Exploring the Philosophy of The Matrix Trilogy

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Published 2017-03-19

Perennial philosophy is ever present throughout The Matrix Trilogy, this video essay aims to explore that. It is defined as a “perspective in modern spirituality which views each of the world's religious traditions as sharing a single, metaphysical truth or origin from which all esoteric and exoteric knowledge and doctrine has grown”.

The trilogy has a whole often gets a bad rap, but I think that all three are incredible achievements, flawed, but beautifully ambitious in ways few films attempt. I explore just a few of the philosophical ideas touched on by The Wachowski's, and hopefully give you a reason to go back and watch them again with a new perspective.

A tremendous source when writing this video(a few quotes are pulled directly from it), is a documentary that you can watch on Vimeo called “Return to Source: Philosophy and The Matrix” that goes much deeper than I can in a short video, so if you want to learn more about the philosophy explored in the trilogy, it should be of great interest to you.

vimeo.com/53000177

All music used in this video comes from the film's soundtrack.

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P.S. I started working on this video well before the news broke about the series being rebooted, so it's totally coincidental, I just happened to choose the topic at random, as I'm a huge fan of the trilogy. Though I should note, I'm cautiously optimistic at the thought of more Matrix films.

This video was written and edited by Daniel Netzel.

www.danielnetzel.com/
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All Comments (21)

@JimmyDThing 7 years ago

This is the one that pushed me over the edge to being a Patron. Honestly I would have anyway because I was waiting for a pattern of content I resonated with, but you hit it out of the park with this one. This so accurately explains something that makes these films so special to me.
@bolso4 5 years ago

I find all 3 films to be terrific. I can easily look over the CG. Even with its flaws, they’re fascinating and very enjoyable films.
@destructivecriticism3734 5 years ago

Neo is the one and Smith is the zero, both important in creating the code.
@FrancoisDressler 7 years ago

Always been a fan of the sequels, especially Revolutions.
@divian22 6 years ago

I'm Hindu and I must say it was so nice to see you reciting from Hindu philosophy, lots of people don't know much about Hindu philopshy but I will say that the European Center for Research in Particle Physics (thg place where The Large Hadron Collider is) has a religious Hindu statue on its grounds. Which says a lot.
@cybertaiga9534 3 years ago

Very few movies come that are really ground-breaking and life changing in some ways. 'Matrix' is one of them (particularly the first part). I remember after watching this movie for the first time. I told my friend- "It is the best movie I have seen.". It not shows the filmmakers passion for presenting and making such a film but to give some thought provoking messages.
@Hirogawa 6 years ago

This video made me like the Second and Third Matrix movies.
@LikeStoriesofOld 7 years ago

Damn that was some fantastic editing! The Wachowski's deserve way more credit for their films in my opinion, I'm glad this video contributed to that. I haven't watched the Matrix sequels in forever but this video makes me want to give them another go :)
@deltavthrust 1 year ago

Matrix changed everything for me. Watched the original over 100 times. The Matrix is a documentary.
@Vidiot-Savant 7 years ago

"Oh, you think darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dark; I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but BLINDING! The shadows betray you, because they belong to me!"
@manufacturedreality8706 2 years ago

Yes, I am forever grateful for the Wachowskis for making these movies.
@Bleeper168 2 years ago

holy SHIT the editing of this video is AMAZING. I love the part when the architect is prophesizing the blindness of Neo and the Death of Trinity while you show it in the video. So well done!
@Johnbender 5 years ago

Brilliant editing at 5:42, i'm astonished I have not seen one comment pointing this out. You even threw the sound in! Great, great job on not only that specific part, but the entirety of the video. Subbed!
@MacPac78 5 years ago

great work but I can't believe you didn't mention Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation. This is, IMHO, without doubt the greatest philosophical influence on The Matrix - particularly the first film. There is even a reference to it in the film.
@ZapperBoy99 7 years ago

This was a wonderful video, good job! My philosophy teacher always uses Matrix as the secondary example for Plato's Analogy of the Cave and, as you said yourself, a great watch to play "Where's Waldo?" in a philosophical way. I cannot wait to see what else you have in store for us!
@SaeedAcronia 2 years ago

Heavy rains remind me of philosophy thanks to Matrix. I really wanted NEO and Smith to just sit down and have a deep conversation on philosophy in that final scene instead of battling. Something tells me smith knew much more.
@SeparateWay 7 years ago

Thank you for giving me even more of a reason to continually enjoy and appreciate The Matrix series. The Animatrix also possesses a wealth of philosophy to ponder and reflect on and is my favourite of the films.
@cadewarrencns 7 years ago

New fan/subscriber of the channel, love this video! I remember when the box set came out on DVD, the 2 hour extras about the science and philosophy of the MATRIX films barely left my DVD player, and I think some of the Wilbur audio is excerpted from those. This video has compelled me to revisit some of the personal writings I wrote when the sequels came out. I remember writing this in depth inquiry into the debts the Wachowskis owed to GODEL ESCHER BACH and its exploration of Godel's Incompleteness Theorem through Neo and Smith, etc etc. Good times. Thanks for your videos!
@nathananderson8720 6 months ago

This is one of the channels that gave me the courage to start my YouTube channel 9 months ago about self development. Now I have 1,739 subs and > 1k hours of watch time. I know it’s not comparable with others but I’m still proud I started because I’ve been learning so many lessons that I could haven’t learned without getting started in the 1st place.
@fidelafi5867 3 years ago

this is so very deep and enlightening... u know whats really sacry? Ive ALWAYS known these concepts. Ive made several attempts to SHARE what I know.... but to no avail... which sadly I find so desolute....as well as alienative in the prospect...but I truly thank u for the share with the concepts of the philosophic disciplines here... I truly enjoyed watching this video...