Matrix's Truths

2014

The Matrix, Matrix Reloaded, and Matrix Revolutions were a series of movies that was mind-boggling at first, and then just boggling. It had such a profound effect that the Wah-Chow-Si brothers who made the movies, later became the Wah-Chow-Si siblings (one of them used the money he made from the movies to have a sex-change). But what does it all mean?

It took me more than 12 years of thinking about it, re-watching the movies, reading other people's critiques and over-analyses of the three movies, and I think I got it. And to save you 12 years of cognitive overload, here are the short answers.

Yes. Answers. Plural. Because Truth is never singular. At its purest form, Truth is at best a duality, yin-yang, positive-negative, matter-anti-matter, good-evil, light-dark.



But because the Matrix Trilogy is not a pure distillation, the Truth about its nature is not a simple duality. No, the answer to "What does it all mean" is multi-faceted.

Answer #1
It is an action movie (or three action movies). The plot and premise were simply to allow the protagonists to fire 8,694,753 rounds of ammunition (yes, I counted. That's why it took me 12 years to answer this question), exhibit insane, superhuman martial art skills, and kill "people" without moral qualms (or at least moral qualms on the part of the viewer).

Answer #2
If you make enough money (from a pseudo-spiritual movie wrapped in psycho-religious babble, and packaged with enough cutting edge action sequence and special effects), you can be whoever you want to be. This includes getting gender-reassignment surgery (that's "sex-change" for you old-school bigots).

Answer #3
If you have a big enough budget, you can make Keanu Reeves watch-able.

Answer #4
Take the blue pill (Viagra). It may not be reality, but it's close enough and you'll enjoy life much better.

Answer #5
If you are in the Matrix, all physical laws and limitations are in your mind. Free your mind, and you can be anything you can imagine. However, if you are living in a real world, to be anything you want to be takes money. See Answer #2. Or a blue pill. See Answer #4. (Which you can buy with money. See Answer #2.)

Answer #6A
The Purpose of Life is to find Purpose.

Answer #6B
Or the Purpose of Life is to find Meaning.

Answer #6C
Or the Meaning of Life is to discover your Purpose in Life.

Answer #6D
Or Implicit in Answers 6A thru 6C: There is no inherent Meaning or Purpose in Life. Even if you are The One and your purpose is to BE The One, you are NOT The One if you do not FEEL like you're The One. In other words, when reason and logic fails, go with your feeling. It's never wrong. But even if it is, at least it felt right.

Answer#6E
Or, in other other words, your destiny is not your destiny until you accept your destiny. However if it is your destiny, you are destined to accept your destiny. That is the nature of destiny. Consequently, you have a choice... But not really.

Answer #7
Ergo, the true purpose of life is to discover if you are truly free to choose, or are all your choices already pre-determined.

Answer #8
You realise that any meaningful life (where your purpose in life has meaning), was probably the result of some logical or rational decision-making on your part and because logical and rational decisions can be predicted, it ultimately means that a meaningful life is probably the result of pre-determined choices, which means that your "choices" weren't free. So you aren't free. And you are still in the Matrix. (In Matrix-speak, if you have purpose, you are probably a program, that is your decisions were all pre-determined.)

Answer #9
If you want to be sure you are truly acting freely, act randomly and/or irrationally. Note that this may result in an assessment that you are probably insane and may result in you being locked up. If you are human. If you are a program, you will be deleted.

Answer #10
No. You are not in a Matrix.

And now, answers to FAQs
FAQ#1
No, you cannot download kungfu skills directly into your head. See Answer #10.

FAQ#2
No, you cannot kill people just because you suspect them of being an Agent. See Answer #10.

FAQ#3
I do not have a red pill. And anyone who tells you I need/used a blue pill is a liar!

FAQ#4
Do you feel like The One?