This week our case study will be looking at how the media contributes to the construction of Lived Religion through the movie The Matrix (1999) The Matrix trilogy was a box office smash and the first film quickly became a cult classic for its critique of technology, authority and its religious undertones. It has the subject of numerous books dealing with Philosophy, theology and popular religion. The film's creator's, the Wachowski brothers, consciously set out to create a postmodern spiritual narrative in which they weave images, metaphors and themes from Christianity/ Western Spirituality, Buddhism /Eastern Spirituality and Myth/ Greek Mythology into a deep, reflective story illustrating their own pic-n-mix spirituality. It also offers interesting conglomeration of competing interpretations of ideas related to human identity, existence and transcendence/the afterlife.
Case Study Discussion Questions:
- What are the different narratives Matrix people from different faith traditions and metaphysical positions have used to interpret The Matrix?
- What does the film illustrate about how media producers may contribute to the construction of popular or lived religion?
-What implications might this have for perceptions of religion in popular culture?
Case Study Discussion Questions:
- What are the different narratives Matrix people from different faith traditions and metaphysical positions have used to interpret The Matrix?
- What does the film illustrate about how media producers may contribute to the construction of popular or lived religion?
-What implications might this have for perceptions of religion in popular culture?
