»relevence to the name smith«

well i think i said this yesterday but it was on a diff topic, but i was explaining all the names and how they were relevent to the movie, as we all no his name isnt really smith, how can we tell, well in m1 he is like ahh the great morpheus and then hes like and you are, and hes like a smith, agent smith, then hes like you all look the same to me, but neway he said a smith, we no that a smith is someone who creates and recreates things, a blacksmith does horseshoes and junk, swordsmith makes swords and such, goldsmith silversmtih bla bla bla, you get the idea, well as you see in rev he can rewrite the data in the matrix createing storms and stuff, this is how his name is relevent he also creates a million of himself, he is a smith indeed, agent thomson i have yet to understand

Agents Thompson, Jackson, Johnson in Reloaded ~ Their surnames simply mean Sons of.... Think about it, they were referred to as Upgrades after all...

[ could be but i think that it goes deeper then that

The agents all have generic, common names.

As for Smith, well, Smith is the most common surname in the United States. In The Matrix Revolutions, it very quickly becomes the most common surname...make that the only common surname

The "you all look the same to me" line is, by the way, ironic if you look at it from a racial angle: usually it's the white authority figure who says to the rebellious black man "you all look the same to me".

I'd forgotten that he said he's 'A smith' Did you spot the registration plate on his Audi in Reloaded? IS5416 = Isaiah 54:16:

'See it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc.'

I will go with the theory that the name smith stands for the common man. Since the agents are a means of control for the Matrix. Governments and other other controlling organizations use the common man as a source of control. Think in terms of herd mentality and conforming. Smith represents the obstacle that stands in the way of the revolution. Once the common man is won over the revolution takes place. For eg. the French revolution was sucessful once the common man agreed to take up arms.

Isaiah 54:16 on many versions of the bible.

King James Version:
Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Revised Std Version:
Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals, and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy.

Darby Version:
Behold, it is I who have created the smith that bloweth in the fire of coal, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the destroyer to ravage.

In Orwell's "1984" Winston Smith was the main character (tortured finally in the room 101).

Also Adam Smith - founder of liberal economy - may be somehow relevant: he was talking about the 'invisible hand of market', the result of everyone's actions to satisfy their wants is the benefit for all.

Concerning the economy this quote from the book Culture Critique, that can by found here:
ctheory.net...
is also interesting

Quote:

(75) As the technological society became more clearly defined through the dominance of complex organizations and the self-conscious formation of contesting classes, and as economists sought to explain and prescribe for the new situation, the idea of equilibrium ceded to that of growth which involves acknowledgement of the consciousness of economic agents, of complexes of finalities, and, most importantly, of concrete temporality: History, as Dumont remarks, “fatally invaded” the field of economic thought.

Actions to keep the economic system working were at the beginning concerned with keeping balance, but after the WW2 every government is much more concerned with economic growth.

Sounds familiar? If we link agent Smith to the field of economic (via Adam Smith) we can see that Smith was in M1 in charge of balancing the system by getting rid of rebels and this has changed in M2 & M3 to multiplying = growth of his power.

These names themselves don't seem to have any sort of significance.
thompson = son of thomas (twin)
Johnson = son of John (Gift of God)
Jackson = son of Jack (alternate of "John")
their meanings dont seem to have anything to do with anything, unlike Neo's surname, Anderson (son of man).

And I thought I knew the answer to this one! ....

i think you are right about the agents in matrix 2 being upgrades. the names of the agents in matrix 1 were all plain, common names, such as Smith, Brown, and Jones. While in matrix 2 and 3, they had 'son' at the end, Thompson, Johnson, Jackson....

Another Smith wrote -

Quote:

Agents Thompson, Jackson, Johnson in Reloaded ~ Their surnames simply mean Sons of.... Think about it, they were referred to as Upgrades after all...

On 11.11.03 - doesn't any one read the posts?

Another Smith, did you get my PM?

No, I didn't get it... Send me another one!

hey i dunno what you guys reckon about this.. but Smith is ego.. amongst other things.. and one of the things i always thought is that the Wachowskis named him Smith as a reminder of the common nature of his afflictions.. in the movie he's represented as the evil arch-villain.. but we have to remember that essentially he suffers from things that anyone could easily succumb to.. ego, megalomania, sin... the name is a testament to the widespread existence of these things in society and Smith is all these things rolled into one.

any thoughts?

good catch.

tonywatkins wrote:

Did you spot the registration plate on his Audi in Reloaded? IS5416 = Isaiah 54:16: 'See it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc.'

Wow i never noticed that about the number plate - shows how much care the makers put into the minor details

titek wrote:

Also Adam Smith - founder of liberal economy - may be somehow relevant: he was talking about the 'invisible hand of market', the result of everyone's actions to satisfy their wants is the benefit for all.

yup.. to me that's a key point to understand the trilogy. smith is like the embodiement of our economic system. seemingly without an alternative ('IT'S INEVITABLE'), big and bigger and still wants (needs?) to grow ('MORE'), but empty within and ultimately dangourous.. a real threat to our world.

I always thought he was just getting the word out, considering he's being choaked (sp!) by Morpheus at the time.

More of a:

"Unh.. Smith. Agent Smith."

Jack Sparrow wrote:

Smith. Or Smithy, if you like.