nonsense, the text is turned around, and some of my own understanding of the film is added at the end.
The Matrix Trilogy is the most successful film adventure in recent decades. The three films received a total of 1.6 billion US dollars in global box office revenue, and the story continues in animation, manga and online games. The attention of audiences all over the world is attracted by the twists and turns and the extraordinary special effects, but at the same time a long-standing question remains: What is the meaning of all these stories?
The screenwriters and directors of the film, Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowsku, were reluctant to share their own explanations of the film from day one. They were afraid that what they said would become a dogma. But this also caused problems for Warner Bros. when it made the Matrix DVD set. You know that usually a DVD set should have a director's commentary, but now this set of movies is under the situation that the director refuses to comment, how to make the director's commentary soundtrack?
So the Wachowski brothers asked Ken Wilber and Cornel West to come forward to explain the three films. The following conversation was recorded before Ken flew to Los Angeles to meet with Larry and Cornel and record comments. Ken and Cornel recorded 15 hours of commentary, and they will be edited into about 6 hours of content scattered among the three movies.
In the following conversation, we will be fortunate to hear for the first time Larry's public comments in this situation. According to his explanation, this movie is not designed to give answers in many respects, but to give questions on the contrary. What is human? What is truth? Who is in control? Does God exist? Etc., etc. If the director explains his views on the film, it actually gives people another concept of "reality": accept or reject? ? Either way, the open space brought about by the problem will disappear.
The Matrix injects surrealism into mainstream culture. Facts, fiction, principles, and appearances are not simply based on "real", because "real" is nothing more than looking real. In the dream, is the dream real? ? Until you wake up. In Matrix, Matrix is real? ? Until you wake up. But what if you never wake up? Problems like these are exactly what Larry hoped the movie would produce, and he did succeed.
Ken pointed out that the first episode of the movie is fairly easy to understand: everything in the Matrix is bad, and everything outside of the Matrix is good; everyone in the Matrix is restricted, and everyone outside the Matrix is restricted. Is free; wait. But 20 minutes after the second episode, the audience discovered that the Oracle is a machine program, which made most people wonder: Well, what?
A simple "good guy/bad guy" movie becomes a complex literary work that contains different levels of explanation and a very esoteric model of "reality". Ken pointed out that it was not until the last 20 minutes of the third episode that the key points of the three episodes of the movie were revealed: Although Neo was physically blind (perhaps because he was blind), he could see the machine emitting a bright golden light. ? ? This is not like the bad guys in most movies. Neo clearly said to Trinity: "If you can see what I see, they are all light...". Indeed, the machine symbolizes the soul, but the soul is alienated and attacked...
Therefore, Ken summarized a more complete explanation of the three movies: Zion symbolizes the body (shown in blue in the movie), the Matrix symbolizes the mind (green), and the machine that appears in the third episode symbolizes With the soul (golden). This trajectory, as taught to humans by the world’s most famous sayings, is a spectrum of human consciousness from the body to the mind to the soul.
To borrow the famous saying of Christian mysticism: "The flames of hell reject the love of God", the alienated souls (army of machines) are bent on destroying mankind. Peace will only come if the body, mind, and soul become one.
Ken and Larry continued to discuss and share their lifelong passion for philosophy. Ken pointed out that, as you would hope, philosophical and spiritual things can be read from Larry, and The Matrix movie is an excellent proof of this fact. Larry said that when he discovered Ken's work, "it was like Schopenhauer's discovery of the Upanishads". Ken said the quote was too much praise. Although Ken's book is famous for splitting a happy family (my fellow would never shut up in the quadrant), Larry's love for philosophy seems to have entered his family: Larry and his father are reading "Sex, Ecology" together. , Spirituality. This is pretty cool!
In chapters 4 and 5 of the book "Eyes of the Soul", Ken pointed out that any work of art can be explained in at least four or five main aspects, and they are all important and inseparable. Including: the artist's original intention (what does his or her artwork mean?); the artist's unconscious factors; the artist's cultural background; and the audience's reaction (what are the different meanings of the artwork for different audiences?).
The Wachowski brothers did not want their own original intention to overwhelm the reaction of the equal audience, so they remained silent about their original intention. However, this conversation clearly showed that Larry felt it was time for a more complete explanation of the Matrix trilogy. So he and Ken started their open conversations and comments. There is no simple, final explanation for Matrix, because the sum of opinions is infinite.
The following dialogue officially begins~~~
Ken: You have never explained the movie of The Matrix trilogy yourself, because you don't want this to become a dogma, or you want people to interpret the movie freely in the way they want. They have the freedom to do so, and once the filmmakers themselves say "This is the meaning of The Matrix, this is the source of it", it really restricts people's free thinking. I want people to think freely to be wise. ..
Larry: Yes, I want to say that when you finish a work of art, you want it to cause controversy, you want people to talk about it, [Ken: Yes.] You don’t want them to rely on someone to tell them what it is, Or...what it looks like, the essence of this movie is...you have to observe it yourself and think about it...
Ken: That's right.
Larry: Yes, if we go out to tell everyone what it should be, or how you should think about it, even if we use the most elegant terms to study our interpretation of it, whether it is me or Andy, it will It seems hypocritical...
Ken: Yes.
Larry: Because if we as authors do this, you know, it will become an established rule...
Ken: Yes.
Larry: ...it will become the established explanation, and any other's explanation will be considered crazy personal behavior.
Ken: Yes, it is.
Larry: I don't want to belittle anyone's point of view, because they are all... well, I don't know, I think this is one reason why art is worth experiencing.
Ken: So you refused to do director commentary on these three films, so Warner suggested...
Larry: They have a lot of ideas about typical DVD commentary, you know, we found out, you know, we found most commentary Quite ordinary, rather boring, rather wordy, rather superficial...
Ken: That's right.
Larry: ...and, you know, I wasn't interested in most commentaries, so I started thinking and discussing with Andy, oh, what's interesting? So we had this idea...trying to make some film review soundtracks from others that inspire people to think...
Ken: Okay.
Larry: ...they should be able to inspire discussion about everything... [laughs] Then, we think that will prove that what the movie stimulates is not only the discussion of The Matrix itself, but we talk about it The artistic approach...
Ken: Exactly.
Larry: ... Then, suddenly, the commentary will be more than just about The Matrix, it will become something bigger, and it will contain a big horizon, so we told Warner about this..."Too Great!" (referring to Warner’s reaction)
[Ken laughs] But, I mean, we will let two critics talk about this movie, two critics who hate this movie...
Ken: That’s right . [Laughs]
Larry: ...then two philosophers who watched the movie and were inspired by the movie will talk about it. These are two opposing conversations, so Warner said, "You want... Let me be straightforward..." [Ken starts laughing] "...Do you want two critics who hate this movie to talk about it for six hours?" "Yes!" [Ken continues to laugh] And, you I know, not only because I think it's interesting, their dialogue, their inner way of forming these opinions will be interesting...
Ken: That's right.
Larry: ...it must be interesting to see how these two critics talk about this movie that they don’t like and see no meaning, and then see how two philosophers who can read the meaning of the movie talk about it It must be interesting...
Ken: That's right.
Larry: ...I think it must be interesting to hear these two different points of view...
Ken: Yes, yes. So this is what we are going to do, as you know, this is kind of, um, this puts me in a somewhat tricky position, because you have an agreement with me. We took the time to discuss my thoughts on the film and your own interpretation of the film. Our consensus is that I will not discuss your interpretation of the movie with anyone, that is your personal thing, and what you and some friends are talking about, we will keep and not talk about it. At the same time, I was asked to publish my explanation publicly. I have done so and you have brought your staff to shoot me for three hours to explain the three films. As you know, I think this is an amazingly bold statement, because according to my explanation, the key point of The Matrix trilogy appears in the last fifteen or twenty minutes of the third episode, the key to solving the puzzle (Note 1) That’s when Neo said that those machines “if you can see what I see...they are all light. They are formed by light”, etc.... This kind of explanation is the whole trilogy movie The key, this is amazingly bold, because the first episode of the movie...many people can talk about the first episode because it makes sense? ? At least you will think it is reasonable without watching the last two episodes. If you only watch the first episode, it looks like a very simple story. In fact, it is very clear between good and evil (Note 2), that is, everything in the Matrix is bad, and everything outside the Matrix is good; everyone in the Matrix is restricted, and everyone outside the Matrix is restricted. Individuals are free. This is a very simple binary relationship. Machines are bad guys. They try to harm freedom, etc... Then everyone thought it was great, and then you went to watch the second episode, and you saw the part where Neo talked to Oracle, Neo said, "Are you not a human, right?" She said "Yes." "You are a Is the procedure right?" "Yes." Then everyone started scratching their heads, because we were suddenly taken out of the frame of the first episode and brought into a complex literary field, because it was made up of so many puzzles. The complex structure of the composition, and these puzzles can not be solved until the third episode. So things started to appear one by one, Architect’s speech, Oracle’s first speech, and Oracle’s first conversation. Oh, Smith is the real key to all these things. In short, the real comprehensive explanation is the body, mind and The souls exist in a separate form in the trilogy, and then they are revived and healed into a more integrated form at the end of the third episode. This is why some people feel very confused without watching the entire movie. This is why some people understand the first episode but can't find North when watching the second and third episodes. So I can say that I stuck to this explanation, you know, it can be said to bite my lip and say, wow, I happen to know that Larry agrees with me in this regard, at least it looks like [laughs] because I want to say ...
Larry: This is what I said, it's like, it becomes a kind of natural confirmation.
Ken: I know. [Laughs]
Larry: I am here to say that your point of view is crazy! [All laughs]
Ken: "I don't know the thin and tall man who just walked in the street and started talking to Cornel. I don't know who he is." Well, we talked about the essence of explanation, when you have a more complete The ins and outs of the story, undoubtedly more similar meanings began to appear, we, you know, you and I both know this. I mean, we share the passion that comes from this way of grasping the whole. So I thought, without a doubt, it contains comprehensive results that both you and I can see.
Larry: Yes, you know, I..., the third movie has moments of revelation, but they are based on all three movies...
Ken: Exactly.
Larry: At the beginning of the movie, at the beginning of each movie there are some things to explain in the whole movie, and, you know, we said that in the introduction of each movie, we have to tell the audience how much we are in the development journey. ...
Ken: Yes.
Larry: I mean, the Matrix is an exploration of personal consciousness. The small fragments at the beginning of each movie more or less try to help you portray the entire journey...
Ken: That's right. For me, this rich literary and artistic work has multiple levels of meaning, and I think critics are lost on this basic principle. Since they have not stepped back to see a larger film, they are useful. The freedom to criticize in any way, just as anyone can explain a movie in any way...
Larry: Yes, I hope there are some levels of problems that are self-evident, you know, a way of describing things both internally and externally. The Matrix is described in many ways in this way, and the external tends to remain obvious. What is directly visible based on the surface. I hope that the dialogues about the outside and the dialogues about the inside can be juxtaposed. Critics will be interested in the outside and philosophers will be interested in the inside.
Ken: Of course we hope so, but you know, we will be remembered there and surrounded by criticism...
Larry: Yes.
Ken: Well, are you and your father still studying SES? [Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit
of Evolution 1995, " Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Evolution of the Spirit ", Ken Wilber himself in 1995]
Larry: Yes!
Ken: That's cool...
Larry: We probably watched halfway through.
Ken: Very cool.
Larry: It's very good, it can be said to be very good, your discussion in the book is very interesting, and I can feel the connection between you and Hegel, of course my feeling may be completely wrong [Ken laughs ],...(?)
Ken: Is he (referring to Larry's father) interested in it?
Larry: Is he?
Ken: Yes.
Larry: Of course, we talk about it, um, there is no doubt about it, I want to say, I think most of this book is clear...
Ken: Yes. Yes, I think the SES book is really the first book to combine all the detailed fragments involved and make it into a whole. For me some things have changed at this point, because the more I look at, the more transparent the overall picture will be [Larry: That's right. ] ... my goodness, there is so much content, sometimes when people see chapters 5 and 6 they have forgotten chapters 1 and 2 and 3...
Larry: Oh, you did a great job reminding it, I mean, when good authors write these contexts, they will remind you when you need them [Ken: Yes]. They created their own languages and reminded you of the definitions of these languages when you need them [Ken: yes], I don’t think many people [laughs] (I think he meant that they don’t think many people can do this) What I like about this book is that you can write very difficult concepts, and then you can define them in a technical term in a sentence, such as "superstition"... [laughs]
Ken: But you My interest has returned to all of these. I mean the people involved in that book, such as Hegel, Nietzsche, Palodin, etc., all of these people. This is what you like, and this is what you were interested in. , At a real age like me, they are all combined into an inevitable understanding...
Larry: Yes, uh, I mean, I used to look for, find a reason [laughs], that is,...I I once said to my father that it is like four quadrants (Note 3). What gathers them together is still the zero point, the end point (Note 4), and the center of the xy coordinate axis, right? There are no four Big Bangs, but only one [Ken: Yes], which is exactly in the center. It is interesting that some people say, I mean why Schopenhauer thinks so accurately that that point is in some ways It seems to be the only thing worth talking about, because it is the beginning of everything, it gathers four quadrants, and it combines everything together. If you don't have such a point, then they will be separated again [Ken: That's right], nothing is left. But, you can’t... if you do it this way then you are doing nothing, because you can’t know.
Ken: Yes, and the space is the same as the origin [Larry: Yes], that's your original appearance...
Larry: Yes, so it’s very interesting. You can talk about the four quadrants very well like Schopenhauer. Theories have a certain relevance], but the things that combine them have become very difficult to talk about.
Ken: Yes, the thing that combines them is not another additional quadrant, it is not something outside of the whole. I often say that it is the "page" on which the chart is drawn, or something similar, but that happens to be another...
Larry: I think this thing is their origin, it produces them, because with it you It can be said that the four quadrants are integral, and the four quadrants are inseparable from each other...
Ken: I agree.
Larry: ...They unite closely on their own. And it is the origin that unites them...
Ken: Yes, and that origin...
Larry: It is... like the beginning of the third episode of the movie: "How do we start the third episode?".. .What we are talking about is something that is very difficult to express [Ken: Yes], which is like: Well, you enter the darkness, and then you must have a moment of the Big Bang. This is the origin of all things, thinking Origin, the origin of consciousness, no matter what, that moment is the moment from scratch... [Ken laughs]
Ken: That's the same origin...
Larry: That's right.
Ken: Yes, I absolutely agree. There is an important route. Everyone knows the route of individual occurrence and systemic occurrence, but there is also a route of microscopic occurrence, that is, the momentary transition of movement in sequence. Therefore, for example, I saw an apple, microscopic Exercise is a driving force, an impression, and a simple feeling. Then the image of "apple" is formed in my mind, and then the concept of "apple" is formed, and then I can make my own reaction, and so on.
Larry: Yes.
Ken: Microgenesis summarizes ontogenesis theory, ontogenesis theory summarizes phylogeny, and phylogeny summarizes cosmology. Therefore, the moment of the Big Bang is exactly the time sequence of four quadrants. This sequence from moment to moment repeats, so nothing becomes existence. This is very interesting because when you discover the original face of the universe before the Big Bang, you also discovered that moment-that moment of enlightenment, that moment of understanding the fundamentals that you contain-in that moment and moment, Everything emerges one by one, all four quadrants, all levels, all lines, and the origin of the four quadrants that you talked about, all emerge one by one, because the quadrants are nothing but the
"yuan" or "position" of the origin .
Larry: Yes.
Ken: This is what you showed with the image at the beginning of the third episode...
Larry: Well, at least we tried to do this. [Ken laughs]
Ken: You have been interested in it for a long time like me, you know, across your entire adulthood. When we first contacted, we talked about this on the phone. As you know, we spent three and a half hours talking about this and couldn’t stop. It’s very like, um...
Larry: Like two can’t be idle The taxi driver with mouth [?] [laugh] You know, it's like those important moments when you meet with XX, you are discussing, and you reach a certain consensus on world issues [Ken: That’s right]. It’s as if you have established a certain connection, you have an intuition of friendship or commonality, [Ken: Yes] It’s good, it’s a good feeling...
Ken: This feeling is happening Formed...
Larry: Exactly. There is another interesting thing. I once talked to my friend and the painter Jeff of Matrix about how people produce this kind of feeling. You know, we are social animals. It seems that a lot of our "reality" is Our behavioral structure based on communication. We have a certain worldview and we confirm our own view by discovering a similar view from another person, because we say "Ah!" [Ken laughs] You know, it seems like, because we can't really understand anything Things, [Ken: Yes, that's right. ] So once we find enough like-minded people, we can believe in castles in the sky...
Ken: That's right.
Larry: It wasn't until I turned the tape over... [Ken laughs] I didn't realize that I looked like a fool! [Ken laughs] Mutuality is the foundation of friendship. You help me make DVDs, I talk to you, I don't talk to others, you don't talk to others...
Ken: That's right.
Larry: We show how much we care about each other...
Ken: [laughs] Blackmail each other!
Larry: Yeah! Blackmail each other... Blackmail each other!
Ken: But I think, I think it’s very pleasant, I don’t think we will do these things without really establishing resonance, because as you know, I have refused to be in the public at all for twenty-five years. Before doing anything, this is my first interview recording, the first time I recorded this kind of show for you and Josh, and as everyone knows, you don’t want to talk about this with anyone, so I...
Larry: Well, We have very similar views on the nature of celebrities and public experience [Ken: Yes]-that's not how important it is... [Ken laughs]
Ken: But, I mean, it’s amazing...well, I mean, it’s easy to understand how a theoretical philosopher (referring to Ken himself) can avoid being noticeable, but, you know, What’s amazing is how to avoid being noticed as the director and drama of one of the most amazing movies in recent decades... You once talked about when you were in Japan for the premiere [laughs] You were like [Laughs]...you know the other people are...
Larry: Yes, we are actually standing next to the reporter's row...
Ken: Exactly so...
Ken: That row seems to be full of cameras and cameras Like the camera and the reporter, we seem to be standing next to them...
Ken: Yes... [laughs]
Larry: Everyone...like the one watching Carrie-Anne and Keanu go down the aisle with them A very excited woman taking pictures. When Joel Silber walked down the aisle, she was...
Ken: Producer...
Larry: The Japanese woman standing next to me became very excited, [imitating the Japanese accent, Breathing quickly] "That's Joel
Silver! Joel Silver! Joel Silver!" [Ken and Larry laugh] And I said, "Oh... who is he?" And she just... [laughs]
Ken: She just He elbows you and says "Look! Look! That's the producer!" God! So you sit there... of course you have to show proper excitement, right? [Ken continues to laugh]
Larry: Oh of course, of course I have to think about who he is first... "Who is he? Oh... he is the
person in charge of the Matrix movie... Oh." [Ken continues to laugh ] No, I mean, never, never say anything bad about Joel...
Ken: Yes, I understand.
Larry: He is our...the boss...
Ken: Or, he is so important to the Japanese woman.
Larry: No, no, she's cute, she's great, but, I think it's very...happy that they don't even know who we are. [Laughs]
Ken: That's right... [laughs] Well, by the way, wait, now you guys, you know, ah, I believe everyone already knows that you currently don’t plan to look back in the foreseeable future Come and shoot more Matrix stuff. You have spent up to five years shooting Matrix’s three movies, now you just want to take a breath and talk, right?
Larry: Yes, in fact the complete time span is about ten years...
Ken: Yes.
Larry: ...that's the time we spent on it...
Ken: Yes.
Larry: And all you know is it, that's the story, I don't know, let's wait and see...
Ken: Yes.
Larry: Walking down this road I hope that I can have enough rest to recover until I want to make another movie.
Ken: Yes, that's right. So you are just waiting to see what will happen?
Larry: Yes, yes...
Ken: Really?
Larry: Can't say that... I don't know, I used to love movies. [Ken laughs out loud] I used to go to the movies, you know I used to watch hundreds of movies every year... and now I can't stand them. [Laughs] Someone asked me how the Matrix was shot by watching other movies. I said that I just went to see and felt those movies that made you feel that the ambition of the photographer was so lacking. Then I would shoot the Matrix. It was shot in its worst appearance.
Ken: Yes.
Larry: I was thinking, I was thinking - why should they affect me?
Ken: Yes, yes.
Larry: If they can't generate ambition and energy, why should I be interested in them?
Ken: Yes, that's right. I think that whenever you try to bring a certain quality and merit to anything, it’s a professional adventure. I mean, honestly I feel like a writer. You know, I mean my ass is These things were smashed to pieces, I picked up those books and read them again, and then I thought "God, you know this man, I can't do this... I mean, this is really, this is really bad!"
Larry: Yes, it's interesting, because at the same time that is what really activates you in the beginning. It seems that Kubrick once said that he would go to those movies at the very beginning and he said, "God, this is rubbish. I can shoot it while standing upside down."
Ken: Yes, yes. , Yes.
Larry: And you forgot that trash was there before you made the movie, and it was there after you finished the film. But before you go to make a movie, it is simply "Wow!" How exciting. [Laughs] But after you took it, it was just...
Ken: It's still there.
Larry: Yes. It's kind of like, uh, defeated in some way.
Ken: Yes, that's right. Ah, then, before I forget, what do you think of Hegel?
Larry: Oh, we talked about...it's quite complicated, but in essence, Hegelian thought says that the development of everything leads to the particularity of the individual (Note 6), right?
Ken: Yes.
Larry: This is the whole process. The absolute spirit and the essence of existence you are talking about is that everything leads us to the development of self-consciousness and self-consciousness. I think it should be self-awareness first, and then self-awareness.
Ken: Yes.
Larry: And this kind of development, I think in your terminology, it should fully emphasize the individual while doing the overall coordinated development (Note 7)...
Ken: That's right.
Larry: ...developing towards that special point (Note 6), that is, leading from the basic point to that special point, right?
Ken: Ah, this, this... Individuality is not the end for me (Note 4), it's a bit...er...
Larry: Yes, yes, but I mean, I mean you Seeing that development, you have seen the process of that development.
Ken: I think so, what you have said so far is what I think, yes.
Larry: But he came, you know, he was basically saying "I am coming, I am Hegel, I am self-conscious, I am the incarnation of the end"... So you turned and walked out of the pyramid .
Ken: ... has undergone further development.
Larry: Yes.
Ken: Exactly.
Larry: I think the interesting format is the essence of our discussion, because most people want to describe things, but when they reach a vertex, they don't turn around and walk out of the spire.
Ken: Yes. I know that this is an adventure. When people are thinking about the development of evolution, they find that they have reached that top inconceivably, and I found that we have reached half of the height in an incredible way. The apex is obvious but never ending. You came down from that evolutionary spiral, which is very important for compromise, but you discovered the origin we just talked about, the foundation of everything, and you found freedom, so, you know...
Larry: Yes, but that This route is an ever-expanding development route...
Ken: In a sense, it is true...
Larry: But you start, and, you know, we start from basic matter, from atoms, molecules, cells, organisms, to the triad brain, you know, that is a journey, a process of development, the development of basic matter into an entity , Developed into Hegel [Ken laughs], developed into the Hegel family, the Hegel family [Ken: Oh God! ], Hegel, a country, and then... this world, and then the non-dual reality, which finally brings you back to the most basic element-the non-dual reality (Note 8).
Ken: One of the main differences between writers today and those of Schopenhauer's time is that science has been developing within the scope of our vision, and science has discovered something in this relatively objective world. Then, you know, my God, we have so much scientific knowledge, such as the sequence of evolution itself. This is something amazing that the development practitioners of Hegel have no concept at all. This is in another century, you You know, Darwin talked about his ideas and applied them to biology for centuries, and for quite a long time before, there was no theory that put forward the theory of evolution...
Larry: Yes, this is the result of natural instincts.
Ken: They did it and succeeded, which is amazing...
Larry: Yes.
Ken: We can be sure of that...
Larry: No, that's amazing, that's, well, it's amazing... [Ken laughs]
Ken: Your father is obviously very smart in these things , But has he studied idealism or just a general understanding?
Larry: Ah yes, he reads a lot...
Ken: Yeah.
Larry: He can be said to have fallen into Schopenhauer's (philosophy) because I am so obsessed with it.
Ken: Yeah.
Larry...cleared his throat! (?)
Ken: Yeah.
Larry: Yes, he may be even more Marxist than me in terms of the thoughts that influence and shape history [Ken laughs]...
Ken: Yes, well, let's give him the lower right quadrant. ...[Laughs]
Larry: [murmurs]...social system...
Ken: Okay, then Karen is going (referring to Los Angeles), shall we see her?
Larry: Yes, she is going there.
Ken: Oh, cool...
Larry: She is going there, it must be fun, and she is looking forward to seeing you again.
Ken: Then where will you live?
Larry: Well, we might stay at the Viceroy Hotel, or at, well, we might bring our dog...
Ken: Oh, did you bring a dog? [Ken laughs]
Larry: Yeah, that dog died so we brought one. This is the balance between the universe...
Ken: [laughs] But the Viceroy Hotel does not allow dogs, so you may have to Live somewhere else?
Larry: Yes, no dogs are allowed there. We may have to find another place to live. Where do you live?
Ken: I might stay at the Standard Hotel. I will come alone, so I’ll stay at the Standard...
Larry: The Standard Hotel?
Ken: Yes.
Larry: The one in West Hollywood?
Ken: It should be.
Larry: That's a fashionable place...
Ken: You are right.
Larry: That's where the fashionable people live!
Ken: That's right! West Hollywood and I are attracted to each other...
Larry: You are all fashion men!
Ken: Yes, I’m a stylish man...
Larry: I’m going to invite Joel to a meal, I think that will [Ken: This is great]... It’s fun
Ken: This is great...
Larry: The truth When you fly over the Getty Art Center, you can see Joel's very cool house...
Ken: Wow.
Larry: The red house!
Ken: Well, I'm free on Friday night, Saturday night, Saturday night, Sunday and Sunday night (Khan... is it good for the whole weekend?), so...
Larry: Planning to participate in some social activities?
Ken: I think since I'm here, you know, maybe I will... I really don't think about it.
End of the dialogue~~~
Note:
Note 1: Ken used rosetta stone here to express the meaning of the key to solving the mystery. Rosetta stone is the Rosetta stone in Egypt. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs were once a mystery in the world. In 1799, In a place called Rosetta near Alexandria, a French officer found a stone with three characters, later known as the Rosetta monument. The top part and the least complete part of the Rosetta stele is written in hieroglyphs, the middle is an Egyptian script called Demotic (meaning popular), and the bottom is ancient Greek. Scholars deciphered ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs based on Demotic and Greek scripts.
Note 2: Ken used the term Manichean (Manichean) here. The Manichean doctrine believes that: at the beginning of humanity, there were two opposite worlds, namely, light and darkness. They were specifically expressed in two boundaries. In the distinct "country". In the "Land of Light", the "Father of Light" is ruled by a group of gods around him. On the contrary, the ruler of the "Dark Kingdom" is the "five types of demons". He is the leader of many cruel demons. They always live in endless quarrels because they are insatiable and driven by other desires. . On the one hand, the country of light is characterized by tranquility, harmony, harmony, beautiful scenery, and pleasant fragrance. On the other hand, in a country ruled by the "five types of demons", it is shrouded in turmoil, fighting, noisy, and smelly. The "Second School" understands this materially: in the kingdom of light, everything has a beautiful appearance, while in the kingdom of darkness, everything is ugly.
Note 3: The quadrant is any one of the four regions in the plane separated by the coordinate axis in the Cartesian coordinate system, named the first quadrant, the second quadrant, the third quadrant and the fourth quadrant.
Note 4: omega is the last of the Greek letters, omega point means the end point.
Note 5: "The World as Will and Appearance" is the most important work by the German philosopher Schopenhauer to clarify his voluntarism philosophy. Schopenhauer believes that everything in the world exists for the subject, and the relationship between the world and people is the relationship between the representation and the representation. The world of appearance is the world of "phenomenon", and there is a world outside it that is the will to be regarded as "thing in itself". The objectification of the will is the idea, and the manifestation of the idea is the phenomenon. Human knowledge is born to serve the will. However, as a pure subject of cognition, man can also get rid of the shackles of cognition serving the will, and enter the aesthetic realm of selflessness (that is, loss of will). The author also believes that life is painful and miserable. In order to avoid emptiness and boredom and achieve liberation, it is best to die on a hunger strike, or to practice strict abstinence and completely deny the will. Schopenhauer's philosophy is the last link in the transition from German classical rationalism to modern irrationalism, and it is also the beginning of modern Western humanistic philosophy. The book has four parts and five hundred and ten thousand words. The Chinese translation was translated by Shi Chongbai and published by the Commercial Press.
Note 6: singularity? ? Some people think that before the Big Bang, the universe was a point with extremely small size and infinite density, temperature and pressure. After the Big Bang, it became the universe today. That point is called singularity.
Note 7: Holonic? ? Derived from the Greek words "holo" (the whole, whole) and "on" (the
part, individual), Hungarian-English writer Arthur Koestler combined these two words to invent the word "holon", which emphasizes individual independence , And at the same time coordinate with the whole. It is used to describe the behavior of society, cells and organizations.
Note 8: No two realities? ? The bone marrow and core of Buddhism, "there is no self-recognition, rather than being-is-being", that is, the reality of the inconsistency of existence or emptiness is non-consistency. (Khan...)
Guo Dalu’s personal views on the film: the
two philosophers Cornel West and Ken Wilber are friends of the Wachoski brothers, Cornel also participated in the performances of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, two sequels Congressman West was played by him, and Ken had a public discussion with Wachoski some time ago, and I translated their discussion. Both of these two love The Matrix trilogy movie very much, and both have unique insights on it from a philosophical point of view. They constantly cite scriptures in their comments, from Socrates to Manichaeism, from "Alice in Wonderland" To "The Wizard of Oz", the whole commentary mostly discussed the philosophical question of what is virtual and what is real based on the plot of the film. The content is full and very exciting. When the two masters saw the wonderful passages in the movie, they cheered loudly, and sometimes even made some small sexual jokes. For example, they said that Neo and Trinity were thinking about going to bed when they first met. .
Ken Wilber mentioned an important point from the beginning: You need to analyze each part from the perspective of a whole. The better you grasp the whole, the more accurate the meaning of the local details can be analyzed. In his opinion, just looking at The Matrix itself is a simple dualism movie. The bad guys in the Matrix and the good guys outside the Matrix are clear. The boundary between good and evil is clear. This is very much in line with the American worldview, so it is difficult for them to accept a sequel that presents diverse ideas. Ken pointed out that when you watch the entire three-episode movie and then look back at the first episode, you will find that it already contains a lot of meaning that is gradually revealed in the second and third episodes. Things are not what they seem on the surface, which is exactly what The Matrix wants to tell us. For example, he specifically mentioned the strong dogmatic dictatorship of the character Morpheus. This dictatorship itself is contrary to the definition of freedom. The role of Oracle belongs to Matrix, but she is helping people outside Matrix to resist Matrix. These contents are gradually revealed in the sequel, showing diversified ideas.
Cornel West is a person who has a deep research on Eastern philosophy. In his comments, he mentioned the doctrines of Eastern religions in the film many times. For example, when he explained the meaning of the name Trinity, in addition to the three persons in the Bible, Buddhism also said that Sakyamuni had three bodies, representing body, mind, and spirit (Body, Mind, and Spirit), which are three of the Buddha. Person. Reflected in the film are Zion, Matrix and Machine City. In the section of the child’s spoon, he even quoted the classic story of the sixth ancestor Huineng: two monks talked about the movement of the wind, one said it was the wind, the other said it was moving, and they couldn’t compete. Huineng interjected: " It's not the wind, nor the flag, but the heart."
Their discussion during the period when Neo and Trinity went to rescue Morpheus was also very interesting. They said that one of the best themes of The Matrix trilogy movie is the androgynous nature of The One, which is the combination of Neo and Trinity that fulfilled the mission of the savior. The most supreme image symbol of many doctrines in the East and the West is a combination of male and female, representing the balance of yin and yang.
Next, we are going to enter part of the comment audio track. I have not found the comment audio track for a long time. I can only look at the explanation of Guo Dalu's children's shoes after reading it. It means that I am content to see these~~~
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What is recorded today is the viewing process of TheMatrix Reloaded philosopher commenting on the audio track. The review soundtrack of this episode is very tiring. Although there are three-zone subtitles guaranteed, the large-scale philosophical discussion is still extremely digestive, but this is very consistent with the style of The Matrix Reloaded movie itself. The movie is also not easy to understand after watching it. On the surface, it is the first episode of simple dualism to the second episode that suddenly presents a large number of diverse ideas. Many audiences who are eager to see a simple conflict between good and evil gradually Lost in the movie. The commentary tracks of Cornel West and Ken Wilber can give the audience some thought guidance in understanding the film. Let's take a look at what they have discussed.
In the comments, Ken Wilber repeatedly mentioned the core ideas of the trilogy: body, mind and soul. Blue (Zion) represents the body, green (Matrix) represents the mind, and gold (Machine World) represents the soul. In the second and third episodes, the machine is a life composed of light, not just something that people originally thought of as evil. The relationship between the three worlds is changing. Those machines digging down to attack Zion are not necessarily a bad thing. Being rescued from the Matrix to Zion does not mean that you are free. Zion is also relying on machines to survive. At the end of the first episode, when Neo entered Smith’s body, Smith became a ray of light, and then as long as Neo wrestled with Smith, Neo could not find the light and could not find the integrity of The One, so at the end when he realized this , Becoming one with Smith in the bright light, is the moment when salvation occurs.
West and Wilber praised the special effects of the film from the very beginning, saying that the special effects in the film are real art. When they saw Neo "doing Superman thing", they even explained the superman theory of Tonice. The battle between Neo and 100 Smith was accompanied by two philosophers talking about Schopenhauer's philosophy, talking about the purpose and selectivity of life, talking about free will and choiceless awakening.
Regarding the cave carnival that many critics considered to be too long and meaningless, Wilber and West regarded this passage as a contemplation and celebration of the body. According to Descartes and others, the body itself is a machine, but now it resorts to the body to fight against the machine. At the same time, this celebration is also a celebration of various people of color. The sex between Neo and Trinity that took place at the same time as the celebration shows that Neo is looking for a sense of confirmation during his own growth. Neo has always had doubts about himself. If he is The One, how would he know? Oracle can't tell him, nor can Architect. The thing that can give Neo a sense of confirmation is love. They spent the wind and rain with love to complete their salvation, and Neo and Trinity embarked on the journey of The One together.
Oracle’s appearance in the second episode is a key point of the entire movie. Ken Wilber believes that the few minutes of Neo’s dialogue with Oracle can distinguish the audience who really understands the movie from the audience who cannot understand the theme of the movie. If the audience can’t keep up with the movie, they will Will get lost here. From here on, the machine world has become more complex and esoteric. The Oracle that helps humans is a program from the machine world. The machine world can no longer be viewed simply by dualism. It represents a certain soul we don’t yet understand. The form, even the angel (Seraph), comes from the machine world. Oracle said to Neo: "The only way to get there is together", so from here on, the main theme of the movie is further presented: Machines and humans are in the same boat, "we are all together", they will either be liberated together, Either all cannot be liberated. "This scene is far more complex and far-reaching than the previous one," Ken said. "If I criticize the Wachoski brothers' handling of it, it is that there is so much information here that many people can't keep up." So much information is thrown to the audience at once. You can't help asking, as a program in the machine world, how much free will and power does Oracle have?
For Smith's continuous copying of his own practice, Ken thinks this is a way of dealing with the director's half-joking. Smith said in the first episode that one of the reasons he dislikes humans is because they continue to reproduce like viruses, and in the process of his own evolution, he has become more and more like humans and continues to reproduce like viruses. , This is really an irony. Neo meets the reborn Smith. At this time, they are all confused. Smith said "You destroyed me, you set me free" and at the same time said "We're here because we're not free". Between them The complex relationship between them, and their mutual liberation is one of the most complicated parts of the trilogy.
Following the meeting between Neo and Merovingian, Ken believed that this was Neo's phenomenology in the world, and this was one of Neo's tasks. He has awakened cognition, but he can only understand from the journey of intuition, reason and power. Oracle represents female intuition, Architect represents male rationality, and here in French Merovingian, Neo has a lesson on power. , The two philosophical views of cause and effect and power, destiny and voluntarism are in conflict here. The following hall fights and road chases still amazed the two philosophers. At the same time, they pointed out that these special effects actions in the film contained certain thoughts. Matrix represented Mind, and Neo's battles in Matrix were all thoughts. Battles, such as the battle of the Merovingian Hall, represent the battle of power, while the constant struggle between Neo and Smith is a battle between choice and choice. They believe that film reviews ignore the meaning of these special effects, and none of the film reviews really understand the broad nature of these special effects.
The discussion between the two philosophers reached a climax when Neo met Architect. The two endless philosophical discussions gave a very powerful explanation for this difficult-to-understand scene, and the entire dialogue was endless and wonderful. Ken Wilber once again emphasized that you must watch the three movies to understand their meaning. Most film reviews only focus on the dialogue of the fragments and ignore the rich meaning of the dialogue. They are just too accustomed to watching ordinary action movies and watching those " "Stupid and idiot" action movie. Cornel West also expressed his dissatisfaction with most film critics. He believes that most film critics are superficial and popular voice channels, rather than people who explore substantive understanding like Socrates. "If that's the movie you want to watch, don't watch The Matrix," Ken Wilber said. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that the West councillor, played by CornelWest, said at the Zion meeting: “You don’t need to understand, just follow orders.” Ken joked: “This is a great line! This is an Oscar-winning acting skill. !" West laughed.
Watching The Matrix Revolutions with the philosopher's commentary soundtrack is still an interesting journey, and Cornel West and Ken Wilber continue to talk about their understanding of the film. I believe that many of their explanations are
consistent with the original intentions of the directors Larry Wachoski and Andy Wachoski, because they often have these philosophical discussions with the Wachoski brothers, and their opinions in this review represent the directors to a certain extent. the opinion of.
At the beginning of the film, the dazzling chaotic graphics were transformed into Mega City. They explained that this represented the process from the Big Bang to the Matrix. This is what the director brothers wanted to show at the beginning of the film. For this theory of the Big Bang, Larry Wachoski had a more detailed discussion with Ken Wilber, which you can read in their "The Many Meaning of The Matrix".
Ken Wilber said that in this episode, the three worlds of Zion, Matrix, and Machine are continuously and very rapidly changing and evolving. With the updated understanding of Matrix, Neo gradually knows what he can and cannot do. The lessons learned in a battle allowed him to adapt to this gradually changing world. The three worlds are still divided and still attacking each other. To become The One, Neo has to find a new way to unite everyone. The two philosophers expressed their respect to the Wachoski brothers, thinking that this requires a high level of wisdom and enthusiasm to achieve this level. This is not just a pure science fiction action film with no thoughts. Ken believes that those critics who said "these are all pieced together and blind" are just reflexive attacks. If they can look at it from a smart point of view, they can better understand what the second and third episodes are talking about. He criticized most film critics as "too lazy".
West mentioned that Neo said "I don't know" many times in the film. This is very rare and deep. If you know that Neo is The One, he often says "I don't know this, I don't know that." Talking about it. West said that Neo didn’t want to conceal the fact that he also didn’t know it. This is a typical perception of ignorance in Eastern and Western metaphysics. You have to let go of your thoughts first, present the mentality of a beginner, and voluntarily say "I don't know". Only by presenting the purest thoughts can you truly learn. This is also the basis for Neo to continue to learn and free from dogma.
The two philosophers discussed the relationship between Neo and Smith very much, throughout the film. Smith is a specific factor that Neo must integrate. They are two sides of one, as Oracle said "he is the other side of you". The film shows that the continuous battle between them does not mean that one party will win and the other party will disappear. The only way they can integrate is that the two parties must tolerate and penetrate each other as one, in order to get complete liberation and complete salvation. As each of us matures, we are bound to constantly contend with our inner side. This is what the director brothers want the world to understand, how to face death and how to face the self-war in the depths of our souls. Neo started from "I can feel them" into the machine world from the human world, while Smith entered the human world from the Matrix world. The continuous communication between them and the three worlds continued to appear in the film. Neo was blinded on the way to the machine world. This is physical, but he can see a machine world formed by light, a world of the subtle source of all things, which will be a place of unity, integration and healing. , Neo uses his mental body to see the key factors of integration that he is about to master. This is very important for a comprehensive understanding of the trilogy.
In the journey of Neo and Trinity to the machine world, he really began to inspire the soul he possessed. He truly faced death and resurrection, continued to fight in the world of light, and opened up more diversified space. A space for Body, Mind, and Spirit. The two philosophers regarded Trinity's death as a kind of rebirth. Neo died in the end, but they were reborn again. They met at a higher level, no longer returning to Zion, no longer returning to Matrix. Neo eventually became a light. From a certain point of view, he became a spirit. His death freed himself and liberated and transformed the three evolving worlds. West mentioned that the Wachoski brothers' view of love is a kind of self-sacrifice and self-surrender, which is a combination of sacrifice and surrender. On the one hand, it is self-sacrifice, and on the other hand, it is also rebirth. The lust and love are abstractly sublimated to the extreme.
West and Wilber were stunned and watched the battle of Zion and the final Matrix with admiration from time to time. When Smith knocked Neo into the pit and said a series of "Why Mr. Anderson", West said this was the most important thing. The moment of, is the moment of "kingdom nature", the moment of instilling thoughts. We watched their battles and changes all the way, and reached a climax here. Through constant self-awakening and self-liberation, Neo finally realizes that yin and yang need to be merged. Interpreted according to the old method, it is enough for Neo to kill Smith, but this is obviously not what the Wachoski brothers want to express, so Neo finally opened up and let Smith enter into his unity without resistance. At this moment, the machine will be Stop the attack on humans, and the light will be shrouded in three originally opposed areas. At the last moment, Neo turned into a ray of light in three worlds at the same time. This is the time to truly return to The Source. The entire world has been redeemed.
At the end of the film, Ken Wilber and Cornel West summarized the review and re-emphasized the points made at the beginning of the first episode. Ken said: "I want to speak out to the critics, not to understand the entire three. Song, you can’t understand The Matrix”. The two philosophers talked about the Wachoski brothers they knew and were familiar with until the Warner logo appeared. Thank them for their wonderful explanation of the whole movie.
——Transfer from The Matrix
Author: The Diary of Captain Nemo
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