─ Chapter Twenty-one ─ Wake Up!
Saturday Night at the Movies—that’s what the poster declared in bold welcoming
letters. Castlethorpe had purchased licences to screen many movies over the
years. This one was special because it was linked to the “Awakening” learning
stream.
The Wachowskis had created The Matrix trilogy with a deliberate intention. They occasionally hinted at what that was but were rarely explicit—leaving it up to people to interpret the movies however they wished.
The Wachowskis had created The Matrix trilogy with a deliberate intention. They occasionally hinted at what that was but were rarely explicit—leaving it up to people to interpret the movies however they wished.
The Matrix,
the first movie, was released in 1999 and is regarded by many as one of the
best science fiction films ever made—depending on who you ask of course! It was
praised by many critics, as well as filmmakers and science fiction authors especially
for its spectacular action scenes and its ground-breaking special effects. There
have also been those, including philosopher William Irwin, who have suggested
that the film explores significant philosophical and spiritual themes. This is
its appeal to Castlethorpe students.
The
Matrix is Callum’s favourite movie and, although he acts rather coy, when
pressed he reveals he spent some time with the cast while they basked in the
movie’s success in 2000. Callum has few attachments but admits that he would
feel distraught if the cast’s parting gift to him was ever damaged or lost—a
signed script on high quality parchment of the conversation that Neo has when
he first meets Morpheus face-to-face.
INT.
ROOM 1313
Across the room, a dark figure stares out the
tall
windows veiled with decaying lace. He turns and his
smile lights up the room.
MORPHEUS
At last.
He wears a long black coat and his eyes are
invisible
behind circular mirrored glasses.
He strides to Neo and they shake hands.
MORPHEUS
Welcome, Neo. As you no doubt
have guessed, I am
Morpheus.
NEO
It's an honour.
MORPHEUS
Please. Come.
Sit.
He nods to Trinity.
MORPHEUS
Thank you, Trinity.
She bows her head sharply and exits through a
door to an
adjacent room.
They sit across from one another in cracked,
burgundy-
leather chairs.
MORPHEUS
I imagine, right now, you
must be
feeling a bit like Alice,
tumbling
down the rabbit hole?
NEO
You could say that.
MORPHEUS
I can see it in your
eyes. You
have the look of a man
who accepts
what he sees because he
is
expecting to wake up.
A smile, razor-thin, curls the corner of his
lips.
MORPHEUS
Ironically, this is not
far from
the truth. But I'm getting ahead
of myself. Can you tell me, Neo,
why are you here?
NEO
You're Morpheus, you're a
legend.
Most hackers would die to
meet
you.
MORPHEUS
Yes. Thank you.
But I think we
both know there's more to
it than
that. 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.
MORPHEUS
I know exactly what you
mean.
Again, that smile that could cut glass.
MORPHEUS
Let me tell you why you
are here.
You are here because you
have the
gift.
NEO
What gift?
MORPHEUS
I've watched you,
Neo. You do not
use a computer like a
tool. You
use it like it was part
of
yourself. What you can do inside
a computer is not
normal. I know.
I've seen it. What you do is
magic.
Neo shrugs.
NEO
It's not magic.
MORPHEUS
But it is, Neo. It is.
How else
would you describe what
has been
happening to you?
He leans forward.
MORPHEUS
We are trained in this
world to
accept only what is
rational and
logical. Have you ever wondered
why?
Neo shakes his head.
MORPHEUS
As children, we do not
separate
the possible from the impossible
which is why the younger
a mind is
the easier it is to free
while a
mind like yours can be
very
difficult.
NEO
Free from what?
MORPHEUS
From the Matrix.
Neo locks at his eyes but only sees a
reflection of
himself.
MORPHEUS
Do you want to know what
it is,
Neo?
Neo swallows and nods his head.
MORPHEUS
It's that feeling you
have had all
your life. That feeling that
something was wrong with
the
world. You don't know what it is
but it's there, like a
splinter in
your mind, driving you
mad,
driving you to me. But what is
it?
The LEATHER CREAKS as he leans back.
MORPHEUS
The Matrix is everywhere,
it's all
around us, here even in
this room.
You can see it out your
window, or
on your television. You feel it
when you go to work, or
go to
church or pay your
taxes. It is
the world that has been
pulled
over your eyes to blind
you from
the truth.
NEO
What truth?
MORPHEUS
That you are a slave,
Neo. That
you, like everyone else,
was born
into bondage...
... kept inside a prison
that you
cannot smell, taste, or
touch. A
prison for your mind.
Outside, the WIND BATTERS a loose PANE of
glass.
MORPHEUS
Unfortunately, no one can
be told
what the Matrix is. You have to
see it for yourself.
NEO
How?
MORPHEUS
Hold out your hands.
In Neo's right hand, Morpheus drops a red
pill.
MORPHEUS
This is your last chance. After
this, there is no going
back.
In his left, a blue pill.
MORPHEUS
You take the blue pill
and the
story ends. You wake in your bed
and you believe whatever
you want
to believe.
The pills in his open hands are reflected in
the glasses.
MORPHEUS
You take the red pill and
you stay
in Wonderland and I show
you how
deep the rabbit-hole
goes.
Neo feels the smooth skin of the capsules,
with the
moisture growing in his palms.
MORPHEUS
Remember that all I am
offering is
the truth. Nothing more.
Neo opens his mouth and swallows the red
pill. The
Cheshire smile returns.
MORPHEUS
Follow me.
He leads Neo into the other room, which is
cramped with
high-tech equipment, glowing ash-blue and
electric green
from the racks of monitors.
Trinity, Apoc and Cypher look up as they
enter.
CYPHER
Shit.
TRINITY
I knew he would.
Cypher saddles up to Morpheus, talking in a
hushed tone
away from, Neo.
CYPHER
Morpheus, I know what you
believe
but I think this is a
mistake.
We're rushing him. He's old.
I'm
afraid he might pop.
MORPHEUS
Haven't I always told
you, Cypher,
not to let fear control
your life.
Apoc, are we on-line?
Neo recognizes the large man from the El
train.
APOC
Almost.
He and Trinity are working quickly, hardwiring
a complex
system of monitors, modules and drives.
NEO
Apoc? You wrote the Four Horsemen
Virus.
APOC
That's right.
MORPHEUS
Neo, time is always
against us.
Will you take a seat
there?
In the centre of the room sits a chair. Near the chair
is an old oval dressing mirror that is
cracked.
MORPHEUS
I imagine you know
something about
virtual reality.
Neo sits and Trinity begins gently fixing
white electrode
disks to his head, arms, and the back of his
neck.
NEO
A little.
MORPHEUS
Tell me about it.
NEO
Essentially, it's a
hardware
system that uses an apparatus;
headgear, gloves and
whatever to
make you feel that you
are in a
computer program.
MORPHEUS
If the virtual reality
apparatus,
as you called it, was
wired to all
of your senses and
controlled them
completely, would you be able
to
tell the difference
between the
virtual world and the
real world?
NEO
You might not, no.
MORPHEUS
No, you wouldn't.
Neo whispers to Trinity.
NEO
You did all this?
She nods, placing a set of headphones over his
ears.
They are wired to an old hotel phone.
MORPHEUS
The pill you took is part
of a
trace program. It's going to make
things feel a bit
strange.
Distantly, through the earphones, he hears
Apoc POUNDING
on a KEYBOARD.
Sweat beads his face. His eyes
blink and
twitch when he notices the mirror.
Wide-eyed he stares as it begins to heal
itself, a
webwork of cracks that slowly run together as
though the
mirror was becoming liquid.
NEO
Shit...
Cypher works with Apoc checking reams of
phosphorescent
data.
Trinity monitors Neo's electric vital signs.
Neo reaches out to touch the mirror and his
fingers
disappear beneath the rippling surface.
Quickly, he tries to pull his fingers out but
the mirror
stretches in long rubbery strands like
mirrored-taffy
stuck to his fingertips.
NEO
What is this? Mescaline?
MORPHEUS
Just relax, Neo.
The strands thin like rubber cement as he
pulls away,
until the fragile wisps of mirror thread
break.
With the TINKLING of GLASS, shimmering
snowflakes
of electric-blinking mercury fall, hit the
ground, and
fade.
He looks at his hand; fingers distended into
mirrored
icicles that begin to melt rapidly, dripping,
running
like wax down his fingers, spreading across
his palms
where he sees his face reflected.
NEO
Uh-oh...
TRINITY
It's going into
replication.
MORPHEUS
Apoc?
APOC
Still nothing.
Morpheus takes out a cellular phone and dials
a number.
MORPHEUS
Tank, we're going to need
the
signal soon. Stay calm, Neo.
The mirror gel seems to come to life, racing,
crawling up
his arms like hundreds of insects.
NEO
It's cold.
The mirror creeps up his neck as Neo begins to
panic,
tipping his head as though he were sinking
into the
mirror, trying to keep his mouth up.
NEO
It's all over me --
Morpheus is right next to him, with the phone.
TRINITY
I got a fibrillation!
CYPHER
I knew it, I knew it...
MORPHEUS
Shit! Apoc?
Streams of mercury run from Neo's nose.
APOC
Targeting... almost
there.
An ALARM, on Trinity's monitor ERUPTS.
TRINITY
He's going into arrest!
CYPHER
He's gonna pop!
APOC
Lock! I got him!
MORPHEUS
Now, Tank now!
His eyes tear with mirror, rolling up and
closing as a
high-pitched ELECTRIC SCREAM ERUPTS in the
headphones --
It is a piercing SHRIEK like a computer
calling to
another computer --
Neo's body arches in agony and we are pulled
like we were
pulled into the holes of the phone
Sucked into his SCREAM and swallowed by
darkness.
INT.
POWER PLANT - CLOSE ON MAN'S BODY
Floating in a womb-red amnion.
His body spasms, fighting against the thick
gelatine.
Metal tubes, surreal versions of hospital
tubes, obscure
his face.
Other lines like IVs are connected to limbs
and cover his genitals.
He is struggling desperately now. Air bubbles into the
Jell-O but does not break the surface.
Pressing up, the surface distends, stretching
like a red
rubber cocoon.
Unable to breathe, he fights wildly to stand,
clawing at
the thinning elastic shroud --
Until it ruptures, a hole widening around his
mouth as he
sucks for air.
Tearing himself free, he emerges from the
cell.
It is Neo.
He is bald and naked, his body slick with
gelatine.
Dizzy, nauseous, he waits for his vision to
focus.
He is standing in an oval capsule of clear
alloy filled
with red gelatine, the surface of which has
solidified
like curdled milk.
The IVs in his arms are plugged into outlets
that appear
to be grafted to his flesh.
He feels the weight of another cable and
reaches to the
back of his head where he finds an enormous
coaxial
plugged and locked into the base of his skull.
He tries to pull it out but it would be easier
to pull
off a finger.
To either side he sees other tube-shaped pods
filled with
red gelatine; beneath the wax-like surface,
pale and
motionless, he sees other human beings.
Fanning out in a circle, there are more. All connected
to a centre core, each capsule like a red,
dimly glowing
petal attached to a black metal stem.
Above him, level after, level, the stem rises
seemingly
forever.
He moves to the foot of the capsule and looks
out.
The image assaults his mind.
Towers of glowing petals spiral up to
incomprehensible
heights, disappearing down into a dim murk
like an
underwater abyss.
His sight is blurred and warped, exaggerating
the
intensity of the vision. The sound of the PLANT is like
the sound of the ocean heard from inside the
belly of
Leviathan.
Below Neo, a petal detaches from the stem,
bearing away
the body of an old man like an automated barge
even as a
new pod rises up and plugs itself into the
empty space.
Inside the new capsule, its surface more
translucent and
pinkish in color, Neo sees a small baby.
From above, a machine drops directly in front
of Neo.
He swallows his scream as it seems to stare at
him.
It is almost insect-like in its design;
beautiful
housings of alloyed metal covering
organic-like systems
of hard and soft polymers.
A black particle beam washes over Neo, he
reacts in pain
as the scanner seems to expose the nervous
system wired
to the coaxial cable at his cerebral cortex.
At the back of the neck, the cable lock spins
and opens,
disengaging.
The cable pulls itself free, a long clear
plastic needle
and cerebrum-chip slides from the anterior of
Neo’s skull
with an ooze of blood and spinal fluid. The other
connective hoses snap free and snake away as
--
The back of the unit opens and a tremendous
vacuum, like
an airplane door opening, sucks the gelatine
and then Neo
into a black hole.
INT.
WASTE LINE
The pipe is a waste disposal system and Neo falls,
sliding with the clot of gelatine.
Banking through pipe spirals and elbows,
flushing up
through grease traps clogged with oily clumps
of
cellulite.
Neo begins to drown when he is suddenly
snatched from the
flow of waste.
The metallic cable then lifts, pulling him up
into the
belly of the futuristic flying machine,
hovering inside
the sewer main line.
INT.
HOVERCRAFT
The metal harness opens and drops the
half-conscious Neo
onto the floor.
Human hands and arms help him up as he finds
himself
looking straight at Morpheus.
Trinity and Apoc. And others, dressed in bizarre, high-
tech combat gear.
Morpheus smiles.
MORPHEUS
Welcome to the real
world, Neo.
Neo passes out.
Sarah was aware of Callum’s love for the movie and
had tried to persuade him to act as host.
‘Sarah,
this is one of those tasks that must rest with the Principal.’
‘Sure, I’ll
get things going but you must introduce our two “hush-hush” friends and wrap
things up.’
‘Okay, we
have a deal.’
Callum
wondered whether he would wear sunglasses and a black suit but, in the end,
decided against it—much to Folina’s relief!
*
The Gathering Place was packed with students,
staff, family members and guests. Jorge had performed his usual techno magic—various
scenes from The Matrix scrolled on the huge TV screens. Matrix music played in
the background. The lighting had a green tinge which created a slightly eerie
atmosphere. As more people arrived and took their seats so the automatic
temperature and humidity system responded. If you have ever been the first
person into a cinema it can feel quite chilly and then warm up as more people arrive.
This was never the case at Castlethorpe’s Gathering Place and even though
people have different personal thermostats the temperature to most
always felt just right. The catering staff had excelled themselves and had
created several savoury and sweet types of popcorn and sugar-free drinks. All
but a handful of people were blissfully unaware that two special guests would
soon enter the room to take their seats at the back—unnoticed.
The
screens faded into blackness and were then retracted to become the walls once
more. A huge slightly curved screen gradually lowered from the ceiling while
the green hue of light shifted to a soft autumnal amber. The music subsided
revealing the sound of soft conversation and the munching of delicious popcorn.
Sarah
moved forwards towards the screen then turned to face the audience. She decided
to remain seated in her chair rather than address the gathering from her frame.
‘Have you
ever been in a cinema and are suddenly shocked when it goes completely dark and
an amusing announcement is made about no talking, no mobile phones, no snoring,
no heckling (laughter)… or whatever? Well, that’s part of my job so consider it
done—oh, by the way you can munch popcorn in the loud bits but not in the quiet
bits. (laughter)
‘We have
come together to watch The Matrix—a movie that took the world by storm over
20 years ago and got philosophers, theologians, spiritual teachers and people
from all different backgrounds talking. We will each have our own take on this
movie. As Principal of Castlethorpe it is my privilege to welcome you all to
this unique screening. The Matrix movies form part of the “Awakening” learning
stream here so in that sense we are all here doing our “homework” (laughter).
If you need to leave at any point please follow the subtle green lights that
will illuminate within the floor to guide you to your nearest exit. Enjoy the
movie.’
The amber
light dimmed as Sarah took her place and the movie began. There was a gasp in
the audience by the extraordinary quality of the surround sound and high
definition picture. Guests commented later that it was their best cinematic
experience. “You feel drawn into the screen—immersed in the action, mystery and
story.”
Unlike in
the cinema the audience remained seated right until the end of the credits and
then burst into prolonged applause. You would have thought that this was a
preview screening rather than a private event over two decades later. Callum
stepped forward as soft light purple light illuminated the room.
‘I’m
Callum and have been involved with Castlethorpe for many years. I have come to
realise that the most important thing I can ever do is help people to wake up
and appreciate who they truly are as divine human beings. The Matrix trilogy are
my favourite movies and I was delighted to play a small part in the development
of the fourth movie that I know many of you have seen. Before we leave for
refreshments there are two people I would like to introduce to you.’
Two women
in their late 50s stepped forward.
‘Please
welcome The Wachowskis.’
Everyone
stood in surprise, applauded and cheered, then took their seats in anticipation.
‘Over to
you Lana and Lilly.’
‘Thanks
Callum. We’re all on a journey in this thing we call life. There are twists and
turns—ups and downs. One of the most powerful energies I have experienced is co-creation—a
very overused word but without it the Matrix movies would never have been
conceived—never mind made. Lilly and I are very different yet it is that
difference that helped us most at every step in our movie-making.’ (applause)
‘We don’t
do many interviews or appearances yet we couldn’t resist Callum’s invitation to
be with you this evening’ said Lilly. ‘It is amazing that these movies still
appeal to a wide audience and that they make people ponder and ask profound
questions. We wish you well in your studies about awakening and if The
Matrix has helped in some small way in your learning then we are thankful.’
(applause)
Callum
stepped forward.
‘Thank
you both for coming and, even more so because you are not rushing off as some
high profile guests often do at these kind of events.’
There was
a loud hush in the room as Callum made an announcement with a beaming smile.
‘No, in
fact Lana and Lilly would love to spend time talking with you over refreshments.
In fact they are staying here overnight and have agreed to talk with the
students on the “Awakening” stream for several hours tomorrow before leaving
us.’ (applause)
The
audience was not star-struck by Lana and Lilly’s presence; they simply
appreciated them and treated them as fellow human beings. This helped Lana and
Lilly relax. The conversations carried on past midnight. There was much
laughter and fascinating exchanges. The Chatham
House Rule was agreed for
all their discussions that evening and the following day. This meant that they
could use what was discussed in their learning which proved to be a tremendous
asset.
Lana Wachowski, left—born Laurence Wachowski, 21st
June 1965
Lilly Wachowski, right—born Andrew Paul Wachowski,
29th December, 1967
*
Several weeks later another large group learning
session was organised that was facilitated by two guest speakers, Frances
Flannery-Dailey and Rachel Wagner, who had circulated a paper to all the
students on the learning stream in advance entitled Wake Up! Gnosticism and
Buddhism in The Matrix:
At the beginning of The Matrix, a black-clad
computer hacker known as Neo falls asleep in front of his computer. A
mysterious message appears on the screen: “Wake up, Neo.”1 This
succinct phrase encapsulates the plot of the film, as Neo struggles with the problem
of being imprisoned in a “material” world that is actually a computer
simulation program created in the distant future by Artificial Intelligence
(AI) as a means of enslaving humanity, by perpetuating ignorance in the form of
an illusory perception called “the Matrix.” In part, the film crafts its
ultimate view of reality by alluding to numerous religious traditions that
advance the idea that the fundamental problem which humanity faces is ignorance
and the solution is knowledge or awakening.
Two
religious traditions on which the film draws heavily are Gnostic Christianity
and Buddhism.2 Although these traditions differ in important ways,
they agree in maintaining that the problem of ignorance can be solved through
an individual's reorientation of perspective concerning the material realm.3
Gnostic Christianity and Buddhism also both envision a guide who helps those
still trapped in the limiting world of illusion, a Gnostic redeemer figure or a
bodhisattva, who willingly enters that world in order to share liberating knowledge,
facilitating escape for anyone able to understand. In the film, this figure is
Neo, whose name is also an anagram for the “One.”
Although
as a “modern myth”4 the film purposefully draws on numerous
traditions,5 we propose that an examination of Gnostic Christianity
and Buddhism well illuminates the overarching paradigm of The Matrix, namely,
the problem of sleeping in ignorance in a dreamworld, solved by waking
to knowledge or enlightenment. By drawing synchronistically on these two
ancient traditions and fusing them with a technological vision of the future,
the film constructs a new teaching that challenges its audience to question “reality.”
I. Christian Elements in The Matrix
The majority of the film's audience probably easily
recognizes the presence of some Christian elements, such as the name Trinity6
or Neo's death and Christ-like resurrection and ascension near the end of the
film. In fact, Christian and biblical allusions abound, particularly with
respect to nomenclature:7 Apoc (Apocalypse), Neo's given name of Mr.
Ander/son (from the Greek andras for man, thus producing “Son of Man”), the
ship named the Nebuchadnezzar (the Babylonian king who, in the Book of Daniel,
has puzzling symbolic dreams that must be interpreted),8 and the
last remaining human city, Zion, synonymous in Judaism and Christianity with
(the heavenly) Jerusalem.9 Neo is overtly constructed as a Jesus
figure: he is “the One” who was prophesied to return again to the Matrix, who
has the power the change the Matrix from within (i.e., to work miracles), who
battles the representatives of evil and who is killed but comes to life again.
This
construction of Neo as Jesus is reinforced in numerous ways. Within minutes of
the commencement of the movie, another hacker says to Neo, “You're my saviour,
man, my own personal Jesus Christ.”10 This identification is also
suggested by the Nebuchadnezzar's crew, who nervously wonder if he is “the One”
who was foretold, and who repeatedly swear in Neo's presence by saying “Jesus”
or “Jesus Christ.”11 In still another example, Neo enters the
Nebuchadnezzar for the first time and the camera pans across the interior of
the ship, resting on the make: “Mark III no. 11.” This seems to be another
messianic reference, since the Gospel of Mark 311 reads: “Whenever
the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ' You are
the Son of God!'“
Like
Mark's Jesus, Neo is an exorcist, who casts out alien Agents inhabiting the
residual self-images of those immersed in the Matrix. However, this trope
illuminates the differences between Jesus and Neo, since the latter
accomplishes exorcisms not by healing, but by killing the digital bodies of
those who are “possessed” by Agents, in turn killing the real people in the
world of the Nebuchadnezzar. The plaque, then, ultimately highlights the
problem of violence in the film, even as it draws parallels between Jesus and
Neo.
II. Gnosticism in The Matrix
Although the presence of individual Christian
elements within the film is clear, the overall system of Christianity that is
presented is not the traditional, orthodox one. Rather, the Christian elements
of the film make the most sense when viewed within a context of Gnostic
Christianity.12 Gnosticism was a religious system that flourished
for centuries at the beginning of the Common Era, and in many regions of the
ancient Mediterranean world it competed strongly with “orthodox” Christianity,
while in other areas it represented the only interpretation of Christianity
that was known.13 The Gnostics possessed their own Scriptures,
accessible to us in the form of the Nag
Hammadi Library, from which a
general sketch of Gnostic beliefs may be drawn.14 Although Gnostic
Christianity comprises many varieties, Gnosticism as a whole seems to have
embraced an orienting cosmogonic myth that explains the true nature of the
universe and humankind's proper place in it.15 A brief retelling of
this myth illuminates numerous parallels with The Matrix.
In the
Gnostic myth, the supreme god is completely perfect and therefore alien and
mysterious, “ineffable,” “unnameable,” “immeasurable light which is pure, holy
and immaculate” (Apocryphon of John). In addition to this god there are other,
lesser divine beings in the pleroma (akin to heaven, a division of the universe
that is not Earth), who possess some metaphorical gender of male or female.16
Pairs of these beings are able to produce offspring that are themselves divine
emanations, perfect in their own ways.17 A problem arises when one “aeon”
or being named Sophia (Greek for wisdom), a female, decides “to bring forth a
likeness out of herself without the consent of the Spirit,” that is, to produce
an offspring without her consort (Apocryphon of John). The ancient view was
that females contribute the matter in reproduction, and males the form; thus,
Sophia's action produces an offspring that is imperfect or even malformed, and
she casts it away from the other divine beings in the pleroma into a separate
region of the cosmos. This malformed, ignorant deity, sometimes named
Yaldaboath, mistakenly believes himself to be the only god.
Gnostics
identify Yaldabaoth as the Creator God of the Old Testament, who himself
decides to create archons (angels), the material world (Earth) and human
beings. Although traditions vary, Yaldabaoth is usually tricked into breathing
the divine spark or spirit of his mother Sophia that formerly resided in him
into the human being (especially Apocryphon. of John; echoes of Genesis 2-3).
Therein lies the human dilemma. We are pearls in the mud, a divine spirit
(good) trapped in a material body (bad) and a material realm (bad). Heaven is
our true home, but we are in exile from the pleroma.
Luckily
for the Gnostic, salvation is available in the form of gnosis or knowledge
imparted by a Gnostic redeemer, who is Christ, a figure sent from the higher
God to free humankind from the Creator God Yaldabaoth. The gnosis involves an
understanding of our true nature and origin, the metaphysical reality hitherto
unknown to us, resulting in the Gnostic's escape (at death) from the enslaving
material prison of the world and the body, into the upper regions of spirit.
However, in order to make this ascent, the Gnostic must pass by the archons,
who are jealous of his/her luminosity, spirit or intelligence, and who thus try
to hinder the Gnostic's upward journey.
To a
significant degree, the basic Gnostic myth parallels the plot of The Matrix,
with respect to both the problem that humans face as well as the solution. Like
Sophia, we conceived an offspring out of our own pride, as Morpheus explains: “Early
in the 21st century, all of mankind was united in celebration. We marvelled at
our own magnificence as we gave birth to AI.”18 This offspring of
ours, however, like Yaldabaoth is malformed (matter without spirit?). Morpheus
describes AI as “a singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of
machines,” a fitting parallel for the Gnostic Creator God of the archons
(angels) and the illusory material world. AI creates the Matrix, a computer
simulation that is “a prison for your mind.” Thus, Yaldabaoth/AI traps
humankind in a material prison that does not represent ultimate reality, as
Morpheus explains to Neo: “As long as the Matrix exists, the human race will
never be free.”
The
film also echoes the metaphorical language employed by Gnostics. The Nag
Hammadi texts describe the fundamental human problem in metaphorical terms of
blindness, sleep, ignorance, dreams and darkness/night, while the solution is
stated in terms of seeing, waking, knowledge (gnosis), waking from dreams and
light/day.19
Similarly,
in the film Morpheus, whose name is taken from the Greek god of sleep and
dreams, reveals to Neo that the Matrix is “a computer generated dreamworld.”
When Neo is unplugged and awakens for the first time on the Nebuchadnezzar in a
brightly lit white space (a cinematic code for heaven), his eyes hurt, as
Morpheus explains, because he has never used them. Everything Neo has “seen” up
to that point was seen with the mind's eye, as in a dream, created through
software simulation. Like an ancient Gnostic, Morpheus explains that the blows
he deals Neo in the martial arts training program have nothing to do with his
body or speed or strength, which are illusory. Rather, they depend only on his
mind, which is real.
The
parallels between Neo and Christ sketched earlier are further illuminated by a
Gnostic context, since Neo is “saved” through gnosis or secret knowledge,
which he passes on to others. Neo learns about the true structure of
reality and about his own true identity, which allows him to break the rules of
the material world he now perceives to be an illusion. That is, he learns that “the
mind makes it [the Matrix, the material world] real,” but it is not ultimately
real. In the final scene of the film, it is this gnosis that Neo passes on to
others in order to free them from the prison of their minds, the Matrix. He
functions as a Gnostic Redeemer, a figure from another realm who enters the
material world in order to impart saving knowledge about humankind's true
identity and the true structure of reality, thereby setting free anyone able to
understand the message.
In
fact, Neo's given name is not only Mr. Anderson/the Son of Man, it is Thomas
Anderson, which reverberates with the most famous Gnostic gospel, the Gospel of
Thomas. Also, before he is actualized as Neo (the one who will initiate
something “New,” since he is indeed “the One”), he is doubting Thomas, who does
not believe in his role as the redeemer figure.20 In fact, the name
Thomas means “the Twin,” and in ancient Christian legend he is Jesus' twin
brother. In a sense, the role played by Keanu Reeves has a twin character,
since he is constructed as both a doubting Thomas and as a Gnostic Christ
figure.21
Not only does Neo learn and pass on secret
knowledge that saves, in good Gnostic fashion, but the way in which he learns
also evokes some elements of Gnosticism. Imbued with images from eastern
traditions, the training programs teach Neo the concept of “stillness,” of
freeing the mind and overcoming fear, cinematically captured in “Bullet Time”
(digitally mastered montages of freeze frames/slow motion frames using multiple
cameras).22 Interestingly enough, this concept of “stillness” is
also present in Gnosticism, in that the higher aeons are equated with “stillness”
and “rest” and can only be apprehended in such a centered and meditative
manner, as is apparent in these instructions to a certain Allogenes: “And
although it is impossible for you to stand, fear nothing; but if you wish to
stand, withdraw to the Existence, and you will find it standing and at rest
after the likeness of the One who is truly at rest...And when you become
perfect in that place, still yourself... “ (Allogenes) The Gnostic then
reveals, “There was within me a stillness of silence, and I heard the
Blessedness whereby I knew my proper self” (Allogenes).23 When Neo
realizes the full extent of his “saving gnosis,” that the Matrix is only a
dreamworld, a reflective Keanu Reeves silently and calmly contemplates the
bullets that he has stopped in mid-air, filmed in “Bullet Time.”
Yet
another parallel with Gnosticism occurs in the portrayal of the Agents such as
Agent Smith, and their opposition to the equivalent of the Gnostics—that is, Neo and anyone else attempting to leave
the Matrix. AI created these artificial programs to be “the gatekeepers—they are
guarding all the doors, they are holding all the keys.” These Agents are akin
to the jealous archons created by Yaldabaoth who block the ascent of the
Gnostic as he/she tries to leave the material realm and guard the gates of the
successive levels of heaven (e.g., Apocalypse of Paul).24
However,
as Morpheus predicts, Neo is eventually able to defeat the Agents because while
they must adhere to the rules of the Matrix, his human mind allows him to bend
or break these rules.25 Mind, though, is not equated in the film
merely with rational intelligence, otherwise Artificial Intelligence would win
every time. Rather, the concept of “mind” in the film appears to point to a
uniquely human capacity for imagination, for intuition, or, as the phrase goes,
for “thinking outside the box.” Both the film and the Gnostics assert that the “divine
spark” within humans allows a perception of gnosis greater than that achievable
by even the chief archon/agent of Yaldabaoth:
And
the power of the mother [Sophia, in our analogy, humankind] went out of
Yaldabaoth [AI] into the natural body which they had fashioned [the humans
grown on farms by AI]... And in that moment the rest of the powers
[archons/Agents] became jealous, because he had come into being through all of
them and they had given their power to the man, and his intelligence [“mind”]
was greater than that of those who had made him, and greater than that of the
chief archon [Agent Smith?]. And when they recognized that he was luminous, and
that he could think better than they... they took him and threw him into the
lowest region of all matter [simulated by the Matrix]. (Apocryphon. of John
19-20)
It is
striking that Neo overcomes Agent Smith in the final showdown of the film
precisely by realizing fully the illusion of the Matrix, something the Agent
apparently cannot do, since Neo is subsequently able to break rules that the
Agent cannot. His final defeat of Smith entails entering Smith's body and
splitting him in pieces by means of pure luminosity, portrayed through special
effects as light shattering Smith from the inside out.
Overall,
the system portrayed in The Matrix parallels Gnostic Christianity in numerous
respects, especially the delineation of humanity's fundamental problem of
existing in a dreamworld that simulates reality and the solution of waking up
from illusion. The central mythic figures of Sophia, Yaldabaoth, the archons and
the Gnostic Christ redeemer also each find parallels with key figures in the
film and function in similar ways. The language of Gnosticism and the film are
even similar: dreaming vs. waking; blindness vs. seeing;26 light vs.
dark.27
However,
given that Gnosticism presumes an entire unseen realm of divine beings, where
is God in the film? In other words, when Neo becomes sheer light, is this a
symbol for divinity, or for human potential? The question becomes even more
pertinent with the identification of humankind with Sophia—a divine being in
Gnosticism. On one level there appears to be no God in the film. Although there
are apocalyptic motifs, Conrad Ostwalt rightly argues that unlike conventional
Christian apocalypses, in The Matrix both the catastrophe and its solution are
of human making—that is, the divine is not apparent.28 However, on
another level, the film does open up the possibility of a God through the
figure of the Oracle, who dwells inside the Matrix and yet has access to
information about the future that even those free from the Matrix do not
possess. This suggestion is even stronger in the original screenplay, in which
the Oracle's apartment is the Holy of Holies nested within the “Temple of Zion.”29
Divinity may also play a role in Neo's past incarnation and his coming again as
the One. If, however, there is some implied divinity in the film,30
it remains transcendent, like the divinity of the ineffable, invisible supreme
god in Gnosticism, except where it is immanent in the form of the divine spark
active in humans.31
III. Buddhism in The Matrix
When asked by a fan if Buddhist ideas influenced
them in the production of the movie, the Wachowski brothers offered an
unqualified “Yes.”32 Indeed, Buddhist ideas pervade the film and
appear in close proximity with the equally strong Christian imagery. Almost
immediately after Neo is identified as “my own personal Jesus Christ,” this
appellation is given a distinctively Buddhist twist. The same hacker says: “This
never happened. You don’t exist.” From the stupa-like33 pods which
encase humans in the horrific mechanistic fields to Cypher’s selfish desire for
the sensations and pleasures of the Matrix, Buddhist teachings form a
foundation for much of the film’s plot and imagery.34
The
Problem of Samsara. Even the title of the film evokes the Buddhist worldview.
The Matrix is described by Morpheus as “a prison for your mind.” It is a
dependent “construct” made up of the interlocking digital projections of
billions of human beings who are unaware of the illusory nature of the reality
in which they live and are completely dependent on the hardware attached to
their real bodies and the elaborate software programs created by AI This “construct”
resembles the Buddhist idea of samsara, which teaches that the world in which
we live our daily lives is constructed only from the sensory projections
formulated from our own desires. When Morpheus takes Neo into the “construct”
to teach him about the Matrix, Neo learns that the way in which he had
perceived himself in the Matrix was nothing more than “the mental projection of
your digital self.” The “real” world, which we associate with what we feel,
smell, taste, and see, “is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.”
The world, Morpheus explains, exists “now only as part of a neural interactive
simulation that we call the Matrix.”
In
Buddhist terms, we could say that “because it is empty of self or of what belongs
to self, it is therefore said: ‘The world is empty.’ And what is empty of self
and what belongs to self? The eye, material shapes, visual consciousness,
impression on the eye—all these are empty of self and of what belongs to self.”35
According to Buddhism and according to The Matrix, the conviction of reality
based upon sensory experience, ignorance, and desire keeps humans locked in
illusion until they are able to recognize the false nature of reality and
relinquish their mistaken sense of identity.
Drawing
upon the Buddhist doctrine of Dependent Co-Origination, the film presents
reality within the Matrix as a conglomerate of the illusions of all humans
caught within its snare. Similarly, Buddhism teaches that the suffering of human
beings is dependent upon a cycle of ignorance and desire which locks humans
into a repetitive cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The principle is stated
in a short formula in the Samyutta-nikaya: If this is that comes to be; from
the arising of this that arises; if this is not that does not come to be; from
the stopping of this that is stopped.36
The
idea of Dependent Co-Origination is illustrated in the context of the film
through the illusion of the Matrix. The viability of the Matrix’s illusion depends
upon the belief by those enmeshed in it that the Matrix itself is reality. AI’s
software program is, in and of itself, no illusion at all. Only when humans
interact with its programs do they become enmeshed in a corporately-created
illusion, the Matrix, or samsara, which reinforces itself through the
interactions of those beings involved within it. Thus the Matrix’s reality only
exists when actual human minds subjectively experience its programs.37
The
problem, then, can be seen in Buddhist terms. Humans are trapped in a cycle of
illusion, and their ignorance of this cycle keeps them locked in it, fully
dependent upon their own interactions with the program and the illusions of
sensory experience which these provide, and the sensory projections of others.
These projections are strengthened by humans’ enormous desire to believe that
what they perceive to be real is in fact real. This desire is so strong that it
overcomes Cypher, who can no longer tolerate the “desert of the real” and asks
to be reinserted into the Matrix. As he sits with Agent Smith in an upscale
restaurant smoking a cigar with a large glass of brandy, Cypher explains his
motives: “You know, I know this steak doesn’t exist. I know that when I put it
in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious.
After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss.”38
Cypher
knows that the Matrix is not real and that any pleasures he experiences there
are illusory. Yet for him, the “ignorance” of samsara is preferable to
enlightenment. Denying the reality that he now experiences beyond the
Matrix, he uses the double negative: “I don’t want to remember nothing.
Nothing. And I want to be rich. Someone important. Like an actor.” Not only
does Cypher want to forget the “nothing” of true reality, but he also wants to
be an “actor,” to add another level of illusion to the illusion of the Matrix
that he is choosing to re-enter.39 The draw of samsara is so strong
that not only does Cypher give in to his cravings, but Mouse also may be said
to have been overwhelmed by the lures of samsara, since his death is at least
in part due to distractions brought on by his sexual fantasies about the “woman
in the red dress” which occupy him when he is supposed to be standing alert.
Whereas
Cypher and Mouse represent what happens when one gives in to samsara, the rest
of the crew epitomize the restraint and composure praised by the Buddha. The
scene shifts abruptly from the restaurant to the mess hall of the
Nebuchadnezzar, where instead of being offered brandy, cigars and steak, Neo is
given the “bowl of snot” which is to be his regular meal from that point
forward. In contrast to the pleasures which for Cypher can only be fulfilled in
the Matrix, Neo and the crew must be content with the “single-celled protein
combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and minerals” which Dozer claims is “everything
the body needs.” Clad in threadbare clothes, subsisting on gruel, and sleeping
in bare cells, the crew is depicted enacting the Middle Way taught by the
Buddha, allowing neither absolute asceticism nor indulgence to distract them
from their work.40
The Solution of Knowledge/Enlightenment
This duality between the Matrix and the reality
beyond it sets up the ultimate goal of the rebels, which is to free all minds
from the Matrix and allow humans to live out their lives in the real world
beyond. In making this point, the film-makers draw on both Theravada and
Mahayana Buddhist ideas.41 Alluding to the Theravada ideal of the
arhat, the film suggests that enlightenment is achieved through individual
effort.42 As his initial guide, Morpheus makes it clear that Neo
cannot depend upon him for enlightenment. Morpheus explains, “No one can be
told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.” Morpheus tells Neo
he must make the final shift in perception entirely on his own. He says: “I’m
trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one
that has to walk through it.” For Theravada Buddhists, “man’s emancipation
depends on his own realization of the Truth, and not on the benevolent grace of
a god or any external power as a reward for his obedient good behavior.”43
The Dhammapada urges the one seeking enlightenment to “Free thyself from the
past, free thyself from the future, free thyself from the present. Crossing to
the farther shore of existence, with mind released everywhere, no more shalt
thou come to birth and decay.”44 As Morpheus says to Neo, “There’s
a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” And as the
Buddha taught his followers, “You yourselves should make the effort; the
Awakened Ones are only teachers.”45 As one already on the path to
enlightenment, Morpheus is only a guide; ultimately Neo must recognize the
truth for himself.
Yet
The Matrix also embraces ideas found in Mahayana Buddhism, especially in its
particular concern for liberation for all people through the guidance of those
who remain in samsara and postpone their own final enlightenment in order to
help others as bodhisattvas.46 The crew members of the Nebuchadnezzar epitomize
this compassion. Rather than remain outside of the Matrix where they are safer,
they choose to re-enter it repeatedly as ambassadors of knowledge with the
ultimate goal of freeing the minds and eventually also the bodies of those who
are trapped within the Matrix’s digital web. The film attempts to blend the
Theravada ideal of the arhat with the Mahayana ideal of the bodhisattva,
presenting the crew as concerned for those still stuck in the Matrix and willing
to re-enter the Matrix to help them, while simultaneously arguing that final
realization is an individual process.
Neo as
the Buddha. Although the entire crew embodies the ideals of the bodhisattva,
the filmmakers set Neo apart as unique, suggesting that while the crew may be
looked at as arhats and bodhisattvas, Neo can be seen as a Buddha. Neo’s
identity as the Buddha is reinforced not only through the anagram of his name
but also through the myth that surrounds him. The Oracle has foretold the return
of one who has the ability to manipulate the Matrix. As Morpheus explains, the
return of this man “would hail the destruction of the Matrix, end the war,
bring freedom to our people. That is why there are those of us who have spent
our entire lives searching the Matrix, looking for him.” Neo, Morpheus
believes, is a reincarnation of that man and like the Buddha, he will be
endowed with extraordinary powers to aid in the enlightenment of all humanity.
The
idea that Neo can be seen as a reincarnation of the Buddha is reinforced by the
prevalence of birth imagery in the film directly related to him. At least four
incarnations are perceptible in the film. The first birth took place in the
pre-history of the film, in the life and death of the first enlightened one who
was able to control the Matrix from within. The second consists of Neo’s life
as Thomas Anderson. The third begins when Neo emerges, gasping, from the gel of
the eerily stupa-like pod in which he has been encased, and is unplugged and
dropped through a large black tube which can easily be seen as a birth canal.47
He emerges at the bottom bald, naked, and confused, with eyes that Morpheus
tells him have “never been used” before. Having “died” to the world of the
Matrix, Neo has been “reborn” into the world beyond it. Neo’s fourth life
begins after he dies and is “reborn” again in the closing scenes of the film,
as Trinity resuscitates him with a kiss.48 At this point, Neo
perceives not only the limitations of the Matrix, but also the limitations of
the world of the Nebuchadnezzar, since he overcomes death in both realms. Like
the Buddha, his enlightenment grants him omniscience and he is no longer under
the power of the Matrix, nor is he subject to birth, death, and rebirth within
AI’s mechanical construct.49
Neo,
like the Buddha, seeks to be free from the Matrix and to teach others how to
free themselves from it as well, and any use of superhuman powers are engaged
to that end. As the only human being since the first enlightened one who is
able to freely manipulate the software of the Matrix from within its confines,
Neo represents the actualization of the Buddha-nature, one who can not only
recognize the “origin of pain in the world of living beings,” but who can also
envision “the stopping of the pain,” enacting “that course which leads to its
stopping.”50 In this sense, he is more than his bodhisattva
companions, and offers the hope of awakening and freedom for all humans from
the ignorance that binds them.
The Problem of Nirvana
But what happens when the Matrix’s version of
reality is dissolved? Buddhism teaches that when samsara is transcended,
nirvana is attained. The notion of self is completely lost, so that conditional
reality fades away, and what remains, if anything, defies the ability of
language to describe. In his re-entry into the Matrix, however, Neo retains the
“residual self-image” and the “mental projection of a digital self.” Upon “enlightenment,”
he finds himself not in nirvana, or no-where, but in a different place with an
intact, if somewhat confused, sense of self which strongly resembles his “self”
within the Matrix. Trinity may be right that the Matrix “cannot tell you who
you are,” but who you are seems to be at least in some sense related to who you
think you are in the Matrix. In other words, there is enough continuity in
self-identity between the world of the Matrix and “the desert of the real” that
it seems probable that the authors are implying that full “enlightenment”
has not yet been reached and must lie beyond the reality of the Nebuchadnezzar
and the world it inhabits. If the Buddhist paradigm is followed to its
logical conclusions, then we have to expect at least one more layer of “reality”
beyond the world of the crew, since even freed from the Matrix they are still
subject to suffering and death and still exhibit individual egos.
This
idea is reinforced by what may be the most problematic alteration which The
Matrix makes to traditional Buddhist teachings. The Buddhist doctrine of
ahimsa, or non-injury to all living beings, is overtly contradicted in the
film.51 It appears as if the filmmakers deliberately chose to link
violence with salvific knowledge, since there seems to be no way that the crew
could succeed without the help of weaponry. When Tank asks Neo and Trinity what
they need for their rescue of Morpheus “besides a miracle,” their reply is
instantaneous: “Guns—lots of guns.” The writers could easily have presented the
“deaths” of the Agents as nothing more than the ending of that particular part
of the software program. Instead, the Wachowski brothers have purposefully
chosen to portray humans as innocent victims of the violent deaths of the
Agents.52 This outright violation of ahimsa stands at direct odds
with the Buddhist ideal of compassion.
But
why link knowledge so directly with violence? The filmmakers portray violence
as redemptive,53 and as absolutely essential to the success of the
rebels. The Matrix steers sharply away at this point from the shared paradigms
of Buddhism and Gnostic Christianity. The “reality” of the Matrix which
requires that some humans must die as victims of salvific violence is not the
ultimate reality to which Buddhism or Gnostic Christianity points. Neither the “stillness”
of the pleroma nor the unchanging “nothingness” of nirvana are characterized by
the dependence on technology and the use of force which so characterizes both
of the worlds of the rebels in The Matrix.
The
film’s explicit association of knowledge with violence strongly implies that
Neo and his comrades have not yet realized the ultimate reality. According to
the worldviews of both Gnostic Christianity and Buddhism that the film evokes,
the realization of ultimate reality involves a complete freedom from the
material realm and offers peace of mind. The Wachowskis themselves acknowledge
that it is “ironic that Morpheus and his crew are completely dependent upon
technology and computers, the very evils against which they are fighting.”54
Indeed, the film’s very existence depends upon both technology’s capabilities
and Hollywood’s hunger for violence. Negating itself, The Matrix teaches that
nirvana is still beyond our reach.
IV. Concluding Remarks
Whether we view the film from a Gnostic Christian
or Buddhist perspective, the overwhelming message seems to be, “Wake up!”
The point is made explicit in the final song of the film, Wake Up!, by,
appropriately, Rage Against the Machine. Gnosticism, Buddhism and the film all
agree that ignorance enslaves us in an illusory material world and that
liberation comes through enlightenment with the aid of a teacher or guide
figure. However, when we ask the question, “To what do we awaken?”, the film
appears to diverge sharply from Gnosticism and Buddhism. Both of these
traditions maintain that when humans awaken, they leave behind the material
world. The Gnostic ascends at death to the pleroma, the divine plane of
spiritual, non-material existence, and the enlightened one in Buddhism achieves
nirvana, a state which cannot be described in language, but which is utterly
non-material. By contrast, the “desert of the real,” is a wholly material,
technological world, in which robots grow humans for energy, Neo can learn
martial arts in seconds through a socket inserted into the back of his brain,
and technology battles technology (Nebuchadnezzar vs. AI, electromagnetic pulse
vs. Sentinels). Moreover, the battle against the Matrix is itself made possible
through technology - cell phones, computers, software training programs. “Waking
up” in the film is leaving behind the Matrix and awakening to a dismal
cyber-world, which is the real material world.
Or
perhaps not. There are several cinematic clues in the scene of the construct
loading program (represented by white space) that suggest that the “desert of
the real” Morpheus shows Neo may not be the ultimate reality. After all,
Morpheus, whose name is taken from the god of dreams, shows the “real” world to
Neo, who never directly views the surface world himself. Rather, he sees it on
a television bearing the logo “Deep Image.” Throughout the film, reflections in
mirrors and Morpheus's glasses, as well as images on television monitors point
the viewer toward consideration of multiple levels of illusion.55
As the
camera zooms in to the picture on this particular television and the viewer “enters”
the image, it “morphs” the way the surveillance screens do early in the film,
indicating its unreality. In addition, the entire episode takes place while
they stand in a construct loading program in which Neo is warned not to be
tricked by appearances. Although sense perception is clearly not a reliable
source for establishing reality, Morpheus himself admits that, “For a long time
I wouldn't believe it, and then I saw the fields [of humans grown for energy]
with my own eyes... And standing there, I came to realize the obviousness of
the truth.” We will have to await the sequels to find out whether “the desert
of the real” is itself real.56
Even if the film series does not ultimately
establish a complete rejection of the material realm, The Matrix as it stands
still asserts the superiority of the human capacity for imagination and
realization over the limited “intelligence” of technology. Whether stated
in terms of matter/ spirit, body/ mind, hardware/ software or illusion/ truth,
the ultimate message of The Matrix seems to be that there may be levels of
metaphysical reality beyond what we can ordinarily perceive, and the film urges
us to open ourselves to the possibility of awakening to them.
Endnotes
1. All unidentified quotes are from The Matrix (Warner
Bros. release, 1999).
2. In an online chat with viewers of the DVD, the
Wachowskis acknowledged that the Buddhist references in the film are
purposeful. However, when asked “Have you ever been told that the Matrix has
Gnostic overtones?”, they gave a tantalizingly ambiguous reply: “Do you
consider that to be a good thing?” From the Nov. 6, 1999 “Matrix Virtual
Theatre,” at “Wachowski chat”.
3. Elaine Pagels notes that the similarities between
Gnosticism and Buddhism have prompted some scholars to question their
interdependence and to wonder whether “...if the names were changed, the
'living Buddha' appropriately could say what the Gospel of Thomas attributes to
the living Jesus.” Although intriguing, she rightly maintains that the evidence
is inconclusive, since parallel traditions may emerge in different cultures
without direct influence. Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, (New York: Random
House, 1979, repr. 1989), xx-xxi.
4. James Ford recently explored other Buddhist
elements in The Matrix, which he rightly calls a “modern myth,” in his article “Buddhism,
Christianity and The Matrix: The Dialectic of Myth-Making in Contemporary
Cinema,” for the Journal of Religion and Film, vol.4 no. 2. See also Conrad
Ostwalt's focus on apocalyptic elements of the film in “Armageddon at the
Millennial Dawn,” JRF vol. 4, no. 1
5. A viewer asked the Wachowski brothers, “Your movie
has many and varied connections to myths and philosophies, Judeo-Christian,
Egyptian, Arthurian, and Platonic, just to name those I've noticed. How much of
that was intentional?” They replied, “All of it” (Wachowski chat).
6. Feminists critics can rejoice when Trinity first
reveals her name to Neo, as he pointedly responds, “The Trinity?... Jesus, I
thought you were a man.” Her quick reply: “Most men do.”
7. The Wachowski brothers indicate that the names were
“all chosen carefully, and all of them have multiple meanings,” and also note
this applies to the numbers as well (Wachowski chat).
8. In a recent interview in Time, the Wachowskis refer
to Nebuchadnezzar in this Danielic context,
(www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,22971,00.html , “Popular
Metaphysics,” by Richard Corliss, Time, April 19, 1999 Vol. 153, no. 15).
Nebuchadnezzar is also the Babylonian king who destroyed the Jerusalem Temple
in 586 B.C.E., and who exiled the elite of Judean society to Babylon. Did the
Wachowski brothers also intend the reference to point to the crew's “exile”
from Zion or from the surface world?
9. The film also suggests Zion is heaven, such as when
Tank says, “If the war was over tomorrow, Zion is where the party would be,”
evoking the traditional Christian schema of an apocalypse followed by life in
heaven or paradise. Ironically, the film locates Zion “underground, near the
Earth's core, where it is still warm,” which would seem to be a cinematic code
for hell. Is this a clue that Zion is not the “heaven” we are led to believe it
is?
10. Neo's apartment number is 101, symbolizing both
computer code (written in 1s and 0s) and his role as “the One.” Near the end of
the film, 303 is the number of the apartment that he enters and exits in his
death / resurrection scene, evoking the Trinity. This in turn raises questions
about the character of Trinity's relationship to Neo in terms of her cinematic
construction as divinity.
11. The traitor Cypher, who represents Judas Iscariot,
among other figures, ironically says to Neo, “Man, you scared the B'Jesus outta
me.”
12. We would like to thank Donna Bowman, with whom we
initially explored the Gnostic elements of The Matrix during a public lecture on
film at Hendrix College in 2000.
13. Gnosticism may have had its origins in Judaism,
despite its denigration of the Israelite God, but the issue is complex and
still debated within scholarly circles. It is clear, however, that Gnostic
Christianity flourished from at least the 2nd-5th c. C.E., with its own
scriptures, and most likely also its own distinctive rituals, entrance
requirements and a creation story. See Gershom Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism,
Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition (New York: Jewish Theological
Seminary of America, 1960), Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (New York:
Vintage Books, 1979, repr. 1989), Bentley Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures (New
York: Doubleday, 1995), Kurt Rudolph, Gnosis: The Nature and History of
Gnosticism (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1987).
14. This corpus lay dormant for nearly 2000 years until
its discovery in 1945 in Nag Hammadi, Egypt. The complete collection of texts
may be found in James M. Robinson, ed. The Nag Hammadi Library, revised
edition, (New York: HarperCollins, 1990; reprint of original Brill edition,
1978). These documents are also available on-line at The Nag Hammadi Library
Section of The Gnostic Society Library.
15. Gnostic texts are cryptic, and no single text
clearly explains this myth from beginning to end. The literature presupposes
familiarity with the myth, which must be reconstructed by modern readers. The
version of the myth presented here relies on such texts as Gospel of Truth,
Apocryphon of John, On the Origin of the World and Gospel of Thomas. See The
Nag Hammadi Library, pp. 38-51, 104-123, 124-138, 170-189. Since the divine
beings are composed only of spiritual substances and not matter, there are no
physical gender differences among the beings.
16. Depending on the text, a plethora of divine beings
populate the pleroma, many with Jewish, Christian or philosophical names, e.g.
the Spirit, forethought, thought, foreknowledge, indestructibility, truth,
Christ, Autogenes, understanding, grace, perception, Pigera-Adamas (Apocryphon
of John).
17. Humanity's characterization also resonates with the
Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11:1-9; in both we admire the work of our own
hands.
18. The bulk of the following excerpt from the Gnostic “Gospel
of Truth” might just as well be taken from the scenes in The Matrix in which
Morpheus explains the nature of reality to Neo: Thus they [humans] were
ignorant of the Father, he being the one whom they did not see... there were
many illusions at work... and (there were) empty fictions, as if they were sunk
in sleep and found themselves in disturbing dreams. Either (there is) a place
to which they are fleeing, or without strength they come (from) having chased
after others, or they are involved in striking blows, or they are receiving
blows themselves, or they have fallen from high places, or they take off into
the air though they do not even have wings. Again, sometimes (it is as) if
people were murdering them, though there is no one even pursuing them, or they
themselves are killing their neighbors...(but) When those who are going through
all these things wake up, they see nothing, they who were in the midst of all
these disturbances, for they are nothing. Such is the way of those who have
cast ignorance aside from them like sleep, not esteeming it as anything, nor do
they esteem its works as solid things either, but they leave them behind like a
dream in the night... This is the way each one has acted, as though asleep at
the time when he was ignorant. And this is the way he has [come to knowledge],
as if he had awakened.
19. (Gospel of Truth, 29-30)
20. This is perhaps most evident in the subway fight
between Neo and Agent Smith. At a point in the film when Morpheus says of Neo, “He
is just beginning to believe,” Agent Smith calls him “Mr. Anderson,” and while
fighting he replies, “My name is Neo.” The Wachowskis confirm this
interpretation when they state “Neo is Thomas Anderson's potential self”
(Wachowski chat).
21. This twin tradition was especially popular in
Syrian Christianity. See also Pagels, p. xxi, where she wonders if the
tradition that Thomas, Jesus' twin, went to India points to any historical
connection between Buddhism and Hinduism on the one hand and with Gnosticism on
the other.
22. See the online chat with the special effects
creators in the “Matrix Virtual Theatre” from March 23, 2000.
23. Nag Hammadi Library, pp. 490-500. Compare the
Gnostic idea of stillness with these Buddhist sayings from the Dhammapada: “The
bhikku [monk], who abides in loving-kindness, who is delighted in the Teaching
of the Buddha, attains the State of Calm, the happiness of stilling the
conditioned things” and “Calm is the thought, calm the word and deed of him
who, rightly knowing, is wholly freed, perfectly peaceful and equipoised. “
Quoted in Walpola Sri Rahula, What the Buddha Taught (New York: Grove
Weidenfeld, 1974) p.128, 136.
24. See Nag Hammadi Library, pp. 256-59. We are
grateful to Brock Bakke for the initial equation of agents with archons.
25. In Gnosticism “Mind” or the Greek “nous” is a
deity, such as in the text “Thunder, Perfect Mind,” Nag Hammadi Library, 295-303.
26. Note that as Morpheus and Neo enter the elevator of
the apartment building of the Oracle, images of “seeing” symbolize prophecy and
knowledge: a blind man (evoking blind prophets such as Tiresias) sits in the
lobby beneath some graffiti depicting a pair of eyes. Interestingly, the Oracle
- a sibyl / seer - wears glasses to look at Neo's palm.
27. Note too the metonymic use of color to convey this
dualism: black and white clothing, floors, furniture, etc.
28. Ostwalt, “Armageddon” in JRF Vol. 4, no. 1. The
parallel with apocalypticism does not work quite as well as one with Gnosticism
because like Gnosticism, the film understands salvation to be individual
(rather than collective and occurring all at once), to be attained through knowledge,
and most importantly to entail leaving behind the material Earth (that is, not
resulting in a kingdom of God made manifest on the Earth).
29. In its description in the original screenplay, the
Temple of Zion evokes both the Oracle of Delphi (three legged stool,
priestesses) and the Jerusalem Temple (polished marble, empty throne which is
the mercy seat or throne of the invisible God).
30. A viewer asked the Wachowski brothers, “What is the
role of faith in the movie? Faith in
oneself first and foremost—or in something else?” They answered, “Hmmmm...that
is a tough question! Faith in one's self, how's that for an answer?” This reply
hardly settles the issue (Wachowski chat).
31. Specifically, these humans are Neo (the Gnostic
Redeemer / Messiah) and Morpheus and Trinity, both of whom are named for gods.
As a godhead, this trio does not quite make sense in terms of traditional
Christianity. However, the trio is quite interesting in the context of
Gnosticism, which portrays God as Father, Mother and Son, a trinity in which
the Holy Spirit is identified as female, e.g. Apocryphon of John 2:9-14. For
further reading on female divinities in Gnosticism, see Pagels, pp. 48-69.
32. The brothers explain, “There's something uniquely
interesting about Buddhism and mathematics, particularly about quantum physics,
and where they meet. That has fascinated us for a long time” (Wachowski chat).
In the Time interview with Richard Corliss (see note 8), Larry Wachowski adds
that they became fascinated “by the idea that math and theology are almost the
same. They begin with a supposition you can derive a whole host of laws or
rules from. And when you take all of them to the infinity point, you wind up at
the same place: these unanswerable mysteries really become about personal
perception. Neo's journey is affected by all these rules, all these people
trying to tell him what the truth is. He doesn't accept anything until he gets
to his own end point, his own rebirth.” The film’s presentation of the Matrix
as a corporate network of human conceptions (or samsara) which are translated
into software codes that reinforce one another illustrates this close
relationship.
33. Stupa: a hemispherical or cylindrical mound or
tower serving as a Buddhist shrine.
34. Of course, the most transparent reference to
Buddhist ideas occurs in the waiting room at the Oracle’s apartment, where Neo
is introduced to the “Potentials.” The screenplay describes the waiting room as
“at once like a Buddhist temple and a kindergarten class.” One of the children,
clad in the garb of a Buddhist monk, explains to Neo the nature of ultimate
reality: “There is no spoon.” One cannot help wondering if this dictum only
holds within the Matrix or if there is in fact “no spoon” even in the real
world beyond it.
35. Samyutta-nikaya IV, 54. In Edward Conze, ed.
Buddhist Texts Through the Ages (New York: Philosophical Library, 1954), p. 91.
36. Samyutta-nikaya II, 64-65. Ibid.
37. The entire process depends upon human ignorance, so
that almost all who are born into the Matrix are doomed to be born, to die, and
to re-enter the cycle again. When asked about the film’s depiction of the
liquefaction of humans, the Wachowskis reply that this black ooze is “what they
feed the people in the pods, the dead people are liquefied and fed to the
living people in the pods.” Tongue in Buddhist cheek, the brothers explain this
re-embodiment: “Always recycle! It's a statement on recycling.”(Wachowski Chat)
Even in the “real world” beyond the Matrix, the human plight is depicted as a
relative and inter-dependent cycle of birth, death, and “recycling.”
38. (Ed. Note: This clip can be viewed here. (Hit your
back button to return to this essay.))
39. This dialogue also points to the “reality” (or the “Matrix”)
which we ourselves inhabit. In our world, and in the world of Joe Pantoliano,
he is an actor. Therefore, the world of which both the actor Joe Pantoliano and
we are now a part may be seen as the “Matrix” into which he has been
successfully re-inserted, and thus the film itself may be seen as a part of the
software program of our own “Matrix.” The argument, of course, is seductively
circular.
40. Take, for example, this quote from the
Sabbasava-sutta: “A bhikku [monk], considering wisely, lives with his eyes
restrained . . . Considering wisely, he lives with his ears restrained . . .
with his nose restrained . . . with his tongue . . . with his body . . . with
his mind restrained . . . a bhikku, considering wisely, makes use of his robes
-- only to keep off cold, to keep off heat . . and to cover himself decently.
Considering wisely, he makes use of food – neither for pleasure nor for excess
. . . but only to support and sustain this body . . .” (Quoted in Rahula 103).
41. James Ford has argued that the film embodies in
particular the Yogacara school of Buddhism. Instead of pointing to that which
is absolutely different than the world as nirvana, Yogacarins point to the
world itself, and through the processes enacted in meditation, come to the
realization that “all things and thought are but Mind-only. The basis of all
our illusions consists in that we regard the objectifications of our own mind
as a world independent of that mind, which is really its source and substance”
(Edward Conze, Buddhism. New York: Philosophical Library, 1959), p. 167. The
Matrix exists only in the minds of the human beings which inhabit it, so that
in The Matrix, as in Yogacara, “The external world is really Mind itself” (p.
168). Yet a problem arises when one realizes that for the Yogacara school, the
Mind is the ultimate reality, and therefore samsara and nirvana become
identified. By contrast, the film insists on a distinction between samsara (the
Matrix) and nirvana (that which lies beyond it). Because The Matrix maintains a
duality between the Matrix and the realm beyond it, Yogacara is of limited help
in making sense of the Buddhist elements in the film, nor is it helpful in
supporting the idea that beyond the Matrix and beyond the Nebuchadnezzar there
is an ultimate reality not yet realized by humans (see note 4).
42. According to Theravada teachings, arhat (“Worthy
One”) is a title applied to those who achieve enlightenment. Because, according
to Theravada beliefs, enlightenment can only be achieved through individual
effort, an arhat is of limited aid in helping those not yet enlightened and so
would not necessarily choose to re-enter samsara to aid others still enmeshed
within it.
43. Rahula, p. 2.
44. Quoted in Rahula, 135.
45. Quoted in Rahula, 133.
46. A bodhisattva is one who postpones final entry into
nirvana and willingly re-enters or remains in samsara in order to guide others
along the path to enlightenment. The Buddha’s compassion serves as their
primary model for Mahayana Buddhists, since they point out that he too remained
in samsara in order to help others achieve enlightenment through his teachings
and example.
47. The screenplay describes Neo as “floating in a
womb-red amnion” in the power plant.
48. In the screenplay, Trinity does not kiss him but
instead “pounds on his chest,” precipitating his resuscitation. The screenplay
states directly: “It is a miracle.” This fourth “life” can be viewed as the one
to which the Oracle refers in her predictions that Neo was “waiting for
something” and that he might be ready in his “next life, maybe.” This certainly
appears to be the case, since Neo rises from the dead and defeats the Agents.
49. These four “lives” suggest that Neo is nothing
other than “the One” foretold by the oracle, the reincarnation of the first “enlightened
one,” or Buddha, who “had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake
the Matrix as he saw fit.” Buddhist teaching allows that those who have been
enlightened are endowed with magical powers, since they recognize the world as
illusory and so can manipulate it at will. Yet supernatural powers are
incidental to the primary goal, which is explained in the very first sermon
spoken by the Buddha: “The Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering is this:
It is the complete cessation of that very thirst, giving it up, renouncing it,
emancipating oneself from it, detaching oneself from it”(Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta.
Quoted in Rahula, 93.)
50. Buddhacarita 1:65. E. B. Cowell, trans., Buddhist
Mahayana Texts, Sacred Books of the East, vol. 49 (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1894).
51. See, for example, in the Dhammapada: “Of death are
all afraid. Having made oneself the example, one should neither slay nor cause
to slay” (Verse 129) (Dhammapada, trans. John Ross Carter and Mahinda
Palihawadana. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 35.
52. The idea that violence as salvific is made explicit
by the writers. Whereas they could have chosen to present the “deaths” of the
Agents as of the same illusory quality as other elements within the software
program, instead, they choose to depict actual humans really dying through the
inhabitation of their “bodies” by the Agents. This addition is completely
unnecessary to the overall plot line; indeed, the “violence” which takes place
in the Hotel could still be portrayed, with the reassuring belief that any “deaths”
which occur there are simply computer blips. The fact that the writers so
purposefully insist that actual human beings die (i.e. die also within the
power plant) while serving as involuntary “vessels” for the Agents strongly
argues for The Matrix’s direct association of violence with the knowledge
required for salvation.
53. See the article by Bryan P. Stone, “Religion and
Violence in Popular Film,” JRF Vol. 3, no. 1.
54. When asked whether this irony was intentional, the
Wachowskis reply abruptly but enthusiastically “Yes!” (Wachowski chat).
55. This is especially true in the “red pill / blue
pill” scene where Neo first meets Morpheus, and Neo is reflected differently in
each lens of Morpheus's glasses. The Wachowskis note that one reflection
represents Thomas Anderson, and one represents Neo (Wachowski chat).
56. A viewer asked the pertinent question of the
Wachowskis: “Do you believe that our world is in some way similar to The
Matrix, that there is a larger world outside of this existence?” They replied: “That
is a larger question than you actually might think. We think the most important
sort of fiction attempts to answer some of the big questions. One of the things
that we had talked about when we first had the idea of The Matrix was an idea
that I believe philosophy and religion and mathematics all try to answer. Which
is, a reconciling between a natural world and another world that is perceived
by our intellect” (Wachowski chat).
Most of the students got very little from the essay—several
gave up and waited to see how the large group session would go. It turned out
to be a brilliant learning experience. Frances and Rachel were brilliant
facilitators and the three-hour session was extended over lunch for a further
two hours. The discussions branched out in two main directions—the key
proposition being it is vital that people wake up to who they really are. The
two directions of the conversation revolved around to what extent a Hollywood
movie could play a part in this and then how can people who have experienced
awakening, at whatever depth, help others to wake up—if at all? The debate was
very lively and provocative and stimulated a great deal of reflection and
meditation about, what is, one of the most profound questions we can ask
ourselves in this human form of ours. It also raises the thorny question that
the ego loves to stir contention and division over—are human beings divided
into two “camps”, the awakened and the un-awakened? This has echoes of “saved”
and “unsaved” in evangelical Christian circles. Surely spirituality does not
come down to such a basic binary topic as this—or does it?
*
Patrick had arranged a private breakfast with Lana
and Lilly on the Sunday morning following the screening of The Matrix
the previous evening. He had read Lana’s comments on the Matrix movies that she
made during a press conference about Cloud Atlas in October 2012 and was
looking forward to seeing if their views had changed. This is what Lana said
responding to a question about one of the last scenes in Revolutions where
Neo is resurrected and a white cross bursts out of his chest in blinding white
light:
“It is about transcendence of a material
identity—that he is de-limited in that moment is more important to us than any
kind of religious iconic—we were also trying to play with the meaning of iconic
symbols because the third movie like Cloud Atlas, asks you to
participate in it. What we wanted to do with the trilogy was an experiment from
the beginning—was could you change the
way audiences participate in an action movie. So you start off—the first movie
[The Matrix] is the most typical movie—and we always said why aren’t people
saying—what we thought immediately which was that movies are matrixes—movies
are things you go inside, they are immersive, you are cocooned by them—they
tell you what to see, what to think, what to feel.
For us
that was problematic—what we were trying to achieve with the story overall was
a shift, the same kind of shift that happens for Neo, that Neo goes from being
in this sort of cocooned and programmed world to having to participate in the
construction of meaning to his life. We asked ‘Can the audience go through the
three movies and experience something similar to what the main character
experiences?’
So the
first movie is sort of classical in its approach, the second movie is
deconstructionist and an assault on all the things you thought to be true in
the first movie—it upsets us—and the third movie is the most ambiguous, because
it asks you to actually participate in the construction of meaning—which is
what most religions—the essence, the elementary particle require you to
participate in the construction of meaning. And so Cloud Atlas was attractive
to us because it did something similar—you read the book and there were
connections that were only available if you brought your agency to the book. David
likes this concept of transmigration of souls but he is also interested in the
secular exploration of consequence and that was always in our consciousness—we
talked about it a lot—that José Saramago line that we reference ‘The nature of
our immortal lives is in the consequences of our words and deeds, which go on
apportioning themselves throughout all time.’ That’s a really beautiful way of
expressing karma or reincarnation—and that it is ambiguous your beliefs are
false, or it doesn’t say this atheist material thing is the only thing that
exists. When we wrote the Matrix trilogy we had this amazing Schopenhauer quote
on our wall: ‘The fundament upon which all our knowledge and learning rests is
the inexplicable.’ We’re always interested as storytellers in the nature of
that inexplicability.”
Patrick had also re-read the acceptance
speech that Lana delivered
to the Human Rights Campaign's annual gala dinner in San Francisco on 20th
October 2012 having won the Visibility Award:
“OK. Phew. Haven’t given a speech ever.
[applause] OK, OK, I get it—you’re very
encouraging, I love you.
So I’m
at my hairdresser's. [laughter] He’s gay, go figure. I say yeah, the HRC wants
to give me an award. Award for what? I say, "I guess for kind of being
myself." He’s like playing with my hair and looking at me and he’s like,
“Yeah, I guess you make a pretty good you.” And I was like, yeah, “Yeah, well
there wasn’t a lot of competition.” And ‘cause hes a catty bitch he said,
“Yeah, it’s a good thing—just imagine if you had lost.” [laughter]
I’ve
been going to this hairdresser who’s this gorgeous lovely man for almost six
years. He knows everything about my family, how close I was to my grandma, how
I met and married the love of my life. He did the hair for our wedding three
years ago, he’s seen the drunken pornographic pictures of our honeymoon in
Mykonos. But he doesn’t know that I directed The Matrix trilogy with my brother
Andy. [applause] So he knows all about who I am but he doesn’t know what I do.
Conversely,
I was recently out to dinner with a mixture of friends and strangers who were
all very excited to meet a “Hollywood” director, but all they want to do is ask
about Tom Hanks, Keanu Reeves and Halle Berry, and throughout the dinner they
repeatedly refer to me as “he” or one of the “Wachowski Brothers,” sometimes
using half my name, “Laaaaaa,” as an awkward bridge between identities, unable
or perhaps unwilling to see me as I am, but only for the things I do.
Every
one of us, every person here, every human life presents a negotiation between
public and private identity. For me that negotiation took a more literal form
in a dialogue between me, Andy, Tom Tykwer—our new brother by love, who’s just
gorgeous—with whom we directed our latest movie, Cloud Atlas. (Thanks for the
plug; go see it.) Several months ago we were sitting in this Berlin club amid
beer soaked haggardness in a space not intended to be inhabited by people and
sunlight trying to decide if we should shoot this introduction to a trailer for
our movie that was supposed to be posted online. Tom Hanks was supposed to do
it but became unavailable.
Andy
and I have not done press or made a public appearance including premieres in
over 12 years. People have mistakenly assumed that this has something to do
with my gender. It does not. After The Matrix was released in ‘99 we both
experienced this alarming contraction of our world and thus our lives. We
became acutely aware of the preciousness of anonymity—understanding it as a
form of virginity, something you only lose once. Anonymity allows you access to
civic space, to a form of participation in public life, to an egalitarian
invisibility that neither of us wanted to give up. We told Warner Bros. that
neither one of us wanted to do press anymore. They told us, “No. Absolutely
not. This is non-negotiable. Directors are essential to selling and marketing a
movie.” We said, “OK, we get it. So if it’s a choice between making movies or
not doing press, we decided we’re not going to not make movies.” They said,
“Hang on. Maybe there’s a little room for negotiation.”
So
this position in that negotiation was being examined in Berlin three months
ago. All of us are conscious of the fact that not only will it be Andy and my
first public appearance in a long time, but it will also be the first time that
I speak publicly since my transition. Parenthetically this is a word that has
very complicated subject for me because of its complicity in a binary gender
narrative that I am not particularly comfortable with. Yet I realize the moment
I go on camera, that act will be subject to projections that are both personal
and political.
I have
been out to my family and friends for over a decade and for the majority of
that time I have been discussing this, this particular moment with my
therapist, with my family and my wife because I know eventually I will do it
but I know there is going to be a price for it. I knew I was going to come out
but I knew when I finally did come out I didn’t want it to be about my coming
out. I am completely horrified by the “talk show,” the interrogation and
confession format, the weeping, the tears of the host [applause] whose sympathy
underscores the inherent tragedy of my life as a transgender person. And this
moment fulfilling the cathartic arc of rejection to acceptance without ever
interrogating the pathology of a society that refuses to acknowledge the
spectrum of gender in the exact same blind way they have refused to see a
spectrum of race or sexuality. [applause]
So the
three of us talk. We like to talk. (You’re probably realizing right now, uh oh,
we got a talker here. There will be an intermission after about an hour, so.)
We’re alternating perspectives quite conscious of the fact that we have just
made a film about this subject—about the responsibilities us humans have to one
another, that our lives are not entirely our own. There is dialogue from the
film merging easily with the discussion and I find myself repeating a line from
a character who I was very attached to who speaks about her own decision to
come out. She says, “If I had remained invisible, the truth would have remained
hidden and I couldn’t allow that.” And she says this aware that even at the
moment she’s saying it that the sacrifice she has made will cost her her life.
Suddenly
I begin this very intense rush of images, thoughts and memories going through
my mind—a kind of life flashing before my eyes that happens. People describe
near-death experiences. As it begins I start to understand just how complex the
relationship between visibility and invisibility has been throughout my life.
I remember
the third grade, I remember recently moving and transferring from a public
school to a Catholic school. In public school I played mostly with girls, I
have long hair and everyone wears jeans and t-shirts. In Catholic school the
girls wear skirts, the boys play pants. I am told I have to cut my hair. I want
to play Four Square with the girls but now I’m one of them—I’m one of the boys.
Early on I am told to get in line after a morning bell, girls in one line, boys
in another. I walk past the girls feeling this strange, powerful gravity of
association. Yet some part of me knows I have to keep walking. As soon as I
look towards the other line, though, I feel a feeling of differentiation that
confuses me. I don’t belong there, either.
I stop
between them. The nun I realize is staring at me, she’s shouting at me. I don’t
know what to do. She grabs me, she’s yelling at me. I’m not trying to disobey,
I’m just trying to fit in. My silence starts to infuriate her, and she starts
to hit me. Then suddenly, most improbably—if it happened in a movie you would
never believe is—suddenly there’s these screeching tires and my mom just
happens to be driving by, totally true, she jumps out of her car, she hurls
herself at this nun. She rips me away from her, rescues me. She warns the nun
never to touch me again. [applause]
And I
think I’m safe, but then she takes me home and she’s trying to understand what
happened, but I have no real language to describe it. I just stare at the floor
and she keeps asking me over and over what happened. And I begin feeling the
same mounting frustration, the same mounting fury that I felt with the nun. She
tells me to look at her but I don’t want to, because when I do I am unable to
understand why she cannot see me.
The
last time I was asked to make a speech, like this one, I was at my eighth grade
graduation. I was valedictorian of my class and Mr. Henderson my teacher
informed me that I got to give a speech as a result of being valedictorian. I
didn’t think this was a very big deal. [laughter] I’m not sure about this
little award thing, either, but being painfully shy I declined. I said, “Let
someone else be valedictorian.” He didn’t like this answer. He said, “That’s
not how this works.” He said he understood how I felt, no one likes giving
speeches—why do we do it? But sometimes I had to think not just about myself
but about my class and my parents, who would be very proud of me, he said.
There are some things that we have to do for ourselves, but there are other
things that we have to do for other people.
So I
wrote this speech back then much as I wrote this one with butterflies churning.
I worked on it at night wearing the slip that I used as a nightie that I had
stolen from my sister. I wrote about the way that knowledge had an actual
materiality not unlike the materiality of a ladder that could be used to gain
access to places and worlds that were previously unimaginable. I have no real
memory of giving that speech. I remember afterwards being in the bathroom,
hiding in a locked stall, feeling the slip I wore under my suit as I cried,
feeling stupid and that I was a liar because I was unable myself to imagine a
world where I would ever fit in.
In
high school I joined the theater department partially because of my older
sister, but mostly because of the storeroom high above the stage amongst the
catwalks that was filmed with costumes. I fell in love with this storeroom as
much for its dust-scented privacy where I would sit and read as for the racks
of dresses and endless rows of shoes. I remember wearing this beautiful
brocaded dress one day with a built-in corset when suddenly I heard the stage
manager calling my name. Just before she opened the door I dove desperately
between the shadowed folds between the racked dresses, my heart pounding like a
mouse, listening to her call my name over and over, praying that somehow I
might remain invisible.
As I
grew older an intense anxious isolation coupled with constant insomnia began to
inculcate an inescapable depression. I have never slept much but during my
sophomore year in high school, while I watched many of my male friends start to
develop facial hair, I kept this strange relentless vigil staring in the mirror
for hours, afraid of what one day I might see. Here in the absence of words to
defend myself, without examples, without models, I began to believe voices in
my head—that I was a freak, that I am broken, that there is something wrong
with me, that I will never be lovable.
After
school I go to the nearby Burger King and write a suicide note. It ends up
being over four pages. [laughter] I’m a little talkative. But it was addressed
to my parents and I really wanted to convince them that it wasn’t their fault,
it was just that I didn’t belong. I cry a lot as I write this note, but the
staff at Burger King has seen it all before, and they seem immune. [laughter]
I was
very used to traveling home quite late because of the theater, I know the train
platform will be empty at night because it always is. I let the B train go by
because I know the A train will be next and it doesn’t stop. When I see the
headlight I take off my backpack and I put it on the bench. It has the note in
front of it. I try not to think of anything but jumping as the train comes.
Just as the platform starts to rumble suddenly I notice someone walking down
the ramp. It is a skinny older old man wearing overly large, 1970s square-style
glasses that remind of the ones my grandma wears. He stares at me the way
animals stare at each other. I don’t know why he wouldn’t look away. All I know
is that because he didn’t, I am still here.
Years
later I find the courage to admit that I am transgender and this doesn’t mean
that I am unlovable. I meet a woman, the first person that has made me
understand that they love me not in spite of my difference but because of it.
She is the first person to see me as a whole being. And every morning I get to
wake up beside her I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for those two
blue eyes in my life.
In
Sydney, Australia, I finally came out to my family. When I told my mom what was
going on, she jumped on a plane immediately. It was this big, tear-soaked
baptism, and she confessed that she had been afraid to arrive and grieve the
loss of her son. But when she arrived she found it wasn’t so much a death as it
was a discovery. That there was this other part of me, an unseen part, and she
felt it was like a gift because now she could get to know that part of me.
[applause]
We
went to dinner. I dressed as feminine as I could, wanting to be seen by
strangers as Lana. Hoping that waiters would not call me “sir” or “he,” as if
these people suddenly had the power to confirm or deny my existence. My mom is
also a bit talkative. She always introduces herself to the waiter or waitress.
And she’s like, “Hi, I’m Lynne. This is my daughter Lana.” And the waitress
smiles and says, “Wow, she looks just like you.” [applause]
When
my dad arrived he shrugged it off easier than accepting that his wife and
daughter had once voted for Jane Byrne instead of Harold Washington [for
Chicago mayor in 1983]—a choice that still rankles him today. He said, “Look,
if my kid wants to sit down and talk to me I’m a lucky man. What matters is
that you’re alive, you seem happy, and that I can put my arms around you and
give you a kiss.” [applause] Having good parents is just like the lottery.
You’re just like, “Oh my god, I won the lottery! What the—I didn’t do
anything!”
I
remember thinking about my dad’s words, his acceptance of me, when my wife and
I first read about [murdered transgender teen] Gwen Araujo. It seemed
impossible that something like that could happen so close to this city, yet
here was this person like me murdered by ignorance, by prejudice, murdered by
intolerance, it seemed in direct inverse proportion to the acceptance of my
family. Murdered by a kind of fear that seeks to obliterate any evidence that
the world is different from the way they want to see it, from the way they want
to believe it to be. Invisibility is indivisible from visibility; for the
transgender this is not simply a philosophical conundrum—it can be the
difference between life and death.
A few
short weeks ago after my coming out, the three of us, Tom, Andy and I were
being interviewed, one of the reporters ventured away from the subject of the
film towards my gender. Imagine that, a reporter. My brother quickly stepped
in, “Look, just so we’re clear,” he says, “if somebody asks something or says
something about my sister that I don’t like, understand that I will break a
bottle over their head.” [applause] Few words express love clearer than these.
I am here
because Mr. Henderson taught me that there are some things we do for ourselves,
but there are some things we do for others. I am here because when I was young,
I wanted very badly to be a writer, I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I couldn’t
find anyone like me in the world and it felt like my dreams were foreclosed
simply because my gender was less typical than others.
If I
can be that person for someone else [pause, applause] then the sacrifice of my
private civic life may have value. I know I am also here because of the
strength and courage and love that I am blessed to receive from my wife, my
family and my friends. And in this way I hope to offer their love in the form
of my materiality to a project like this one started by the HRC, so that this
world that we imagine in this room might be used to gain access to other rooms,
to other worlds previously unimaginable.
Thanks
very much.
Lana and Lilly arrived at Patrick’s cottage just
after 8am and he welcomed them warmly. They had met a couple of times
previously with Callum but this was the first opportunity for Patrick to talk
with them on his own. They talked about the previous night and how impressed
they were by the whole experience of using The Matrix as a tool to
explore the nature of awakening. They were blown away by the quality of the
picture and sound as well as the technology of The Gathering Place. Their views
about the Matrix movies had matured rather than changed with the passage of
time. They asked many questions about Castlethorpe, its students and its famous
library. Lana asked if it was possible to do some remote study about the
ancient mystery schools with the support of Castlethorpe’s staff, students and
resources and Patrick said he would arrange it.
Lana was
aware of Patrick’s transition and asked him about specific points on his
journey and thoughts on sexuality and gender from a spiritual perspective. They
had a passionate and animated discussion about this and the problem of
perception, patriarchy and paternalistic attitudes. It was a very special
breakfast. They hugged warmly as Lana and Lilly made their way to The Gathering
Place.
‘Please
come and visit us Patrick’ were Lana’s parting words.
‘I will—I
promise.’