REVIEW
Beyond The Matrix: Revolutions And Revelations
Stephen Faller
Stephen Faller has written a stimulating, and perhaps surprising, book that is worth a
read by any one who has seen the Matrix trilogy and wants to explore its themes in more
depth. The title is an accurate representation of the purpose of this book. Faller is
not so much interested in explaining the films themselves, although he does offer
occasional interpretations of specific scenes in order to justify a point. Rather, the
motivation of the book is to look "beyond" the movies, to examine our own
lives, culture, society, norms, and patterns of behavior from a matrix-like perspective.
As the author clearly states in the Introduction,"This is not the Cliff's Notes to the Matrix trilogy and will not serve as a substitute for having seen the movies....This isn't your chance to get every fanboy question answered....This book will not introduce the characters and attempt to identify everything they symbolize. It will not attempt to explain the meaning of the movies."Since Faller is a chaplain with a degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, I had expected that the book might take a definite slant towards the Christian perspective. Instead, he incorporates themes from various religious and philosophical theories, as well as examples from modern pop culture including recent films and television series. "...the Matrix trilogy...will not be packaged as Buddhist, Christian, gnostic, agnostic, atheistic, psychological, or under the banner of any other philosophy. We're not going to sell the definitive opinion once and for all....We will be be considering many of the philosophical and religious ideas that give the Matrix trilogy so much of its richness and resonances. But all these things are just tools to help us along the way."The result is a refreshing analysis of the movie that attempts to guide us in understanding ourselves and our own motivations. The central theme of the book is freedom. Just what is the matrix in our society by which we are imprisoned, and how is it that one becomes free? In attempting to address this question, Faller examines such relevant topics as abortion, relationships, capitalism, racism, slavery, language, and political systems. An early and poignant point is that the matrix we strive to be free from is often of our own making and the result of polarized thinking. "Maybe human beings naturally resist all the myriads of oppression, automatically gravitate toward justice and away from injustice. But the reality is that humanity is who creates these dominating structures to begin with. We create the systems and the problems. Maybe it is true that we want to unplug from the Matrix, but we are also guilty of plugging ourselves into it and going back to sleep. ...Just because we insist on the option of freedom does not make it an option we choose."How do we begin to free our minds? Faller suggests that we "try to change the system, not change the world, which is impossible, but instead change the dynamic that keeps the system going." Freedom involves a certain amount of risks and dangers. Also, it is not so easy to "wake up" on our own without some party that is external to the system to offer us a convenient red pill. Faller even mentions some recent research on sleeping that suggests the dream state is the normal state for our brains. That is, even when we are awake, our brain is still functioning in a similar manner as when we are asleep. We literally are living in a dream. Related to the theme of freedom is the concept of choice. Faller makes a good point here - just how much choice did Neo have? In most cases a choice between two, but only two, extremes which were presented to him (red or blue pill, etc.) He had the freedom to choose, but the choices were limited. Faller returns to the idea of polarity; there is not a great deal of freedom to be found with only two options to choose from. "We lose the ability to discover what we want when we are focused on denying what we reject....Can we really say that Neo ever became free from the Matrix without the ability to fashion his own choice?" The tendency is then to equate freedom with the availability of endless options. Faller warns us against this fallacy. "...freedom is commitment, the assertion of actuality over and against potentiality...It is a mistake to think that choices or options make us free. Unless we are compiling endless lists of alternatives, we don't think we are free. But 'choosing' itself is the freedom, not the given choices...The ability to choose and define what we're choosing is not nearly as important as the choice itself." There are a lot of good insights and ideas in this book. If you were deeply affected by the Matrix trilogy and find yourself in the position of asking, "Now what?" then this book is for you. Faller raises some issues and questions that are well worth considering, and he does so from a perspective that leaves the door open to everyone. |