***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*.

Story
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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
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There is a lot of symbolism in *The Matrix*. Common sources are Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism (the concept of maya), the ancient philosopher Plato and *Plato's Cave*, modern philosophers such as René Descartes, and modern authors such as William Gibson.

Descartes says that maybe humans are brains in jars. A monster is maybe tricking humans. The monster makes humans believe that they are in the real world, but actually humans are simply brains. Humans cannot know what is real.

### 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 Brothers 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:

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/

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

Music
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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
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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
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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.

Other websites
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: ***The Matrix***

* *The Matrix* on IMDb