Gnosticism

The word gnosticism comes from the greek word gnosis which means knowledge. Gnosticism consists of various belief systems that are united by one belief which is that humans are divine souls that are trapped in a material world which was created by an imperfect being called the demiurge. Gnosticism was common in the mediterranean and the middle east around the second and third centuries. This belief is practiced by some christians, muslims, jews, and buddhist religions. Gnostics believe in dualism with one supreme good ruler(God) and another bad spirit is evil (Demiurge). The matrix and gnosticism are similar in that gnostics believe that they live in a materialistic world and the people who live in the matrix live in a materialistic world similar to what gnosticism describes. I also think that you can associate the robots with the imperfect being called demiurge who created the imperfect material world because the matrix which the robots created is similar to the material world gnosticism describes.

allegory of the cave

In a way the matrix and Plato's Allegory of the cave are similar in that they both tell a story in which people are being hidden from the truth. In the matrix it is people who are put in this digitalized world in order to prevent them from knowing the truth which was that there bodies were powering the machines. In the Allegory of the cave the prisoners who are chained in the cave believed that the cave is the only reality.
Once the prisoner from the cave was freed he wanted to go back and free his fellow bondsman but he knew that they would not want to be freed and that they would have a hard time getting use to the truth which is the same feeling that people had in the matrix once they were freed from it.
When you are used to a specific way of life or a specific way of doing things it is hard to change your ways because it is what your used to. I think that this is one of the ideas of the story.

The Matrix

Ever since the first time I saw the matrix it left me thinking of the possibilioty that one day we may create an artificial intelligence that we would not be able to control. What really gets to me when I watch the matrix is that it may one day be possible to create an artificial intelligence and what affect would this have on the human population.
The idea that humans and the artificial intelligence that they created eventually end up fighting which leads to the destruction of the world that we know today is a very original idea for a movie. Whats mind blowing is how the machines find a way to create humans and use them as a power source since the sun can no longer be used.
This movie is so well put that even though the whole idea of the matrix can be difficult to completley understand the story itself is believable because it leaves open the possibility that we may one day create something that we cannot control. In most scifi movies the story is not so believable but the matrix on the other hand is a movie that shows us what might happen if our technolgy advances and it shows us the consequences of going to far with our technology.
In my opinion the matrix was very entertaing and very interesting to watch. Who ever watches the matrix will either enjoy it or hate it there is no in between, you are eiher a fan your your not. I enjoy watching scifi mo9vies because they take us to a world that can be new and exciting. They take us to places that most of us would never imagine and that is what makes them exciting to watch