Theology is sort of a word for “religious philosophy.”Sometimes it has the connotation of a system of thought, likewhat we believe about God. These systems can be quite complex,arranging angels and devils alike, or arranging doctrine and dogmalike a rigid legal code. Literally, the word means “languageabout God” or “God-language.”
Immediately we should see philosophical red flagsand warnings. Whatever God is, most people believe God is thatwhich is beyond the feeble constructs of human language. So itbecomes pretty hard to talk about that which is categoricallybeyond language altogether. One way that human beings have struggledto articulate these things is through myth and story.
The focus of this installment of “The Passionof Neo” is to sketch out some of the theological elementsof Revolutions. Again, this isn’t to say that Christianityis the only backdrop against which to watch the Wachowski masterpiecetrilogy. I’ve read interesting articles exploring Hinduismand even the Baha‘i faith. But in terms of Christianity,there are some terms and concepts that the average viewer mayfind helpful.
When you use a narrative to explore theology, everydetail of the belief system will impact the way that the storyitself is told. This is very obvious in Gibson’s Passionof the Christ. Mel’s beliefs about Christ absolutely permeatethe story he tells. His movie starts in the garden of Gethsemane,and the viewer gets a very stylized interpretation. Mel’sJesus, for example, has no doubts about why he’s going todo the terrible task ahead of him. He’s doing it to defeatevil once and for all, and this is depicted dramatically withserpent crushed under foot. But this kind of cosmic confidenceis much more akin to what history records in the Gospel of Johnthan in the Gospel of Mark (I’ll explain in the final articlewhy I think the Wachowskis were most heavily influenced by Mark).Mark’s Jesus, by all accounts Divine, remains more in thehuman uncertainty and agony.
So in the space that remains here, let me uplifta few of the scenes that illuminate the theology of Revolutions.
With so much obvious emphasis on Neo, it is easyto overlook the Oracle. The Oracle is certainly a figure of theDivine, although in a form that we are less likely to recognize.Artists have more traditionally depicted the Almighty in a guisesimilar to the Architect. But the Wachowskis use minority againstmajority, stereotype against archetype. Others have commentedhow the Oracle and Architect complement each other in a gnosticschema. Without saying absolutely everything that has been saidon the Oracle as God-figure, suffice it to say that the Oraclesimply is such a figure representing both God and faith itself.And as such, it’s extremely significant that she too risksherself. Neo asks her how far she is willing to go. She answersthat she is willing to go all of the way. One of the classic problemsof Christian thought is that it becomes very hard to rememberthat it is God on the cross. In Revolutions, we have an expressionwhere we can clearly appreciate God’s own self-risk. Onthe DVD you’ll be able to see it clearly: that absolutelyis the Oracle lying in the puddle.
The rest of the discussion centers around the theologyof the “Atonement” (Matrix fans can substitute thatword for “Super Burly Brawl”). This is the Christiandoctrine where Christ dies on the cross in exchange for the forgivenessof sins for the rest of the world. The core of the doctrine goesall the way back to Anselm, back to Scripture, and even beforeScripture to the role of the sacrifice in Hebrew spirituality.This idea is perhaps the loudest of all in Gibson’s movie.It’s a very difficult idea, because every little nuanceof how the story is told has ripple effects on the beliefs thatare extracted from it. It is true that Christians believe theCrucifixion to be the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Butif the story is told in such a way that the prophecy is over-emphasized,then this creates philosophical problems for the category of free-will.If this was always “the plan,” then the principleplayers had no choice. And if you also hold the doctrine thatJesus freely chose this sacrifice then the prophecy can conflictwith free-will. It makes it very hard to be a storyteller. Overthe course of Western Christianity, different factions have stoodup and emphasized different pieces of the tradition, almost alwayseach group was sure they had the definitive view.
The relationship between Smith and Neo is very importantto analyze for its spiritual and religious implications. In fact,Smith’s philosophy will be the entire focus of an article.There are many points of comparison. For example, Smith represents“the many” over and against “the One.”We may think of the scene from the Bible where Jesus faced offagainst the Garasene demoniac whose name was “Legion”(remember Reloaded where Smith tries to possess Neo). But to focusin on the Super Burly Brawl, I think there’s a very interestingexpression of “Jesus taking on the sins of the world.”Neo literally absorbs, and is absorbed by, the evil of the world.Stepping back from the myth and mystery for a moment. and steppinginto the realm of science fiction plot, this is necessary becausethe Deus Ex Machina needs to have direct access to the Smith programin order to destroy it. By allowing himself to be taken over,Neo becomes the link between Smith and the machine god.
Another key aspect of Revolutions theology is theaspect of choice. Neo chooses to go to the machine world. Neochooses to jack in to face Smith. And finally, Neo chooses tobe overtaken by Smith. “Because I choose to,” saysNeo. And that is the key to the last fifteen minutes of the film.Neo chooses to sacrifice himself. We’ll explore this choicein more depth later, because Smith -- and so many fans -- cannotsee past this choice that is not understood.
The last theological detail is the idea of completevictory through complete defeat. So it’s significant topoint out that Neo is completely defeated. This disappointed manyfans. We all wanted to see Neo beat Smith, beat the Merovingian,and even defeat the machines in the machine world. But we didn’tget this. We got a very mortal hero. We got a hero who is disfiguredand blinded. This is also similar to the early Christian communitywho wanted a powerful political leader, and this is in part whythey turned on Jesus: Jesus wasn’t the hero that they wouldhave chosen. This is also one of the key components of classicalChristian debates. Some early Christians could not get their mindsaround the idea that Jesus was really, really defeated. And sothey believed that Jesus was only pretending. This became oneof the many heresies, this one known as Docetism.
This is sort of the difference between Yoda in EmpireStrikes Back and Attack of the Clones. In Empire Strikes Backwe meet a feeble form with a powerful ally in the Force. In Attackof the Clones, we have a Yoda as action hero.
Does it matter? Is there anything wrong with a herowho is powerful outright? Maybe there’s not anything wrongwith it. This is the kind of hero that Spider-Man is. He’sa super character with super powers. Okay. But when you’retalking about myth and mystery, and capital-T Truth, I think theWachowskis have it right. That which is truly good doesn’tneed worldly power to be victorious.
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