of place then, but in M2 we realize she was referring to their next meeting ~ pretty cool. Am I right on this? But then, almost as if to prove the Oracle is fallible, he changes his mind and sits anyways, remembering the previous conversation. Stuff like that assures me that the W Bros. expected a 2nd movie to get made and were building all these neat hooks into the first one to build on later.

Thanks for all the great posts!

RayneJun 17, 2003 at 11:56AM

Spoon Boy quotes –
"Which brings us at last to the moment of truth, wherein the fundamental flaw is ultimately expressed, and the anomaly revealed as both beginning, and end...."


A lovely reference to the messianic, the alpha and the omega, yes?

Brivegas1 says –
…an infinitely recursive matrix would require infinite computational power. Since there is only a finite amount of matter in the universe capable of building a computational device out of you can’t build this infinitely detailed simulation.


Matter of the universe is already doing this computation. That is to say, the problem to be solved is computationally irreducible, cannot be computed using any fewer resources (including time, energy, matter) any faster than allowing the situation to play itself out; the problem is already solving itself, just not in tandem.

Living the reality of the Matrix – or Zion – may already be signaling to the other merely by continuing its operation. This may be the same as the hypothetical multiple universes which interfere in the double-slit experiment.

Brivegas1 says –
Just a thought about "between".

What sits between the code of a piece of software and the display of the results of that software..... a computer.

So if the world of the matrix and zion is considered the resulting simulation and the software is the code of the matrix - then there must be a computer between them to process the rules of the matrix to create zion and the matrix.


Having a number of conversations with others about the nature of human consciousness and similarities between the model of a computer and consciousness, I’ve found there’s one thing frequently omitted. The base machine language = reptilian brain, essential life functions; the OS = higher level functions, early reasoning, basic communications; applications = highest level skills and specialization. There are very strong, nearly archetypal relationships between the way humans have developed and built computers and the emergence of human consciousness. Even when we experience a total crash as a society, as individuals, we restore to basic functions first then to successively higher order functions.

But one piece was missing: there’s still an intelligence, a consciousness outside of the computer. It’s the one at the keyboard, the one outside both hardware and software, the co-mingler.

Is it possible the ultimate self-substantiation is attainment of that role at the keyboard? And perhaps that’s suggested in TM1 when Neo is asleep at the keyboard?

CoreyJun 17, 2003 at 2:43PM

I thought the floppy that the guy handed to Neo just gave him the place to meet the oracle or something. I always thought the "code you (Neo) carry" was inside his head or DNA. The architect says that the purpose of the one is to return to the source allowing for a temporary dissemination of the code he carries. If the code is simply on a floppy disk, why do the machines need the one to bring it to the source? Couldn't any other human, or perhaps a machine, do it?

SkydiverJun 17, 2003 at 4:45PM

Has anybody thought about the significance of the number 23 ?(Neo could choose 23 for the new Zion)

As in human body has 23 pair of chromosomes. And the whole matrix is just the functioning of human mind choosing in the end the right set of chromosomes to be propagated to the next generation.

Instead of going Matrix into matrix, everything could finally be summed up in just one human brain !! And whatever he does could be explained as being a dream.

Spoon BoyJun 17, 2003 at 5:49PM


Corey says:

I always thought the "code you (Neo) carry" was inside his head or DNA.


I see. So in your imagination, what would the mechanical process of "reinserting the prime program" entail? Would Neo go through Door 1 and put his palm up to a scanner? Would he need to wear a special helmet? Would it be voice recognition? All of those methods are directly related to something physical.

Whatever the code is, it must be digital. According to the rules that the story has given us, Neo can't take anything physical into the Matrix. So I'd say the DNA's out.

I thought the floppy that the guy handed to Neo just gave him the place to meet the oracle or something.

So did I, until the Architect scene. I don't claim to know the answers, but makes sense to me that this floppy holds the "code he carries" in order to reload the Matrix.

Skydiver says:
Has anybody thought about the significance of the number 23 ?(Neo could choose 23 for the new Zion) ...As in human body has 23 pair of chromosomes


Good catch on the chromosomes. The first thing that struck me about 23 was the sequential significance. If the One chooses 23, you've got, in order, One, 23, ... and so on. i.e. (1, 2, 3, ...)

The second thing that struck me about 23 is that the digits add up to 5. Here we go again...


CoreyJun 17, 2003 at 7:04PM

Spoon Boy says:

I see. So in your imagination, what would the mechanical process of "reinserting the prime program" entail? Would Neo go through Door 1 and put his palm up to a scanner? Would he need to wear a special helmet? Would it be voice recognition? All of those methods are directly related to something physical.


I don't know exactly what this would entail, but you failed to address the main point of my post. Where did this floppy come from, and why would the one have to physically (or mentally) reinsert it? The reloading of the matrix is not simply the process of inserting a floppy into a pc and loading a program. The process would have to have something to do with the one himself, or else the one serves no purpose and the machines could reload the matrix without him.

I don't see what you have against the DNA idea. I personally don't support it fully and was just using it as an example, but why couldn't it be? DNA is simply a series of codes. If a person's image can be digitally copied, why not his DNA? Things in the matrix are not simply digital images, they have their own properties, governed by programs as explained by the oracle. Gunpowder, even digital gunpowder in the matrix, still explodes when ignited. If the properties of gunpowder can be copied, why not the properties of DNA? Just a thought....

"In my imagination"? I don't ridicule your theories and observations, as farfetched as they may be, so please don't ridicule mine.

Brisvegas1Jun 17, 2003 at 7:07PM

hey spoonboy - I think your a little off here
the digital avatars themselves are what gets taken into the matrix - and by extension into the source.

it's the stuff that can get uploaded into baine by smith.

it's the stuff that has a matrix body image different from the zion one.

it's the stuff that can be read by the architect and displayed on screen.

memory etc - it's all just information....

I on't see any need to hypothesise any extra "physical"mechanism... in the matrix it's all just information... all neo hsa to do is ppass through the door and his Matrix code (the green on black stuff) will be inserted into the source.

speaking of which has anyone noticed that neo, when he looks at his hands in reloaded - or when we see him in code view form - glow just like seraph- except green on black rather than gold.

Yet - the doorway to the architects room and the colouring of the room is yellow gold....

I wonder if there is a link - more evidence that seraph is a former one... one that returned to the source and passed through into the next iteration of the matrix.

perhaps that is why he is a "program" rather than "human".. why he has glowing gold code rather than glowing green matrix code.

Hmmm....

guess I am more stuck on visual cues rather than your numerological ones spoonboy.

Brisvegas1Jun 17, 2003 at 7:12PM

Hey and as far as the observation about the 23 "chromosomes" / founders of zion....

That resonates with stuff I talk about here in relation to the rave scene, the purpose of zion and guided evolution.

Spoon BoyJun 17, 2003 at 8:05PM


Brisvegas1 says:

the digital avatars themselves are what gets taken into the matrix - and by extension into the source.... it's the stuff that can get uploaded into baine by smith.


This is one of the problems I've had with the biological human thing since watching Reloaded. The idea of interfacing human thought with a virtual world, allowing it to interact with a program in real time, is one thing. I've accepted the idea as conceivable since 1999. However, the idea of writing data to a physical human brain, as if it was a hard disk, is very different.

The brain as a writable storage medium? I don't like it. The problem for me is simply a matter of physics. I suppose we could hypothesize that the farmed babies have hard drives installed into their little baby brains, so that in the future software can be installed into their noggins, but @ that point you're forcing the theory.

Speaking of brains, it's about time for me to defrag.


Spoon BoyJun 17, 2003 at 8:37PM


Corey says:

I don't know exactly what this would entail, but you failed to address the main point of my post. Where did this floppy come from


It came to him ultimately from the Oracle, delivered by a guy from one of the ships.

re: the DNA idea as an authentication mechanism for the reboot

What would the computers be matching his DNA to?

btw, inquiring about your imagination was not intended to be derogatory. We're all using our imaginations. Or @ least, we should.

CoreyJun 17, 2003 at 8:47PM

Yet again, Spoon Boy, you managed to miss my point. Where the disk came from is only a part of my question. So you don't get confused, the question is this: if the disk is all that's needed to reload the matrix, why does the one have to insert it instead of any random person or program?

And the DNA thing......um, where exactly did I mention DNA as an authentication mechanism? Looks like you made that up all by yourself....

Spoon BoyJun 17, 2003 at 8:55PM


the disk is all that's needed to reload the matrix, why does the one have to insert it instead of any random person or program?

Because only the One will be given the disk by the Oracle.

where exactly did I mention DNA as an authentication mechanism?

Implied. I believe you suggested that Neo's DNA would be read by the Source, recognized as a match to what the Source deems genuine, successfully authenticating a reload of the Matrix.

If that's not what you thought the role of DNA would play, please clarify.

Joe KaczmarekJun 17, 2003 at 9:23PM

Spoon Boy says:
... However, the idea of writing data to a physical human brain, as if it was a hard disk, is very different.


Since first seeing Reloaded, I have never doubted the idea of Smith being able to upload himself into Bane.

Why?

I would go on writing about better analogies to the human brain than a hard disk, but I've neither the time right now know the expertise. However, I one of the idea's I've found that I most like to explain how the brain works is the holographic idea (read The Holographic Universe if you get a chance, very interesting stuff on the nature of reality, life, and death). Information isn't stored in our minds by means of reading and writing to a media so much as by the holographic wave patterns (and neural pathways) constantly being formed by the constant neural signals travelling through our minds (something like that, it does well to explain people with multiple personalities whose personalities never know of the others existence). Maybe the brain/computer analogy is that the brain is more like a microprocessor that is always on (after all, our bodies--brain, heart, lungs--are always on and always working until we die).

Another idea to focus on is how the machines create the alternate reality of the Matrix. In order for them to send data into our minds (and read that data back out so that they know what we're doing in the Matrix and how to respond to it) they have to be able to interface with our minds. As stated in The Second Renaissance Part II (I don't remember the exact quote), the machines had "long studied" our bodies/physiology/etc. Therefore we can believe that they've learned how to translate our neural synapses/holographic-mind-patterns into their own computer language.

So, considering that they can translate between our "code" and theirs, and that our minds are electrical based and always running (not like a hard drive in terms of storage of information), then I don't find it hard to consider that Smith could translate the "code of himself" (memories, agendas, etc) into human code, and then reprogram Bane's neural pathways/mental patterns/etc with his own. Almost as if Smith had given Bane a split personality with the "Smith" personality as the dominant one.

But again, that's just how I see/believe it.

Brisvegas1Jun 17, 2003 at 9:27PM

look - i'm still confused about this floppy disk thing.

The only one I remember is the one from the osiris where they first learn about the machines preparing to attack zion.

In what scene is the floppy given to neo? who gave it to him? etc...

The oracle gives him a piece of paper and it is pretty much all action from there... isn't it.

Sorry - I must of missed that part, unless it happend in the enter the matrix game or something.

jonathanpohJun 17, 2003 at 9:53PM

I think people are getting confused over 2 separate packages.

The guys at the Osiris sent a message via post within the Matrix [Flight of the Osiris], Niobe or Ghost picks it up from the a PO Box [Enter the Matrix game, 1st mission], leading to the meeting of captains [Matrix Reloaded].

This is totally unrelated (i think) to the floppy which Neo receives much later on after he arrives in Zion. He's in his apartment when a bunch of guys come knocking and hand him a a disk which he then says 'It's time' (or something like that. The Neb crew then starts on their way and this is where you see Bane's murder attempt which is foiled by the interruption of Popper (the Kid) handing over the spoon.

Spoon BoyJun 17, 2003 at 10:09PM


Joe says:

(read The Holographic Universe if you get a chance, very interesting stuff on the nature of reality, life, and death)


Good stuff, thx for the tip.

the floppy which Neo receives much later on after he arrives in Zion. He's in his apartment when a bunch of guys come knocking and hand him a a disk

Right. And it was *in* Zion, so he obviously can't take the physical disk with him into the Matrix. It also didn't physically come *from* the Matrix, it just holds the code from the Oracle. What was it for?

Seems as though everything we've been watching is in RAM. Leave a machine on for an extended period of time and it will eventually be prone to crashing. A reboot will clear everything and start over.


jonathanpohJun 17, 2003 at 10:11PM

in my earlier post I did mention my thoughts on whether Neo could possibly be a program that would eventually be re-assimilated into the Matrix.. i guess I forgot all about that floppy disk he was carrying.. but then I thought that disk given to him contained the instructions to find the Oracle??

Another thing I feel should be noted is that as interesting this discussion is, everybody must realize all these detail and hidden meanings and references 'found' in the Matrix movies are only valid based on the assumption that the movies are *perfect*, and we know that is impossible. Continuity errors and mistakes DO happen in movies, so knowing that fact alone complicates matters quite a bit cos now we also have to consider if a 'sign' in the movie is actually a clue to the understanding of the Matrix, or is it just a flaw in the making of the movie.

That aside, keep up the discussion! it's fantastic..
We need a threaded comment/discussion system though...

Spoon BoyJun 17, 2003 at 11:06PM


jonathanpoh says:

I thought that disk given to him contained the instructions to find the Oracle??


Maybe . Or perhaps it was the actual meeting with the Oracle itself? How's that for a bake...

CoreyJun 17, 2003 at 11:10PM

Remember where Neo's powers come from. He sees the matrix for what it is, understands the matrix, and like a hacker is able to change things to his liking. Although, like I said, I don't support the DNA theory and was just using it as an example, what I was implying was that Neo's powers and understanding of the matrix are somehow genetic, and the machines need this "code", this understanding of the matrix, in order to reload it. I think what you, Spoon Boy, thought I was implying was that the one's DNA would act like a password to reload the matrix. Instead, I was implying that Neo's DNA could itself somehow be a part of the matrix programming.

Because only the One will be given the disk by the Oracle.

Why would she only give the disk to the one? There has to be something special about him, something that has to do with reloading the matrix, that would make her give the disk to him. Otherwise, why not just go to the source herself and reload the matrix, or have Seraph do it for her?

the idea of writing data to a physical human brain, as if it was a hard disk, is very different.

The brain as a writable storage medium? I don't like it. The problem for me is simply a matter of physics. I suppose we could hypothesize that the farmed babies have hard drives installed into their little baby brains, so that in the future software can be installed into their noggins, but @ that point you're forcing the theory.


Why not? The machines have already found a way to send programming code directly into peoples' brains in a way that makes them perceive sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound. Why is it so inconceivable that they could write to a human's brain? The brain retains memories. This is not so very different from saving something to a hard drive. Besides, the machines already drill a hole into each person's brain at birth, why not install a hard drive while they're at it?

Brisvegas1Jun 17, 2003 at 11:18PM

exactly when in the movie is the floppy given to neo? - and by whom?

Spoon BoyJun 17, 2003 at 11:43PM


Brisvegas1 says:

exactly when in the movie is the floppy given to neo? - and by whom?


In Zion, just before they leave on one of the trips. Can somebody please clarify if this occured before or after the Oracle meeting?

Corey says:

You thought I was implying was that the one's DNA would act like a password to reload the matrix


Yes, actually.

I was implying was that Neo's powers and understanding of the matrix are somehow genetic, and the machines need this "code", this understanding of the matrix, in order to reload it.

I see, that's cool. I wonder how they'd sense that genetically. Trippy.

Why is it so inconceivable that they could write to a human's brain? The brain retains memories. This is not so very different from saving something to a hard drive.

It's actually very different, particularly in the context of reloading. Something in memory (RAM) is lost upon reboot; there is nothing written to memory. Something saved, written, or uploaded to a hard drive is retained upon reboot; it's physically stored on the device. Even when you turn the machine off.


jkottkeJun 18, 2003 at 12:16AM

Hey gang,

I just posted an entry to the front page about this thread and its relation to the rest of the site: Who owns the conversation on my web site? Like I said in the post, you're free to keep chatting about the movie here as long as you want. Mi casa es su casa.

One other quick thing. If anyone here (Spoon Boy?) would like to summarize the findings of this thread thus far in less than 750 words, I will either append it to the original post at the top of the page or post it as a new post on the front page, which ever seems more appropriate. I have no idea if it can be summarized in 750 words or if anyone is even interested in doing it, but I thought I would throw that out there.

CoreyJun 18, 2003 at 12:22AM

yeah a summary is a good idea. I think a list of questions/debatable issues with sublists of summarized theories would be a good format.

Spoon BoyJun 18, 2003 at 12:44AM


The function of the One is now to review this blog, allowing a
temporary dissemination of the editorial judgment you carry, reinserting the prime value of this discussion. After which you will be required to select from the thread 23 posts, 16 good, 7 even better, to rebuild the thread. Failure to comply with this process will result in a cataclysmic system crash disconnecting everyone connected to these theories, which coupled with the extermination of this thread will ultimately result in the extinction of the entire discussion.

Who wants to be the One?

JonJun 18, 2003 at 1:14AM

Thanks to the joy that is OSX's summarize feature (select text in a cocoa app, then go to [App Name]>Services>Summarize), I was able to pull up this one sentence summary of the original post:

The Matrix Reloaded would have worked a lot better as an action movie that took itself a little bit seriously (taking a page from the fun X2 flick) instead of a drama interspersed with action.

(nods)

jonathanpohJun 18, 2003 at 1:57AM

spoon boy says:
n Zion, just before they leave on one of the trips. Can somebody please clarify if this occured before or after the Oracle meeting?


It's after the chat with the councillor, before going to see the Oracle.
the disk is the reason why they went out to see her in the first place. Prior to that they were looking for the Oracle but didn't know where to find her.

Hmmm.. in TM1, almost everyone thought the Oracle was a human communicating to them from Zion..

Pascale SoleilJun 18, 2003 at 1:58AM

My take on Agent Smith from my most recent comment on Reloaded:

I was able to make much more sense of the former Agent Smith (now the original free agent!): Mr. Smith is the Ego, hence the everyman name. He's free but he resents and fears it, and latches on to any "purpose" ~ even if that purpose is putting an end to his own liberator. He turns everyone he meets into an extension of himself: "Me again! Me too! More!"

Spoon BoyJun 18, 2003 at 2:54AM


jkottke says:

If anyone here (Spoon Boy?) would like to summarize the findings of this thread thus far in less than 750 words


I don't think I could summarize my own thoughts in 750 words, let alone other findings. How about saving the current 1.3mb thread as static page w/o the input field and throwing it into the Zion archive. It'll serve as a useful reference. Include a link to it from a clean new thread, and we're dancing. And btw, thanks for letting us use all your bandwidth!

jonathanpoh says:

the disk is the reason why they went out to see her in the first place


Got it. Thanks.

btw, in TM1, any ideas on what exactly was on the disk that Neo sold to Choi for two grand?

in TM1, almost everyone thought the Oracle was a human communicating to them from Zion..

Almost. :)

Brisvegas1Jun 18, 2003 at 3:32AM

Just a quick one folks...

was just rewatching the scene with the oracle and neo:

There she says that the source is "where the path of the one ends..."

but in enter the matrix she apparently tells niobe "path of the One is made by the many"

this is after neo has been to the architect...

does this refer simply to the varying influences that everyone and everything have had in shaping neo, or might it be a hint of what is to come, that the path of the one will be the path of the many.... that somehow everyone might start to benefit from the gifts that until now have been the provenance of only neo.

hmmmm...

siddarta gouthamaJun 18, 2003 at 6:33AM

spoon boy said:
Right. And it was *in* Zion, so he obviously can't take the physical disk with him into the Matrix. It also didn't physically come *from* the Matrix, it just holds the code from the Oracle.


Exactly my point. It's physical so you need to physically upload it in the matrix right? But then...
I thought that disk given to him contained the instructions to find the Oracle??
Maybe . Or perhaps it was the actual meeting with the Oracle itself? How's that for a bake...


That's a burnt bake I'd guess, because it then would also contain the Burly Brawl. But hey, why not? :)

siddarta gouthamaJun 18, 2003 at 6:38AM

Brisvegas1 said:
exactly when in the movie is the floppy given to neo? - and by whom?


it is before they leave, but more important for a memory moment is exactly rigth after the talk between Neo and Counselor Hamman
Hope this clarifies it

newtJun 18, 2003 at 8:00AM

Perhaps I am missing something, but isn't the point on whether data can be written to Neo's brain dealt with in TM1 when Tank "Loads" data on fighting techniques to him. We only see evidence of him applying these techniques in the Matrix - where the potential problems of a lack of strength and/or coordination are irrelevant - however, that is not to say he would not know the theory of these techniques in the "real world" (albeit being unable to apply them in practice). Particularly as he says in the real world, "I know kung fu!".

Great thread by the way.

Brisvegas1Jun 18, 2003 at 8:04AM

and now that I have watched it more clearly - it is apparently something that is liberated / collected by baine and some other dude in the matrix, right before bane gets puddinged... This may be why smith is able to join in on the oracle meeting... because bane had a chance to find out the details on the way to zion...

Speaking of bane:

I saw the video of him in the enter the matrix game with additional footage of him cutting his hand after neo has left to meet with the oracle - see the image here.

In the footage it is pretty clear that the lines of the cut follow the palm lines...

According to net based palmistry resources... the third line may be a new fate line.


Also I captured frames from the game of the crazy guy who said that the last zion only lasted 72 hours.... he also appears in the trailer to revolutions. Is this the man who is being led away in the restaraunt scene?

Cheers

jkottkeJun 18, 2003 at 8:25AM

NPR has a bit on the similarity between The Matrix and Monsters Inc.:

"The science-fiction action film The Matrix and the animated Monsters Inc. may belong to different genres, but they have a striking similarity: both tell the story of an alternate universe fueled by the efforts of humans who are unaware that they are doing the fueling."

RayneJun 18, 2003 at 9:04AM

Thanks, Jason, missed that bit, will check it out.

In re: your question above (Who owns the conversation...) -- good luck, this is pretty organic and you're asking an inorganic question!

I nominate Spoon Boy, Brivegas1 as co-heirs for their determination and persistence!

BELLJun 18, 2003 at 9:18AM

With regards to any negative comments concerning reloaded, one believes this film to be a superior piece of work that demands the viewer to engage their brain. One must look beneath the surface and tap in to the multitude of historical and philisophical references to truly understand what the matrix represents. The modern cinema blockbuster does not have 1.0% of the creative genius that this film series posses. The film is primarily about Neo and his interaction with the Matrix. All else is irrelevant, though not redundent, notions of control, purpose and choice (if such a thing exists) mirror the very fabric and mechanics of our lives. I especially like the scene with Merivingian, in which he states with the aid of the orgasm inducing cake the frailties of humans and how easily they are manipulated and the reality of the world is masked from them, through the use of stimulea. Illustrating that we as humans still remain in a kindred state. It is interesting what role Trinity plays as she is the defining point of difference regarding the previous incarnations of the one. Human or a program her role is to push neo in a direction that suites the architect (or the powers that be). The architects goal surely is the most relevent point. I beleive the architect uses neo as a means of learning more about humans, so finally he can have the complete 100% of all those in captivity under control and not rejecting the system. Though it is obvious that all 100% are plugged to the matrix, just hardwired to different levels. Zion is a part of the matrix that houses those who have discoverd that they are trapped, though I beleive they are dilluded further. ONCE YOUVE ENTERED A HOLODECK, HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY KNOW IF YOU HAVE EVER LEFT IT?

BELLJun 18, 2003 at 9:42AM

Notably the merivingians were a dynasty that ruled france and most of germany during 13th - 16th century if im not mistaken, (dates may be wrong), such was their dominance they were unapposed for centuries. They were rumoured to be decendants of christ. Neo is a neophyte ( jesus). Could the merivingian be a previous incarnation of the One or in some way and aid to a previous One?

DanJun 18, 2003 at 11:41AM

I've been lurking here for a few days now after an initial series of posts, but am glad to see that the conversaton continues and improves. Not just the same old folks.

Corey said:... act like a password to reload the matrix. Instead, I was implying that Neo's DNA could itself somehow be a part of the matrix programming.

Why does it have to be DNA? Why can't it just be the totality of his being? It's limiting to force our world's restraints on this completely fictional universe. If it was purely DNA, after all, why not harvest it from a strand of his hair? Surely even the One's 'do gets mussed when fighting...

Point being: Assuming it's DNA - which, obviously, is inborn - is entirely deterministic, which removes the seemingly agreed-upon central theme of the movie that : choice. If it's purely nature (inborn), then Neo didn't make any choices. I say it's the sum totality of his choices and his genetics. Nature + Nurture = Psych 101.

Spoonboy said:
The brain as a writable storage medium? I don't like it. The problem for me is simply a matter of physics. I suppose we could hypothesize that the farmed babies have hard drives installed into their little baby brains, so that in the future software can be installed into their noggins, but @ that point you're forcing the theory.

Again, why force our world onto theirs. How is the brain as storage mechanism "... a [problem] of physics?"

Further, given your 5 percent nationesque reliance on numerology, you may want to reconsider accusing others of "forcing the theory."

Seems as though everything we've been watching is in RAM. Leave a machine on for an extended period of time and it will eventually be prone to crashing. A reboot will clear everything and start over.

Again, what? That a computer now is more prone to crashing over time is completely irrelevant. At its best, that theory is true only on the most technical, semantic level - along the lines of "a computer that's turned on is more likely to crash than one that is not." You can not assume that

A: RAM exists.
B: The computers in the Matrix bear any resemblance to those in our world.
C: Time degrades the Matrix's performance.
D: Reboots have any such impact (I have worked with many machines which I'm afraid to reboot for fear that they'll not come up ... it's not a panacea even in the real real world).

BELL says:
The modern cinema blockbuster does not have 1.0% of the creative genius that this film series posses.

Could the merivingian be a previous incarnation of the One or in some way and aid to a previous One?


BELL, you're quite late to the game here, though I'm sure everyone is pleased to re-read these sterling top-of-the-head observations for the 600th time. Now that you and everyone else who just read Jason's post are joining or re-joining this thread, you you might want to actually read some of the 700+ posts before tossing out your theories, since a lot of reasonably intelligent people have been here thinking for quite a while and you, well, haven't.

DanJun 18, 2003 at 12:28PM

Pascale Soleil said:

Mr. Smith is the Ego, hence the everyman name. He's free but he resents and fears it, and latches on to any "purpose" ~ even if that purpose is putting an end to his own liberator. He turns everyone he meets into an extension of himself: "Me again! Me too! More!"

I think this is likely true - as you said, the name bespeaks it. But there's a lot of id in him too, don't you think?

It's been mentioned over and over again here (I mentioned it way back here (see 6.) , but now that the thread seems to have developed some ability to focus on specific issues (the "floppy" question, for example), I'd really like to hear people's thoughts on the Smith issue as best explained by kie (details below).

As I mentioned in my own post above, I believe that in the final movie either Neo or Smith will have used his power to "infect" the entire populace of the Matrix (or much of it, at least). Neo can do so figuratively, by demonstrating that the Matrix is not real and spreading that knowledge. Smith can do it much more literally. Either way, as Kie discusses in two justifiably lengthy paragraphs which I've quoteed below, the end result is that the brains hooked up to the Matrix could revolt, really endangering the Matrix...

So perhaps it follows that an acknowledged machine-human symbiosis as discussed by Martin M. here really becomes the only option:

Martin said: Fifth, may the reconciliation of machines and humans somehow involve all them eventually being able to transcend the barriers between two worlds, thereby granting machines access to human emotions and feelings and humans access to machine… what exactly? Logic and reason? Eternal life?

In any case, that's what's currently fascinating me, and the topic about which I would most like to see/hear discussion. Anyone?

KIE's comments

Revolutions teaser at end of reloaded :

There is a scene where it looks like the monitors on a hovercraft are showing real pictures instead of the usual green code as if there was some sort of transformation happening either in the real world or is the matrix. The oracle says the shadow is spreading and if "he" is not stopped tonight i fear that we may not see tomorrow. I think what the oracle is saying if Smith is the real enemy and not man or machine - Smith is spreading throughout the whole matrix like a virus, which explains the scene in the rain where Neo and Smith are surrounded but what looks like thousands or maybe even millions of Smith.


and

KIE
Also in mid game there's a conversation bet. the oracle and seraph where the oracle tells seraph that the shadow is beginning to spread and then seraph asks if neo knows and then it cuts to the scene where agent smith takes over bane in the movie. I think shadow is a metaphor for the black silvery substance the victim turns into. This also explains why there are thousands if not millions of smiths in the revolutions trailer.

kieJun 18, 2003 at 1:00PM

Brisvegas1 says:

Also I captured frames from the game of the crazy guy who said that the last zion only lasted 72 hours.... he also appears in the trailer to revolutions. Is this the man who is being led away in the restaraunt scene?

---
No he is not the man being led away in the restaurant scene . The man in the restaurant scene was younger and had short hair while the "strange guy" is older and had wild long hair. My guess is this "strange guy" is an exile that has also survived previous matrices but why the director bothered showing him in the game and in the revolutions trailer i dont know. Maybe he has a purpose or maybe he doesnt who knows.

Also in the end I think not all questions will be answered and neither will the directors explain the movie for us. I have read that they will not do interviews about the movie because they dont like doing any explaining. I feel that the beauty of the movie is that it opens up topics for debate and discussion and everybody will have different interpretations of it.

Brian LJun 18, 2003 at 3:53PM

Hey all, or rather, hey New Yorkers, and more specifically, Brooklynites, there is an open discussion on Wednesday, June 25th from 8 or so to 9:30 about determinism and free will inthe Matrix Reloaded. More info is here - http://www.brooklynphilosophers.org/

This looks pretty interesting. The place it is at is called Office Ops (they had a great roller rock jam thing a few weeks ago.) and their site is here - http://www.officeops.org

DanJun 18, 2003 at 4:00PM

Either way, as Kie discusses in two justifiably lengthy paragraphs which I've quoted below, the end result is that the brains hooked up to the Matrix could revolt, really endangering the Matrix...

So perhaps it follows that an acknowledged machine-human symbiosis as discussed by Martin M. here really becomes the only option:

Martin said: Fifth, may the reconciliation of machines and humans somehow involve all them eventually being able to transcend the barriers between two worlds, thereby granting machines access to human emotions and feelings and humans access to machine… what exactly? Logic and reason? Eternal life?


I didn't make my thoughts on this this clear enough above. The missing link is that I agree with the idea that the people in the goo are actually serving as a distributed processing system, and hence run their own prison - the Matrix - themselves.

It doesn't quite fit, however, with Morpheus's initial assertation: "The average human generates more bio-electricity than a 120-volt battery and over 25,000 BTVs of body heat. Combined with a form of fusion, the machines have found all the energy they would ever need."

Morpheus's statement definitely suggests that humans are being used for electrical power, but this is one statement that could -or at least should - be wrong, as countless reviewers pointed out. If you've got fusion, why use all these messy humans?

As silly as it might seem for *computers* to take millions of people and use them as computers, it makes a lot more sense to me than the humans-as-power-source idea. But something I remember from ... psych, maybe? was the old standby that human brains are vastly more powerful than any computer. Something about the number of neuronal connections and processing power inherent thereto.

If that homily is in fact true (or is it just a myth?), there's a little bit of logic there. Morpheus would be within his rights to think that the human "batteries" are being used for power... how exactly would he know that the "power" they were generating was computational instead?

In any case, I realize this isn't a particularly original statement, but I do think it deserves closer examination. Because if Smith/Neo spread their "viral" content to everyone enslaved within the Matrix, the waking humans could logically be expected to degrade the performance of the Matrix itself. It's also a great way to explain the Councillor's speech about human-machine independence.

It does not, however, answer the question of "what is the matrix?" Why have all these minds creating this enormous simulation - if they are providing power (computational, as opposed to electrical), then it must be towards some other end beyond the Matrix itself ... otherwise, why use them at all?

Anyone?

superrussJun 18, 2003 at 7:52PM

Fact: With this many postulates, the answer to what the wachowskis have in store for Revolutions must be on this page... There are after all only two of them, and many of us.

Also: People are reading too much reading into irrelevant geektails… I have reconstructed one such stupidity below to illustrate my case…

“What I don’t get is how we see neo wiped his arse in the first film with his right hand. We see in the matrix reloaded that in a shot of a mirror, Neo is again wiping his arse with his right hand, but this is a mirror shot… it should be reversed and he should in fact be seen to be wiping his arse with the left hand! Also, in Revolutions in the ship explosion the flame space-time modelling seems to be acting in accordance with Bernoulli’s equation yet the flame frequency is blue shifted whilst in the matrix it seems to obey all physical laws except at the quantum level. Please someone comment on this soul destroying knowledge to make me feel better.”

Thinking this trilogy will be so perfectly constructed is, ahem, our quintessential human delusion. Maybe the bros will read all the sh”t we’ve wrote, realise their bluff has been called and there are no storylines they could possibly make cos everyone’s found a problem with each one and rewrite the Revolutions to make Neo wake up thinking it was “all a dream”….

It’s just a good set of movies people.

Spoon BoyJun 18, 2003 at 8:49PM


superruss says:

I have reconstructed one such stupidity below to illustrate my case…


You did it very well.



gezJun 18, 2003 at 9:51PM

Hang on - how can the disk which is given to Neo in Zion be the code he is meant to re-insert into the source? things from the real world can't be taken into the Matrix world.

Or have I misunderstood.?

Also - Morpheus believes that the war will end when the One reaches the Source, but Neo never actually reached the Source.

Again - have I misunderstood?

gez

Brisvegas1Jun 18, 2003 at 11:40PM

Hey folks you are going to love this one.

Remember the climax of the highway scene, where the two trucks crash?

Well I just watched it again in the "Enter the Matrix" game and I noticed something.

The two trucks both have names...

The white truck that Morphes and the Keymaker are on before being rescued by Neo is called "Longpath"

Well it's not hard to see how this relates to the film... all of humanity caught in a cycle of matrix reloads... and maybe the one can save them from that get thom off the longpath.

Now the other truck, the balck one is called the "Gidim".

Now according to the ancient Sumerians the Gidim:
were the spirits of dead people living in the Netherworld, the Sumerian equivalent of today’s ghosts.

The deceased human mortal consisted of two parts: the adda (esemtu in Akkadian) and the gidim (etemmu in Akkadian). In Sumer, the body (adda) was often buried under the floor of the family home at which time the gidim separated and went down into the Netherworld.

A gidim could be powerful, depending on personal valor and accomplishments of the deceased while alive and also on the number of sons he had. A gidim was weak if the deceased had few or no sons or had achieved little while alive. Powerful gidim could return to the land of the living while weak gidim might not have sufficient strength to make the journey back up to the Great Above.

The worst that could happen was for a dead person not to be buried. If that happened, the gidim, even a weak gidim, was persecute whoever was responsible. Once the deceased had been properly buried, the gidim descended o the Netherworld where it stayed unless not properly fed or remembered by the living, in which case, if it was powerful enough, it returned to the Great Above to haunt those who had been negligent.


Hmmm....

kieJun 19, 2003 at 12:16AM

Ok I want to end the disk argument. From playing the game and watching both final flight of the osiris and watching reloaded I have come to the conclusion that the disks are just media that contain all sorts of information that the rebels need and nothing special like the "code that neo needs to reload the matrix" or whatever like what others has suggested. It just happens that in the matrix all these information are stored in letters, packages or notes - . In final flight of the osiris , that information would be the package that Jue would drop in the drop box and would later turn up as a disk that niobe uses in enter the matrix to transmit to zion. She specifically says after getting the package out of the matrix and back to the realworld " All I'm interested is what that disk contains." She doesnt say "package" she says disk meaning all that info is now in disk format. She then transmits it to the logos and the next scene shows one of Lock's officers giving a disk copy of that information to Lock. Another proof is during the scene in Reloaded where Malachi and Bane jump thru the glass ceiling for the hard line. Bane gives Malachi the letter from the oracle and tells him that to jack out. Back in the real world that letter becomes the disk that Ballard gives to Trinity for Neo. All that disk has is information on where to meet the Oracle. Im 100% in believing that was the only purpose of the disk.

gez says:

Also - Morpheus believes that the war will end when the One reaches the Source, but Neo never actually reached the Source.

Again - have I misunderstood?

---
Ok from what I understand from seeing that scene a few times, Neo actually never comments if he was able to reach the source or not when Morpheus says that all was done according to plan and that the war will end when the one reaches the source. Yes, Neo reached the source (the machine mainframe) but he didnt bother explain to morpheus that he had to "return/reload" into the source inorder for the "prophecy" to be fullfilled. in fact he didnt need to explain it since whatever happened, whether he reloaded the matrix or chose to save trinity, zion will still be destroyed. The whole point of it was that the whole prophecy was a lie, it was never meant to end anything - meaning zion was still going to be destroyed either way - and that the prophecy was just a means of controlling the One inoder to reload the matrix. I hope that helps.

Brisvegas1Jun 19, 2003 at 1:14AM

you know - neo had this same problem in the first movie too. Where he thought what had been told to him made what everyone else believed a lie and where he would have to make some enormous personal effort to save people because they had put their faith in a prophecy and by association into him, and even if the prophecy is wrong - he is still responsible for them.

Then in the end - because of his efforts everything works out and he realises that he was fulfilling the prophecy all along - even when he thought he wasnt.

I wonder if the same thing will happen this time?

Spoon BoyJun 19, 2003 at 3:04AM


gez says:
Hang on - how can the disk which is given to Neo in Zion be the code he is meant to re-insert into the source?


You're correct; this is something we cleared up in the last couple days. The physical device couldn't be taken into the Matrix, only the code it carries.

kie says:
All that disk has is information on where to meet the Oracle. Im 100% in believing that was the only purpose of the disk.


That makes one of us. How exactly did he access the info on the disk? Was it information on where to meet the Oracle, or was it perhaps the meeting with the Oracle itself? Not necessarily a self-contained instance of the meeting in the courtyard, but rather a program that was executed by Link once Neo jacked into the Matrix. (i.e. To talk to the Oracle, CLICK HERE! etc.)

On the topic of floppies, what exactly to you suppose was on the disk Neo sold to Choi for two grand in TM1? Bootlegged software? Access codes of some sort? A cyberdrug? An experience?

I always found Choi's lines significant, though not entirely clear:

"Your my savior, man...my own personal Jesus Christ...you don't exist...sounds like you need to unplug..."

Re: Longpath and Gidim

Cool finds. Longpath also reminds me of paths to computer files, whether they be local paths or complete url's. You can think of a long path as being the absolute location of a file that doesn't have an alias (shortcut) pointing to it.



jonathanpohJun 19, 2003 at 7:26AM

kie said:
Yes, Neo reached the source (the machine mainframe)

I disagree with this. Once in the room with the architect, Neo is told that "The door to your right leads to the source, and the salvation of Zion.".. unless there are 2 sources, I'm pretty sure that Neo has not yet reached the source, hence has not fulfiled the prophecy (if it is still to be believed).

kieJun 19, 2003 at 8:34AM

jonathanpoh says:

I disagree with this. Once in the room with the architect, Neo is told that "The door to your right leads to the source, and the salvation of Zion.".. unless there are 2 sources

---
I think he has reached the source (And I think what the architect meant was the door on the right was the way for him to reload the matrix) , in fact if you played the game the oracle tells niobe that Neo has even touched the source which lead to the separation of his mind from his body. That's why i said he reached the source and i think reaching the source is not the only thing for the prophecy to be fullfilled - you actually have to "return" to the source meaning reinserting yourself back to the source. The oracle said that to neo on the park meeting as well as the architect. But anyhow what does it matter, since the ultimate point in that scene was that the prophecy was just another form of control, a way for the architect to lead the One to restart the matrix.
That is why Neo didnt bother explaining all the specific details to morpheus after that architect scene.

scottJun 19, 2003 at 10:37AM

A. spoonboy said:
"I always found Choi's lines significant, though not entirely clear:

"Your my savior, man...my own personal Jesus Christ...you don't exist...sounds like you need to unplug..." "

++

I think at that early point in M1, Choi's lines were there to start building the theme of salvation and the One - referencing JC, who is easily understood as the/a One in pop culture - and to set Neo up as saving other people through transmission of data. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see him reappear in Revolutions - perhaps as a freed mind in Zion?

Certainly he's a key component in that he was manipulated in M1 to lead Neo to his meeting with Trinity, even if he was unaware of it.

B. superruss said:
"People are reading too much reading into irrelevant geektails… Thinking this trilogy will be so perfectly constructed is, ahem, our quintessential human delusion....
It’s just a good set of movies people. "

++

I disagree. While it's easy to overreach or over-magnify the significance of small details in the films, I think many of the posts here provide good reason to think that a lot of conscious effort went into them (e.g. the recent example of the names on the semis). The lore suggests that the W's planned out the entire trilogy for years prior to production; plenty of time to dream up tidbits to insert throughout that support the themes and beg new questions. Also, surely they knew the hard-core audience for their work would be people like them - i.e. the folks on this board. The temptation to leave breadcrumbs for waiting fans would have been too strong to ignore.

Certainly neither the films or their creators are perfect, as someone suggested about needing to factor in the possibility of continuity errors, but just because many films are generally flawed and inconsistent doesn't mean these have to be. I think that's why they generate so much attention, because they attempt to exceed our expectations for the medium.

[I should stop there, but I can't help but add this: art and literature are full of examples of creators adding in very relevant details, but without being completely conscious of it, or necessarily intentional about it. In addition to the W's, think of the mass of artists, craftspeople, designers, editors, etc. who contributed to the final product. I'd bet $ there are details in there that the W's didn't even know about!]

bellJun 19, 2003 at 10:52AM

In responce to Dan's comments, Fair enough mate though I dont have the time to read 700 odd messages and Ive just discovered this web page, and i didnt see a sign saying elitists only, you've got a complex fella... Anyway just watched reloaded again and notice that the opening scene which starts with the matrix program language. Is in fact showing the drill heading toward zion, and the structure is in fact zion in computer code (this is neo's vision/dream). And not as I first thought the inner workings of the clock. So the first image tell's the audiance that zion is in the matrix. In responce to kie, neo has not reached the source, the door he selects would seem to be a longer route to the source in order to reboot the system. The other door would be the path that previous ones have taken. Though the architect wants neo to take the different route, though his motives are not entirely clear. Everything neo has done has been controlled, with a purpose in mind. the architect is aware that this different route will have a different outcome.

Spoon BoyJun 19, 2003 at 11:12AM


scott says of Choi:

I wouldn't be surprised to see him reappear in Revolutions - perhaps as a freed mind in Zion?


Maybe. That is, if he's as human as the rest of the Zionites. Based on the first few scenes of the movie, my take is that Choi's and his crowd, or @ least the white rabbit girl herself (Du Jour), are programs written by the Neb team. Tools to get to Neo, if you will.

When you watch it again, pay close attention for the first 10 minutes of the movie or so. Notice the direct relationship between the first scene (the cursor on the screen w/ the conversation between Trinity and Cypher), and the scene with the white rabbit.

Nutshell:

Trinity, in the Matrix, is logged in to a chatroom where they suspect Neo hangs out. She calls Cypher and says "Is everything in place?" They exchange a few words, and then the cops break in on her in the hotel room (a result of the yet unrevealed traitor Cypher turning her in and cutting the hardline). She kicks ass, runs off, gets chased, and gets to the phone booth in the nick of time, escaping out of the Matrix and back to her chair in the Neb.

When she says "Is everything in place?", keep in mind her agenda. She and the others are trying to find Neo. To do this, they need to lure him...he has to *choose* the red pill and can't be forced. So the plan of attack is to exploit his curiosity, intriguing him into their world. In that first cursor scene, Trinity's about to execute a script, perhaps written by Mouse, and she was confirming with Cypher (who was monitoring everything), if everything was ready to roll. That executable program Trinity was about to launch is the white rabbit girl, which was a home-grown concoction similar to the woman in the red dress..

The first thing Neo says when he opens the door is "You're two hours late". The reason they're late is because Trinity had to abort the program when the cops came in during that first scene. The "appointment" the people had with Neo @ his apartment was largely manipulated by the absence of the white rabbit girl (Trinity's script), which had to be stopped so that Trinity could run away and escape the Agents. Only after she got out of the Matrix and reentered to re-execute the script did the folks arrive @ Neo's. The delay was probably about two hours.

bellJun 19, 2003 at 11:18AM

It is very likely that at the end of revolutions that neo will cease to exist and the cycle begins again Verion 7. And we seen neo as we did in the first film awake to a message on his computer screen. Though being version 0.7 it will most likely be a holographic prejection unit. Though there are some fascinating theories and insights, some times a apple is just an apple. though admittedly not much contempary cinema has engaged me to such a degree. I agree with pascale, that when looking at Smith and Neo and their roles in the scheme of it all, think The Tempest/Forbidden Planet.

bellJun 19, 2003 at 11:31AM

That is an insightfull breakdown of the beginning of m1, spoon boy, if they can insert programs directly into the matrix (mouse/cypher programs whatever). why dont they create programs to aid them when in serious (or percieved serious bother) when they are in the matrix? Also anyone, is the women in the red dress the same actress who plays the woman who has an orgasm in M2?

scottJun 19, 2003 at 12:25PM

I think Spoonboy is right on re: the timetable of the early parts of M1, but I too wonder if the crew of the Neb have the ability to create programs that act as people within the Matrix... if they can do so, why not enter each time with their own army of bodyguards, a la the Smiths? We know they can port things from the Neb's Construct into the matrix, as with "lots of guns" in the govt. building shootout, but I guess I just presumed it was limited to objects. I think the suggestion that Choi's group were programs is really interesting, but is there any evidence that it's within the abilities of the Zionites to do? If so, does it open up the possibility that some of the sentient programs we meet in M2 are actually controlled by humans in Zion?

As for the woman in red, I assumed that the Construct is like the Neb's development box, where they have full control to create anything(vs. the Matrix being the production box that they have only limited access to, to put it in webserver terms) -- so she and all the other people that appear in the M1 crowd scene are just sims and could not be "ported" to the Matrix. But then, who maintains the access control system that allows the Zionites to upload some things and not others? The Architect?

I guess this all begs one's standing assumptions about whether Zion is in the matrix or not. I'm on the not side, as elaborated by Brian Takle in "Reloded Explained", as cited previously.

kieJun 19, 2003 at 1:02PM

I dont think Choi and Dejour were programs at all since that would require to much information to bring into the matrix. I think they could only bring with them their weapons and gadgets.

Here's a chat transcript why the rebels had to use the hard line :

Sinclair: Why were they only able to jack in through hard-lines, but still able to communicate over cell?

WachowskiBros: Sinclair, good question! Mostly we felt that the amount of information that was being sent into the Matrix required a significant portal. Those portals, we felt, were better described with the hard lines rather than cell lines.

Spoon BoyJun 19, 2003 at 1:27PM


bell says:

if they can insert programs directly into the matrix (mouse/cypher programs whatever). why dont they create programs to aid them when in serious (or percieved serious bother) when they are in the matrix?


scott says:

why not enter each time with their own army of bodyguards, a la the Smiths?


It's simply a matter of resources. If you were to ask those questions to Mouse, you'd probably get an answer like, "I'M WORKING ON IT! I ONLY HAVE TWO HANDS!!!! GIVE ME SOME TIME!!!!"


kie says:
I dont think Choi and Dejour were programs at all


What do you think Trinity was referring to in the first scene when she asks "Is everything in place?" Is what in place? Trinity is about to launch a script created by the Nebbers as an attempt to get to Neo, and is checking in with Cypher to get the green light. "I'm all set. Are we ready to roll? Say 'when' and I'll hit ENTER." etc.

Note that I'm not sure if Choi was a program. However, it's pretty evident that Du Jour is:

Neo: "You're two hours late."

Choi (motioning to Du Jour): "It's her fault."

Du Jour is the program Trinity had to abort when she got interrupted by the fuzz. Check it out again with this in mind.


GhostJun 19, 2003 at 1:33PM

I would tend to think that the code is in Neo's mind and cannot be taken literally as a code. I think that it is the remainder of an unbalanced equation. The equation being the choice where 99.9% of the test subjects accepted the program. So he is the left over of all of that and that is the code that the machines needs to be temporary disseminated. It is him, well at least his brain, his thoughts, his mind.

Any questions?

superrussJun 19, 2003 at 1:45PM

Following my previous words of wisdom, i thought i would share this...

At TheMatrix.com if you enter the "High Bandwidth" version, on the top right there is a small yellow-like light. If you click on it an options menu will slide out. Beside the HTML version there is a button that if you click on it it will turn to a green button. Clicking on the button a ZION83N6 menu will drop down. If you click on the Access Panel slider, an On/Off switch panel will show up.

codes to follow...

Spoon BoyJun 19, 2003 at 2:40PM


If you click on the Access Panel slider, an On/Off switch panel will show up

This Binary Access panel has eight switches. Anybody know the code?

j03yKJun 19, 2003 at 2:51PM

check this site out. it has all the codes i think.

j03yKJun 19, 2003 at 2:54PM

well that didn't work... let's try again:

http://keanuweb.com/credits/movie.matrix.secrets.html

Spoon BoyJun 19, 2003 at 3:07PM


http://keanuweb.com/credits/movie.matrix.secrets.html

Epic! Thanks.

ps: I will go to the grave denying that I've ever benefitted from a site called keanuweb.com...

Brisvegas1Jun 19, 2003 at 6:20PM

Folks version 2.0 of Matrix Reloaded Explained is up at http://webpages.charter.net/btakle/matrix_reloaded.html .

Vesion 2.0 takes another look at the Architect scene and comes down on the side of neo being human after all... along with some other rather more suprising interpretations.

The promised strong attack essay dealing with the Matrix in a Matrix theory has still not arrived (in my opinion).

Anyway - go read it.

Actually, I think we should all emailthe author and petition them to come to this thread and read / contribute to it.

We have come up with a lot of stuff that he/she seems unwilling to deal with.... the theoretical framework that is being used seems to restrict the author from dealing with certain ideas. Notice the stringent avoidance of any technical/scientific analogies and any attempt to create a synthesis of the mythological/religious theories with technical/scientific ones.

Anyway - we should all contact the author and try and get a dialogue going. It would be a pretty good step towards generating the comprehensive FAQ / register of theories and speculations.

Speaking of which - it is definitely time to bring this page to a close and turn it into a static html document with no tex input at the bottom.

We need to move to a new thread at least - if not an entirely new threaded discussion style system.

Kottke.org has been most generous - but, for a single page, the bandwidth use has been staggering and I must admit - downloading an entire 1.3 meg of text every time I want to see what is the latest from Spoonboy et al is pretty inefficient.

Anyone have any thoughts as to where we should go etc.

http://i-took-the-red-pill.com/ looks like they might be set up for this sort of thing - what do you think .... maybe just a new thread here at kottke.org is all we need.

Cheers

DanJun 19, 2003 at 6:43PM

bell said:
In responce to Dan's comments, Fair enough mate though I dont have the time to read 700 odd messages and Ive just discovered this web page, and i didnt see a sign saying elitists only, you've got a complex fella...

While I appreciate the free psychoanalysis, it has no bearing on the fact in the most general sense it is not "elitist" to ask that people actually take the time to understand the context in which they are making statements prior to wasting others' time (and space, for that matter).

That said...

Bell said:
... the opening scene which starts with the matrix program language. Is in fact showing the drill heading toward zion, and the structure is in fact zion in computer code (this is neo's vision/dream). And not as I first thought the inner workings of the clock. So the first image tell's the audiance that zion is in the matrix.


I've not yet re-watched the movie to see this and prove you right, but if in fact that is what it shows, then wow, that's really fascinatiing. I'm not sure it clinches the matrix w/in a matrix idea, but it certainly lends it credence.

Brisvegas1 said:
Then in the end - because of his efforts everything works out and he realises that he was fulfilling the prophecy all along - even when he thought he wasnt.

I wonder if the same thing will happen this time?


An interesting thing to consider, and one of the stronger arguments I've seen thus far for the MwM (Matrix w/in Matrix) idea: the prophecy seems to have been propogated by the machines, it seems to be guiding people in much the same way it did before and seems in a way to supersede both Zion and the Matrix. Given that it comes from within a false universe, it seems difficult to believe that it would impact the real one unless the two are in fact intertwined. I hope they're not.

bell says:
if they can insert programs directly into the matrix (mouse/cypher programs whatever). why dont they create programs to aid them when in serious (or percieved serious bother) when they are in the matrix?

Agreed. This whole device seems shaky to me. I'm trying to remember ... when they arrive in the Matrix can they only arrive where a backdoor (phone) exists? I recall something along those lines from M1.

scott said:
As for the woman in red, I assumed that the Construct is like the Neb's development box, where they have full control to create anything(vs. the Matrix being the production box that they have only limited access to, to put it in webserver terms)

I totally agree here. And I question what some of you seem to be thinking here. To my knowledge, the scene in which the woman in red appeared was within a construct, not the Matrix itself. So too the Dojo fight and the roof-jump.

scott said:
so she and all the other people that appear in the M1 crowd scene are just sims and could not be "ported" to the Matrix. But then, who maintains the access control system that allows the Zionites to upload some things and not others? The Architect?

This is the problem with the device I was referring to earlier - it's just implausible ... or at least it hasn't been explained sufficiently to me.

kie said:
I dont think Choi and Dejour were programs at all

I agree completely. There is no evidence whatsoever that they have the ability to upload people into the Matrix. If they could it would logically follow that they would do it far, far more often and to much greater effect. Why risk a human when you can send in a program?

Spoon Boy
What do you think Trinity was referring to in the first scene when she asks "Is everything in place?" Is what in place?

Ummm, a plan?

Spoon Boy
Trinity is about to launch a script created by the Nebbers

Ummm, or send a page to someone? Or coordinate any number of different things.

Spoon Boy
as an attempt to get to Neo, and is checking in with Cypher to get the green light. "I'm all set. Are we ready to roll? Say 'when' and I'll hit ENTER." etc.

And for what reason are you assuming that she's launching a script? Wouldn't someone on the ship do that? Why would she need to go into the Matrix to launch a script that was written in the "real world?"

Spoon Boy
Note that I'm not sure if Choi was a program. However, it's pretty evident that Du Jour is:

Neo: "You're two hours late."

Choi (motioning to Du Jour): "It's her fault."


Well, it's pretty evident that Du Jour was late, but, uh, that's about it.

Spoon Boy
Du Jour is the program Trinity had to abort when she got interrupted by the fuzz. Check it out again with this in mind.

Thus far, you've provided absolutely no evidence to suggest that Du Jour is a program instead of just being a Zion-sympathizer/co-conspirator whom Trinity was attempting to contact via some elaborately laid out plan (cf. Matrix Reloaded, final 1/3rd).

Opening the door to adding people to the Matrix world unnecessarily introduces a whole lot of other issues. Ockam's razor.

Spoon BoyJun 19, 2003 at 7:01PM


Dan said, regarding Du Jour:

There is no evidence whatsoever that they have the ability to upload people into the Matrix. If they could it would logically follow that they would do it far, far more often and to much greater effect. Why risk a human when you can send in a program?


Upload people? Risk a human? That's the whole point; Du Jour was not a person.

And for what reason are you assuming that she's launching a script? Wouldn't someone on the ship do that? Why would she need to go into the Matrix to launch a script that was written in the "real world?"

She actually wouldn't necessarily be the one doing the launching. Indeed, perhaps it was Cypher on the Neb's job for that, and that's why she was calling in to see if they're ready to go. When the cops busted in, she was about to coerce Neo with thee ol' "Follow the white rabbit..." line, which would be reinforced with the Du Jour program.

How do you suppose Trinity new about the white rabbit?

Watch A Detective's Story on The Animatrix. You'll see that Trinity's style is largely rooted in Alice in Wonderland themes. The white rabbit has her name all over it.

Regarding the codes @ http://www.theanimatrix.com

Those in this thread will get a particular kick out of entering 11101000, which gets you into a set of essays covering the Philosophy of The Matrix.



DanJun 19, 2003 at 7:08PM

Idiot Dan said:
Opening the door to adding people to the Matrix world unnecessarily introduces a whole lot of other issues. Ockam's razor.

That's uh, Ockham's razor. With an "h."

Brisvegas1Jun 19, 2003 at 7:21PM

In fact - if you look at the mechanisc of it... things like the training program put the information into the zionists brains - they then hook their brains to the matrix.

The procedure does not seem to involve telling the matrix that the participants know kung fu- that part of the process seems to be mediated by the participants brains not the matrix.

This suggests that the code of the matrix is more a set of rules about how the "human" brain can interface with the construct.

There are certain rules that must be obeyed - for intstance people cant be teleported anywhere, things like buildings and vehicles cant be changed etc.

Only small amonts of information may be transferred in and out. (disks guns etc)

I tend to think of it this way - physical objects in the matrix are actually just representations for complex packets of information.

That is why they don't teleport from one place to another - if you want a disk in the matrix you have to bring it to the router/switch i.e landline that the zionists have direct broadcast access to.

Only the machines have the power to change the physical construct of the matrix on a mass level - replacing windows with walls in the first movie.

The zionists just bend the rules of the matrix - ie matrix tells the humans you are subject to gravity therefore you are falling, human brain ignores those signals and instead sends back the response - "no, i'm here.... no here.... no here... etc" and the matrix adapts to take into account this new information.

YOu actually see the same thing in a lot of lan games. Because of ping rates - the time it takes for information to travel back and forwards through the network - the various game clients get out of sync with each other and with the game server. for instance there is a model of the game world and you are travelling north up a corridor in it.... now the server and all the other networked clients have to wait untill your machine tells them that you are doing something different before they can know that it is happening... you have to send them a signal telling them what you are doing, turnig around, firing etc.

but in the time that it takes for your signal to reach the server and propagate to the other clients... you could allready be doing something else.

This is called lag and a lot of effort is required to deal with it.

Now in the matrix the machines will have to deal with the same problem... information getting processed in individual human brains has to be reintegrated into the matrix and propogated to all of the other client brains in that region of the matrix.

The zionists have found a way to take advantage of that fact by ignoring a proportion of the signals that they are recieving from the matrix and sending back rsponses that force the matrix to conclude that it has it wrong and that it has to update the simulation.

Neo, however, is progressing past these little bending of the rules towards true mastery of the system. The zionists already know enough of the programming rules of the matrix to be able to make programs for guns etc... we have seen the Mergovingian write far more sophisticated programs - but ones that still operate within the confines of the rules of the simulation...

I wonder if and when neo will rewrite the rules of the simulation itself?

DanJun 19, 2003 at 7:28PM

Spoon Boy said:
That's the whole point; Du Jour was not a person.


Um, that's what I'm getting at. She wasn't a person? What was she, a robot? In the Matrix, it's been pretty much proven beyond doubt that almost everyone has to follow the rules, Neo being the exception that proves THAT rule. In the "construct" you can get away with doing things however you wish (say, concrete that's like a trampoline). You can not, however, modify the Matrix's construct, unless you are one of a very select few ...

Spoon Boy said:
Upload people? Risk a human?

Uh, why then would they ever go into the Matrix themselves. Is there a rule that they can only write scripts that revolve around tattooed Goth girls?

Why can't they put together an awesome super-cyborg made out of adamantium with claws who happens to be eight feet-tall and moves like a computer program, instead of a (slower) human? Oh, and can he shoot laser beams out of his eyes? And be part-fish? And be eight feet tall (dammit, covered that already). How about he transforms into a giant white rabbit? Or maybe a pink bunny instead?

I raise the question again: if they can create people out of whole cloth why would they ever go into the Matrix themselves? Once they can play with the fabric of the Matrix - and the "... lots of guns" line remains troubling for this reason, too - why should they have any limitations whatsoever?

Spoon Boy said:
She actually wouldn't necessarily be the one doing the launching.
Hmmm, well, the fact that she was in fact doing so has been your argument all along, has it not?

Spoon Boy said:
Indeed, perhaps it was Cypher on the Neb's job for that, and that's why she was calling in to see if they're ready to go.

And why couldn't she have been checking in with Cypher on the "Neb" (ugh) to see how their real-person colleague/co-conspirator/friend/hiree was doing? They're in real-time contact through Cypher, so Trinity's delay would have the exact same impact on DJ's arrival.

Spoon Boy said:
When the cops busted in, she was about to coerce Neo with thee ol' "Follow the white rabbit..." line, which would be reinforced with the Du Jour program.

And why not with the Du Jour friend/hiree who was standing outside the door/building, waiting to move on Trinity/Cypher's signal?
Spoon Boy
How do you suppose Trinity new [sic] about the white rabbit?
Well, because Trinity/Cypher had arranged for Du Jour to be there and to have a tattoo of a white rabbit.

Spoon Boy
Watch A Detective's Story on The Animatrix. You'll see that Trinity's style is largely rooted in Alice in Wonderland themes. The white rabbit has her name all over it.

Awesome! So does that mean that Du Jour's tattoo itself could have been done by Trinity? Maybe they have a disc and uploaded a "tattooing" program into her head?

"I know tattoo!" (Henna or otherwise, it works either way)

Spoon BoyJun 19, 2003 at 7:29PM


Dan says:

That's uh, Ockham's razor. With an "h."


I think he'd forgive you on that one. After all, simplification was his thing. :)

Spoon BoyJun 19, 2003 at 7:32PM


Dan says:

Awesome! So does that mean that Du Jour's tattoo itself could have been done by Trinity? Maybe they have a disc and uploaded a "tattooing" program into her head?


If it makes it more believable for you, sure. You could also say that Mouse learned how to sew in order to program that red dress.

Brisvegas1Jun 19, 2003 at 8:15PM

in the draft scripts - both dujour and choi are zionists. (choi was also neo's neighbour when they both lived in the matrix)

but even if you ignore the draft script and go only from the movies - neo says "your two hours late"

This indicates that he was expecting them... now I don't think the zionist have th ability to rewrite peoples brains while they are part of the matrix - that would go against the entire of the films (especially in regard to the removal of choice).

Even the fact that neo doesn't say - "who the fuck are you" indicates that he knows who they are when they turn up at is door.

So I don't think they are programs.

As to whether they are zionists or not - I don't see how it matters.

Either they are, and they know how they fit into the scheme of things, or they are not - and the zionists just learnt all about them in their weeks of staking out neo and have incoporated them into their plans.

Rather more interesting is the fact that neo sells them disks not drugs - in what is obviously an illicit transaction. I wnat to know more about that....

If the people in the matrix have an underground culture of fake digital eperience that they use the way we use drugs - then it is very strong evidence for matrix in a matrix type ideas.

ie. in the matrix - they use illicit disks to enter constructs

meanwhile they are in a construct that they don't know about

meanwhile the zionists outside the construct pierce its skin and send their digital avatars into the matrix.

meanwhile they are in a construct they don't know about....


who knows - maybe it is just evidence that neo is part of some sort of hacking community and that he is selling illeagal hacking tools. Maybe choi and dujour need to engage in an evening of credit card fraud.

Come to think of it - that is a much simpler explanation.

Oh well, we will see in november.

Spoon BoyJun 19, 2003 at 8:43PM

Brisvegas1 says:

in the draft scripts - both dujour and choi are zionists


Do you know where to find these draft scripts? I've got both the 96 and 97 drafts. Neither says anything about Choi and Du Jour being Zionists. I do know that Choi was supposed to be a young Chinese guy rather than a redhead dude. Also, the white rabbit was originally not a tattoo, but a pin/medallion on Du Jour's black motorcycle jacket.

Also interestingly different in the 96 draft: Neo wasn't asleep, but eating Cap'n Crunch and hanging out in a chat room called "The Matrix", an exclusive web site where hackers hang out. Trinity actually contacts Neo in that chat room, with an audience of other users with names like Jackon, Timaxe, Superastic, and Fos4. Just a little trivia for you.

If the people in the matrix have an underground culture of fake digital eperience that they use the way we use drugs

It certainly appeared it could've been that. Otherwise, yes, it would probably be something along the lines of pirated software or hacked access codes of some sort.

Brisvegas1Jun 19, 2003 at 9:30PM

Actually you can read a version of the original script for the matrix here -

http://keanuweb.com/multimedia/display_kr3a5ce0.html

There are lots of little bits that seem to have so much more meaning now. I love the bit from the start of the film where Morpheus tells Neo that there is no point in releying on hope. A nice conterpoint to the Architects comments in reloaded.

Wow - It is going to be amazing doing all this again in november....

DanJun 19, 2003 at 9:30PM

Dan said:
Awesome! So does that mean that Du Jour's tattoo itself could have been done by Trinity? Maybe they have a disc and uploaded a "tattooing" program into her head?

Spoon Boy said:
If it makes it more believable for you, sure. You could also say that Mouse learned how to sew in order to program that red dress.

That's a not-particularly-good way to not answer my questions. Rather than reiterating them, I'll A: point you to the original post and B: sum up by asking is there anything about Du Jour that is more easily explained by her being a program than being a real person?

And I can't resist following up by asking again, C: why would the "Zionists" ever risk going into the Matrix themselves if they have free rein to create a presumably infinite variety of proxy people?

lofty (Adam Lofstedt)Jun 19, 2003 at 11:23PM

why would the "Zionists" ever risk going into the Matrix themselves if they have free rein to create a presumably infinite variety of proxy people?
As Spoon Boy mentioned earlier, it's probably simply a matter of time and resources. The woman in red dress was not the only person in that construct scene, so if they had the ability to program all those people in a construct, then they certainly could program proxy people into the real matrix, but do they really have the time or resources to code infinite varieties of proxy people?

As brisvegas mentioned, most likely certain fundamental rules would have to be obeyed in the matrix (except by the machines), so uploading millions of proxy people (or eight-feet tall people made of adamantium) would be an obvious anomaly to the system. I imagine that a few extra people here and there would go relatively unnoticed.

As to why they would even enter the matrix at all, I imagine they would have more control in the matrix going in themselves, as they probably don't have the resources or abilities to program the proxy people well enough to perform exceptionally in all circumstances. For a really important job, you would probably rather do it yourself than have a program you wrote that might have bugs do it for you. But they would be perfect for messengers...

I always thought the early character development in TM1 was lacking. How did they know neo was the one? I never got a sense for how long they had been watching neo, and what he did in the first place to get their attention. He was just some programmer, and didn't seem very special. If DJ was a program, then the explanation that the Zionists planted some watcher-programs to examine him and get a feel for his abilities seems to fit.

CoreyJun 19, 2003 at 11:43PM

kie says:
All that disk has is information on where to meet the Oracle. Im 100% in believing that was the only purpose of the disk.

Spoon Boy says
That makes one of us.


two actually

ZachJun 20, 2003 at 1:00AM

I feel it is necessary for me to post a comment here. Everyone else is doing it, right?

Spoon BoyJun 20, 2003 at 3:10AM


Bane and his buddy (Malachi?) were left in the Matrix for 36 hours to wait for the Oracle. It is during this time that Smith puddings Bane. Immediately prior to the pudding job, Bane hands Malachi an envelope, saying something of its importance.

Later on, in Zion, the dude knocks on Neo's door and gives him the floppy, telling him it's from the Oracle.

What was in the envelope?

Brisvegas1Jun 20, 2003 at 3:41AM

Uhm - the floppy?

No seriously - why is this a big deal for you? - The floppy you see is the standard unit of information transfer you see repeatedly in the film, the game and in the animatrix.

Can't quite remember what sort of discs neo used in the first movie when he was "dealing" with choi an dujour.

But it is pretty obvious that in the matrix - information can take on physical form and vice versa (ie. a physical form can become information)

So - when the osiris wants to leave a drop for Zion - they broadcast the information into the matrix, where it is encoded in the form of a disk.

In enter the matrix the disk is retrieved and brought to a physical location - a landline

There the physical form is capable of being read for what it is code / information. Remember - operators on the ships see the entire matrix in code form - but there are only certain locations that they can directly interact with it - insert or retrieve people from - that is where there is a landline.

That is why people are always racing from one side of town to another in the matrix, why trinity had to be dropped on a roof - rather than inside the building where she needs to turn off the power.

I just cant see the floppy being the tea room or some other bottled experience - neo must meet with the oracle in the matrix, because as she admits, she is a program - i.e. part of the matrix.

Given that the oracle has abandoned her old apartment - it seems to me that the most likely information is simply a set of instructions on which part of the matrix to come to and when to come etc.

If it is anything deeper than that - we are going to have to wait until November to find out.

Spoon BoyJun 20, 2003 at 4:30AM


Brisvegas1 says:
Uhm - the floppy?


The floppy was in the envelope?

Neo was given the floppy while in Zion. The envelope was in the Matrix. If the floppy was in the envelope, what does that tell us about Zion?

Brisvegas1Jun 20, 2003 at 5:15AM

Look - I believe that zion is going to pan out to be a matrix in a matrix. Ok

Sure there are other theories - some of them are even mine.

But I don't see what any of this has to do one way or another with the disk.

When you send an email - there isn't an envelope flying through cyberspace, when you get an attachment - there isn't really a paperclip.

Envelopes disks whatever - when you are in the matrix they are things you use to cart bits of information around. Same thing in zion.

The fact that they go from an informational representation of a physical object - to actually being downloaded onto a physical object shouldn't present any problem to anyone who has ever downloaded a file off the internet and burnt it to a disk.

It doesn't make any difference if zion is in the real world or just another matrix. Or to put it another way - the existence / transfer of the disk is not evidence one way or the other if zion is in the real world or not.

Is this your point?... or am I just not getting it?

bellJun 20, 2003 at 7:00AM

dujuir and choi roles are the same as all other roles and events that take place in M1, every thing is contrived in order for Mr anderson to buy into the premise that is put forward to him by morpheous(though of course morpheous and co are oblivious), though the architect is pulling all the strings so to speak (this is endorsing the premise that zion is in the matrix or a meta matrix, another part of the construct). Everything that happens within the matrix is designed primarily to guide or slightly nudge neo to the source, as it would have happened in the previous 5 matrixs. The scene in which neo is being interigated by smith opens with the architects screen's (Big Brother styley) the architect is monitoring the progress of the anomily. In m2 you see on the architects screens highlighting various stages of neos development from m1.

bellJun 20, 2003 at 7:18AM

...m1 has smith showing signs of deviating from his assignment,when he unplugs and asks morpheous for the codes to destroy zion in order for him (smith) to escape. Where will smith escape to, yet another part of the matrix? Codes for zion i assume are neccessary to breach another part of the construct. smith it would seem has another agenda right from the beggining of m1, by design i suspect. smith is designed by the architect in order to fullfil his eventual role which is to destroy the matrix, as their are millions of smiths in revolutions, smith is the shadow the oracle refers to in revolutions that neo must destory; as the oracle further states. Though i do go along with a few theories put forward that neo and smith are sides of the same coin, and because smith is different in version 6, could the destruction of neo and smith (the anomoly) as surely one will not exist without the other change the outcome. Could this culminate in the cycle ending and the architect achieving his goal of 100% acceptance from all humans in the matrix.

bellJun 20, 2003 at 7:51AM

...as Trinity is the main tool used by the architect to manipulate the path of the one, was she nurtured for this role or is she a program? suggestions...

...Ive just watched second ren pt2, and i noticed that at the end after the nuclear bomb has gone of in the white house (or whatever building it is), the next scene shows a child playing in the snow, with desimated building in the background, then agents appear and the child is in fact in the matrix. This suggests to me that the entire zion archive is fabricated in this instance, as it would be, in order to sustain the belief that all inhabitants of zion are free. anyone?

bellJun 20, 2003 at 8:13AM

admittedly this is a bit of a stretch, but never the less an interesting idea (though perhaps an idea that has arisen, ive not read all 700 comments). What if neo (or mr anderson for the matter) is the only thing that is real and the whole thing is an elaborate induction process/compatibility process used by the machines for each human that is rigged up to the matrix mainframe...suggestions?

Though admittedly that would not be satisfying cinematically.

bellJun 20, 2003 at 8:15AM

also what is the relevence of 101 (binary for 5), it is the number of neo's appartment and also the number of merovingians place?

siddarta gouthamaJun 20, 2003 at 8:29AM

OK, there's a lot of confusion rising again on the following issues: Matrix within matrix theory, dujour being a program or not, the floppy etc...

As for the floppy, it does NOT contain the meeting with the Oracle, otherwise so would the burly brawl. It just contains the directions and location, or something to load up, when Neo is hooked up.

Matrix within Matrix: I don't believe it, for a whole number of reasons that have already been posted here (so I won't repeat them). Additional reason is that the Wachowskis would get away with the cliffhanger too easily, and let 's face it, the bro's are not easy. The fact of the greenish hole drilling squiddies being a clue for Zion being in the matrix too? It might as well be the actual message of the Osiris (Animatrix) for warning Zion. After all, the Osiris crew had seen the whole and might've just captured it in a file and transmitted to Zion.

And then... Dujour being program. I always have found it very strange that the Zion people (Trin and Morph in this case) could predict what was about to happen with the white rabbit. One oracle is already enough.
It kept troubling me until Spoon Boy came up with the genious hypothesis that Dujour was manipulated by the Neb'crew (and yes maybe as a program).
If you look closely to the monitor when Trinity is about to be busted by the cops, you see the same headlines appearing as when later Neo was asleep at his computer. So she actually is watching Neo and will be transmitting some lines to him, and yes in the meantime, a simple program as in the construct room might be loaded into the matrix. And yes she was 2 h late, maybe that's the time that Trin was kicking ass, escaping and reloading in the meantime. "Is everything in place?" might point towards just something more than just looking at Neo's monitor.
The Trin-Cypher talk in the opening scene happens at 13:24 and when Neo wakes up at the computer it must be evening because he wasn't planning of going with Choi as he "has work tomorrow".

Some problems with this hypothesis:
Trin:"I felt like taking another shift". What are they waiting for, doing these shifts? If Choi only comes in the evening, why bother being there and doing shifts? Or are they just waiting for Choi till he wants to pick up Dujour and leave for Neo's...?

Choi appears to know Dujour , so if a program she would have been in contact with him several times before (or perhaps she's not a program, but being manipulated by Trin.)
Also, in the opening talk, cypher says: "You weren't supposed to relieve me." Trin:"Yeah, but I felt like taking another shift. "

It appears Cypher was in the Matrix and he's being replaced by Trin, who called him up. But then as Trin says:"I've gotta hang up" it's more likely that she is in the matrix (about to be busted).

I'm confused again. Anyone has ideas on this?

bellJun 20, 2003 at 8:33AM

one other point of interest in m1, when neo wakes up in the pod and and to his horror wakes from a perceived dream state (though we no other wise) a sentinal grabs him by the neck, scans his face(we see neo's face on the sentinal monitor for 15-20 seconds, suggetsing thought process). The sentinal recognises neo and lets him go, as the sentinal is preprogammed to do so...

siddarta gouthamaJun 20, 2003 at 8:34AM

Bell said:
also what is the relevence of 101 (binary for 5), it is the number of neo's appartment and also the number of merovingians place?


This one comes from Mr. Nosuch
The One #1 (to us base 10 humans) = 000 = Binary 0
The One #2 = 001 = Binary 1
The One #3 = 010 = Binary 2
The One #4 = 011 = Binary 3
The One #5 = 100 = Binary 4
The One #6 = 101 = Binary 5 = Neo

siddarta gouthamaJun 20, 2003 at 8:41AM

Bell said:
The sentinal recognises neo and lets him go, as the sentinal is preprogammed to do so...


I guess, there must be an interface between the machine and the AI of the Matrix, they see he's the future One, thus flush him 'stead of liquifying him.

bellJun 20, 2003 at 8:41AM

siddarta, yes but the green scibbles are part of neo's vision, neo's unconscious mind is alerting him to the truth. That trinity's life is in danger and also that zion is part of the matrix. I think the whole first scene thing is irrelevent, as all involved are manipulated, they serve their purpose , their purpose being to guide the one to the source.

bellJun 20, 2003 at 8:47AM

i am aware of the significance of 101 regarding neo, but why is 101 the number of the merovingians place?

bellJun 20, 2003 at 9:16AM

neo has visited the architect 6 times, when neo meets the architect, the architect says, "hope human's fundamental flaw and greatest strength" neo says"you should hope we wont meet again", architect says " we wont", therefore the architect has openly admitted that the cycle ends with version 6. As the architect is aware that what neo course of action will achieve the ultimate goal, which was not reached in versions 1-5...

newtJun 20, 2003 at 9:42AM

Getting back to Neo in the pod in M1. This scene has always bothered me. We are told that the machines "liquify the dead and feed them to the living." Bell's explanation for this not happening to Neo is that the machine's recognise him as the one and he is flushed. Why then were Morpheus and Trinity also flushed? I guess this could be explianed by arguing that they have a role to play in freeing "the one". Perhaps all "freed minds are flushed" and only those who die are liquified. On this basis it seems I for one am disappointed in myself for not recognising sooner that freedom from the Matrix is all part of the machines plans.

drewJun 20, 2003 at 9:47AM

THE MATRIX RELOADED: THE ABRIDGED SCRIPT™ By Rod Hilton:

INT. WELL-LIT, NON-NOIR WHITE ROOM

KEANU enters a white room, the walls of which are covered
in monitors. A chair spins around to reveal THE EXPLAINER.

KEANU REEVES
Who are you?

THE EXPLAINER
I am The Explainer. I designed the
matrix screenplay. Unable to
decently explain the convoluted plot
well, I have resorted to putting
myself here in the final act and
having you ask all of the questions
the audience wants to ask.
(dramatic pause)
You must begin by asking your own
questions then gradually switch to
asking those of the audience, in
order to not make this scene any
more awkward than it already is.
Concordantly, while your first
question may be the most pertinent,
you may or may not realize it is
also the most irrelevant.

KEANU REEVES
Why am I here?

THE EXPLAINER
Many years ago, shortly before the
success of Speed, you sold your soul
to the devil in exchange for a
promise of notoriety that your
piss-poor acting skills do not
deserve. This series is the
actualization of this promise.

KEANU REEVES
What was the Osiris? And who was
that kid in zion who kept pestering
me?

THE EXPLAINER
You will find the answers to these
questions by purchasing The
Animatrix, a collection of nine
animated shorts from some of Anime's
top directors.

KEANU REEVES
Alright. Well, what was that crap
Glora said about vampires and
werewolves? And how did Jada Pinkett
Smith get to Laurence Fishburne
during the car chase? And what the
hell happened during the power plant
takeover climax that-wasn't?

THE EXPLAINER
You will find the answers to those
questions by purchasing the Enter
The Matrix game, available for
Windows, Playstation2, Xbox, and
Gamecube. Enter the Matrix features
awesome gunplay and spectacular
martial arts that bend the rules of
the Matrix. This game isn't just
set in the Matrix universe--it's an
integral part of the experience,
with a story that weaves in and out
of The Matrix Reloaded. Enter the
Matrix is the story behind the
story.

KEANU REEVES
Fine! Then tell me this, what the
hell is with Hugo Weaving saying he
and I have some special connection?
And how come I can control machines
in the real world? And will we win
the war if I don't choose the door
to my right?

THE EXPLAINER
You will find the answers to these
questions when you watch The Matrix
Revolutions, coming later in 2003.

KEANU REEVES
I hate you.

THE EXPLAINER
Perhaps you should drink more
Powerade.

KEANU REEVES
Just answer me one question. We're
not going to find out that the real
world is in another matrix, are we?

THE EXPLAINER
Christ I hope not.

siddarta gouthamaJun 20, 2003 at 9:51AM

Bell said:
i am aware of the significance of 101 regarding neo, but why is 101 the number of the merovingians place?


The name of the restaurant, Merv is in, is called "Le vraie" meaning "The true (one)", which is a direct reference to the One.
101 in Merv's place is simply the binary analogue for "Le vraie".
Spoon Boy, do you agree on this one?

I also believe that Neo is the first One to choose the left door. But then again, considering the Ones to be different persons, the architect won't see the one back, whether there's a reload of the matrix or not. (I still haven't figured out though why that Neo guy from the monitor counts his fingers 3, 4, when the architect says he's the sixth one. Just counting already seems ridiculous to me, disregarding the fact wheter we see other Ones or the possibilities. Or is it just me, who finds the counting shot in the monitor a little bit childish for the "One"?

bellJun 20, 2003 at 10:27AM

in responce to siddarta, i think that all the neo's on the architects screens could be fragmented thoughts, neo's internal monalogue perhaps. And when the camera focuses on any singular screen and passes into it to make it real, it represents the verbal/chosen reaction that neo makes.

bellJun 20, 2003 at 10:42AM

the matrix may be borrowing from 'star trek :the slow motion picture', maybe it is all about the machine/construct/architect attaining quatum consciouness, in order to evolve as v'ger did, and attain the ability to leap beyound logic, the system simply seeks imagination. The matrix does seem to have creative boundaries(mostly neo classical), and fusing with the human element would help break down these boundaries.

siddarta gouthamaJun 20, 2003 at 10:48AM

Bell,
I would like to refer to the screens discussions that we 've had on this thread last week. Just find it and read it above. There's very interesting argumentation and hypothesis going on. I just thought you might find this interesting to read.

RecordstyleJun 20, 2003 at 11:01AM

Just another tidbit i found interesting in Reloaded...

When Trinity taps into the matrix to shut off the emergency over-ride in the end, did anyone look at the actual monitor type/info on it? If you look closely a line or two above where she is overriding the password, it says something about

Z10N0101 and a password, and some sort of power grid shut off or something like that. the whole Z1ON0101 rang a bell...anyone else notice it? comments?

(my two cents on the matrix idea... the 3 movies will revolve around the Spoon. the spoon wasn't real, and forced Neo to "realize" more than he was aware of, the spoon in the second one was a reminder/perhaps spark to make Neo realize/be aware of even more...(ie - the end where his body collapses, but his mind/powers are stronger since he feels the squiddies), who knows what'll happen in the third, but i wouldn't be surprised to see the Spoon for one final time in the third.

Also, I think Zion is a digital realm, not a human realm per se... Neo is realizing this, just as Smith is realizing more and more...leading to the Smith vs Neo finale "this ends tonight" rainy preview...

again - if you are still up for watching Reloaded again, keep an eye out for the computer terminal and the text on it...

Z10N0101.... hmm.... and the spoon? hmm....

-----you dont know someone until you fight them-------

siddarta gouthamaJun 20, 2003 at 11:14AM

Recordstyle,
the Z10N0101 has been discussed above. You may find it interesting. It's on the thread.

bellJun 20, 2003 at 11:21AM

in response to recordstyle, well spotted mate, Z10N0101. Z - zion, 10 - 01 anybody refering to second ren pt1, 0101 is binary for 5 aforementioned and as siddarta pointed out to me refers to the one/neo. The spoon? is it the same spoon as in m1 perhaps. Signifying to neo as i think you mentioned that the same rules apply in zion as they did in the matrix...

Jay,The OneJun 20, 2003 at 11:55AM

Guyz,I believe we are realy thinking too much about the final part because there is not much to think about,those who have played the enter the matrix game and has met the oracle would know what exactly happened to Neo,in the revolution trailor also its quite evident that most of theories about de jour or choi,or the candy given by the oracle as the red pill or many other tiny things are not correct! there is no complex theory.
By the way,this goes to the guy who wrote that sick screenplay betwee Keanu and "the explainer" man you knwo what people like you make me ad the whole world sick because "YOU SUCK" Keanu Reeves is a great looking and acting guy and Matrix is not a complexed film if you have brains and understand english and if you don't then I guess you should have never watched the film

Spoon BoyJun 20, 2003 at 1:16PM


Brisvegas1 says:

Envelopes disks whatever - when you are in the matrix they are things you use to cart bits of information around. Same thing in zion.


I understand the functional purpose of disks and envelopes. In this situation, I'm regarding the floppy as an inanimate object crossing over from the Matrix to Zion. If the floppy given to Neo was in the envelope in the Matrix, that would be the first time we've seen an object in the Matrix manifested physically in Zion (self images excluded). For those of us questioning the nature of Zion (i.e. simulated vs. real), this seems worthy of exploration. Bottom line, if it was the same floppy in both cases, as you suggest, it supports the idea that Zion is a sim. If Zion is not a sim, then the floppy in the envelope couldn't have been the same object given to Neo.

bell says:

The spoon? is it the same spoon as in m1 perhaps.


Suggesting another possible cross-over of an object to Zion. Who knows.

siddarta says:

The name of the restaurant, Merv is in, is called "Le vraie" meaning "The true (one)", which is a direct reference to the One.
101 in Merv's place is simply the binary analogue for "Le vraie".
Spoon Boy, do you agree on this one?


Cool find on "the true one" translation. Assuming your translation of Le vraie is accurate, there's certainly a connection between it and the idea of the "one". As for "the true one" being related to 101 specifically, there's nothing that's jumping out @ me on that. We've seen that 101 is binary for 5, or the sixth in a sequence, or the value 100+1. btw, the 101 in the Mero's, was that the floor #?

I still haven't figured out though why that Neo guy from the monitor counts his fingers 3, 4, when the architect says he's the sixth one. Just counting already seems ridiculous to me, disregarding the fact wheter we see other Ones or the possibilities. Or is it just me, who finds the counting shot in the monitor a little bit childish for the "One"?


I don't know if they were counting as much as they were reacting skeptically to what they were hearing. The fingers helped illustrate that.

Re: the first scene in TM1 with the Trin/Cypher conversation and its relationship to the Du Jour scene: I'm confused again. Anyone has ideas on this?

The 1996 draft of the screenplay has more details in that conversation. Trinity checks in with Cypher, who tells her that the "target left work @ 5:01pm, stopped @ 7-11 for a six pack of beer and a box of Cap'n Crunch, and went home." So we know that Cypher and Trinity are monitoring Neo with the intention of making contact. It's also notable that Neo isn't the first person they've been targeting. They're ultimately looking for The One, and Neo is just the next guy on their list of possible candidates.

It makes sense to me that Du Jour was a tool used by the Nebbers to make contact with Neo for two main reasons:

1. The "coincidence" of Trinity knowing about the white rabbit, along with synchronization of the "Knock knock Neo..." line with the actual knocking on the door.

2. The two hour delay of Choi (because of Du Jour) combined with Trinity's interruption.

Remember that a person can't just be safely yanked out of the Matrix w/o consent; they must explicitly choose to have their eyes opened to the truth. Therefore, in order to get to Neo (or anybody for that matter), they must play off his own natural curiosities. How would you do this if you were the Nebbers?

A plan that makes sense to me would be what we see in the opening scenes of TM1. Track Neo. Determine when he'll be home. Toy with him. Send him a computer message synchronized with a knock on his door. To bake his noodle even more, make an obvious and undeniable contextual connection between the computer message and what he sees @ the door. A white rabbit'll work nicely for this. A mindjob like this would make him a helpless victim of his own curiosity; he'd *have* to follow the white rabbit if he was a candidate to be The One, as The One is a problem-solver by definition.

Also, if you plan to watch that opening scene again, review this first.

btw, I'm probably gonna be setting up some multi-threaded forums sooner than later, including a Matrix one. I'll post an invite when ready.

And lastly, in light of all the goofy Mickey Mousing we've been doing with this 101 business, I think you'll find this one amusing in a "rabbit hole" sort of way:

http://www.101.com

DanJun 20, 2003 at 1:41PM

Jay,The One says:
Keanu Reeves is a great looking and acting guy and Matrix is not a complexed film if you have brains and understand english and if you don't then I guess you should have never watched the film

Wow. There is no just no possible way that you wrote "is not a complexed film" and then accused others of being stupid and having a poor grasp of the English language in the same sentence.

That's... that's... that's ... well, it's just "unpossible."

DanJun 20, 2003 at 2:25PM

newt said:
We are told that the machines "liquify the dead and feed them to the living." Bell's explanation for this not happening to Neo is that the machine's recognise him as the one and he is flushed. Why then were Morpheus and Trinity also flushed? I guess this could be explianed by arguing that they have a role to play in freeing "the one". Perhaps all "freed minds are flushed" and only those who die are liquified.

There is absolutely no reason to believe that the "liquification" process must occur inside the pod. Why can't it occur after people are "flushed" into the tunnel? These kinds of assumptions are the most difficult things about this thread: people keep assuming that since something *could* mean something, it *does* mean something. For example, see Bell's post today

Bell said:"when neo wakes up in the pod ... a sentinal grabs him by the neck, scans his face(we see neo's face on the sentinal monitor for 15-20 seconds, suggetsing thought process). The sentinal recognises neo and lets him go, as the sentinal is preprogammed to do so..."

Uh, what? So because scanning his face "suggested" a thought process, the sentinel's "flushing" him turns into "letting him go?" And where do we get "preprogrammed?" Nothing we saw proved anything of the sort. The robot picked him up, saw his face, flushed him. That's fact. Anything beyond that is speculation, and Bell's is simply one of an essentially infinte number of guesses.

On the other hand, much of the 101 stuff is speculative - everything will be - but well supported. It's a guess, but an understandably-made one. There's a difference between demonstrable theories and wild speculation.

bell said:

The spoon? is it the same spoon as in m1 perhaps.

Spoon Boy said:

Suggesting another possible cross-over of an object to Zion. Who knows.

Equally explicable the other way around. Why couldn't the kid in the Oracle's room have been a "freed" mind who had been playing with the spoon in Zion and uploaded it in the same way the "guns ...lots of guns" transfer occurred (which I still hate). Again, Ockham's razor.

As to the envelope discussion, I'm keeping out of that one. All I know is that there was the one envelope that Smith dropped off with his earpiece in it (which never left the Matrix) and that there was another one which showed up later (but I don't recall from whom and am too lazy to re-watch).

Also, Spoon Boy, I take it from your last post (briefly quoted above), that you've acknowledged that all that was required was a plan and collusion/synchronization with others in the Matrix for it to occur, as opposed to the proxy people idea. If not, I'd like to read your answers to my twice-asked questions above.

As to "'Le Vraie' = ''The True One'" idea, not sure where you're getting that from. It sort of means "The True," but in truth (ha!) "le/la verite" is directly translatable.

I'd like to see a citation that proves otherwise.

parapesaJun 20, 2003 at 2:50PM

the poster for Revolutions says: everything that has a beginning has an end.
just thought i'd add the thought in. My reaction: no onion skin. Even if there is one, it stops here. Neo is going to halt everything at it's tracks. And Spoon Boy, if the ending to revolutions is anything like you said: "wake up neo" then i'm going to travel across europe and the atlantic, knock on your door and personally kneel in awe infront of you, and then i'd say i'm sorry. [i'm not one to admit being wrong, so you can imagine how emotionally and mentally taxing that would be!]

Spoon BoyJun 20, 2003 at 3:18PM


Dan says:

Why couldn't the kid in the Oracle's room have been a "freed" mind who had been playing with the spoon in Zion and uploaded it in the same way the "guns ...lots of guns" transfer occurred


"Uploaded" the spoon from Zion to the Matrix? As if the guns were "transferred" from Zion to the Matrix?

We're looking @ this from two totally different levels of understanding, so reviewing your other questions would only lead to unfocused and counterproductive conversation.

I don't believe the guns, red dress, dojo, sunglasses, leather pants, or anything else in the virtual realm were "uploaded" or "transferred" from Zion as you suggest. These elements were "written" by Zionists/Nebbers through programming means. Perhaps they're even pre-programmed elements the Nebbers grabbed from the Matrix (as we often do by downloading useable files from the Internet to facilitate our webdev needs).

As a web developer, if I program a simple cgi script from scratch in order to take the contents of an input form and enter its information into a database, I am "writing" that script using programming tools (hardware, software, and a computer language). I am not "uploading" it, or "transferring" it from the non-digital realm. The script is a digital entity; it's senseless to try to imagine that script existing outside of a computer.

Spoon BoyJun 20, 2003 at 3:32PM


And Spoon Boy, if the ending to revolutions is anything like you said: "wake up neo" then i'm going to travel across europe and the atlantic, knock on your door and personally kneel in awe infront of you, and then i'd say i'm sorry.

I'll leave the light on for you. :)

Seriously, I'm not interested in being an evangelist or trying to prove anything. I'm only interested in having fun brainstorming a great set of thought-provoking flicks, taking what we know about them, and imagining what the coolest possible ending could be. My proposed ending is nothing more than an example of my taste in art.

siddarta gouthamaJun 20, 2003 at 3:52PM

Dan said
As to "'Le Vraie' = ''The True One'" idea, not sure where you're getting that from. It sort of means "The True," but in truth (ha!) "le/la verite" is directly translatable
Spoon boy said:
As for "the true one" being related to 101 specifically, there's nothing that's jumping out @ me on that

Sorry Spoon Boy that I wasn't explicit enough. "Le vraie" in French means "the True One". It is so that in France and a lot of other non English speaking countries, Neo is not only referred to as the One, but also as the True One, but then in this foreign language (e.g. for you and some others) this True One is only one word: e.g. in French, Neo is called "Le Vraie", in Dutch he is called "De Ware" or "De Ene" all meaning "The True One" or "The One"

Brisvegas1Jun 20, 2003 at 4:51PM

spoonboy - this is not the first time the zionists have chosen to represent information by the same form in the matrix that it will take in zion.

eg. the disk dropped off by the osiris - picked up in enter the matrix and becomes basis for descussion in reloaded.

I'm sure there are other examples too.

I'm beginning to suspect that you are being purposely obtuse on this one... ;)

Spoon BoyJun 20, 2003 at 5:44PM


this is not the first time the zionists have chosen to represent information by the same form in the matrix that it will take in zion.

If you're still referring to the floppy/envelope thing:

The envelope was seen in the Matrix world. The floppy was seen in the Zion world. You've suggested that the Zion floppy (not a representation of it) was contained in the Matrix envelope. There's an interdimensional problem there.

If the envelope was given to Bane from the Oracle (a program), I don't see where exactly the Zionists have "chosen to represent" this information in the form of an envelope. They weren't the author.

No proposed answer necessary; just pondering.

DanJun 20, 2003 at 7:41PM

Dan said: Why couldn't the kid in the Oracle's room have been a "freed"
mind who had been playing with the spoon in Zion and uploaded it in the same
way the "guns ...lots of guns" transfer occurred

Spoon Boy
"Uploaded" the spoon from Zion to the Matrix? As if the guns were
"transferred" from Zion to the Matrix?


In retrospect, I was totally wrong about this. Wouldn't have made any sense.
Wasn't thinking clearly.

Spoon Boy
We're looking @ this from two totally different levels of understanding, so
reviewing your other questions would only lead to unfocused and
counterproductive conversation.


While I'm delighted that you'd deign to descend from your ivory tower - or is it bully pulpit? - and speak to the rest of us, I question how our "levels of understanding" differ. I'd love to know how answering questions that poke holes in your pet theories would lead to anything more counterproductive or unfocused than your overzealous determination to make points in spite of either a paucity of evidence or in fact evidence to the contrary.

That said, I was wrong about the spoon thing. But let's not go off on a tangent... just yet.

Spoon Boy said:
I don't believe the guns, red dress, dojo, sunglasses, leather pants, or anything else in the virtual realm were "uploaded" or "transferred" from Zion as you suggest. These elements were "written" by Zionists/Nebbers through programming means.
Fine, so you've re-operationalized your terms. Now tell me again what evidence there is that the Zionists have any capacity to write programs (but not upload them, of course) that can interact with the code in the Matrix. And again, tell me why this precludes them creating superhuman proxies and using them in their stead. That's the fourth time I've asked, I believe? As before, I'll note that the
appearance (somehow) of those guns and other materials is problematic and ill-explained.

To make sure I'm on your "level": do you believe that the "dojo" took place inside the Matrix itself, or inside of an onboard dev box, since we're speaking geek? And the jumping scene? And the red dress scene?

What I really want to know is that assuming you think the red dress woman is in the Matrix itself, or could be placed therein - as DJ apparently was - why the Zionists seem able to write programs of completely realistic pretty girls, but not soldiers. Explain that to me and I'll cease harping on this point.

Spoon Boy said:
Perhaps they're even pre-programmed elements the Nebbers grabbed from the Matrix (as we often do by downloading useable files from the Internet to facilitate our webdev needs).

What evidence is there to support this that wouldn't support the silly "proxy soldiers idea?"

I am not "uploading" it, or "transferring" it from the non-digital realm. The script is a digital entity; it's senseless to try to imagine that script existing outside of a computer.

Spoon Boy said:
As a web developer, if I program a simple cgi script from scratch in order to take the contents of an input form and enter its information into a database, I am "writing" that script using programming tools (hardware, software, and a computer language). I am not "uploading" it, or "transferring" it from the non-digital realm. The script is a digital entity; it's senseless to try to imagine that script existing outside of a computer.

Hmmm. Not sure how this is even related, but as to your not "uploading" or "transferring" your script - I thought you were "programming" it? Meaning you know, typing on keys with your fingers? But perhaps you have an extra-special web developer keyboard which allows your keystrokes, unlike mine, to exist exclusively in the digital realm? And since it's a digital entity, it would of course run in perpetuity, regardless of your computer being on or off, right?

gezJun 20, 2003 at 8:04PM

Okay -

let's clarify a couple of things to see if I've got it right -

The envelope that Bane's pal has contains info about the Oracle, he is then 'emailed' (when he answers the phone) back to the real world and the envelope is an 'attachment' that is downloaded with him ?
Yeah?
It is then transfered to Disc and delivered to Neo.

Now about the 5 other Neos on the screens in the Architect's room - this is still puzzling, I thought I had decided that these were just various potential reactions that Neo is thinking before answering.
BUT - some of them say things like "4 before me?" "3 before me?" etc.
WHY would they be thinking those thoughts? It does sem to suggest that those other Neos are previous ONEs?
Confused *sigh*
However those other Neos act in a very childish way, very different to our Neo....

I can't believe Zion is just another Matrix simply because they spend so much time establishing it's realness in the movie.

Likewise I don't believe it'll all be a dream because Neo and Trinity's love is so incredibly profound, they are REAL.

However something the Oracle said sticks in my mind more than other phrase , she says something like "you've already made the choice, you came here to understand WHY."
Thats a real brain twister.
Has he done it all before? Is he just reliving it to understand it?

Aaauugghh!! Actually I think her remark is incredibly profound, it relates to all of us philosophically - we've already made the choice, now we need to understand why.
I have a baked noodle.

This is one incredible film.

Finally - when I heard the architect say Neo is the 6th I immediately thought of 6 of 1, which was a phrase in The Prisoner, TV show, which appeared on a TV in M1.

gez

Spoon BoyJun 20, 2003 at 8:17PM


Dan,

Your aimlessly argumentative rantings invoke images of some idiot in a clown costume standing on a street corner in front of a used waterbed store screaming @ passing cars trying to get their attention, only to get offended when somebody's considerate enough to wave back.

You'd find this discussion pretty entertaining if you weren't so busy looking for ways to be a victim. Lighten up and have fun with it.

DanJun 20, 2003 at 8:32PM

Spoon Boy,

Seriously, I'm not interested in being an evangelist .

Really?

DanJun 20, 2003 at 8:36PM

Spoon Boy said:
Your aimlessly argumentative rantings invoke images of some idiot in a clown costume standing on a street corner in front of a used waterbed store screaming @ passing cars trying to get their attention, only to get offended when somebody's considerate enough to wave back.

Quite an image, that.

Now will you answer my questions (I'm asking for the 101 time now, so it must mean something!)?

Brisvegas1Jun 20, 2003 at 9:08PM

On envelopes and robots: Or - why it takes brains to make the matrix work.

Spoonboy says:
If the envelope was given to Bane from the Oracle (a program), I don't see where exactly the Zionists have "chosen to represent" this information in the form of an envelope. They weren't the authors.



Look - by Zionists I was also including the oracle.... as collectively they seem to be the only group that has to worry about piercing the boundary of the matrix to communicate.

I'm going to try and clear up any confusion that remains about "what things in the matrix are" and answer some questions like - "why can't they just send in giant robots"

The point is that "physical" objects in the matrix are just information.... This is something that has never been contested by any character in any part of the franchise...

The entire basis of the movie that there is matrix code and that this code represents a simulation of a reality, a shared illusion.

Now in the real world - the information that controls the representation of the matrix is portrayed as green matrix code... small fragments of it are recognisable - eg. Cypher: "a blonde, a redhead....." etc.

Others require some sort of interpreter - for instance when the operator pulls up the plans of a building in order to give the Zionists directions wen they are running around inside the matrix.

Somehow the Zionists are able to "broadcast information into the matrix" They can only do this from certain points in the "real world" - what they call broadcast level. This seems to indicate some sort of weakness in the machine architecture at these points.

Now it would appear that the network topology of the "real world" is reflected somehow in the matrix - when people jack in they don't just appear anywhere - they appear at land lines (the ringing phones) and they can only exit from the matrix from these points too.

Small streams of information can appear to be sent from anywhere within the matrix - the Zionists use "mobile phones" that allow them to have conversations with their shipboard operators (and incidentally - other Zionists in the matrix). These mobile communications, however, seem to be bandwidth limited. - no vision, just sound, and no extra weapons or anything just knowledge.

Now I'm guessing is that part of the reason for this is the fact that the Zionists brains aren't actually in the matrix network - they are onboard the ship and only temporarily plugged in....

This is how come new skills are able to be uploaded into their brains but things like physical objects (guns, vehicles etc) cant be created in the matrix. ie. There is a direct connection to the brain - so knowledge can be inserted into it - the new skill information is not transmitted via the matrix and into the brain - it goes straight into the brain.

Once the brain has been upgraded with the new information - it respond differently to the signals that it is receiving from the matrix and it can send back the appropriate response.

This indicates that the brain state is not stored in the matrix... the matrix does not know if you know kung fu or not, only your brain does.

What would seem to be going on here is that when the broadcast is made from the ship to the matrix - is that a description of the initial "matrix state" of the individual brain is sent - not just the establishment of a communication signal.

Once that initial "matrix state" (ie. how many guns you have, what you are wearing etc) is established - you are stuck with operating by the rules of the matrix, to a greater or lessor degree, until you jack out again.

So the rules for "physical" / inanimate objects are controlled by the matrix - but the rules for knowledge and representation are controlled by your brain.

You see this theme over and over again in the film... where the operator is aware of the state of the system - but can't do anything but relay that information to the Zionists running around inside the matrix.

For example - you are stuck in a second story office. Solution - operator tells you to wait until a truck which is passing by is in the right position underneath you. And then you jump.

The operator didn't create the truck - they just interpreted the information they see and give you the right information at the right time.

This is the whole point of jacking into the matrix. You can’t actually interact with the matrix unless you are part of it.

The digital avatars in the matrix are not “tele-presence robots” or sophisticated programs - they are representations of “matrix sub processing units” – BRAINS.

Brains are where the calculations and processing of the matrix on a local level takes place (although we have heard about the centralised entity of the machine mainframe – we haven’t yet seen it, nor do we have any information on how it operates)

The girl in the red dress, and all the people wondering around in the construct would be useless in the matrix – because they don’t have brains – they are just dumb scripted bots – they are hollow / empty.

In order for them to be any use at all – the Zionist would have to develop some sort of artificial intelligence for them… and we all know how much luck humans had with that the last time they tried that.

So say you want to talk to the oracle - either she comes to you or you go to her.

You can’t send a robot - your dumb scripted bot falls over at the first set of steps - at the first bustling crowd.

So you have to send humans to go see the oracle. (presumably the oracle is on the run from the agents and it is far riskier for her to come to the landline and have a conversation than it is for you to send your humans to go find her)

Now you might ask - why doesn't the oracle just use the "mobile phone technology" that the other Zionists use.

Well a couple of reasons spring to mind.

One - maybe those sorts of communications are easily tapped. (we saw evidence of this in the first movie with Cypher and his mobile that he dumped in the trash)

But maybe it is actually more to do with the idea I put forward before about skill being uploaded into the brain.

Maybe the communications don't get broadcast into the matrix - maybe they go directly into the Zionists brains on the ship.

Think of it this way - the operator only has read only access to the matrix. They can read the code of the matrix and know what is going on - pull up building plans etc - but they cant send any information whatsoever into the matrix except under very special circumstances at the hard-lines.

All the communication that is done with the Zionists running around in the matrix is done directly to their brain - which you have actual physical access to on board the ship. (kind of like a more technologically sophisticated version of trinity whispering in Neo’s ear on board the ship - while meanwhile he lies dieing in a hallway in the matrix)

The only people who have two way (red/write) access to the matrix are the people who hook their brains up to it.

Once again - this is why you are not able to send a robot in to do your dirty work.

Now this raises the question - well if we have read access to the matrix - why doesn't the oracle just speak to the air and we can interpret that code on the ship - she knows what we are going to say anyway - lets just listen to her side of the conversation.

Now obviously there are a lot of philosophical problems here... how can she know what you are going to say - if you decide to do something different and not say it...

But there is also a technical problem.... the further from the hardline you get the less ability you have to read the matrix. This is why disks / envelopes etc have to be brought to the hardline so that they can be read. You only get the "broad brushstrokes" picture a long way form the landline - eg. there is a disk, we know where it is, but we don't know what is on it.

You have the same issue in computers - you may have a bunch of dram - each bit of it with it's own address - but in order to do anything with it - you have to transfer that block of memory to the cpu etc.

Now - you ask - "So how does a disk in the matrix become a disk in Zion."

Well I ask you in return- have you ever downloaded an ISO image from the internet and burnt it to a cd rom?

The ISO image is a virtual description of the disc - it is not the disc itself, but once it is written onto physical media - then boom, all the files contained in the virtual disk image become readable and writeable.

There is no physical disk / envelope in the matrix - just information - in order for that information to be read, it has to be brought to the landline - that is the only location with sufficient bandwidth and where the machine network is insecure enough to be breached.

The disk in Zion is not the actual disk that was in the matrix... it is just something that contains the information that was brought to the landline. I presume if they wanted they could print out a bunch of pages of matrix code instead... it would be informationally equivalent... just much more inconvenient.

Ok - any questions.


PS – all of this is separate to the question of “Is Zion just another matrix?”. It makes no difference one way or another (to the discussion above) if zion is or isn’t another matrix.

Even if it is another matrix – then the machines would have set it up so that you can’t figure it out by examining evidence like how zion and the matrix are forced to interact with each other.

Ok – are we done ;) - man I hope so.

DanJun 20, 2003 at 9:17PM

Brisvegas1,

Ahhhh.

Thanks. OK, Spoon Boy, since you seem unwilling to come out of your corner to answer me, perhaps you can respond to that well- thought-out post?

Meanwhile, I'll head back to the waterbed store - can I borrow your clown costume? Or at least your aluminum foil hat?

DanJun 20, 2003 at 9:57PM

Brisvegas1:

While I agree with virtually everything you've said here - it's exactly why I've been arguing the Du Jour could not be a program -where *did* the "lots of guns" come from?

Unfortunately I don't think you or anyone can answer adequately.
Personally, I think this is just a fundamental flaw - a willful-suspension-of-disbelief sort of thing; even the best movie is bound to have holes and faulty plot devices.

Given that, it's best to minimize the use of that particular faulty device and by extension the film's demands on the viewer.

Spoon BoyJun 20, 2003 at 10:33PM


Brisvegas says:

Look - by Zionists I was also including the oracle....


I see. Why didn't you just say so in the first place? :)

This is the whole point of jacking into the matrix. You can’t actually interact with the matrix unless you are part of it.

I like it.

The digital avatars in the matrix are not “tele-presence robots” or sophisticated programs - they are representations of “matrix sub processing units” – BRAINS.

"matrix sub processing units" is a good way to put it. Whether the brains are biological grey matter as we know it, we'll see. Or will we?

Dan says,

OK, Spoon Boy, since you seem unwilling to come out of your corner to answer me


I remember you now. You're the dude who complained that the simulated world looked too fake, right?

Let's clear something up once and for all: my purpose here is not to answer your questions. I've just been optionally waving to the clown as I drive by. If you have any other wisecracks directed to me that you feel compelled to get off your chest, send them to me personally. Let's spare the rest of the people in here, starting now.

DanJun 20, 2003 at 11:33PM

Spoon Boy said:
I remember you now. You're the dude who complained that the simulated world looked too fake, right?

Never once. Your memory is matched only by your wit and humility.

Spoon Boy said:
Let's clear something up once and for all: my purpose here is not to answer your questions.

Your "purpose?" It's a movie, Spoon Boy. How sad - do you walk around your high school talking to your teachers about causality?

Spoon Boy:
I've just been optionally waving to the clown as I drive by.

Needless to say, "the clown" is honored. On the other hand, all the clown has done is ask some questions about your pet theories which you've now chosen not to answer a record 6 times. It's funny to me - I picture you rubbing your hands with glee at your your knowledge of the Matrix and and the chance that you somehow might be able to translate that knowledge into some semblance of real-life respectability... You strike me as the sort of person who aspires desparately towards leading a cult someday.

Preserving that weak dream by not admitting that even your near-religious zealotry might have flaws, and responding to those simple, innocent questions would have spared all the precious bandwidth you're so desparately concerned about 6 full posts here. Your email address is much appreciated... but for the purposes of this conversation it's useless: all I want is to know your answers to my questions.

CoreyJun 21, 2003 at 12:38AM

bell says:
...m1 has smith showing signs of deviating from his assignment,when he unplugs and asks morpheous for the codes to destroy zion in order for him (smith) to escape. Where will smith escape to, yet another part of the matrix? Codes for zion i assume are neccessary to breach another part of the construct.


For the Zion thing, I think the codes were just to get into the Zion central computer. Access to this computer might help the machines more easily destroy Zion by finding ship and defense schematics, or perhaps allowing the machines to shut off power to Zion, or something of the like.

The Smith issue brings up an interesting question. In the first movie, where was he going to go once he got the codes? Was he going to go to a different matrix-like environment? Perhaps he was going to chill at the source? Or maybe there is/was a real world machine "body" that Smith used. Any thoughts?

I'd also like to comment on new people to this thread: Please read the entire thread (as daunting a task as that may be) before posting. If you really want answers to a question or to see theories on a topic, chances are you will find them somewhere already on this thread, as we (they (Spoon Boy)) have already covered a wide variety of topics.

ronJun 21, 2003 at 3:42AM

I havent read all of the posts on this site yet so i dont know if anyone else talked about this earlier. But if you watch the the first movie (The Matrix) where the Agent Smith has Neo in that little room and is questioning him and his mouth closes up.......in the very beginning of that scene it shows that set up from the Architects room with all the TV's. It uses that same effect in Reloaded where the camera goes through one of the monitors. I dont know if this means anythign except that the Architect is watching what is happening with Neo in the Matrix.

Brisvegas1Jun 21, 2003 at 5:30AM

Does anyone else here suspect that dan and spoonboy are actually one and the same - and he/she/they are just playing up for our entertainment? ;)

By the way - has anyone checked out http://i-took-the-red-pill.com/ to see if it is a suitable place for us to relocate this thread to?

It would be pretty funny if we could actually see the look on their faces when this hoard of vultures descends upon them.

Hehehe....

DanJun 21, 2003 at 12:58PM

Corey said
The Smith issue brings up an interesting question. In the first movie, where was he going to go once he got the codes? Was he going to go to a different matrix-like environment? Perhaps he was going to chill at the source? Or maybe there is/was a real world machine "body" that Smith used. Any thoughts?

My assumption on seeing the first movie was that if Smith could destroy Zion and hence "la resistance" - the last stronghold of humanity - the Matrix simulation could somehow be turned off and "he" (Smith) could essentially pass on to a perfect, machine-engineered world without (among other things) "the smell". Some sort of program heaven...

Upon reflection on the second film, I'm not sure that that answer is satisfactory (in reality, it may never have been).

DanJun 21, 2003 at 1:05PM

Ron said:
in the very beginning of that scene it shows that set up from the Architects room with all the TV's... I havent read all of the posts on this site yet so i dont know if anyone else talked about this earlier.

You should have; someone had.

Spoon BoyJun 21, 2003 at 6:29PM


Dan says:

On the other hand, all the clown has done is ask some questions about your pet theories which you've now chosen not to answer a record 6 times


You weren't paying attention. It's notable that everybody was ignoring you until I waved back. I'll be happy to revert back to the way it was before I did so.

CoreyJun 21, 2003 at 6:31PM

Smith is (was) a program with a purpose. His purpose was to defend the matrix/find a way to destroy Zion. If he managed to do that, he would have fulfilled his purpose and would no longer have one. Wouldn't he then just be deleted?

Spoon BoyJun 21, 2003 at 6:34PM


Early in this thread some folks were pondering the EMP issue. In the final scenes of Reloaded, we learn that the counterattack failed because somebody flipped the switch on the EMP too early.

Questions to ask yourself:

1. Who deliberately flipped the EMP switch prematurely, and why? Was it Bane/Smith?

2. Is there a direct relationship between the premature EMP activation and Neo's coma? As well as Bane's coma?

CoreyJun 21, 2003 at 7:33PM

perhaps Bane/Smith EMP'd the squiddies in the same way Neo did, in the process EMPing the ships as well. It seems fairly obvious to me that it was Bane who set off the EMP, but in what way (with his mind or by flipping the switch) and for what reason?

DanJun 21, 2003 at 9:06PM

Spoon Boy
You weren't paying attention.
Your obliviousness continues to astound me. While the link you provided certainly does contain your responses to questions I had asked, I have made it unmistakably clear that I was referring to specific questions which related to your post here.
Once and for all:

Here is the post in which I initially questioned your "Du Jour as program" idea.

Here is your first, unsatisfactory response.

Here is the first time I asked again.

Your second non-response.

The second time I asked again (3rd total).

Your response, in which you accurately corrected one point of mine and ignored all others.

The post in which I acknowledged your correction and asked for the fourth time.

Your
ad hominem
response (with no reference to my questions).

The fifth time I asked.

After Brisvegas1 pointed out the flaws in your argument, I asked for a sixthtime.

In your response, you ignored the part of Brisvegas1's post that pertained to the questions I had asked you six times.

I asked for the seventh time.

Spoon Boy said:>/b>
It's notable that everybody was ignoring you until I waved back. I'll be happy to revert back to the way it was before I did so.

First, I've been altogether pleased with the level of response I've received in this thread, though my greatest pleasure has been in the reading. Second, I'm happy to say that I find my validation in forums other than this one - say, real life, for just one example? If in fact it were true that I were being "ignored," rest assured I'd be quite fine with it.

You on the other hand, have certainly made yourself hard to ignore; sadly, I imagine this thread constitutes as large a proportion of your life as your posts do of the thread itself.

DanJun 21, 2003 at 9:06PM

Spoon Boy
You weren't paying attention.
Your obliviousness continues to astound me. While the link you provided certainly does contain your responses to questions I had asked, I have made it unmistakably clear that I was referring to specific questions which related to your post here.
Once and for all:

Here is the post in which I initially questioned your "Du Jour as program" idea.

Here is your first, unsatisfactory response.

Here is the first time I asked again.

Your second non-response.

The second time I asked again (3rd total).

Your response, in which you accurately corrected one point of mine and ignored all others.

The post in which I acknowledged your correction and asked for the fourth time.

Your
ad hominem
response (with no reference to my questions).

The fifth time I asked.

After Brisvegas1 pointed out the flaws in your argument, I asked for a sixthtime.

In your response, you ignored the part of Brisvegas1's post that pertained to the questions I had asked you six times.

I asked for the seventh time.

Spoon Boy said:>/b>
It's notable that everybody was ignoring you until I waved back. I'll be happy to revert back to the way it was before I did so.

First, I've been altogether pleased with the level of response I've received in this thread, though my greatest pleasure has been in the reading. Second, I'm happy to say that I find my validation in forums other than this one - say, real life, for just one example? If in fact it were true that I were being "ignored," rest assured I'd be quite fine with it.

You on the other hand, have certainly made yourself hard to ignore; sadly, I imagine this thread constitutes as large a proportion of your life as your posts do of the thread itself.

DanJun 21, 2003 at 9:09PM

(my sincere apologies to all for the double-post, the missing closing tag and this post as well)

daveJun 21, 2003 at 11:21PM

Why on earth is anyone wasting time discussing this meaningless movie?

--Jun 22, 2003 at 1:25AM

"Post a comment, but please read the entry and all the other comments first to make sure you're adding something new to the conversation."

jonathanpohJun 22, 2003 at 1:59AM

In the first movie, Smith was still part of the 'collective' (dropping into Trek-speak here...) and whatever information he would have gotten from Morpheus about the Zion access codes would be available to the entire Matrix system, squiddies included, presumably these codes would allow them to find the location of Zion and perhaps info about their defences and weaknesses.

But in Reloaded, Smith is now 'free' and is an independent program, which in normal circumstances he would return to the source and be deleted, but he has refused to do so (saying he somehow absorbed some human traits from Neo) and is now a rogue program, like Merovingian, Persephone, their bodyguards, the Twins, etc.

So what is (former) Agent Smith's purpose now? This was one of the biggest questions as I walked out of the cinema after watching Reloaded for the 1st time.. Since he's free, he's no longer doing the collective's bidding, but why is he still going after Neo? Is he holding a grudge against Neo? To the extent of brainwashing Bane and trying to kill him in Zion...

I'm wondering if Smith knows something about the Matrix (that the Zionites don't), being a former agent in the system, and he knows that if Neo successfully fulfills the Prophecy and reloads the Matrix, something catastrophic will happen (or not) and is trying to prevent it... making Smith an unlikely hero or ally at some point? Or perhaps he's just being selfish and like B166ER (leetspeek for BIGGER, anyone noticed?) in "The Second Renaissance" he just trying to avoid being killed/destroyed/deleted. Thoughts?

Spoon BoyJun 22, 2003 at 4:23AM


Corey says:
perhaps Bane/Smith EMP'd the squiddies in the same way Neo did, in the process EMPing the ships as well. It seems fairly obvious to me that it was Bane who set off the EMP, but in what way (with his mind or by flipping the switch) and for what reason?


Makes one wonder if Neo and/or Bane/Smith were the cause of that last EMP job, or in comas as a result of it.

gezJun 22, 2003 at 10:58AM

Does anyone else think it odd that we still haven't seen the surface of the Earth? All we've seen is a TV picture of a desolate world.

I can't help thinking the W bros have a surprise in store in that regard.

On the subject of what Trinity is doing at the beginning of M1 - there's a date on the computer which says its Feb. '98, then at the end of the movie the date on screen is Sept. '99 thats when Neo is making his phone call to... whoever. But the point is - 19 months have passed. So at which point between these two dates did the events of M1 take place?
I say this because it seems some people are saying that at the beginning of M1 Trinity is only a couple of hours away from contacting Neo. And Fishburne said that Reloaded takes place about 6 months after M1. Do you see where I'm going - the last scene in M1 could take place AFTER the sequels.
Or is there some dates shown in Reloaded to contradict that?

Finally - could someone please answer this for me -
In M1 how does Cypher manage to have dinner with Smith without anyone knowing? He can't go into the Matrix without an operator....

g

DanJun 22, 2003 at 11:17AM

gez said:
Does anyone else think it odd that we still haven't seen the surface of the Earth? All we've seen is a TV picture of a desolate world.

Good point. There are a lot of statements that M1 threw at the audience that don't necessarily need to be true. Morpheus needn't be lying; he could just be wrong.

gez said:
Feb. '98, then at the end of the movie the date on screen is Sept. '99 thats when Neo is making his phone call to... whoever.

Yes, who was it that he was calling, anyway? Always wondered about that. Convenient plot device, but little more.

gez said:
But the point is - 19 months have passed. So at which point between these two dates did the events of M1 take place?

Another really interesting observation. That's pretty wild, actually.

gez said:
And Fishburne said that Reloaded takes place about 6 months after M1. Do you see where I'm going - the last scene in M1 could take place AFTER the sequels. Or is there some dates shown in Reloaded to contradict that?

You got off-track here, unless you're thinking of a different scene than I am. Morpheus said (paraphrase): "we've freed more minds in the last six months than in the last six years." That in no way suggests that it had been six months since M1 concluded - they could have been slowly gaining momentum for any amount of time
before that six month period began (plus, something has to account for how old all the characters look now... if you ask me about ten years *should* have passed).

DanJun 22, 2003 at 11:44AM

Corey said:perhaps Bane/Smith EMP'd the squiddies in the same way Neo did, in the process EMPing the ships as well. It seems fairly obvious to me that it was Bane who set off the EMP, but in what way (with his mind or by flipping the switch) and for what reason?

I think it was reasonably well-established that Bane wanted to kill Neo. Everyone seeking out his purpose may be missing the forest for the trees - I think his purpose is simply to kill Neo. That doing so in the Matrix is now nigh impossible offers up a pretty good reason - on top of his "smell" argument - to try and exit the Matrix and Neo's more vulnerable human body.

My understanding of Bane's behavior during the council meeting was that he wanted to be on one of the ships with the Nebuchadnezzar, presumably to sabotage it. His captain shot him down, so he he tried to kill Neo physically with the knife.

I'm a little foggy on the number of missions, however: I had thought that they were massing their ships in Zion but allowing three ships to go out to meet the Oracle and fight (hence Niobe's participation). It was pretty clear that Bain's captain refused to participate in *that* mission.

But then there was another mission, right? I think they explained this after the Nebuchadnezzar crew was picked up.

Spoon Boy said:
Makes one wonder if Neo and/or Bane/Smith were the cause of that last EMP job, or in comas as a result of it.

On closer consideration, I would say both.

Since the only ship nearby appeared a few seconds later, it would seem implausible to me that it had generated an EMP within close enough proximity to impact Neo and Smith simultaneously... no real certainty there, but the Captain's speech seemed to suggest that the ships had been devastated a while before they picked up Neo and co.

That Bain was in a coma strikes me as another problematic plot point: the Sentinels destroyed the ship and killed everyone aboard... why would they have put Bain in a coma, but not killed him? My first thought was that they were colluding, but that doesn't make much sense - that he's comatose would mean that the they attacked him, but then stopped somehow.

The only answer I can come up with is that Bain triggered the EMP and downed all the ships. Then the Sentinels attacked, but instead of recognizing Bain as Smith and leaving him alone, as I first suspected, the Sentinels stopped attacking him because he, like Neo, can immobilize Sentinels, but was also impacted in the same way by the act.

There are four questions , I think:

1. Who generated the first EMP that took out the ships?

2. Was it an act of sabotage on Bain's part?

3. Was that EMP at all related to the second "Neo" EMP? (I would say no.)

4. Did Bain's coma precede or follow the Sentinel's arrival at the downed ships?

CoreyJun 22, 2003 at 11:54AM

gez says:

In M1 how does Cypher manage to have dinner with Smith without anyone knowing? He can't go into the Matrix without an operator....

That is a very, very good question, one which I have asked (not on this thread) many many times. It seems unlikely that Cypher managed to hack into the matrix, insert his own little device, have a meeting with Smith, then take himself out of the matrix. It seems even more unlikely that he did all that without anybody seeing, as I'm guessing that they have at least one person on watch during the night. The only feasible answer I can see is that Cypher somehow separated himself from a mission like he did when they saw the oracle, and managed to meet with Smtih without anybody knowing. Another answer is that perhaps with Smith's/The System's help Cypher was able to find a different way into the matrix.

All of these seem unlikely to me. Anyone got a better idea?

JeffJun 22, 2003 at 11:56AM

I did read from the top to the bottom (over the course of two days or so) and there's something I noticed/imagined that nobody else has commented on yet.

In the "Second Renaissance" video, the name of the machine city is "01" (zero-one), and it's built in the middle-east. "Zion" is the promised land of the Hebrew people, also located in the middle-east. "Zion" and "zero-one" are very similar, phonetically. Is Zion the machine city, or a simulation running on a system in the machine city?

Programs lying to people: The Oracle did not lie when she said Neo was not The One, and that either Neo or Morpheus would die. Neo was not then The One, and he did die (both in his avatar's body, and in terms of his eeg/ecg seen on Neb). So did Trinity, just as the Architect claimed she would. But in both cases, the deaths were not permanent. Whether this is a case of machine literalism, or twisting words to deceive without actually lying, I don't know.

About the Revolutions trailer: we're shown a Neo vs Smith battle where each lands a powerful punch on the other. Some have conjectured that Smith is undergoing a transformational journey just like Neo. Well, just look how symmetrical they are in that short clip.

Is Mero an older incarnation of The One? Well, Neo is a "savior figure" and the Merovingians are mythically descendants of Jesus (another savior figure). Of course, he's in 101, and apparently the name of the restaurant is the same as the way "The One" was translated for french audiences.

One bit of completely idle speculation: We've seen 101 associated with Neo in M1, and 101 associated with Mero in M2. But we know that in M2, Neo is the sixth One. What if M2 is actually a subsequent reload of the matrix compared to M1? Then this Neo is 110, and Mero and Persephone are new shapes taken by the old Neo and Trinity. Of course, then Mero wouldn't have had to survive any of Neo's predecessors since we're only one reload later, so it still doesn't fit. But still, the use of 101 with respect to Mero means that the interpretation of sixth (couning from zero) must be wrong.

How much a part of canon are the comics on the matrix website? One of them tells of a man the machines pull out of the matrix to pilot a special ship against aliens attacking the earth. At the end, after he's defeated them, he's told that the ship has no way to return to Earth, and that he only has an hour of oxygen remaining. He asks to be plugged back into the Matrix, and his wish is granted. But those few hours in the real world are the majority of a lifetime in the Matrix (decades). If this is canon, then Zion cannot be the real world, because there's not a 20000x difference in the rate of time flow between the two. But if we find out that half of what they've put out about The Matrix is not canon, well, that'll p*ss me off too.

PS hope I got this right -- there's no preview button. Argh!

kieJun 22, 2003 at 1:38PM

Jeff says:


If this is canon, then Zion cannot be the real world, because there's not a 20000x difference in the rate of time flow between the two.

---
What Jeff is referring to is "Goliath" one of the matrix short story found on the official website. It is actually my favorite one although not a comic like the rest of the short stories found on the site.

I disagree with him saying that zion cannot be the real world since it is evidently clear that "Goliath" was first inside the matrix inorder to train in learning how to use that spaceship and when he was ready he was brought out to the real world, to the real space ship where you can see all the "crab like machines" prepping up the ship so he can fight those aliens. Now all these things point out that he was indeed now in the real world and not in the matrix.

The time shifting and the looping in the train tunnels was because the alien bombardment took out the London Central Processing Unit and this caused massive errors within the matrix. Now this ties in completely with the animatrix "Beyond" episode where errors do occur within the matrix . The time shifting was also a result of the machines trying to have him learn how to fly the spaceship similar to how rebels learn kungfu in just a few mins by just downloading data. The most interesting aspect for me though is when it was looping in the train tunnels and how it seems to connect to the "Loop" word found on the train on the revolutions trailer. It makes me want to conclude that in the matrix like in the short story is also undergoing massive degradation and how this is now causing lots of errors within the matrix. Another interesting aspect of the short story is how humans are used in parallel and as a CPU which confirms my belief that humans are not used solely for energy but for processing power by the machines inoder to run a complex simulation like the matrix. This also leads me to believe that Morpheus was either mislead in thinking that humans were used as a form of energy or it might be the case like when Neo told the architect that either "no one told him or nobody really knows".

kieJun 22, 2003 at 1:57PM

Corey says:
gez says:

In M1 how does Cypher manage to have dinner with Smith without anyone knowing? He can't go into the Matrix without an operator....
---
The answer to this is:

On DVD, The Sentinels attack.
WachowskiBros: We're pretty happy with the way the sentinels turned out. The digital artist that John Gaeta found did some amazing work. Cypher, at the beginning of this scene, is setting up an automated system to allow him to go meet with Agent Smith

RudycantfailJun 22, 2003 at 3:42PM

Cynics be damned! Go stare at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself how brilliant you are! Let the rest of us have some fun. The Matrix Reloaded was fucking cool. Good Kung Fu, a plot that we are still talking about now and character development rarely seen in action movies. I was disappointed when I saw it the first time. There was no matching up to the expectations I had after worshipping the first movie for 3 years. I've seen it 4 more times since and I dig it the most now. Be real, when was the last time you saw such a cool sex scene?

Who cares if the rave was too long. Move on. What about the Merovingian? How cool was his monologue? Brilliant. I love it when directors take a moment to find good actors. There are millions of them out there yet we get the same bad ones time after time. The Oracle, the Merovingian, Persephone, Locke, etc -- all interesting and very watchable actors. I see few movies that captivate me so when I do, I defend them. What else do we have to look forward to..the Hulk? Please.

I don't come to the Matrix for the CGI. I come for the Kung Fu. I come for Neo and Trinity and Smith. I come to watch a film that takes the time to develop black characters on screen. When does that ever happen? Never. Unless you are watching a "black" film. I don't think the cynical geeks get alot of the depth of this movie and how it breaks ground on many levels. I'm a geek, too, I guess, or I wouldn't be writing or even looking at this site, but I'm over myself enough to appreciate good art.

Last point on Keanu. Tired of all the stupid mock Keanu script stuff. Is it jealousy? What? I feel like I am in junior high school when I read that stuff. No one ever said he was fucking Olivier. He seems like a smart enough, thoughtful, adventurous guy. He's doing shit that we are only writing about. To the Keanu haters--take a minute and go out and do something fun. You'll be more fun to be around and less snippy. :-)

NeoGeoJun 22, 2003 at 4:11PM

Regarding Cypher and Smith meeting,

Notice how Cypher becomes extremely nervous when Neo approaches him and procedes to shut off the monitors that render the Matrix code in real-time to the operator. Also, he leaves on the single monitor in the middle that displays the raw Matrix code which Neo does not understand yet.

Remember Cypher is used to looking at raw code and explains to Neo all he sees is a blonde, brunette, red-head, etc.

At that exact time, he was communicating with Agent Smith, working on the re-insertion deal.

Spoon BoyJun 22, 2003 at 4:16PM


Well put, Rudycantfail.

Q: Why do critics love Elvis Costello?

A: Because they all look like him.

JeffJun 22, 2003 at 8:42PM

kie,

Yes, Goliath is a short story, not a comic.

My point about the 20000x time differential between Matrix and real world has nothing to do with the time shifting while on the train, but has everything to do with the final passage, after the aliens are defeated--With one real-world hour of life to go before he runs out of oxygen, he's reinserted into virtual reality and experiences a decade or more of "life". Either you have to accept that Zion is also a simulation taking place at 20000x real-time, that Goliath's experience was in something besides the matrix (perhaps a local simulation involving only his brain and the ship's computer? After all, it didn't matter if they burned out his brain doing it), or the rules of the Matrix changed in the time between Goliath and the first founding of Zion (placing Goliath well pre-M1 or well post-M2, either of which is possible)

gezJun 22, 2003 at 9:41PM

Laurence Fishburne said in one of the documentaries that Reloaded takes place about 6 months after M1.

Thanks for the explanations about how Cypher had his secret meeting with Smith.

A couple of observations:

During the Architect scene we see Trinity falling to her death on the TVs, now this can't be live footage because she's only about 2 or 3 seconds away from death; so is the Architect reading Neo's mind, or recording the dreams he had in some way? Or is it just artistic license?

The architect says something like "your first question though pertinent is also the most irrelevant" And Neo asks "why am I here?" BUT, that wasn't actually his first question. His first Q was "Who are you?" So is the identity of the Architect irrelevant?

When Persephone says "...when we first came here..." Trinity and Morpheus turn and look at each other, this means something, what have they realised?

This is a film that is so much better the 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc time, the action scenes and dialogue scenes are so well constructed.
And Trinity is a Godess. And maybe that isn't too far from the truth!

g

NeoGeoJun 23, 2003 at 8:56AM

Well, here is some insider information that is going to blow you away.

Neo is part machine and Agent Smith is part human, hybrids!

In M1, we notice something unusual about Neo. For example, Tank explains that he has never seen anything like this and states, "10 hours straight, he is a machine..." In M1 and M2, agents, counselors, Merovingians, etc. continuously emphasize that Neo is still only human.

In M2, we see Neo disabled by the EMP while Morpheus, Trinity, and Link are fine. Interestingly, Bane/Smith is also disabled in the same way, a coma "but vital signs are stable."

What is really going to bake your noodle is whether Neo delivered the EMP to stop the sentinels himself or was it Bane/Smith sabatoging the mission, discharging an EMP at the same time Neo raises his hand as implied at the end of M2. Either way, both Neo and Agent Smith are found in the same coma.

A matrix within a matrix is the only possible explanation for Neo to feel what he feels in Z1ON and for Smith to infiltrate into Z1ON.


NeoGeoJun 23, 2003 at 9:13AM

A quick question.

In M1, why does Morpheus send Neo out to the ledge when there is no way in hell Neo can cross over that divider to get to the scaffold? Watch it carefully. What are the motives here?

bellJun 23, 2003 at 1:10PM

Neo is simply a rat in a maze, everything that happens to him is through design, i think ive pointed this out before. even the architect states this to him in m2, that to meet the architect was an inevitability! Remember we are in a computer system, a giagantic program is running every thing can be manipulated by the architect. Neo is nurtured or brainwashed within this system. I believe trinity is a either program or bred specifically to fall in love within neo and vise versa. Cinematically it adds greater tragedy to the events, Trinity is unaware of course. There is a key scene at the end of m2 where niobi asks the keymaker how he Knows all this (in reference to reaching the source), the keymaker states "it is my purpose, that is why im here. That is why we are all here". He recognises that he was programmed to supply neo with the relevent info, he also recognises that niobe and co also must be there in order for neo to reach the architect, it is all by DESIGN!... It is by design that one of the hovercrafts is destroyed, therefore trinity must enter the matrix, as neo forsore. if trinity was not in the matrix who is to say neo would not have chosen the other door and reset the construct and version 7 kicks in. The architect created the situation with trinity in order to influence neo, it serves his purpose to do so, why follow the same path the previouse ones have taken? surely the architect, with the use of trinity(who i believe to be the mother of the matrix, the the architect eludes to) is looking for a different outcome this time... IT IS ALL ABOUT DESIGN!

...The council send niobes ship as well as another to find morpheous, it should be noted that Locke asks for a reason as to why this course of action is taken by the council, to him the decision by the council does not make sense. Though the council (which someone has previously stated could be the 23 + Previous 1 = 24; there are a lot of women on the council maybe 16?) give no reason, I belive they have been instructed by the architect to send the ships. I beleive the matrix must exist and perhaps it is in the best interests of humanity to remain inside the matrix. As the true reality may be far worse than we first thought. One would assume that 23 + 1 = 24 (council?) are fully aware of the true reality and are quite happy to live in zion/matrix as they Know it to be a better option...

Any thoughts?

bellJun 23, 2003 at 1:22PM

NeoGeo i'm with you on the neo/bane theory, as ive mentioned before in this thread they are 2 sides of thr same coin. And taking your theoryy further Neo must die in order to destroy the cancer that is spreading in matrix/zion which of course is smith, Smith and neo are binary opposites/ doubles if you like, jekell and hide etc. In order to save the matrix smith must die, I believe in revolutions that the oracle will convince neo that saving the matrix is the best thing to do. (I belive the oracle eludes to this in the revolutions trailer)...

bellJun 23, 2003 at 1:41PM

jeffs comment relating z1on/01. That could be a possibility. Though if zion is in the matrix (as i believe it to be) any archive would be fabricated.

bellJun 23, 2003 at 1:54PM

One other point, i mentioned last week that at the beginning of reloaded the code illustrated zion/drill etc. before the final act in m2 we see the molten core and the drill heading toward zion. You will find that both the code image and the special effest molten/drill etc ate identical. ZION IS IN THE MATRIX, THERE IS NO DENYING IT NOW!!!

bellJun 23, 2003 at 1:59PM

you will find that both the code image an the special effect molten lava/drill are exactly the same! (see above comment!)

...my spellings lousey

Spoon BoyJun 23, 2003 at 2:16PM


bell says:

IT IS ALL ABOUT DESIGN!


Looks like it. What makes most sense here is that every element (both positive and negative) in this story represents a necessary component in a single system. A singular consciousness. The perceived struggles, friction, conflicts of interest, etc. are by design all required in order for the system to work effectively. Like any mechanism (a tire, a car engine, etc.), it can't serve its purpose w/o being subject to wear and tear, and in the case of the Matrix, requiring a reboot.

We cannot live life without dying one day @ a time.

GhostJun 23, 2003 at 4:14PM

I did it; I cracked the hacking system in the game. If you are a true Matrix-Head you have to do this. It gives you access to all the video footage made for the game, all the art behind the movie (thousands of clips), game editing (loading new kung-fu and weapons). There is sooooo much in there. I am starting to find more secret video footage hidden in the game. There are 10-15 hidden that I haven’t found.

One thing I noticed is when the council asked if there were any volunteers for the mission and Niobe stood up and volunteered (you remember this right). Well in the video clip some dude stands up and volunteers before her. I don't think that happened in the movie. Did it?

If you are a true fan of the Matrix, then you have the play the video game. That's all there is to it. If anyone has any hacking info to share..... Put it on the thread.

Mabey this will put some rest to the Dujour issue.

"VOICE (O.S.) Hey, Tommy-boy! You in there? Recognizing the voice, he relaxes and opens it. ANTHONY, who lives down the hall, is standing outside with a group of friends. NEO What do you want, Anthony? ANTHONY I need your help, man. Desperate. They got me, man. The shackles of fascism. He holds up the red notice that accompanies the Denver boot. NEO You got the money this time? He holds up two hundred dollars and Neo opens the door. Anthony's girlfriend, DUJOUR, stops in front of Neo. DUJOUR You can really get that thing off, right now? ANTHONY I told you, honey, he may look like just another geek but this here is all we got left standing between Big Brother and the New World Order. EXT. STREET A police officer unlocks a yellow metal boot from the wheel of an enormous oldsmobile. INT. NEO'S APARTMENT They watch from the window as the cops, silently, robotically, climb into their van. ANTHONY Look at 'em. Automatons. Don't think about what they're- doing or why. Computer tells 'em what to do and they do it. FRIEND #l Thc banality of evil. He slaps the money in Neo's hand. ANTHONY Thanks, neighbor. DUJOUR Why don't you come to the party with us? NEO I don't know. I have to work tomorrow. DUJOUR Come on. It'll be fun. He looks up at her and suddenly notices on her black leather motorcycle jacket dozens of pins: bands, symbols, slogans, military medals and -- A small white rabbit. The ROOM TILTS. NEO Yeah, yeah. Sure, I'll go. "


They are friggin nieghbors, get it together people.

Spoon BoyJun 23, 2003 at 4:30PM


I need your help, man. Desperate. They got me, man. The shackles of fascism. He holds up the red notice that accompanies the Denver boot. NEO You got the money this time?

lol. And to think this was all about a parking violation.

"I went to court for a parking ticket and pleaded insanity. 'Your Honor, who in his right mind park in the passing lane?' ... He said 'I don't know.' I said 'No further questions'."
--Steven Wright


GhostJun 23, 2003 at 6:07PM

But threw the conversation you found a gap in the Matrix production logic. If Neo can download lots of guns, Trinity can download a “bug seeking” device, and Niobe can download cars, why haven't they downloaded an "INCREDABLE HULK program", or an Agent seeking futuristic weapon. Once again I tend to think that to do this would somehow break the rules of the matrix.
The construct used for the jump program if you remember had a different set of rules. Neo fell threw the pavement and didn't die. So mabey huge complicated non-existing downloads are impossible??? But I think that as the programming of the matrix starts to crumble in m3, and they start to fight on ceilings etc; You can expect to see more of the unrealistic weapons and such being down loaded. As far as the INCREADABLE HULK program..... Idunno.


"Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to solve other problems."
Descartes

Spoon BoyJun 23, 2003 at 8:56PM


Ghost wrote, referring to the video game:

"VOICE (O.S.) Hey, Tommy-boy! You in there? Recognizing the voice, he relaxes and opens it. ANTHONY, who lives down the hall, is standing outside with a group of friends....


Something just hit me after rolling this one around all day. I have not played the video game myself, but I'll take Ghost's word for it (thanks for sharing, dude). The dialog we see here from the game is parallel to that of the screenplay, with the exception of CHOI (replaced by ANTHONY), two grand (replaced by two hundred), and so on. Obvious similarities are DU JOUR, which was defined as the "girlfriend" in both the screenplay and the game, the invitation to Neo to go out with them for the evening, and Du Jour's "black leather motorcycle jacket w/ dozens of pins: bands, symbols, slogans, military medals and -- A small white rabbit."

What does that tell us?

The game looks like another previous/future iteration/revolution of the cycle, with variations. Maybe the fifth? The seventh? Pick a number. For the extra-analytical, note that Du Jour's crowd actually enters the apartment in the game. If we can consider this as "more effective" than the ploy we saw on Choi's variation, I suppose it would be an improvement/upgrade on the sixth variation and therefore the seventh or later. If it's less effective, it'd be the fifth or earlier. Which ploy was "more effective" is debatable, and therefore probably irrelevant. The main thing to understand is that the result was ultimately the same in both the game and the screenplay: Neo went with them.

We commonly think of French term "du jour" as meaning "prepared for a given day", like a "soup du jour" in the context of a restaurant menu. However, its second definition seems to fit nicely here:

du jour: Most recent; current.

Of course. :)

They are friggin nieghbors

Yes they (Choi/Anthony) are. I don't believe anybody disagreed on that one.

Props to the Bros W on such a cleverly hidden clue to this puzzle, exclusively targeted @ the die hards. It's been over five weeks and we're still learning.

Tell us more, Ghost!

Brisvegas1Jun 23, 2003 at 9:22PM

I think you have the wrong idea folks -

the text that ghost put up is from the final shoothing script of the first film - not the game.

While all the various versions of the scripts out there are interesting... and while they may give some insight into the minds of the W. bros. - I don't think we can read too much into them.

Only the films and the games are finished products - so I think only those sources can be "trusted" - the rest like the comics, early versions of the script, trailers etc are sources that we have to be much more suspicious of.

For instance - the game has to be the current itteration of the matrix because it features agent smith spreading like a virus and the smith/baine connection.

If this stuff has happened before then every post on this thread has had it fundamentally wrong till now...

ps - a hacking guide to prove what stuff (info - movies etc) is where in the game would be good.

Sorry ghost - but you have to be a little more detailed about where your info is coming from or you will just confuse people.

Cheers

Spoon BoyJun 23, 2003 at 9:53PM


I never believed in ghosts anyway. But,

Brisvegas1 says:

the game has to be the current itteration of the matrix because it features agent smith spreading like a virus and the smith/baine connection.


Why must Smith/Bane be limited to only the sixth iteration?

Brisvegas1Jun 24, 2003 at 12:09AM

okay - there is a line by one smith to another just after the burly brawl

smith 1:"It's happening, just like it happened before"

smith 2:"well, not exactly like before..."


this is one of the first real clues tht this itteration is not going the way previous ones have.

i.e the smiths are acknowledging that the fact that they exist as multiple copies is different now from previous versions of the matrix.


The catastrophic failure of th matrix is not smith taking it over - it is everyone inthe matrix gaining the ability to "wake up" from it.

Like the "kid" - to spontaneously self substantiate - without the need for a red pill.

I'm prepared to debate it further - but I think there is plenty of evidence to support the hypothess that this is a unique itteration.

Otherwise - the likely ending of the triolgy is the start of another loop - and we all know how likely that would be with joel silver as executive producer.

"What - you mean no one wins, it was all a dream!!!"

There is simply no way Joel Silver would finance a film that ends that way.

DanJun 24, 2003 at 11:09AM

Brisvegas1 said:
okay - there is a line by one smith to another just after the burly brawl

smith 1:"It's happening, just like it happened before"

smith 2:"well, not exactly like before..."

this is one of the first real clues tht this itteration is not going the way previous ones have.

i.e the smiths are acknowledging that the fact that they exist as multiple copies is different now from previous versions of the matrix.


Loathe as I am to agree with Spoon Boy, I don't think this proves anything. By definition, the 5th iteration of a cycle would be different than the 6th, if only because it's a different number. I don't think you can read into Smith's statement that he's referring to his newfound ability to replicate.

At the same time, I agree with you that this is what will drive the next film.

Brisvegas1:
The catastrophic failure of th matrix is not smith taking it over - it is everyone inthe matrix gaining the ability to "wake up" from it.

I think these two things are one and the same. That the illusion ceases to be believable when Smith (or Neo) make it unbelievable. So people have no choice but to wake up.

NeoGeoJun 24, 2003 at 5:07PM

What about this interesting tidbit in regards to time...

In Matrix 1, we learn Morpheus' ship, Nebu, was made in the U.S.A. 2069 A.D. yet Morpheus tells Neo it's closer to 2199. The U.S.A. technically should not exist at that time, 2069-2199. The machines would have already taken over by then. Yet another clue explaining the Matrix within the Matrix concept. Remember, the Matrix was meant to emulate our peak civilization in 1999.

Also, if anyone has answers to the following questions I'd appreciate them.

1. In M1, why would Morpheus guide Neo out onto the balcony when there was no way in hell Neo could cross that barrier over to the scaffold?

2. In M2, who was that man escorted quickly away from the Merovingian's table just as Neo et al. arrive? Looked like Link to me. Interesting... That was quicker than the others.

lofty (Adam Lofstedt)Jun 24, 2003 at 5:23PM

Right NeoGeo, I always thought the dates on the ships were out of whack. They must be important though, because several scenes in both the Animatrix and the two movies showed the metal plaque with the ship name, date created, and country. The scenes were long enough to make me notice them and wonder if they were significant.

Any one else have some insights into the significance of the dates on the ship's plaques? or other info on the plaques?

Spoon BoyJun 24, 2003 at 6:15PM


NeoGeo says:

1. In M1, why would Morpheus guide Neo out onto the balcony when there was no way in hell Neo could cross that barrier over to the scaffold?


Check out The Animatrix's piece called "A Kid's Story". There are similarities to Neo's scaffold scene and Popper's exit. In AKS, Popper was told, "To know the truth you must risk everything." What looked like Popper's suicide to the people in the Matrix was in truth his exit of The Matrix. As for what Morpheus's intentions were concerning Neo and the scaffold in M1, he must've been exercising a certain amount of that undying faith in the Oracle's prophecy. i.e. If Neo *was* the One, then he *couldn't* fall. And if he *wasn't* the One, well then, good riddance I suppose.

2. In M2, who was that man escorted quickly away from the Merovingian's table just as Neo et al. arrive? Looked like Link to me. Interesting... That was quicker than the others.

We don't know. Several folks hashed this issue out in this thread; check out the stuff posted during first week of June or so.

In Matrix 1, we learn Morpheus' ship, Nebu, was made in the U.S.A. 2069 A.D. yet Morpheus tells Neo it's closer to 2199. The U.S.A. technically should not exist at that time, 2069-2199. The machines would have already taken over by then.

Great question! I've wrestled with the idea of the two timelines for years (i.e. the "Matrix timeline", based on 1999 U.S.A. culture, and the "real world" timeline, which supposedly puts us @ about 2199).

I've always wondered:

Does the Matrix world occur in "real time" when compared to the "real world" timeline?

If The Matrix as we see it in TM1 takes place in what *looks* like 1999 U.S.A., but @ the same time has *existed* for 200 years (on the real world calendar), then does this mean that The Matrix, when booted 200 years ago, started in what appeared to be 1799 U.S.A.? Did it have a 19th century? Civil War? Hitler? Bellbottoms? Or has it for the last 200 years been sort of "suspended" in a static and unchanging 1999-ish state? Anybody with me?

Back to your question. In my opinion, I'd first have to point out that it's not necessarily untrue that the U.S.A. be recognized and propped by the builders of the Neb in 2069. I'd then have to say that there is no physical Neb in the first place, and therefore no U.S.A. circa 2069 to mark its creation. But that's just me. :)

Brisvegas1Jun 24, 2003 at 9:24PM

I don't think that people simply observing the mass numbers of Smiths or Neo doing things like flying is what will cause people to wake up.

If you saw something like that you would assume it was a mistake, a hallucination, a gag by a TV show. You wouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion that everything you had ever known was false.

Nor should you.

You would need more evidence than a one off occurrence - you wouldn't assume that you had gone blind if you woke up with a bad case of conjunctivitis, would you?

I think that the mass failure is far more likely to be related to the phenomena of reloading the matrix.

The one is able to reload the matrix by returning to the source and disseminating the code.

The way I think about it is kind of like the idea of harmonic resonance. There are bridges that have fallen down because of harmonic resonance.

Ypu don't just get this sort of thing happening in bridges, crystal radios also display harmonic resonance. Where one radio will play the same thing as another nearby radio.

Now - think about how the matrix is set up.

All those brains - set up as what I have previously described as "matrix sub processing units".

Ok - so the rules for how the matrix works are actually processed on individual brains all connected in parallel to the central matrix mainframe. How do we know it is parallel - because it is a collective reality - everyone experiences the same thing.

Now when a brain starts ignoring the rules of the matrix - it bends the nature of reality for nearby brains. When neo flies off anyone who sees it is forced to process that information.

But what happens if it is happening on a deeper level? What if Neo’s brain is like the strongly tuned radio - just by existing he starts shifting the minds of everyone connected to the matrix to the "I chose the red pill" frequency.

The machines use this to reload the matrix. If the one chooses to return to the source - somehow that choice is distributed throughout the matrix - everyone’s brain tunes into that choice, quietens down and (for a while) accepts the matrix.

But if neo chooses the other door - well I'm guessing that that choice will be propagated throughout the matrix too.

That is why there have been more minds liberated in the last six months than there have in the last six years and why there will be more and more brains doing the "Karl Michael popper / kid" thing and self substantiating - spontaneously waking up from the matrix.

This idea can even cope with the matrix in a matrix hypothesis.

Say neo has figured out that Zion isn't real - and that his EMP to the squids was his way of proving that it isn't - just like Karl Michael Popper proved it to himself with a leap of faith off a building.

That may be where Neo has gone in his coma - to the real “real” world.

If he can be brought back to the Matrix/Zion with this new knowledge/tuning - he may be able to share it with the other minds.

It may be that his simply being there will be enough - or he may have to return to the source to so it - but if he can actually make the choice to reject ALL of the machine simulation and wake ALL the way up to the real world - then he may be able to share that realisation by the means I have sketched out above.

Think about what it is like when you are dreaming in the early hours of the morning...

You have those surreal dreams - the really deep ones that are hard to remember. Then there are the ones that start to incorporate aspects of the real world - getting your sheet twisted around you, the sound of a door closing or a dripping tap.

Finally there is the moment when you start to "wake up" and the dream world and waking world mix.... for me this is usually the sound of an alarm clock penetrating into my dream world.

Neo is either the sleeping pill or the alarm clock - depending upon the choices he makes.

Well that is Brisvegas1's out there theory number four. (Check out - #3 here , #2 here, and #1 here.

"Tune in" next week for more adventures in the strange world of physics and philosophy that is - "The Matrix".

Spoon BoyJun 24, 2003 at 10:37PM


When a reloading of the Matrix is complete, what year is it in there? Why?

Do the machines have enough control to erase the memories contained in physical human brains?

Upon reload, does the 34 year old hacker from 1999 suddenly find himself in some barn with a goat in 1799? Does he notice?

Brisvegas1Jun 24, 2003 at 11:23PM

very interesting question Spoon Boy - maybe that is why no one can remember the 60's.... ;)

I suspect t would look a lot like one of the change over scenes from dark city.

The vast majority of people who are plugged into the matrix would have no ide of what was going on - and the ones who do - well they would be the first candidates for repopulating zion.

The fact that people out of the matrix have fully functioning long term memories indicates that the part of the brain responsible for laying down those sorts of memories is not damaged. (so it isn't just a matter of the machines giving that part of the brain a jolt of electricity and causing people to forget everything)

Maybe it doesn't happen all at once - it takes years for the matrix to get to this point, it could take a while to wind down.

One possible solution would be that all the new babies start off in the new simulation and all the older brains either wind down or are turned off and flushed.

But I'm guessing that the vast majority of brains would just accept what they are fed, irrespective of whether it agrees with what happened yesterday or not. Real 1984 type stuff.

The ideas from the matrix short story"Goliath" are interesting ones, both in respect to the flow of time in the matrix and the idea that humans are only using 10% of their brain and the machines are using the rest.

What would happen to the matrix if Smith starts using up all the human brains?- does time slow down, does the simulation stop / degrade?

Even stranger - what happens if Neo finds a way to tap into the rest of his brain? Will he figure out what the machines agenda is? Will he know what the matrix is for.

Concievably - if the machines are using human brains to perform the calculations for another simulation (just like the matrix) except one where the machines live / work / calculate - then Neo may find inside his own head a fragment of the machine simulation.

Wow - chalk that one up as out there theory #6.

:)

siddarta gouthamaJun 25, 2003 at 4:33AM

Spoon boy said in reply to NeoGeo: Great question! I've wrestled with the idea of the two timelines for years (i.e. the "Matrix timeline", based on 1999 U.S.A. culture, and the "real world" timeline, which supposedly puts us @ about 2199).
I once read on another site that the matrix roughly loops between 1990 and 2060. I think this more or less corresponds to the timeframe needed for finding the One. The One is found, discovers his capabilities, touches the source and the Matrix reloads, bam… back to 1990 (good hypothesis on the radio tuning, Brisvegas).
1) The Neb is built in 2069: if you look at the Second Renaissance 1, then you’ll find the 01 commercial of the new car technology the machines have developed: it is the hoovercraft technology, leading to The Versatron cars (Time to fly). Hence, the Neb supposedly is built from this period (allthough perhaps not by the USA, but by 01), when humans and AI still coexisted, and, as it is infallable technology, built by AI, may still exist in 2199 (OK, I think I’m a little naïve here, but anyways). I still find it odd, the Neb plate reading USA. Is this an AI deception for the Zionists when the machines built Zion for them?
2) I also tend to think that the time in the matrix has a different pace as in the real world. My reasoning for this: when the matrix films begins it is feb 19th 1998, when it ends it is July or August 1999, a time frame of 1.5 years, whereas the real world to my feeling has a frame of 6 months. Matrix is going 3 times faster. It’s not impossible to implement this. Have you ever had a dream ppl’ in which a day seems to pass, whereas in reality you’ve only slept for a couple of minutes? So, no Spoon Boy, there was no WWI or II etc.

Brisvegas said: That may be where Neo has gone in his coma - to the real “real” world.
I don’t think so, since in the reloaded trailer which has parts of Revolutions, Trinity threatens Merv of killing everyone if he doesn’t give Neo back. Hence, he isn’t in the real real world but back in the matrix (he hacked in wireless when EMP’ing the squiddies)

I realize all this is a little loose, these are just my thoughts.

siddarta gouthamaJun 25, 2003 at 8:28AM

on the other hand, matrix and real world cannot run at different time paces, seen the overwhelming interaction between the two.
"Mr. Wizzard, get me out of here!"
Damn, I don't know anymore. I'm going to reconsider everything again and perhaps write that summary Jason wanted so badly.
It'll be a good thing for most of us.
what do you think?

Brisvegas1Jun 25, 2003 at 9:06AM

I wish some one would write a summary - I've started on a list of questions: the only trouble is the answers are all so open ended.

As we have seen here - even the simplest of questions can lead to very big answers / issues.

siddarta gouthamaJun 25, 2003 at 9:28AM

I'm busy on it. If I find it useful, I'll post it. But it may still take some time.

nateJun 25, 2003 at 11:21AM

hi, im not really gonna read all this stuff but just wanted to put my comment in to get to that 1000 mark. i too wrote a light review on the movie and a long review on the videogame over at CrapLog and those 2 posts have gotten more comments and hits than everything else.

DanJun 25, 2003 at 11:29AM

Brisvegas1 said:
I don't think that people simply observing the mass numbers of Smiths

To an extent, yes. But if I saw a town of them? And my wife woke up as one? And everyone I saw on TV?

Brisvegas1 said:or Neo doing things like flying is what will cause people to wake up.

If you saw something like that you would assume it was a mistake, a hallucination, a gag by a TV show. You wouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion that everything you had ever known was false.

Nor should you.


Immediately, no, I wouldn't.

Brisvegas1 said:
You would need more evidence than a one off occurrence - you wouldn't assume that you had gone blind if you woke up with a bad case of conjunctivitis, would you?

Certainly not. But I think there is a lot more going on than one-off occurrences. I think that if Neo set out to prove to people that the Matrix was not real, given just his demonstrated ability to fly and to move objects with his mind (and to fight infinite numbers of people simultaneously), he could convince a lot of them.

I'm talking about millions of Smiths, and Neo doing a whole lot more than seeing him fly by once (he did promise to show people in the first movie, after all).

in the real world would you call yourself morpheosJun 25, 2003 at 11:30AM

Relevance seems to be out the window now with this thread, it would seem the topic has dried up. It would seem the color of a light bulb in scene (whatever) is not far away from the dicussion. Matrix Reloaded is a great film (Though the cgi on the burley brawl for me is still a struggle, too much cgi me thinks), though I fear revolutions (or revelations as it should be called!) will be an anti - climax for most of you on this thread. Though i dont doubt that the answer lies on this thread, as there are some great theories. Any budding screen writer's would have a great deal of material to use from this thread.

in the real world would you call yourself morpheosJun 25, 2003 at 11:44AM

If the matrix loops between 1990 - 2060, you are assuming that all previous matrices were all the same. The Architect points out that there have been different versions. The version The Merningian inhabits has pre - victorian influence. Ghost's, werewolfs, not realy 1990 - 2060 me thinks.

Is Anthony (King of the B movie) Zerbe, the 'One' from v.5 of the Matrix (Licence to kill and Insurection were'nt that bad admittedly) i agree with many that the council are the 23 that the Architect speaks of, and that they may be under instruction.

Perhaps Neo is Julie Christies child from Demon Seed?

bellJun 25, 2003 at 12:21PM

brivegas1, though neo did promise to show all those in the matrix, the truth at the end of the film in matrix1. That was a statement that came from an ignorant neo at that point, as he was not truly aware of the matrix's nature and reality, and his place within it. Neo was living up to a load of bull that morpheos was rattling on about, which in turn the same bull was fed in equal measures to morpheos from the architect or the council or mickey mouse?

One would assume that millions of smiths would attract attention, though the brothers have not realy the human element in the matrix, what i mean is all humans if that is what they are? are as blank as many of the programs. Humans in the matrix are either none reactive or just get taken over by smith or an agent. Agents kill humans of for fun, they seem more of a threat to the system then any one else, a couple more chases sequences in revolutions and there wont be any humans left to save.

bellJun 25, 2003 at 12:37PM

after watching matriculated, it occured to me that neo could in fact be a sentinal/robot that has been sent into 01 (by humans who inhabit a different part of the earth) to free all the humans in zion/matrix (that would account for his abilities. like in matriculated neo/sentinal could have been pre-progammed to have an affinity with mankind. That would explain why keanu/neo is so wooden and robotic and so god damn empty headed. (hats of to keanu for pushing himself to the physical limit) discuss?

Spoon BoyJun 25, 2003 at 1:58PM


To the anti-matrix-within-a-matrix enthusiasts who insist on biological human beings being involved in this story:

Did Tom Anderson have a great-grandfather in the Matrix? Did his great-grandfather live his life in the Matrix thinking it was early 20th century? Before computers? Don't stop there. Tell me what young Tom Anderson learned in history class.

The Matrix timeline is apparently in real time when compared to the real world (i.e. You go into the Matrix for an hour, and you've sat in your dentist chair for an hour. The real-time conversations between the jacked and Link/Tank prove this). Since this is the case, I'd like to hear from you what you think it was like in the Matrix, say, 100 years ago. From the perspective of the people in it. Also, upon the fifth reload, where in time did it start?

The only thing that makes sense in all this is that there are no biological humans. The population of Zion is a component of the larger system, necessary to keep it running. Trying to imagine the "beginning" of Zion is as senseless as trying to imagine our planet "before" it started spinning. i.e. Who gave the Earth it's first shove into its eternal spin? It's a good question, but it's pointless to devote mental energy trying to understand it. For all practical purposes, as far as we're concerned, the Earth has been spinning since its inception. In a similar sense, Zion has *always* been populated since its inception.

My guess is that this is the wavelength the bros W are on with regards to the timeline in this story.

Nothing else jives.

siddarta gouthamaJun 25, 2003 at 3:06PM

Spoon boy, allthough I am still tempted to shift towards the believers side of the onion matrix, I have the following for you:
"I have al these rememberances from whole my live, and none of them happened... what does that mean?"..."That the Matrix can't tell you who you are"

seems to me that he has had a pretty normal memory. Of course it does not explicitely state where his grandfather was, but the matrix could store memories of his great-grandfather telling about Uncle Sam needing him to go to the Great War, etc...
Hey, even when the old guy still was alive, he too could be stored with those memories as having them experienced by himself. As we know already, it is not hard to do.
If the matrix reloads, it's again eg. 1990 and the brains are reloaded too.

JeffJun 25, 2003 at 4:39PM

Spoon Boy said:
The Matrix timeline is apparently in real time when compared to the real world (i.e. You go into the Matrix for an hour, and you've sat in your dentist chair for an hour.

No, the Matrix and Zion run at about the same rate. If Zion is not the real world, then they might both run at the same (accelerated) rate required to let the Goliath story be canon.

Bell said:
Agents kill humans of for fun, they seem more of a threat to the system then any one else, a couple more chases sequences in revolutions and there wont be any humans left to save.

What makes you say that they kill humans "for fun"? As far as I recall seeing, the Agents (as opposed to rogue programs) only act against Zion hackers and rogue programs. It is true that some humans are destroyed as collateral damage, but for all we know the machines take care that they're disconnected before the fatal moment and reconnected somewhere else. AFAIR we've never seen another body ejected from its pod besides Neo's. But even if they do die, it might well be a rational decision on the part of the agents, as opposed to joy at being able to take out a few more humans while going after the Zionists.

Spoon BoyJun 25, 2003 at 6:53PM


Jeff says:

the Matrix and Zion run at about the same rate.


My point. Since the Matrix timeline is synchronized with the Zion timeline, it becomes difficult to argue that Zion is not also a simulation. It almost becomes impossible to imagine the story occuring over "time" as we know it in a physical sense.

As an exercise, imagine yourself in the Matrix world, which feels like 1999 to you. Now start thinking backwards, looking to the past, reflecting on the events which have led up to what you perceive as the present.

When you're done, try to explain to yourself how an external physical Zion, which shares a common timeline with the Matrix world, fits into the big picture. Throw the idea of five preceding Neos into the mix, and the idea of a physical world becomes the proverbial square peg.

These theoretical problems disappear by entertaining the idea that the whole story is representation of a computer process, and is not to be taken literally.

After about six weeks, it looks like Reloaded viewers have fallen into one of two broad camps, each spawning variations:

1. The Physical World Theory

These people believe that what you see is what you get. It's a war of survival between biological man and machine, and somebody's gonna step up to save the human race. Neo. It's the John Connor Story. Some believe Neo may even be a program to save the physical humans, and some even entertain the idea of a "nested" matrix within a matrix, with physical humans ultimately @ the end of the line. The people in this first camp remind me of the "young universe Creationists", who take Genesis literally, perhaps thinking there's no other way to take it. This type of thinking has earned a bad reputation with scientists, as it contradicts what we learn from science.

2. The Not Necessarily Physical World Theory

It's been dubbed the "matrix-within-a-matrix" theory, for lack of a better definition. This includes the onion-skinners, the "Zion-as-an-extension-of", and the extreme "all A.I." theory. What's common in this camp is that people aren't hung up on trying to fit the story into a physical world. While not necessarily coming up with any conclusions, these people all question Theory 1.

I wonder which pill each of these two camps would choose.

jonathanpohJun 25, 2003 at 8:37PM

speaking of dreams, you guys should check out Waking Life (IMDB entry). Covers a lot of heavy and profound ideas on dreams and what constitutes as reality. And if you don't 'get' it, just sit back and enjoy the fantastic rotoscoped animation.

Spoon BoyJun 25, 2003 at 8:55PM


Waking Life... unbelievable. Good call on that one.

siddarta gouthamaJun 26, 2003 at 6:58AM

Spoon boy said for option 1:These people believe that what you see is what you get. It's a war of survival between biological man and machine, and somebody's gonna step up to save the human race. Neo. It's the John Connor Story.

I don't believe that the people from option 1 believe it to be a John Connor story. There simply is no war of survival between biological man and machine, allthough it may seem that way.
The end of revolutions will not end up with one of the 2 surviving or concquering. That would be too easy and not at the same depth of the matrix movies thus far.

Whether onion layered or not, I have a feeling that the W Bro's will surprise us (maybe we see there own persons at the end of revolutions, philosophizing about how revolutions will end and then turning their face to the audience in the theatre:"We got you!" ;-)
Anyhow, I am pretty sure that it won't be a happy ending with Neo and Trin living happily ever after.

Witold RiedelJun 26, 2003 at 6:59AM

(just here to help)...
; )
(this is comment 889?, perhaps?)
(not as excited about "Waking Life" as Spoon boy, definitely not as excited.)
Good Night.

Witold RiedelJun 26, 2003 at 7:17AM

Hmm, looking at the amount of comments left here, I have the feeling that the machines already won.
Just imagine the same amount of mental energy applied to helping a real life situation. (How about: Increasing the comfort of families who are not able to afford Air Conditioning during the summer months in New York City.
Or, just so more can relate, a different topic, how do we stop the killing real humans by real land mines in real human to human conflicts?)

The group of people here is obviously obsessed with something that appears a bit like a perpetuum mobile, fueled by an incredibly synthetic experience.
How fascinating and sad at the same time.
We are such luxury animals to be able to invest such a large amount of mental energy into this. How will the generations after us judge us for this?
They will probably just file this epoch under "the return of religious fanatism" and this particular area will be probably filed under "nerdism". Hmm... (Fixes his glasses...)

Brisvegas1Jun 26, 2003 at 8:45AM

Hey Witold,

Everyone needs a break now and then - something to broaden the horizons and stir ones passions.

Surely you are not so soulless, so short sighted that you would deny people a chance to express themselves creatively - to engage with each other; share ideas, impressions and a sense of wonder about the world.

I work with trade unions, my friends work in indigenous health care centres and volunteer to help bring about democratic reform in Zimbabwe. We have worked for years to make some sort of positive contribution to the world... and the reason we can keep going - in the face of the slow pace of change, knowing that it can take years of effort to create some sort of lasting change; is because occasionally we know when to not give a damn. When to chill the fsck out!

Lefties like you shit me to tears, you care so deeply about so much that before you know it, you burn out. It all gets to be too much and you give up, get a "career" and move to the suburbs. You spend so much time attempting to climb to the top of the high moral ground that you forget to actually get anything done.

Achieving social change is not about opting out and marginalising yourself and your ideas - it is about making a lifelong commitment to dialogue.... and most importantly action... good works.

Seriously - this thread is for people to help each other to understand something that we are mutually interested in - go peddle your tired clichés somewhere else.

But if you want to discuss the film - even if it is simply to discuss the paucity the films political content - then welcome on board.

Otherwise man - shove off.

siddarta gouthamaJun 26, 2003 at 9:50AM

Hy Witold,
just to inform you, fella', that most of the people on this thread, so deeply discussing the aspects of this incredible trilogy and finding reflections in the real world, are the very same people that are actively engaged in all kind of charity organizations (at least I am), This is because we use or brains and we do not just go with the flow of materialism in modern society. And certainly, we respect each others opinion and do not criticize in a sad way, something which obviously are strong at.

So follow the advise of Brisvegas

DanJun 26, 2003 at 10:14AM

Spoon Boy
1. The Physical World Theory
2. The Not Necessarily Physical World Theory

The people in this first camp remind me of the "young universe Creationists", who take Genesis literally, perhaps thinking there's no other way to take it. This type of thinking has earned a bad reputation with scientists, as it contradicts what we learn from science.

Will the condescension ever cease? This is a stunningly ignorant statement. The literalist interpretation of the Bible hinges on the belief that it is (literally) holy writ, composed by God and therefore automatically more compelling than any argument. Whereas the Matrix is the product of ... gasp ... two middle-aged guys who write movies, with a whole lot of pressure on them from above to not fuck up and to coax people into the theaters.

Which is to say that unlike "our" universe, the primary function of the "Matrixverse," is to entertain (you're kidding yourself if you think it's "to educate," or "to philosophize). Although many people, including myself, concede that the MwM idea could well exist, virtually no one save yourself believes it would make for good story-telling.

I'm not trying to tell you that you're objectively wrong and it wouldn't be satisfying for you, but you have to admit that the vast majority of people who have spoken of the MwM theory have done so negatively.

So, to your initial "two camps" point, add a third:

3. The not necessarily a "MwM" Theory.
People who see that there are arguments to be made either way but can't believe that the Wachowski brothers would conclude this series in a way which most everyone agrees is neither compelling nor satisfying.


Spoon Boy
I wonder which pill each of these two camps would choose.

For God's sake...

bellJun 26, 2003 at 10:17AM

Hmm, looking at the amount of comments left here, I have the feeling that the machines already won.

Witold, who is to say that all those who have aired there opinions on this page (in some good discussions i might add), dont use the same mental energies and application in all their daily routines. nerdism? philosophical debate and exchange of idea's i what makes the world go round (though there are not enough philosophers, and i do have an anchoring to live in a republic)...

When viewing the matrix films, one is always aware of on going contradictions; the charactors are telling us one thing, and the visual elements (i would include programs in this) are telling us the opposite. This film is about the humans neo/morpheos opening there eyes to the truth, and pulling away the mask of illusion. Much like our own society, in which many of us are blinded by consumerism/capitalism, these thing dumb us down, and it is up to us to see the reality and not fall too much in love with material things to the point were we become ingnorant and dont care what is going on in the world anymore. Fundamentally that is what the matrix is about.

jeff, my comment on the agents was a sarcastic comment!..

Witold RiedelJun 26, 2003 at 10:29AM

Okay, okay dear "friends", so I put my honey dipped index finger into a low hanging basket filled with queen bees and their entourage. : )
I am thankful that the reaction was not worse than what you gave me.
: )
How easy it is to hit a nerve. This discussion is obviously much more serious than I assumed. : )
And I just love the amount of assumptions regarding me personally. ; )
I can see that there is some amazing energy here. ; )
Right on.

bellJun 26, 2003 at 10:30AM

Dan says, (you're kidding yourself if you think it's "to educate," or "to philosophize).

Though i admitt the film is not primarily there to educate, and one would assume that those who view this film would have a strong enough believe system, and are not going to change there lives after watching this. I believe the brother's W are introducing idea's to the mass audience that many contempary films (certainly blockbusters) dont tend to do. And as not all people are academics, many of the subject matter in the films will be of interest to them as it will be fresh and new.

bellJun 26, 2003 at 10:41AM

With regards to the final outcome of the matrix films, and the 3 schools of thought. The MwM is the most likely and as far as being not a satisfactory ending, that is a hand full of people's opinion, the mass audience that will pay their hard earned money to watch revolutions generally dont get the first two anyhow (after reading many of the critics reviews, many critics certainly dont get it!), and as long as neo is kicking more arse they probly dont care. the conclusions made on this thread is through long debate that most would not bother with, if the truth be told. A film always tends to have an unsatifactory ending, when that ending has been recognised...though here's hoping that the brother's W are a few steps ahead of us...

Spoon BoyJun 26, 2003 at 11:40AM


The literalist interpretation of the Bible hinges on the belief that it is (literally) holy writ, composed by God and therefore automatically more compelling than any argument. Whereas the Matrix is the product of ... gasp ... two middle-aged guys who write movies

Wasn't comaparing the authors of the Matrix to God. Was noticing a similar philosophical wedge driven through the middle of each of the two communities (Creation believers, Matrix fans).

Creationists have been separated into two camps: (a) "young-universe" creationists who interpret Genesis literally, uncompromisingly believing the universe is less than 10,000 years old, not billions as scientific records indicate, and (b) "old-universe" creationists who respect the findings of science, flexibly believing that Creation can peacefully coexist with scientific records.

It's the two divided camps in each community that are similar, not the sources of the two works.

bellJun 26, 2003 at 12:04PM

when matrix version 2 failed and version 3 kicked in are we asuming all of humanity's memories are wiped/erased. A new matrix kicks in, that is decidedly different from the last, surely the humans would notice? Though it has occured to me that it is likely the majority of people in the matrix v.6 have always existed within the matrix. Therefore the reality is defined by the matrix, to them the matrix is reality. Whatever happens in the matrix would seem to be real, so if neo is flying about why would that shock those in the matrix? As those in the ,matrix are not aware of the phiscical laws and rules outside the matrix, there is nothing to compare their reality with to suggest that their reality is incorrect.

GhostJun 26, 2003 at 3:18PM

“First I must apologize.” That script was picked up on the www not from the game.

Now as far as I can see the only way to judge the approximate length of this version of the matrix would be by counting the population of Z10N.

Now assuming that you believe the Architect and you don't think the MwM theory is true, then you would believe that Z10N was originally populated by 24 people (16 female and 8 male including Neo).

Now there are 250,000 people in Z10N "A sentinel for every man woman and child". So if you figure out how long it would take 24 people to pro-create to the total of 250,000 then you would have the amount of time this version of the matrix lasted. Any math whiz out there ready to tackle the challenge? Just an idea.

Z10N could have average 2500 children per year, during a 100 year span? More likely they could have an average 1250 children per year, during a 200 year span? This of course would start out at 25 per year and increase up to double the average by the time the sentinels raided the city? I really don’t know if that’s probable, it’s just a quick thought.



“Don't be silly, honey. Men don't fly.”

DanJun 26, 2003 at 4:46PM

bell said:
Though it has occured to me that it is likely the majority of people in the matrix v.6 have always existed within the matrix.

"Always" meaning that they have been there since *their* birth or the birth of the Matrix? I would agree with the former.

bell said:
Therefore the reality is defined by the matrix, to them the matrix is reality. Whatever happens in the matrix would seem to be real, so if neo is flying about why would that shock those in the matrix?

There is some truth in this, but not a lot. It is canon that the Matrix world is our world, that the movie essentially suggests asks that we believe that we are within that world ourselves. As such, their reality is essentially defined by our perception of reality.

bell said:
As those in the, matrix are not aware of the phiscical laws and rules outside the matrix, there is nothing to compare their reality with to suggest that their reality is incorrect.

Not true (or at least not necessarily true - see above). This does, however, beg the question that human history (personal and otherwise) is essentially hard-coded into each Matrix-bound individual's brain - perhaps on their birth/entry into the matrix - why couldn't the idea of flying people be written into it in another iteration, should one occur?

In my opinion, though, that issue (I stayed out of it before), could be resolved by saying that each person is imprinted by the Matrix with a - geekspeak - image of who they are, and it can not change while the Matrix runs. The agents' "possessions" are an obvious problem with that theory, tho.

DanJun 26, 2003 at 5:04PM

Spoon Boy said:
Wasn't comaparing the authors of the Matrix to God. Was noticing a similar philosophical wedge driven through the middle of each of the two communities (Creation believers, Matrix fans).

The comparison would have been more apt if you had. In this universe, you do have at least two gods (not to mention the prophet Profit), maybe a pantheon. And in this universe, those gods are at the mercy of their believers. And my statement from before stands: the vast preponderance of data suggests that a circular (go ahead and say it, "revolutionary") semi-conclusion would displease those believers.

Spoon Boy said:
It's the two divided camps in each community that are similar, not the sources of the two works.

Except for the fact that in this case, God is real and lives in LA. In this world, God actually does intentionally provide signs, and most of all has a house and a mortgage, and a studio which employs him(/them).

To put it in oddly religious terms, most of us have faith that these particular gods can do better than that.

GhostJun 26, 2003 at 5:55PM

Agent Smith: "Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program."

From this statement I think it goes deeper then "hard-coded"
It is a major premise behind the movie; we as humans kept trying to wake up from a reality that we inherently felt was false. It wasn't a "Jungle Book" type thing where we only knew that world so we accepted it. It was that we felt what the world should be (naturally ) and what we were presented with was not real.

"The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from." In reading this quote you get the idea that our disbelief in the falsities of the matrix is something that our evolution as a species has taught us. Perhaps the fact that we don't except a perfect world or another iteration with flying people in it, is because that would be a habitat that we mammals are not naturally built for or used to.

It’s 101 nature or nurture. Is it because of your genetics that you want to live in a house and wear cloths or because everyone around you has been doing it and telling you that it was correct? To say that we as intelligent animals would accept a breaking or twisting of the physical laws and rules that have governed the growth of this species isn't acceptable... So now my primitive cerebrum is going to wake up :-)



“I concluded that I might take as a general rule the principle that all things which we very clearly and obviously conceive are true: only observing, however, that there is some difficulty in rightly determining the objects which we distinctly conceive.”
Rene Descartes.

Spoon BoyJun 27, 2003 at 1:03AM



Witold says:

this particular area will be probably filed under "nerdism".


Was that supposed to be an insult? Visiting a 900-post Matrix Reloaded Thread and calling it nerdism is like walking into a packed football stadium on Super Bowl Sunday and calling it a sporting event.

siddarta gouthamaJun 27, 2003 at 3:25AM

"Spoon boy and Bell said, Ghost quoted"
(b) "old-universe" creationists who respect the findings of science, flexibly believing that Creation can peacefully coexist with scientific records.
As those in the, matrix are not aware of the phiscical laws and rules outside the matrix, there is nothing to compare their reality with to suggest that their reality is incorrect.
I concluded that I might take as a general rule the principle that all things which we very clearly and obviously conceive are true: only observing, however, that there is some difficulty in rightly determining the objects which we distinctly conceive.”


Indeed, Descartes is a good philosopher to quote. Those believing that Creation can peacefully coexist with scientific findings have the same degree of criticism as the, well, creationist-non-believer scientists. The only difference between those 2 groups is how they envisage the reality beyond the borders of our reality world (if there is a reality beyond our reality border).
Descartes said that it was hard for us human beings, hypothesizing what reality was as we ourselves are part of that reality. In the same way, MAtrix-plugged-in scientists try to describe the world as they see it with their scientific instruments. It all fits because they perceive a reality that is designed around them. Some however feel that there's something more. They just know it, but they can't describe it, "but it's the question that drives them."

In the same way, we describe our universe with all scientific tools, but again, this is all part of a reality around us. Nor the creationist believers, nor the non-believers, can hypothesize about the true reality, because we're still part of the system. Trying to describe the system around us is only possible when you are out of that system.
It's like us, looking at an ant population, organizing their community. The ants just do their job, but have no idea there's a reality outside there system that investigates them and describes them.
I guess looking and trying to understand the matrix philosophy is as looking 'through the looking glass'.

To end, it seems we have three different theories about what the deal of the matrix is. All of them are, shall we say, irrelevant. Every single one of them may be correct or utterly wrong. Why? Because we just have to see what the W bro's have prepared for us. It'll be there looking glass that we're going to use after Revolutions. I do hope that Revolutions will end very open, that the bro's all point our noses towards the real looking glass (we see the border of our reality but we can't see behind it), but I fear they won't because

you have to keep in mind that, nor they, nor we have looked through the real Looking Glass. We're just constantly looking in our system and , at maximum, looking at the Looking Glass.

siddarta gouthamaJun 27, 2003 at 3:27AM

By the way, we're gonna go way over a thousand posts. Good work people! I enjoy hypothesizing and having discussions with you.

bellJun 27, 2003 at 8:46AM

if version 7 were to kick in, regarding all 250'000 zionist's. If they were to be replugged in, a memory erase would surely have to happen; or would they be led through another laberynth to con them into believing that what ever matrix 7 appears to be, the matrix would convince them they still inhabit the real world. I have a problem with the fact that only 24 people will be used to rebuild zion, are we to assume that 249'976 people are assinilated back into the matrix or deemed collartoral damage (though i suppose 250'000 out of excess of 6 maybe 7 billion depending on the time frame, and also depending on how fast the machines grow humans would not be missed that much).

bellJun 27, 2003 at 9:23AM

i think it was Aristotle who spoke of a man chained up in a cave, who had never seen sunlight or any other person. This man always had is back to the cave opening. all he could see was shadows on the wall created by people sat at a camp fire. for many years he percieved these shadows to be a life form/ or what people looked like. To that man reality was the shadow forms...

I dont believe there is a inherent understanding of the nature of reality from birth or somehow genetically imprinted. people are defined by nuture, enviroment etc. It would seem more appropriate that the mind would reject the matrix simply as it tires from over stimulation, like staring at a computer screen for to long and getting a headache.

bellJun 27, 2003 at 9:58AM

simulacra and smulation by Baudrillard, in m1 the book is opened on nihlism, suggesting that terrorism is the answer to breaking down the system of illusion, controversial! though much of a reality in todays world climate. quoting the final line from m1, (well something to this effect) im going to show these people the truth. this is not how it is going to end but how it is going to begin. Could this be suggesting that all those in the matrix will realise the truth yet remain in the matrix but ahev a greater reedom through self awareness, as with our society your not just gonna tear it down unless your from morpheos's school of thought , better to understand its nature and change the system from with in as neo may do in the end.

Spoon BoyJun 27, 2003 at 12:40PM

Ghost says:

So if you figure out how long it would take 24 people to pro-create to the total of 250,000 then you would have the amount of time this version of the matrix lasted. Any math whiz out there ready to tackle the challenge? Just an idea.

Z10N could have average 2500 children per year, during a 100 year span? More likely they could have an average 1250 children per year, during a 200 year span?


Let's tackle this. I'd be interested to hear if any social science people out there can figure this one out.

I've been sitting here for five minutes with a calculator. Let's say a woman of child-bearing age averages one child per year. Starting with 23 people, 16 of them child-bearing women, we can say the population, not including the original 23, would be (16x16) after 16 years, for a total of 256 people. @ this point (Year 17), we'd have 16 1-yr olds, 16 2-yr olds, and so on, up to 16 16-yr olds. Assuming the population is half male and half female, we can say that there are 8 new candidate mothers 17 years after the reboot, with a new batch of (second generation) mothers coming of age each year after that. There will be a fairly consistent increase of about 8 new mothers a year (born of the original 16 women) for years 17-32. Then things get confusing, as we begin tapping into the third generation of mothers.

Tag, you're it.

GhostJun 27, 2003 at 1:12PM

Now lets say a cat or even a "white rabbit" was kept inside and not exposed to any seasons during its life, wouldn't it still shed in the summer? Somewhere deep within that rabbit there is something inherit in its nature that makes it shed regardless if there is any change in temperature or season. Its nature does not accept the pseudo-environment.

The same is my belief with the humans in the matrix; something inherit tells them it is not right and they don't accept it. The perfect reality "Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy", was not their natural reality and that is why the Matrix had to be created to represent "the peak of your civilization", as Smith said.

Now when these entire crops were lost because the humans inside didn't accept the program. What happened there is they continued to think and believe; “this doesn’t look right, this doesn’t feel right, and this isn’t right” until they sought the real world so much they simply left their digital bodies behind and woke up in the "fields" (just like what happened to Popper).

Just like if the white rabbit could rationalize that shedding without seasons is not right, and that the reason it's not right is because it is in a fake environment -> then perhaps that white rabbit would start looking for a rabbit hole to get out of (it’s matrix).

My point is that the reason the first couple versions didn’t work is because the human mind didn’t except the “reality that they were presented with”. Now that is the point that the W’s wanted to make; that the theory of Aristotle’s cave isn’t true, the shadows on the wall don’t fool everyone. Most of all we are not foolish creatures, we can believe the reality we are presented with is real, but we have something in us to let us question it. Just like my personal favorite: Descartes.

Good luck with the math......:-)

eyehandJun 27, 2003 at 4:02PM

assumptions:
1 - 16 fertile women of child bearing years.
2 - Each women has a child every year.
3 - Each women has up to 5 children
4 - Each women starts having children at 13 yrs old.
5 - Each batch of kids is 50% female
6 - Average life spans are 80 years
7 - No untimely deaths
8 - No birth complications

Then in about 100 years you'll have over 32,200 very very inbred people.

Viable self perpetuating populations without inbreeding problems need to be about 200 unrelated people.

Just thought I'd finally chime in on this thread.

Spoon BoyJun 27, 2003 at 4:36PM


eyehand says:

in about 100 years you'll have over 32,200


Thx for hashing that out. Any estimate on how many years it'd take to reach a population of 250k?

very very inbred people.

That inbreed factor diminishes over time though, no?

Viable self perpetuating populations without inbreeding problems need to be about 200 unrelated people.

Turning our attention to people of Zion as portrayed in the movie, did that look like such a population?

Now that I think about it, were there any homegrown white people in Zion? Or were all the white folks in Zion pod escapees?

GhostJun 27, 2003 at 5:07PM

So what are we looking at 100, 200 years of Z10N until the machines thrash through the gate? That figure seems unrealistic. Max lets say 300 years, and minimum 150 years. That would reboot the matrix around the year 1700 - 1850. Something isn't clicking.

We know that Time in the matrix runs concurrent to the real world because of communication between the two. We also know about how lon It would take Z10N to repopulate. So where are we left?

1. We are left with the matrix reloading in the seventeen hundreds and moving forward as far as cities, populations, technology, and time. Until the reload.

2. The matrix reloads around 1960 and stays in a perpetual growth stage where nothing necessarily changes.

In choice #1 the memories of the individuals first placed in the matrix would have to be programmed. Each generation after that would have normal memories.

In choice #2 there would be three hundred years of different aged people speaking to each other about the non progression of the times that they lived in. How would that work? Some how these peoples memories would have to be fixed.....or mabey replaced with....or they could......... but then they would.....????????

I'm really confused???

Spoon BoyJun 27, 2003 at 5:21PM


Ghost says:

How would that work?... I'm really confused


Confusing it is, and for good reason. It doesn't work. This a good example of why biological humans don't fit in this story.

Great job on the outline.

GhostJun 27, 2003 at 5:41PM

Your right, there's no other explanation. :-(

That's kind of funny -> I proved myself wrong.......
Read yall on monday. frag fest weekend.

Brisvegas1Jun 27, 2003 at 8:08PM

ok - if you can assume that any "first population" of the matrix has there memory programmed - then what is to stop them doing that to every individual in the matrix whenever they want.

- how would people who are taken over by an agent explain thier lost time etc.

I think the appropriate way to look at the system is this.

Brains and matrix code are two halves of the same system - the matrix is not something that is imposed upon a brain. The matrix is something that is created by a brain, in conjunction with matrix code.

I talk about these "matrix sub processing units" here.

So - when everything is going well, there is a symbiotic relationship between matrix code and the brain that forms the matrix. The brain accepts matrix code and processes it.

On the otherhand, the matrix accepts the output of the brain and makes it "real".

But when a brain rebels - well that is what we see in the movie - people making impossible things happen in the matrix.

So - If the matrix reoads, ie. the code changes - the vast majority of brains will just accept it.

Brisvegas1Jun 27, 2003 at 8:28PM

also

any population count for zion must take into account the continual influx of new residents rescued from the matrix.

and as time goes on - there would be more and more crews capable of doing the rescuing.

look at the scene with all the captains and crews of the zion fleet. There looked to be nearly a hunded people there.

given about 5 people per crew there are around twenty ships.

so say it takes three months to identify a potential and rescue them - that means eac ship could rescue 3-4 people a year.

that is 60 new 15- 20 yearolds every year.

Spoon BoyJun 27, 2003 at 8:36PM


Brisvegas1 says:

Brains and matrix code are two halves of the same system - the matrix is not something that is imposed upon a brain. The matrix is something that is created by a brain, in conjunction with matrix code.


Correct me if I misunderstand you, but it sounds like you're saying that there's a largely subjective element to the Matrix experience. You're suggesting that the Matrix world is partially created by the jacked brain, not an independent program. Yes?

If half of the Matrix system is created by a jacked brain, then how do you explain the ability of a non-jacked Neb tech like Cypher or Link to look @ a computer screen and see what's going on inside?

"Blonde, brunette, redhead..."

"He's doing that Superman thing again..."

"There's an office @ the end of the hall..."

etc.

Brisvegas1Jun 28, 2003 at 2:52AM

the point is they are the "external" observer - they can look at the inputs and outputs to the brain/system and reconstruct a certain amount of detail.

What they cant do (as I talk about here) is interact with the matrix itself. no new guns, cars etc. no eight foot robots.

What they may be able to do (since they have direct physical access to brains) is to be able to download new skills. But, this just underlines my point - that a certain amount of the matrix is created by the brains, not simply experienced. The brains make it so.

tomJun 28, 2003 at 11:11AM

I cant belive so many people didnt get the movie plot possibilities, i havent read all the posts b t here is what happened at the end of tmr with dude in the chair and all the tv sets.

For the matrix to continue many of those in the matrix must at some level have hope , in something that they to diferent degrees do or do not understand. So there is a collective belief in the posibility of the one. Zion creates enough feeback in to the matrix to allow it to keep functioning, sor tof a release valve to avoid perefect matrix that did not work. Like to day difeerent religons , agnostics athieists etc. but this pantheon, including many of the agents who belive it is tru, is enough to permeate society making it noraml for the human mind to exist.

Smith did escape to the 'real world' and was the guy cutting his hand, smith also set of the emp defensives premeturely so that the sentinals got in without a fight. tha t was said emphatically, how did so many people miss this were they asleep or brain dead????

The machines do not care to much about the matrix as are prepared to accept differnt levels of existance, ie 2 aa batries and a sony walkman level if they have to

This leaves us with two possibilites,

recursion in the matrix, hence neo's powers, or not, hence neos powers, it doesnt really matter, if u accept the initial premise

I think the most chilling aspect is that the oracle could be interprited as complicit and the architect of finding how to keep the matrix operating, she is the one that figured that out and is actively leading every one on .....intentioanlly or otherwise, the guy in the tv room, laments the oracle but admits how much she is needed.

The big flaw 4 me is that in the anmatrix nukes were used against the robots, but bieng made of metal id didnt really worry them, but emps works against them, a nuke creates a massive emp, so i dont buy it, and th dark skyes issue is the humans cutting off solar power, why dont the robots just go into outer space, hell theres no reason for them to stay on earth when u really think about it, infact i wonder if this is the soultuion to the robot ascendany theory. Interent becomes sentient, but it just doesnt bother taking over the world, becuase it means nothing to it, kinda like you get bored of bulding sand castles. I reckon sentinet it robots etc, would probally be quite happy to leave planet earth nad just head off, for the most part, also solves the dark sky problem.

Taking the animatrix ats it barest, would indicate against recursion, but does not rule it out,

...wait and seee.

www.xtce.com

Spoon BoyJun 28, 2003 at 10:36PM


CYPHER:

I'm going to let you in on a little secret here. Now don't tell him I told you this, but this ain't the first time Morpheus thought he found the One.

NEO:

Really? How many were there?

CYPHER:

Five. Since I've been here.

gezJun 29, 2003 at 5:58PM

Okay -

I'm going to ask this again 'cos I got no responses the first time, and I really think it's important -

Doesn't anyone else think it really strange that we haven't seen the surface of the Earth? Except for a TV picture in M1.

I can't help feeling that we're in for a big surprise in Revolutions. Based on what a lot of us have been discussing isn't it likely that a LOT LONGER than 200 years have passed since the machine war? More like 1000 or 2000 (that would be a nice Christian number) years. And after all that time wouldn't they have found a way to clear the skies? It would seem like a priority!

Are any earlier versions of the script for Matrix or Reloaded available to read on the net?

g

siddarta gouthamaJun 30, 2003 at 2:48AM

gez said:
Based on what a lot of us have been discussing isn't it likely that a LOT LONGER than 200 years have passed since the machine war?

My point exactly. I don't believe in this Matrix-reload-in-the-18th-century-stuff. And even more, when there would have been 5 more reloads, I'm positive that they aren't in the year 2199 as Morpheus presumes, but much much later, say e.g. 2600 or 3000!
It's in revelations people! (just kidding)
Anyway, we cannot simply believe the things that are said in M1 or TMR, everyone of the characters have been lied to. The only persons that now more are perhaps the architect, the oracle, councelor Hamman(?), Merv and perhaps Neo who is getting enlighted. Hey maybe even no one knows, maybe it's just AI after all.

can't believe I read the whole thing!Jun 30, 2003 at 3:09AM

1. In the architect transcript, the

architect says "The matrix is older than you know". I think that this is an allusion to the fact

that ossibly more than 200 years have passed, but more likely 1500 (250 * 6), and that each matrix

iteration takes around 250 'years'. I quotes that because as it has been mentioned before, the speed at

which time flows may be suspect, especially if Zion is digital.


Okay -

I'm going to ask this again 'cos I got no responses the first time, and I really think it's important -

Doesn't anyone else think it really strange that we haven't seen the surface of the Earth? Except for a

TV picture in M1


2. I think it's strange that it hasn't been shown in the movie, but in The Animatrix the

surface appears to be show in both The Last Flight of the Osiris and one with the creepy

looking construct that I don't know the name of
. Also, in the Revolutions trailer, someone (

sorry for the lack of credit) had mentioned that Niobe and her first mate were hovering over a field of

growing humans, which I would assume would be the surface. This doesn't really answer anything, but adds

a couple of points.

3. I'm not so sure of the math for the population growth in Zion, I think there would be too many

variables to really come up with an accurate number, as there were an unknown amount of people freed from

the matrix, who would have had an unknown amount of time to breed with the normal population of Zion,

giving their constant 'at sea' status, like sailors.

4. I think the supercomputer idea is a top shelf, and that might be one of the reasons that the

matrix is 'degrading' in Revolutions. I think that Smith infecting the spare CPUs he is removing

the ability of the matrix to render complete images, hence the 'big' rain and 'darkness' in the trailer.

5. I have no real response as to which door the previous Ones chose, but would think it would have

been the right door, since Morpheous says in M1 that "It was he who freed the first of us". Other wise

he probably should have been destroyed with the rest of the human species. I think Spoon Boys notice of

the different numbers coming from Neo could easily be interpreted as the previous versions, but it could

also have taken them different speeds to count up to five, given the difficulty of that task, and our

perspective was only one the monitors for a brief time.

6. As it was pointed out in one of Spoon Boy's many posts, if an EMP had gone off in order to stop

the sentinels in the end, it would probably have taken the hammer down as well, though the W bros. did

not tell me what the range of an EMP was. I also like the post about the nuclear bomb having an EMP

effect, which would have addled 01 to some point at least. My guess is that after the effect wore off a

simple 'fsck -a' was run and the machines were up and running, although some thing tells me that that

much heat might melt metal and silicon. Any metallurgist/chemist in the house who could answer the

question? Bell had also mentioned the building that the nuclear bomb that killed the 2nd Ren pt2 people

as going off in the white house. I believe this was the
112.jpg">UN building in NYC, but I could be wrong.

7. I think I will have to disagree with Spoon boy about the electronic origin or DuJour. I think it

more likely that she was contacted by trinity, and had a tattoo put on her (or something), as it seemed

to me that she was a well (?) known character to Choi, as opposed to some hooker off the street. I do

think it likely that the Neb crew manipulated event, as you mentioned to time it out properly. I don't

think we'll ever know as to why they were two hours late., such is life.

8. Finally, I will add on to the
'Agency' theme that Tackaberry put forth in saying that AI does indeed need humans, as it has always been used to serve them. In order to further its own evolution on the needs of man from manual laborers to technology consultants suppliers/consultants (as seen in the 2nd ren part1), man must be am integral part of this. Because of this, AI is unable to destory the being who have some far defined thier existance, and must look for an ideal candidate who can do that for them ( the One who can ake choices outsife thier range of compreshension, though I think the Architect new what door Neo was going to ge through as well). The systemic anomaly could have also happened mroe than six times, and AI has just experiednced tha the 6th one make the wrong choice, according to them. This would mean that the machines had a sperm bank of sorts with which to repopulate. Humans could be kept around soley to help them on to the next stage of human/AI evolution (as to what that is I could not say) super cyborgs, lots of Lee Majors with bad sound effects? Or just to help them understand choice and emotion, which could be seen as the final step wowards AI, even though the Architect seems to despise as tleast the emotion part (he could just be jealous). The theories about this one are endless.

Well, I hope I didn't miss anything. I have been pretty long winded, but everthing is supposed to be bigger in Texas. I don't know why Alaska had to go an ruin it for us, it was a sad day for some a lot older than I. Thanks for listening, cya

GhostJun 30, 2003 at 12:51PM

I went to see the Movie "again". And i happened to pick up on a little piece of Matrix Trivia.........

We have all talked about the one, one written on the fence during the B- Brawl. Well i studied it closely and the word one on the left mysteriously dissapears as soon as smith comes in the scene.

So there were two ONES written on the wall one Smith comes in and the ONE on the left side is gone.

I have no idea what it means but hey, it's still cool to know. Any ideas write em.

GhostJun 30, 2003 at 12:54PM

I went to see the Movie "again". And I picked up on a little piece of Matrix Trivia.........

We have all talked about the one, one written on the fence during the B- Brawl. Well I studied it closely and the word one on the left mysteriously disappears as soon as smith comes in the scene.

So there were two ONES written on the wall one Smith comes in and the ONE on the left side is gone. Humm??????

I have no idea what it means but hey, it's still cool to know. Any ideas write em.

kieJun 30, 2003 at 5:50PM

There is one major point which I think everyone has overlooked.

If you just look at the title : MATRIX REVOLUTIONS : the word "REVOLUTION " says it all - meaning we will not be tricked, no its not a dream sequence and no it will not be a matrix within a matrix.

Def. of REVOLUTION : (from dictionary.com)

rev·o·lu·tion ( P ) Pronunciation Key (rv-lshn)
n.

Orbital motion about a point, especially as distinguished from axial rotation: the planetary revolution about the sun.

A turning or rotational motion about an axis.

A single complete cycle of such orbital or axial motion.

The overthrow of one government and its replacement with another.

A sudden or momentous change in a situation: the revolution in computer technology.


Geology. A time of major crustal deformation, when folds and faults are formed.

Or maybe revolutions mean it goes around in circles hehe :)
Just kidding.

siddarta gouthamaJul 01, 2003 at 2:08PM

I kind of agree with what Kie says, but i disagree with the fact we would not be tricked.

We WILL be tricked!! the word 'revolutions' is not only for the film's characters, it'll be also for the Trilogy's viewers... us!

siddarta gouthamaJul 03, 2003 at 2:59AM

So I guess we won't reach the 1000 posts. Doesn't matter... this has been the most extraordanary thread I've ever encountered on the web, and I'm glad it was on a subject that requires some activity from us, rather than sitting in front of our computer screen and absorbing all the materialistic, simplistic "faits-divers" that fly through our screens. If the thread remains open, there will occasionally be someone who has an interesting thought or clever remark. If it's interesting enough, more people might again jump on it. Anyways, this thread has been stimulatory for our minds, giving the opportunity to expand our vision not only on the Trilogy philosophy, but sometimes also on our lives.
A summary of the thread? No, just read it (skip the few posts that were irrelevant and idiot). It might take some time ("10 hours straight..."), but you will gain new insight on the movie and it will open new perspectives. I dare to say that even when the W bro's would read this, they would find things their film has brought up that they hadn't thought of it themselves.
Jason, thanks for giving us this opportunity.
To end...
Did anyone notice that the oracle said:"I said don't worry, I'll get one of my kids to fix it"
My kids... is this meant as just one of the Potential children that are in the waiting room...? Why my kids and not one of the kids? ...

This thread is closed to new comments. Thanks to everyone who responded.