The Matrix Through Freire, Baudrillard, and Gramsci

Introduction: Consciousness and Liberation in The Matrix

Central to any discussion of oppression in the film The Matrix is the theme of consciousness. In the movie's most dramatic plot twist, it turns out that Neo, the protagonist, has not been living in the real world but inside a computer-programmed simulation of one. He has been held in this state so that artificially intelligent machines may harness his body heat for energy. In freeing himself from the Matrix, Neo must make a choice — to liberate himself and become his own person. In this way, he resembles the kind of man that Paulo Freire describes in Pedagogy of the Oppressed:

"The truth is, however, that the oppressed are not 'marginals,' are not men living 'outside' society. They have always been 'inside' — inside the structure which made them 'beings for others.' The solution is not to 'integrate' them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become 'beings for themselves.' Such transformation, of course, would undermine the oppressors' purposes; hence their utilization of the concept of education to avoid the threat of student conscientização." (Freire)

Like Freire's oppressed man, Neo has been inside the system his entire life. Through Morpheus' teaching, however, his consciousness is altered such that he is able to become his own person. In assuming his individual nature and existing outside of the system, Neo literally exits the Matrix and is suddenly able to realize his own identity, thereby effectively transforming his consciousness.

Ideology and Illusion: Baudrillard and the Simulated World

The idea of ideology also becomes very important within the film, because the general ideology propagated by the Matrix turns out to be radically different from the actual state of affairs. In expressing this illusory ideology, The Matrix reflects the ideas of Jean Baudrillard:

"Either we think of technology as the exterminator of Being, the exterminator of the secret, of seduction and appearances, or we imagine that technology, by way of an ironic reversibility, might be an immense detour toward the radical illusion of the world." (Baudrillard)

In the world of The Matrix, technology presents an ideology that is as illusory as anything Baudrillard could imagine. The movie offers a more empirical demonstration of this kind of illusion, while Baudrillard's analysis is perhaps more psychological; yet this distinction does not diminish the parallel. Both point to the same fundamental condition: that what is taken to be reality may be nothing more than a carefully constructed appearance.

Spirituality, Buddhism, and the Nature of Reality

Spirituality is similarly significant within The Matrix, and many of the film's spiritual ideas bear a close relationship to theoretical strains of Buddhism. Other commentators have noted this affinity:

"Buddhism and Gnosticism share in common an attitude towards consensual reality (not reality itself, but a judgment/definition of what reality is) — namely that the senses and even the analytical mind which processes the signals from our senses can only reach as far as the illusion, and therefore they cannot reinforce anything but the illusion." ("Buddhism and Gnosticism in The Matrix")

In the film, Morpheus asks Neo what he believes to be real, pointing out that although things inside the Matrix feel real, they are not. This is not unlike the Buddhist teaching that "All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts" (Ford). Thus, The Matrix produces a form of spirituality heavily influenced by Buddhist philosophy.

References

"Antonio Gramsci." May 19, 2003. http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-gram.htm#role

Baudrillard, Jean. The Vital Illusion. May 19, 2003.

"Buddhism and Gnosticism in The Matrix." May 19, 2003.

Ford, James L. "Buddhism, Christianity, and The Matrix: The Dialectic of Myth-Making in Contemporary Cinema." The Journal of Religion and Film. May 19, 2003.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. May 19, 2003.