Certainly one can see the influence of ancient thought in many of today's popular films. This is especially true in the 1999 film by Warner Brothers entitled, "Matrix". The films elaborate and mind-warping take on reality, lends itself to serious philosophical analysis. Many have endeavored in finding the "true" philosophical meaning of the movie, but the writer has yet to give his interpretation or even inspiration for the film. .
Throughout this last unit we have studied seven different philosophers. From Pythagoras" mathematical interpretation of the world, which is the basic premise of the movie, to Zeno's compelling arguments against motion and plurality, which are clearly portrayed throughout the film, one is able to better appreciate the genius work that was put into the making of film by understanding the premise of the arguments presented by these philosophers. Parmenides to the Pluralist, all of the philosophers" ideas can in some way be seen in the movie "Matrix". Though Heraclitus" perception of reality seems to have the best connection with the movie's overall theme, I will attempt to incorporate all of their philosophies amidst the philosophical synopsis of the movie. .
The "Matrix" opens with the character Trinity in a hotel room being tracked down by what seems to be federal agents of some sort. From the beginning of the film we see Zeno's time conceptions play in integral part in philosophy of the movie. Zeno of Elea, pupil and chief defender of Parmenides, argues for the unreality of the pluralistic, changing world we take ourselves to inhabit. What we know of Zeno is primarily understood through fragments of his work. The four most famous fragments, which are arguments against motion, are referred to as Zeno's Paradoxes, and they are as follows:.
1. Dichotomy Paradox- A runner must pass through midpoint before the end. .
2. Achilles and the Tortoise- Achilles cannot catch the tortoise because assuming that the tortoise has a head start of a certain distance, d, and the tortoise runs 1/10 the speed of Achilles, the tortoise will have a d/10 lead when Achilles reaches the tortoise's starting point.
