The Matrix

***The Matrix*** is a science fiction action movie that was made in 1999. It was written and directed by the Wachowski Sisters. The main actors in the movie are Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Hugo Weaving. _The Matrix_ was followed by three sequels: _The Matrix Reloaded_, _The Matrix Revolutions_ and _The Matrix Resurrections_.

In 2012, The Matrix was selected by the Library of Congress into the United States National Film Registry.

## Story

The main character of the movie is Thomas A. Anderson (played by Keanu Reeves), who is a computer programmer at MetaCortex, a big software company, but he is also an underground hacker. Thomas meets Trinity (played by Carrie-Anne Moss), who then introduces him to Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne), who gives him a choice between taking a blue pill or a red pill. If he took the blue pill, he would wake up at his bed and wouldn't be bothered anymore, but if he took the red pill, Morpheus would show him the truth about the Matrix. Thomas takes the red pill. Then Morpheus tells Thomas he is actually Neo, or "the one". He explains to Neo that the Matrix is a computer program made by robots to simulate a world which humans think is real. He then explains to Neo that, because he is "the one" he is able to modify the Matrix however he wants. Morpheus then helps Neo to get out of the Matrix. At the beginning, Neo is skeptical about his power, but after training, he is able to show his real power. Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, and the rest of the rebels then go on a journey to free humans from the Matrix.

## Symbolism

There is a lot of symbolism in _The Matrix_. Common sources are Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, the ancient philosopher Plato and Plato's _Allegory of the Cave_, modern philosophers such as René Descartes, and modern authors such as William Gibson.

### Philosophy

There are also references to _Simulacra and Simulation_, a very modern philosophy book by Jean Baudrillard. Baudrillard says that in the modern world, copies of copies are made. "The Real" is gone because people do not know what the first things were. For example, a modern person who eats a chicken did not kill the chicken. That person does not know what a real chicken is. The chicken meat is false because the person did not kill the chicken. The person's reality is the chicken meat.

### Trivia

- "Neo" is a word from old Greek word meaning "new". The letters in "Neo" can be moved around to spell "one".
- Anderson is a word from old Greek which means "son of man"
- Morpheus is the name of an old Greek god who makes dreams.
- Nebuchadnezzar, Morpheus's ship, gets its name from the king from Babylon who had many dreams, and was a king of change and of understanding the truth.
- The directors, the Wachowski Sisters, often use the story “Alice in Wonderland”. Alice falls into a rabbit hole, and she finds a strange world. “Alice in Wonderland” is a story about illusions.

### Symbols in the music of _The Matrix_

- In the first scene, when Neo is sleeping on his keyboard, "Dissolved Girl" by Massive Attack is playing. The chorus of this song is:
<poem>
- I feel like I've been/ I've been here before
- You're not my savior/ but I still don't go
- It feels like something that I've done before
- I could fake it, but I'd still want more/
</poem>

- When Neo is in the dance club, the remix of a Rob Zombie song called "Dragula" is playing. The first line of that song is: "Dead, I am the One."
- When Neo is meeting with the Oracle, the quiet music in the background is Duke Ellington's "I'm Beginning To See The Light."

## Cast

- Keanu Reeves as Neo
- Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus
- Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity
- Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith
- Joe Pantoliano as Cypher

## Music

Don Davis made the score (orchestra part with violins and flutes).
The Matrix's soundtrack (band music for a movie) includes music from bands such as Rammstein, Rob Dougan, Rage Against the Machine, Propellerheads, Massive Attack, The Prodigy, Rob Zombie, and Marilyn Manson.

## Other meanings

The word _matrix_ sometimes means "origin" or "beginnings". In very old English, _matrix_ means "womb". A matrix is also a part of mathematics.

## Effect of the movie

A new religion called **Matrixism** or **The path of the One** is based on the movie _The Matrix_.  The religion began in 2004 with 300 members. Now there are about 16,000 members of Matrixism.

## References

**Notes**

## Infobox (film)

- **name**: The Matrix
- **director**: The Wachowskis
- **producer**: Joel Silver
- **writer**: The Wachowskis
- **music**: Don Davis (composer), Don Davis
- **cinematography**: Bill Pope
- **editing**: Zach Staenberg
- **runtime**: 136 minutes
- **language**: English
- **budget**: $63 million
- **gross**: $463.5 million