There Is No Spoon

There Is No Spoon:
All I Ever Needed To Learn In Life Is Right There In "The Matrix"

As I sit here and write this, in February 2004, I've watched The Matrix 35 times. Actually, it's more than that if you count partial viewings. It's not that I'm obsessed with the movie, although I suppose anyone who watches the same movie 35 times could certainly be classified as being "obsessed". It's just that I find a deep connection with this movie. It's hard to explain. But, I'll try.

Before we get too far, know that I'm talking about the first Matrix movie. Not the second, or the third. Frankly, I think the first didn't need a sequel, let alone two of them, but I don't remember the producers calling me for an opinion. Too late now.

The very first time I went to see it I actually thought it was fairly unremarkable. Certainly, the special affects were cool, but the deep connection I'm talking about wasn't there yet. At the time I was still living as a guy, and I brought my son to see it with me. In fact, come to think of it, it's probably one of the last movies we went to see together before it happened.

My son was, and remains, very particular in the movies he'll go see. There has to be action. There has to be explosions, and shooting, and general fiery action mayhem. Kissing is okay, as long as it doesn't interrupt the action. Talking is okay too, as long as they keep it to a minimum. Plot is really not all that essential, as I think he generally feels it tends to complicate things a little too much.

We'd seen the trailers, and we knew there was some cool stuff there...all the stuff he liked. Explosions. Helicopters smashing into buildings. Guns....lots of guns. And for the first hour of the movie he waited in hopeful anticipation that the real action would start any second. Eventually, he leaned close and whispered, "When are the explosions gonna happen?" I reminded him that I hadn't seen it before so I couldn't answer, but they were coming.

In the end, I think he rated it a 6 out of 10. Too much other stuff there. Cool action....but not enough of it. To be honest, I think he was confused by it all. I don't think he had the foggiest notion of what he's just seen. And I think that's the biggest barrier to really getting it. The real movie is hidden below the surface, and it takes a little digging to find it. Many people aren't willing to work that hard when they go to the movies.

And ironically, it wasn't until I started my transition that I began to feel the connection. As I watched the movie with a much more sensitive mind, I began to see it. So, I watched it again. And again. New symbolism that I hadn't seen before appeared with each viewing. New thoughts. New perspectives. Suddenly, it wasn't an action movie anymore. It was a movie about life, about society, about being an individual, about freedom, about destiny, and about fate.

Morpheus:
You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth.
Do you believe in fate, Neo?

Neo:
No.

Morpheus:
Why not?

Neo:
Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.

Morpheus:
I know exactly what you mean.
Let me tell you why you're here.
You're here because you know something.
What you know you can't explain, but you feel it; you've felt it your entire life.
That there's something wrong with the world.
You don't know what it is, but it's there....like a splinter in your mind...driving you mad.
It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
Do you know what I'm talking about?

Neo:
The Matrix?

Morpheus:
Do you want to know what...it...is?
The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now...in this very room.
You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television.
You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes.
It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes....to blind you from the truth.

Neo:
What truth?

Morpheus:
That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage.
Born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison....for your mind.

How many of us have been there? How many of us have felt that splinter? How many of us realize that there's something wrong, but we just can't pinpoint what it is? How many have tested the bars of the prison in our minds? I know I have!

The Matrix is society. It is culture. It is all the things that have been built to blind us to the innate freedoms to be who and what we want to be. And frankly, if you can't unplug, if you can't break away, the things you see remain tinted and obscured by the Matrix.

That's more easily said than done. Some people cannot imagine a world without structure. Without order. Without binary rules to help guide their lives. They wouldn't take the Red Pill for anything. These people cannot imagine a world of freedom, and actually perceive attempts at freedom as threats to their very existence, to the foundations of life itself! In fact, And, they do what they feel they need to do to protect it.

Morpheus:
The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy.
When you're inside, look around. What do you see?
Businessmen...teachers...lawyers...carpenters.
The very minds of the people we are trying to save.
But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy.
You have to understand. Most of these people are not ready to be unplugged.
And many of them are so anured, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it.

Those of us who are unplugged face tests of our own to prove to ourselves that we're the one, that we're real, that we deserve to be here.

I'm not going to spend an hour thinking of ways to help you see what I see when I watch the movie. Those of you who have had similar experiences with it know what I'm talking about. You've taken the red pill, as I have. And, you see the world for what it is....not for what common paradigms would have you believe that the world we see is all there is.

BUT, if I had to identify three critical quotes, three tremendously enlightening passages among all the wonderful stuff in there, I'd have to pick these three:

The Oracle:
So...what do you think? Do you think you are the "one"?

Neo:
Honestly, I don't know.

The Oracle:
(pointing to a sign over the door) You know what that means? It's Latin. It means "Know Thyself". I'm going to let you in on a little secret. It's like being in love. No one can tell you you're in love you just know it. Through and through. Balls to bones.

There's another movie with which I feel a similar connection, but it's not quite as strong. It's Shrek, movie about the green ogre who befriends the talking donkey and rescues the princess..

For those looking for something fun to do, watch the movie and wherever you hear the "ogre" replace it with the word "transsexual", and see how the movie fits. Plus, it's just a fun movie. There will be times when you'll need something to smile about. :)