»The Matrix as a journey around the mind«

At last ...

Welcome.

Let me tell you why you’re here. You know much about the Matrix. But what you know you can’t explain. You’ve analysed it. You’ve talked about it your entire life (so it seems). There’s some meaning to it. You don’t know what, but it’s there. Like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.

Do you want to know ... what it is ?

Well sorry to disappoint you, ‘cause I don’t know either, but here’s what I think anyway ...

Mega City

The matrix is the mind. The abstract intellect. Everything in the matrix take place in the Mega-city, shaped like a human head:

Fun stuff, Kalki

Nicely done, Kalki. I look forward to reading more.

Now this thread has the kind of focus I like much more than Max's technobabbled conjecture

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Cypher: Deception. Cypher represents the highest form of ignorance. He knows the truth, but willingly chooses delusion. He wants to be an actor. He wants to be rich. He’s like the person who thinks that ‘if only I can fix this or that in my life, then I’ll be happy’.

Cyphers are to deceive or keep certain things hidden while performing certain functions. This fits him.

Quote:

Dozer: Negativity, numbness, disinterest and passivity. Dozer makes intoxicating spirits and hangs back while everyone else gets busy. He also likes his food (food can also be a form of self-medication). On the positive side, he takes care of the others (the expanded self). He feeds them and helps to heal Neo, when he is first taken on board the Neb.

Then he is dozing, in a sense.

Quote:

Tank: Positivity, excitement, energy and perseverance. Tank bursts with positive energy, he works hard, helps out and believes in the future. He trains up Neo and prepares him for the difficult times ahead.

Then he's like a tank, powering through and giving support. I see how this fits, too.

Quote:

Switch: Fear. And anger. Two sides of the same coin. She’s the first one to attack, or was that defend against, Neo. Never really sure where you stand with a fearful/angry person. Which is why she wears different-coloured clothing to the others.

Right. You're never sure. They'll switch on you real quick.

Quote:

Apoc: This is a tough one, because he never really says or does much, so I’m not entirely sure. However, I believe that he symbolises pride, strutting around looking smooth but never saying much, except “I hope the oracle gave you some good news.” This interpretation helps to complete the mind-model I’m building here, but other than that I can’t say that I have a solid basis for this.

Hmmm. Not sure how the name fits, here.

Quote:

Mouse: Lust. He represents the mostly-unconscious attachment and desire for sense-objects. That’s why he’s “the little one behind you”. He’s the creator of the ‘woman in red’, whom he dribbles over non-stop. (Personally, I also think there’s something feminine/androgynous about his look.)

This (sense-objects) describes M.O. of mice.

Looking forward to more information.

Cheers!

Thanks to CaptPostMod, Demifey and Intell for all the supportive comments.

I've used as one source Paramhansa Yoganada's commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita, and all the correspondences fit perfectly to how I had been thinking about the movie, except that I was left with the characteristic of Pride, and the one character, Apoc. So I guess that I've been trying to force him into that container.

Using a more open-minded approach, and consulting Wikipedia (the source of all good information), I find the following:

1. Apocalypse (the obvious connection), meaning "lifting the veil" (ie "revelation") in greek (the 'apoka' part of the word means 'revealing').

2. APOC = the Anarchist People of Colour, which was created "to address issues of race, anti-authoritarianism and people of color struggle politics within the context of anarchism, and to increase/create political (safe)space for people of color".

In the movie, I can see Apoc in two different roles:

1. As the 'revealer', matching the meaning of apocalypse:

- "Apoc, lights!", and he switches the light on in the car.
- Apoc is the one searching for Neo's body, after he takes the red pill. "Lock, I got him!"
- "Hope the oracle gave you some good news.", and hands Neo a gun, which Neo then uses to fire back at the police through the wall, and see what's coming.

2. As a contrast / partner to Switch:

- Drives the car next to Switch. He's described in the script as a "large black man", while Switch is a "beautiful androgyne". He's not quite shown as 'black', but he is portrayed in a dark and shady way, in contrast to Switch's whiteness.
- Exchanges a look with Switch as Tank loads the jump program. He says, to paraphrase, "It's impossible ... he won't make it." Switch says, after Neo falls, "It doesn't mean anything."
- Apoc and Switch guard the door while the others visit the oracle. They stand on either side, like temple guardians, or the pillars of mercy and severity from the Kabbalah (that would put Switch on the masculine, expansive side, and Apoc on the feminine, confinement side).
- Apoc and switch are the first to die. "All I do is pull a plug here, there you have to watch Apoc die." Switch is the one to fall down at his side. "Not like this. Not like this."

Hmmm....

Not sure I can pin him down exactly, based on all that, but he certainly appears to have some dark, negative characteristics. The fact that he never expresses much might be to reveal some secrecy or hidden aspect. Perhaps that matches the kabbalistic interpretation of Apoc as self-limitation and negativity. That would explain why Cypher (wanting to escape his circumstances) would kill Apoc first. But then, why is Apoc the revealer ? Perhaps a hint at the 'light within the dark' or the truth behind the closed door, and that moving through that darkness leads to light on the other side.


Any thoughts ?

Quote:

2. APOC = the Anarchist People of Colour, which was created "to address issues of race, anti-authoritarianism and people of color struggle politics within the context of anarchism, and to increase/create political (safe)space for people of color".

This could fit the Wachowski's choice of actor, since he is a Maori and the Maori were/are one of the indigenous peoples displaced by British colonials.

Quote:

1. Apocalypse (the obvious connection), meaning "lifting the veil" (ie "revelation") in greek (the 'apoka' part of the word means 'revealing'). ... Apoc and Switch guard the door while the others visit the oracle. They stand on either side, like temple guardians, or the pillars ... Not sure I can pin him down exactly, based on all that, but he certainly appears to have some dark, negative characteristics. The fact that he never expresses much might be to reveal some secrecy or hidden aspect ... But then, why is Apoc the revealer ? Perhaps a hint at the 'light within the dark' or the truth behind the closed door, and that moving through that darkness leads to light on the other side.

This fits better, especially if you do have Apoc and Switch as partners. First they show dualism (black and white, male and female, Yin and Yang, good and evil, day and night, etc.) and their colours are mimicked (perhaps serendipitously) by the floor tiles in the Lafayette Hotel (the black and white checkerboard). But more than that, the light and dark motif is traditionally used on the High Priestess Tarot cards, usually showing her seated before two pillars, a black one and a white one.

In some decks, especially the Rider-Waite varieties, the pillars are labeled "B" and "J", which refers to Boaz and Jachin (reference to Solomon's Temple).

The pillars usually have a veil stretched between them, the veil between the worlds, and to "lift the veil" is to reveal the Mysteries. In addition, there's usually a pomegranate shown on the fabric, and in mystical tradition, the pomegranate is associated with Persephone who is one of the aspects of the Goddess.

I had connected this symbolism to Persephone and The Merovingian (when we first see them in the restaurant, she in white, he in black and sitting before pillar-like constructions), but had never before thought to associate the pillars to Apoc and Switch. Thanks for the eye-opener, Kalki.

(Below are some links to pictures of High Priestess cards for reference.)

{Edited to fix links}

demifey wrote:

The pillars usually have a veil stretched between them, the veil between the worlds, and to "lift the veil" is to reveal the Mysteries.

Excellent, thanks for your input, demifey, it's very helpful.

I've checked the BG again, and found the following possible tie-back to my previous idea of Apoc as pride: "This fault of the ego makes the mind narrow and limited. Pride chokes and suppreses the illimitable soul qualities by its constricted consciousness." This might fit in with the view of Apoc as the contracting, yin energy.

What about Apoc as being short for Apocrypha? I know this is not a new suggestion by any means, but I just thought I'd add it here for the sake of completeness. The word apocrypha comes from a Greek word that means "those having been hidden away." Any books that sound sorta like Scripture, but the authorship or authenticity is questionable, are considered apocryphal. Not sure what that would have to do with pride, but maybe someone else can figure that out--if there's any connection at all.

Feral Boy wrote:

What about Apoc as being short for Apocrypha? I know this is not a new suggestion by any means, but I just thought I'd add it here for the sake of completeness. The word apocrypha comes from a Greek word that means "those having been hidden away." Any books that sound sorta like Scripture, but the authorship or authenticity is questionable, are considered apocryphal. Not sure what that would have to do with pride, but maybe someone else can figure that out--if there's any connection at all.

I agree - the "hidden away" idea seems to suit him well. He definitely has a hidden agenda and a mysterious character.

Pride refers to a strong sense of self-respect, a refusal to be humiliated as well as joy in the accomplishments of oneself or a person, group, or object that one identifies with... In spirituality pride is linked to the local "I" and ego, as distinct from the nonlocal "us". {from Wikipedia}

This self-focus matches Apoc's hiddenness.

demifey wrote:

This fits better, especially if you do have Apoc and Switch as partners. First they show dualism (black and white, male and female, Yin and Yang, good and evil, day and night, etc.) and their colours are mimicked (perhaps serendipitously) by the floor tiles in the Lafayette Hotel (the black and white checkerboard). But more than that, the light and dark motif is traditionally used on the High Priestess Tarot cards, usually showing her seated before two pillars, a black one and a white one. In some decks, especially the Rider-Waite varieties, the pillars are labeled "B" and "J", which refers to Boaz and Jachin (reference to Solomon's Temple). The pillars usually have a veil stretched between them, the veil between the worlds, and to "lift the veil" is to reveal the Mysteries. In addition, there's usually a pomegranate shown on the fabric, and in mystical tradition, the pomegranate is associated with Persephone who is one of the aspects of the Goddess.

Man, that totally reminds me of Twin Peaks and the Black Lodge. Between two worlds there was a room with black and white square tiles, and it was surrounded by a red (pomegranate?) curtain. In the TV show, it was said that this was where you met your doppelganger, and if you did not have perfect courage, the doppelganger would annihilate your soul.

So if this is somewhat on the right track to deciphering Apoc and Switch, why would they be the first ones killed? Is this similar to the temple veil being ripped when Yeshua was crucified, thus illustrating that the way into the Holy of Holies had been paved?

Feral Boy wrote:

Man, that totally reminds me of Twin Peaks and the Black Lodge. Between two worlds there was a room with black and white square tiles, and it was surrounded by a red (pomegranate?) curtain. In the TV show, it was said that this was where you met your doppelganger, and if you did not have perfect courage, the doppelganger would annihilate your soul. So if this is somewhat on the right track to deciphering Apoc and Switch, why would they be the first ones killed? Is this similar to the temple veil being ripped when Yeshua was crucified, thus illustrating that the way into the Holy of Holies had been paved?

Mouse was killed first, then Dozer (with Tank mortally wounded), then Apoc, Switch, and finally Cypher.

This is the withdrawal of consciousness, through conscious effort, from the lower tendencies of the mind - those that lead to further attachment and illusionment (is that a word?). Once an individual begins to see the truth, that their "reality" is but an empty covering of a deeper reality, the shallower sense-desires lose their hold over the mind.

Kalki wrote:

Mouse was killed first, then Dozer (with Tank mortally wounded), then Apoc, Switch, and finally Cypher.

Ah, that's right. Looks like I need to watch that movie again (oh, darn).

Kalki wrote:

This is the withdrawal of consciousness, through conscious effort, from the lower tendencies of the mind - those that lead to further attachment and illusionment (is that a word?). Once an individual begins to see the truth, that their "reality" is but an empty covering of a deeper reality, the shallower sense-desires lose their hold over the mind.

So with some of these tendencies illustrated via Neo's shipmates in the first movie (and therefore not necessary to be illustrated again in the second and third movies), is that why there are so few shipmates in Reloaded and Revolutions? Were the Wachowski Brothers moving on to show us different aspects of consciousness? I had this thought after reading your analysis of Reloaded, where you described what Link--the sole replacement member--represents.

Feral Boy wrote:

So with some of these tendencies illustrated via Neo's shipmates in the first movie (and therefore not necessary to be illustrated again in the second and third movies), is that why there are so few shipmates in Reloaded and Revolutions?

I think so ... less mental baggage, and more focus.

Feral Boy wrote:

Were the Wachowski Brothers moving on to show us different aspects of consciousness?

Absolutely, but (by the approach I've taken) from the point of view of someone who is examining his inner world through intense self-examination and analysis, going after the greatest goal.

Kalki wrote:

I think so ... less mental baggage, and more focus.

That sounds familiar.

Quote:

...someone who is examining his inner world through intense self-examination and analysis, going after the greatest goal.

Someone who is ascending?

intell wrote:

Someone who is ascending?

Yup,

"I want what you want ... I want everything."