Unit Plan: Term Three 2008 – The Matrix Lesson One: Introduction Introduce the idea of thinking philosophically, ethically and spiritually using contemporary media – particularly movies. Talk about their favourite movies and tease out any philosophical, ethical or spiritual themes in them. The list is endless.... If discussion lags, a ‘taste’ of science fiction in action when reviewing religious/ethical themes can be had through Isaac Asimov’s story ‘The Last Question’ or Ursula Leguin’s ‘Those Who Walk Away From Omelas’. Resources: Asimov’s ‘The Last Question’ Ursula LeGuin’s Those Who Walk Away From Omelas Lesson Two: Plato’s Cave One of the strongest metaphors in The Matrix is the same as Plato’s famous Allegory of the Cave. Tell the story and/or show the DVD version (if you are good at storytelling I find it better to tell it myself). TAKE IT SLOWLY and explore each stage of the story – the DVD “What is Philosophy?” from the Examined Life series does this really well. Resources: The Examined Life, Plato’s Republic Lesson Three:B166ER Show Second Renaissance Part I and Second Renaissance Part II from Animatrix. Talk about machines and AI. Ethics for Machines. Terminator series of movies (and now TV series The Sarah Conner Chronicles) implies that, if we are going to consider the ethical status of thinking machines it might be imperative to do so before it happens! What do they think of B166ER’s train of thought. Talk about the end of slavery in the US and the position of minority groups in modern society (e.g. homosexuals?). Asimov’s classic I, Robot series and robot ethics. Is this any different? Resources: Animatrix Ethics for Machines & Why Machines Need Ethics – J. Storrs Hall Lesson Four: in-class writing task – movie review of Animatrix (attached) Interregnum: watch ‘The Matrix’! Lesson Five: Thomas A. Anderson Who is Thomas Anderson? He is Thomas And-a-son. As we approach the Allegory of St. John’s Gospel reading of the movie, he is doubting Thomas, and he is the son of God (Jesus) – Thomas and- a-son. Review the scene of Neo’s ‘rebirth’ – how literal is the similarity to a baptism (particularly an immersion). What is it that Thomas (Jesus) ‘sees’ for the first time after his ‘awakening’ in the pod – he ‘sees’ the dreadful state that humanity is in – so dreadful that we don’t even realise that we’re in it! Compare this to Jesus – after his baptism (Morpheus – John the Baptist) – Neo is brought into the Nebuchadnezzar and undergoes the remainder of the awakening process – “Why do my eyes hurt?” – “Because you’ve never used them before!” The Allegory will continue in coming lessons.... Resources: The Matrix Lesson Six: Morpheus Morpheus as John the Baptist – the one who recognises Jesus – the one who is his herald – the one who believes (the believer side of Morpheus will be explored more in the second part of the module when we look at Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions). Review the construct fight scene. The ‘trainer’ of Jesus? Resources: The Matrix Dialogue Vardy & Alliss article Lesson Seven: Trinity Love. Foreshadowing, when Trinity meets Neo for the first time face-to-face (well, in the matrix – so ‘virtual-face-to-virtual-face’) she does so with apprehension – remember that Morpheus believes that Neo is ‘The One’ – and the Oracle has already told Trinity that she will fall in love with ‘The One’. Bring up the phenomenon of online dating, online partner-seeking (currently, in the U.S., 1 in 7 couples getting married met online – that figure is expected to approach 50% within 10 years). ‘Neo’ and ‘Trinity’ do not really ‘meet’ in the physical sense until after Neo is awakened – it seems obvious that the mutual attraction begins before this. Note also the number of ‘friends’ that people in the room will have that they have never (physically) met (online games being the most notable contributor here). Are there ramifications for ‘love’ in the classic sense in worlds where a lot of social interactions are conducted in cyberspace? Are there ‘upsides”, ‘downsides’? Is the virtual world any more ‘fake’ than the ‘real’ world (Farmer wants a wife, Big Brother, other ‘reality shows’)? Resources: The Matrix Lesson Eight: Smith What is the role of the agents in the movie? In our allegorical approach, whom do they represent in St. John’s Gospel? Do they have equivalents in the modern world? Review the interrogation of Morpheus by Agent Smith. What is their reaction to Smith’s ‘virus’ analogy? What happens to Smith at the end of the movie? Could Smith have become Neo’s ‘Saul/Paul’? Resources: The Matrix Lesson Nine: Cipher Cipher’s Choice. Review Cipher’s meal with Agent Smith. Is ignorance bliss? Is it ever better to live in a world of illusion rather than to know the truth? Why is the truth better than illusion and, particularly in a scenario like ‘The Matrix’, how are we to know illusion from truth? Review the red pill/blue pill scene and Neo’s reaction to finding out that he has been ‘living in a dreamworld’. A philosophical approach to the question – should Neo have doubted the vision that Morpheus gave him after feeding him a dubious drug of some sort? What would they have done? Resources: The Matrix Lesson Ten: Oracle Role of prophecy in the Judeo-Christian religions. Isaiah and the references to the Messiah. We will talk a lot about prophecies and the Oracle in the second module. Orpheus’ constant commitment to the prophecies of the Oracle. Who is The Oracle? Review Neo’s meeting with the prospectives (“There is no spoon”) and the Oracle’s conversation with Neo. “What am I waiting for?” “Your next life, maybe?” Temet nosce – Know thyself – inscribed (in Greek) in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi – also the sign above her door (in Latin). What does it mean and what is its significance? Resources: The Matrix Lesson Eleven: ‘The One’ Who is ‘The One’? Neo as Jesus – the final days, Jerusalem. Neo will have a choice – to save his own life or Morpheus’ life. Neo’s acceptance of the prophecy and his place in it. Review the final sequence where Neo dies but Trinity saves him. Neo’s death and resurrection (note that, just like Jesus, Neo actually dies and comes back rather than is rescued at the last moment). Who is Trinity? Why doesn’t Neo die? Jesus and the Resurrection – how can we understand The Resurrection. What meaning does it have for us in the modern world? Do we need to return to the question of Neo’s identity? Just who is Neo (Star Wars – a different approach – ‘the one who will bring balance to the Force’ – is it Darth Vader (Sith Lord)? Note that Annekin Skywalker dies and is resurrected – this time by The Emperor)? Resources: The Matrix Lesson Twelve: Watch ‘Matrix Reloaded’ (first of three lessons) Resources: The Matrix Reloaded Lesson Thirteen: Watch ‘Matrix Reloaded’ (second of three lessons) Resources: The Matrix Reloaded Lesson Fourteen: Watch ‘Matrix Reloaded’ (third of three lessons) Resources: The Matrix Reloaded RaVE Term Three Major Assessment Task: Animatrix review Animatrix reviews from http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/dvd-title-a/animatrix/1008265/ Advantages Visuals, Reveals more about The Matrix, better than either film. Disadvantages Some people refuse to watch anime. A few episodes don't deliver. When I first heard the news of an animated series based on the world of The Matrix I had a very sceptical reaction. Afterall some of the worst kids shows I've seen have been based on some of the most enjoyable Hollywood blockbusters. However the more I thought about it the more the idea started to make sense. The Matrix (at least the first one) is possibly the best live action interpretation of Japanese animation ever seen, and from the looks of the screen shots this series would follow the next logical step with a Japanese style animated series set in the world of The Matrix. More than that The Wachowski Brothers had been making some pretty lofty promises that The Animatrix would compliment the films, and videogame,in order to finally tell the entire story. In my opinion the show succeeded at this. The first short worked to bridge the gap between the first 2 films and the game, and the rest (while a few fall short of greatness) work as a series of slick stories that explore the depths of thee matrix in a far more satisfying way than the sequels would go on to do. 1) The Final Flight Of The Osiris - You may be familiar with this episode as it was shown in theatres before the Steven King adaption Dreamcatcher. Final Flight Of The Osiris is a fantastic opening to the world of The Animatrix. Visually stunning, it represents the next step in CGI animation after the Final Fantasy movie from the same makers. You will literally be awestruck as you see these visuals though, with nothing at all being neglected. It opens with 2 characters training in a sword fight inside the training simulation, and as they fight they literally slice each others clothes off. Ahem. Just to show off the muscle details, of course. Anyway this part looks simply stunning and when they leave the simulation and you see how detailed the metal work is you're jaw will hit the floor again. The sentinels really looked like they did in the films. However Final Flight Of The Osiris was not just a visual experience. Out of all The Animatrix shorts this one had the best soundtrack that built up the tension, and brought out the horror of the sentinels in the same way as the original movie did.