Cypher As Judas

CYPHER

AS

JUDAS



The Matrix is a movie that has the most ideological, philosophical and religious views all put in one. It could be compared to so many things but the most intriguing and mind blowing is when it’s compared to Christianity, especially the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Both telling the story of two prophets and his adventure to go and change world but is faced many obstacles. The prophets in both stories do have one major similarity and that’s one of their friend/followers betrayed them.  Cypher, one of Morpheus followers, can be compared and contrasted to Judas, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ.

From the characters to the situations and settings in the movie that can be seen in the Bible; Neo also known as “The One” is most comparable to Jesus, just as Morpheus is to John the Baptist who heralds Jesus or Neo “The One’s” coming. According to the article Neo Christ Jesus, The Matrix, and Secondary Allegory as a Rhetorical Form The Matrix, and Secondary Allegory as a Rhetorical Form by Mike Milford “Trinity acts as Neo’s guide, leading him to those who need his help” (LaVelle, Milford 2000, 134–135) Trinity resembles to the holy spirit but The Matrix and Bible are not just comparable with these main characters. The greatest comparison and the one that this paper will be focusing on is between Judas and Cypher both once followers and part of great change but then turned their face to the other side. Most of these comparisons were made from the gospels of the New Testament, Mark, Luke, and Mathew; they not only take the passion of Jesus but also his way of teaching and the people that surrounded him.

            Cypher or Mr. Reagan who works for Morpheus on the Nebuchadnezzar is known to be the rebel of the crew who has grown tired and frustrated with the war. Getting tired of following Morpheus and hearing about this blind prophecy of his, Cipher begins to regret his decision of joining Morpheus. Disgusted with his living conditions Cipher makes it obvious that he wishes he never left the Matrix or learned the truth about anything which drives him to engage and evolve in his rebel ways. Cypher was so tired of Morpheus he goes and secretly meets with the enemy Agent Smith who could be compared to the high priest that had an eye out for Jesus.  An agreement was made Cypher told Agent Smith he wanted to live rich and famous without a clue of what the Matrix is.  To explain his decision he states “I know that this steak is doesn’t exist... ignorant is bliss” (matrix) but also to express his frustration in living in those standards. By this time Cipher is a full blown trader just like a friend did to the prophet known as Jesus, the son of God. Just like Cipher, Judas began to feel a sadness and anger of his life as a disciple and decides to take matters into his own hands knowing but not realizing the consequences.

Judas one to the twelve disciples that followed Jesus on his journey to evangelize and spread the word of the lord, grew weary and aggravated with living a life he didn’t want. Knowing that he no longer wanted to starve and use a pillow as a rock; in Matthew 26:14-16 Judas’ solution becomes a betrayal to the lord, “Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”(Matthew 26:14-16), it was known that Judas grew fond of material items, he especially loved money. Judas does not just betray Jesus but he also leads the soldiers and high priest to him where Jesus is arrested and taken to Pontius Pilate.
            Both Cypher and Judas betray their friends but besides the whole betrayal there are so much more things that can be compared or just give reasons to why The Matrix can be a modern day of a westernization view of the bible. The meaning of the name Cypher is zero or the one with no quantity or value similar to Judas had no living faith in the prophecy. Judas and Cypher both sealed their fates of betraying over a meal, Judas in the Last Supper and Cypher having a meal with Agent Smith. In The  Matrix and Philosophy: welcome to the desert of the real by William Irwin points out every aspect of Cyphers decision such as in freedom, his mistake, happiness and contemned but in this occasion they justify his decision “Cypher illustrates the in authenticity opting for ignorance... harsh condition, in perpetual fear of annihilation”(Irwin 169). Jesus and Neo both have drinks with their betrayer, again in the last supper and while at the computer monitor station. “a comrade who betrays the One by cooperating with the enemy for personal compensation…Of course, had Cypher not betrayed Neo, the transformation through resurrection may not have occurred” as stated by the article The Matrix Mythology, shows us the perfect way and example of Cyphers action.

“Not knowing something is often more comfortable than knowing it” (Dictionary.com), ignorance is bliss is the way Cypher and Judas portrayed life to be. Being exposed to the truth and reality and not towards what they wanted; both Cypher and Judas act alike with willing attitudes, gracious and the “fake loyalty”. Actors usually play this same role when taking the life of a character in a play or a movie, where living a double life or being two-faced is perfectly normal. The Recycled Bible: autobiography, culture, and the space between by Fiona C. Black give us and explicit explanation of this act of rebellion. “Life of a rich and important person: an actor (perhaps the best lifestyle for one who prefers the fantasy over the real world” (Black 73) it states that their betrayal is mostly done for a place back in power and desire for material life and items. To go more in debt Cypher way of betrayal is very similar to Judas, Judas’ betrayal is with a kiss and Cypher’s with a sneeze. Dew also mentioned the connection that Cypher calls himself the messenger while talking to Trinity and reminds us that Satan tends to call himself. Neo is invited by Cypher to drink with him but to remember they drink from the same cup, first Cypher serving it and drinking and then handing it to Neo just as Jesus said to the disciples “He who dipped his hand in the bowl with me is the one who will betray me” (Matthew 26:24). Cypher and Neo relationship wasn’t the best one as in the beginning of the movie. When Neo is welcomed to “the matrix” Cypher tells him that Kansas is over just as Jesus tells his disciples pick up your cross and follow me. In the gospels of Mark and Matthew it is explained in details Judas doings.

As we can see Cypher and Judas are alike but to a coin there is always two sizes therefore they are also different. Cypher and Judas lived in two different times among different people. Cypher‘s frustration and ambitions came known fully when we reveal himself to Trinity with the phone call stating he was  the messenger and a little after being killed by Tank. Unlike Judas at the end of handing Jesus to the Romans he repented and because he couldn’t live with this fear and guilt he hanged himself. Both ends were different. Their believe levels were diverse. Cypher never believe as he stated “Jesus, someone's going to make a believer out of me” (matrix) for him Neo was never the one and Morpheus theory was no longer acceptable. Judas faith was different, he accept Jesus and said yes to him, was a great friend to him but in the other hand  he never was found calling Jesus “Lord” a name that they use often. In this case again ambition won but instead he handed him to an authority at the time which was Pontius Pilate. Cypher in the other hand can also be compared to Satan or Lucifer, the most beautiful angel that God had (Rev 12:9) and at the end turned his back on him because of jealousy and power. 

 As we can see Cypher can be compared in many aspects with many characters in the bible. Especially Cypher and Judas have the connection between them. Disregarding their differences that decisions made had no chance of a step back. They both were compared and contrast, we came across differences that were obvious but other points that were not even thought about. Their lives took place in different locations but had the same theme. Cypher and Judas can be portray as actor, their acts were perfect until they decided to betray their leaders. Their acts came down and ended bad for each one of them.

above is the video of Cypher betrayal dinner with Agent smith.. Check out!!!!

For more information on the simmilarities and differences of judas and cypher click here

Above is a video on how Judas hands Jesus to the romans...Check it out and see for yourself that his sign is giving him  kiss.

Each character ha its own meaning as shown here

How does imagination lend meaning to our lives and experiences?

Imagination and reality lends meaning to our lives and experiences in many ways. They are a mixture in our lives. We can see this in two specific Twilight Zone episodes, Walking Distance and the Lonely. In these two episodes we see how imagination plays with their reality and they end up not knowing the difference of it. In Walking Distance (episode 5) we can see the combination of the two worlds the past and the future. It is easily viewed that the imagination can play games with our mind, in this occasion we see that not being able to move on from those memories and the past made him to believe that they were real. Memories are not real; most of the time, we tend to mix them in a way that we don’t remember them to well, they become part of our creativity and imagination. When deciding to look at the past experiences we can affect the ones in the present and the future. The Lonely (episode 7) was the mixture of what is real and what isn’t? Corey’s imagination saves him from going in sane. His attachment with Alysha (the robot) was because he had lack contact with everyone due to where he was. His obsession for this person develops because she has been his only company but when proven wrong his acceptance is quick. This shows us that illusions are not always true or real. The lonely was a mixture of illusion and real. These illusions can damage our thinking and the way we see things in our experiences. Comparing this to our life is not hard because it happens when we day-dream and even just look at old pictures. It happens when we believe things in order for us to deny reality and what’s happening at the specific moment.

Research Reflection

 Being a writer has never being my strongest point.  During this semester I was highly upset I had to take this class but through this time I am glad I had the chance to. In this time i learned a lot such as how to put references and cite. I have learned that I should expand on my points and make be as specific as possible. I think my writing has a grown and continues to. I have a lot learned that to have a good research paper your sources have to be acceptable and with a good base.  Writing research paper is not something easy to do and the hardest part for me was organizing my ideas and with the help of the writing center as well as the one in class I was capable of understanding it a little more and put it in to practice. A real challege was my first research paper but then after having the first class in the library I got to understand how to do research and that the library was a great resources not only in the school but also online. I have learned how to do MLA work cited page and how to put it in the right order. I have also learned that while doing a research paper you can have fun as much as you can but it is very important to have an outline before you begin to write, in order to organize one’s thoughts. Taking notes is something that helped me a lot while doing this , that it is important to take notes and use them in the best of your abilities.  

Rearch Paper 2-The Matrix

The Matrix as the Savior story

Cypher as Judas

            Watching a movie can be entertaining depending on its audience. Generally, it tends to be either religious or entertaining; they are considered to be in different categories. One of the movies that bring us the best of both worlds is The Matrix. This movie came out in 1999 and was view by many people. Among these people the Christian audience realizes and started to make comparisons and connection between the matrix and the bible. Some of these comparisons were made specially coming from the gospels of Jesus Christ. Judas, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ can be compared and contrast to Cypher, one of Morpheus followers. The Matrix is one of the movies that has the most ideological, philosophical and religious views, all put in one. From one’s perspective the religious views are gradually based on proves from the New Testament.

            The Matrix can be taken in any way but when it comes to religion it can be views from Gnostic Christianity to Catholic. When it comes to the Catholic religion it focuses on the main characters for example Neo with the idea of being the one with Jesus Christ the Savior. Also Morpheus can be compared to John the Baptist for his strong faith and announcing the coming of “the one”. According to the Neo- Christ, the matrix and secondary Allegory as Rhetorical Form by Mike Milford, Trinity can be compared as the Holy Spirit by telling Neo that they needed his help. From the gospels of the New Testament, Mark, Luke or Mathew, they not only take the passion of Jesus but also his way of teaching, and the people that surrounded him.

            During Jesus years of teaching he chose twelve disciples to be by his side always and to help him teach the word of God. The disciple that brought this death to him is Judas mostly know as the betrayer. As in The Matrix Cypher, an ambitious person that feels neglected and with no importance to everyone else can be seen as Judas. The name Cypher has many meaning; the one that stand out is “zero” the one that has no value. This can be related when Jesus said to Judas “it would be better for him if he had never been born” because he was committing murdered both Judas and Cypher. Being secretive is something that comes up in both sides, Cypher having the meeting with the agent and Judas meeting with the religious leaders that wanted Jesus dead. Cypher’s betrayal was sealed with a steak dinner with Agent Smith just as Judas with the last Supper as stated by Matrix Names, Numbers and Religious Ties article by Dew. The lack of believe it is expressed by both Cypher and Judas, it is shown by Cypher at the training stimulation when Neo is jumping from one tower to the next. Judas stand out from the other disciples because he was never seen or record calling Jesus by one of his famous title “Lord”. It is always state by Catholics that not believing is a form of destruction to you.

            Being an actor in life can portray as being two faces or a hypocrite just as Judas and Cypher. They both acted like they were willing, nice and the “fake loyalty” they had for the people around them. Dew also mentioned the connection that Cypher calls himself the messenger while talking to Trinity and reminds us that Satan tends to call himself. To go more in debt Cypher way of betrayal is very similar to Judas. Judas betrayal is with a kiss and Cypher with a sneeze. Neo is invited by Cypher to drink with him but to remember they drink from the same cup, first Cypher serving it and drinking and then handing it to Neo. Just as Jesus said to the disciples “He who dipped his hand in the bowl with me is the one who will betray me”. All of these things are way known by the bible.

Neo-Christ: Jesus, The Matrix, and Secondary Allegory as a Rhetorical Form.

The Matrix can be view in this the religious way. Most of these views were focus on the Christians audience. The allegory makes a great connects between the symbol and the referent. It has many metaphors that connect into Christianity; this article focuses on two types of allegory which are traditional, secondary. One he similar points that they have in common with the traditional allegories is the immediate postwar period. They most portray that the reason of this movie was to impact the Christian audience using a bible pretext they were two views on the allegory one was the traditional approach  which they would compare it to a focusing lens in the other hand post modern approach view saw it as a refracting prism. The author also states that the constructed message shared strong bonds with ideological pretext. The movie the matrix bonded with both approached because it understands both in their images and resources. Most of the images and symbols showed in this movie have multiple meanings as in ideological, philosophical and religious point of view. For example in Buddhism speaks to the matrix using the text of Plato or Socrates they both use similar stories and pictures as to show and prove their comparison. In the Christianity view point is a little different. They see it as retelling story of Jesus Chris using his gospels such as Matthew, Luke and Mark. There is much evidence towards this. The author expresses also the function of the second allegory, “it occurs when the audience appropriates a text that is structurally a postmodern allegory and interprets it in a traditional fashion", meaning this was based on Jesus Chris but in order for other people to understand it; it is put in the modern perspective and view. They compare Neo in many ways to Jesus: they both become enemy of their own death, the point of the one, the savior, the messiah, the one that is to come and that are waiting for him in order to save their "world", that they both come out of virgin wombs to save or free people of born evil. One of the points that surprise me the most was the point that Trinity is put to represent the Holy Spirit, the author shows the evidence that she guided Neo through questions and to awaken him of knowing is uniqueness and his divines just as shown in Matthew 3:16-17 and as the "Holy spirit guided the ministry of Jesus". Most of this is found in the New Testament of the bible.

Saṃsāra

Saṃsāra is a type of buddhism that refers to continuous movement also known as the eternal cycle of life such as birth, death and rebirth. Samsara came from Hindu belief of reincarnation. It is good to remember that the founder of buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama. It is mostly known as endless suffering. Budda's opinions and views on Samsara were broad. His opinion was that they were really focus on something so there was no beginning nor end such as a circle. His specific opinion that Samsara was focus on suffering and that all human beings wouldn't stop suffering until they reach of Nirvana. Buddhism viewd Nirvana as "the perfect piece of the state of mind that is free from craving anger and other afflicting states", that besides being thoughts we should observe them and identify them with our thoughts.Samsara is seen as the cycle that needs a effort and is hard to break the suffering of it. There are 3 types of Buddhism amd each one looks at Samsara slightly different. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, sees Samsara as ignorance in terms of the four noble truth such as "ignorance concerning suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering". In Nikāya Buddhism, Buddhism opinion and stresses the point of reincarnation or also known as rebirth it focusses more on the fact of the cycle of birth and rebirth. In the other hand in Tibetan Buddhism is expressing rebirth also but now is known as the wheel of suffering. It is stated that rebirth brings suffering in my opinion.
There are also Cycle of Samsara also known as six paths they are Beings of Hell, Hungry Ghosts, Animals, Asura ,Humans and Deva.

The picture of Dorian Gray and imagination

Dennisse Pizarro

The Picture of Dorian Gray and the Imagination

Life can bring many down moments as well as up and happy situation. In the book The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is an example of life itself and people’s imagination. Dorian Gray, the main character, life develops paranoiac thought which brings his imagination to another level. During his life we can see that all actions imaginative or not have consequence and a reward. As stated he develop a type of behavior call paranoia, it is hard sometimes for people to see the connection of paranoia with one’s imagination and creativity. Finally we are going to look at a slight overview on Dorian behavior that made us realize he had develops this behavior. This does not happen overnight but instead it takes time across the chapters.

Dorian’s childhood was not a special one, he was not raise by his parents but by his uncle that did not treat him very well possibly this is what brought his trust to a low level. His paranoia developed fully when he got involved with Lord Henry and Basil but his childhood also affect on his present. Paranoia is when people’s thoughts are controlled by their fears and anxious feelings which are irrational and not real. People with paranoia feel as if everyone is trying to get them to hurt them or cause them harm. This type of behavior can be used but it also has to have a motive that keeps it going. In this novel especially they are not action that make Dorian fearful but people by the comments that they make in front of him.

Paranoia is not only a behavior that develops out of your childhood but it can also develop out of imagination. The imagination it is the main key to paranoia. The imagination plays a game with our mind; they make us switch words around, see things that are not really there. The distinction between the reality of things and about what is happening in their head is totally different. This is not to say that their crazy but their imagination level is high. Sometimes they are likely to imagine that people are plotting things but they go to the extreme seen what they do, how they move, taking how they express and what they say to the extreme, analyzing every detail of their persona. For example, Dorian doe not only fear people but also his own portrait, the reflection to his soul. This is not easy to deal with knowing that his environment was of high class and his beauty had a great control of him. At the middle of the story we start to realize that he lives in a fake world which seems reality to him.

Dorian Gray develops and shows that he has paranoia through the action he takes. The actions are in a sequel as it is shown in the book. Dorian ways of looking at things changes when he meet Lord Henry but specially when Basil finished his painting as he stated it will be murder if he was to destroy it. The painting in Dorian life was death itself. The portrait became his own life that not only took over the way he’s soul but also his normal life. He’s obsession towards the painting brought him to kill Basil out of anger.  Dorian imagination to think that everyone was plotting against him, the imagination to analyze everything was detailed and specific.  For example when he would speak with Lord Henry he would pay close attention and ask question about everything.  Everything started when he put the portrait on the old school room. The portrait was an imagination of not only Dorian but also Basil. They always stated that they had part of themselves in it.

The Picture of Dorian Gray came together in comparison with imagination in many ways. The paranoia established by Dorian in his personality marked all his action. His murder and his “suicidal thoughts” when he stabs the painting at the end are crucial moments at this book.