-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.17/pageone.html <A HREF="http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.17/pageone.html">Laissez Faire City Times - Volume 3 Issue 17 </A> ----- The Laissez Faire Times April 26, 1999 - Volume 3, Issue 17 Editor & Chief: Emile Zola ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Matrix: Sci-Fi, Metaphysics, and Soul Liberation by Uri Dowbenko What if the material three-dimensional world, so-called consensus reality, was an artificial construct -- an ultra high-rez computer-generated graphic with an on-line interface -- and nobody knew it? In the tradition of sci-fi masters Philip K. Dick, J. G. Ballard, and William Gibson, "The Matrix" is one of the most intelligent, provocative, and imaginative sci-fi movies ever. At its heart, it's an allegory of self-empowerment. You can accomplish anything -- is the subtext -- if you engage your will, your mind and your heart. Question your reality, and you could be on the path of self-transcendence. Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a computer programmer by day -- and a hacker by night called Neo. His seemingly mundane routine is troubled by his dreams, his nightmares, and the recurring riddle -- what is the Matrix? Neo's mind-bending and reality-stretching quest begins when Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), a leather clad warrior-babe, makes contact. She leads him along the path, "As you can see, we've been watching you for some time. You have two lives. One of these lives has a future. The other does not," he's told. Neo's had a nightmare. An implant, a bio-mechanical spider thing, has burrowed into his body. "Think you're bugged?" they ask him. A gadget retrieves the thing, and his nightmares merge with his waking life. Trinity leads him to Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), the leader of the cyber-age freedom-fighters. "You've been living in a dream world," Morpheus tells him. "All I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more," he continues enigmatically. "There's something wrong with the world. It's like a splinter in your mind." Neo knows it's true, but he's totally unprepared for the paradigm shift in his reality that comes next. He's shown the high-tech nightmare of tyranny where humans are no longer born, but grown. It's a post AI -- Artificial Intelligence -- world where humans are farmed by machines and kept alive for their bio-energy. Finally, convinced that he must join Morpheus and the others to awaken the rest of humanity, Neo begins training for combat. Plugged into "programs" with a headjack at the base of the skull a la Neuromancer, he quickly masters all the basics of Kung Fu fighting. Is ignorance really bliss? And what is the Matrix? "A computer generated dream world to keep us under control," says Morpheus, whose name ironically means "Lord of Sleep." Neo learns all too well that he "lives" in a multi-dimensional prison, a virtual prison of the mind. Without the ability to tap into his higher powers, it's a fitting metaphor for the abject state of humanity on Earth. Morpheus taunts him, "How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?" Neo goes face to face with Maya, the Big Illusion of Duality and the Material Universe itself in terms of Buddhism. In fact, Neo's transformation from mind-controlled slave into warrior simultaneously embodies Christ and Buddha. Being "aware" as a Christ figure, he becomes empowered to set the captives free. Being "awake" as a Buddha figure, he returns from his Enlightenment to teach humanity the Path. As projections of the unreality and fear that grips the soul, The Men in Black are AI-agents of the System. With their sinister disturbing appearance, ear-jacks, black hats and skinny black ties and suits, they explain to Neo that "millions of people live out their lives. Oblivious." There's another metaphysical concept implied in the movie. Is Neo "The One"-- a prophesied messiah figure who will lead humanity out of their cyber-slavery? When he arrives, they even mock him, saying, "So you're here to save the world?" Simultaneously Keanu Reeves plays the avatar, as in computer lingo, and the Avatar, as in theological jargon. "The Matrix" is a powerful metaphor about transcending mind control. By using the power of mind over matter, anyone can transcend the consensus reality which mega-corporations use to ensnare mankind with materialism and the obsessions and addictions of modern life. Written and directed by the Wachowski brothers, Larry and Andy, whose previous film was Bound, a lesbo crime story, "The Matrix" is a dazzling vision of biomorphic computer-generated realities as the harbinger of future tyranny -- which is really now. "The Matrix" is an engrossing 135-minute meditation on Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and the power of an unquestioned Belief Structure. That's BS for short. It explores the power of faith and self-transcendence, as well as the possibilities of altered realities and multidimensional existence. The computer analogies to the programming potential of the human mind are also obvious. Besides great arcade-game-like kung fu fighting, slo-mo gunfights and dazzling digital special effects, "The Matrix" is a thought-provoking sci-fi thriller that succeeds on all levels -- from the cerebral to the sublime. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Uri Dowbenko is the CEO of New Improved Entertainment Corp. He can be reached by e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED] -30- from The Laissez Faire City Times, Vol. 3, No. 17, April 26, 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Published by Laissez Faire City Netcasting Group, Inc. Copyright 1998 - Trademark Registered with LFC Public Registrar All Rights Reserved ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. 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