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In modern film discourse, there’s a tendency to equate “good” with “naturalistic.” And yet, the dialogue of The Matrix may be artificial, heightened, and devoid of quips found in a modern blockbuster, but it’s full of memorable lines. No character has more of them than Morpheus.
The Matrix follows the outline of the hero’s journey, and Morpheus is the mentor in that narrative. Portrayed by Laurence Fishburne, Morpheus is the one who guides Neo (and the audience) through the film and the world it’s set in. Only an actor capable of the charisma and mystique that Fishburne pulls off could make the part work so well.
10 “There Is A Difference Between Knowing The Path And Walking The Path.”
Much of Neo’s journey throughout The Matrix is based on leaps of faith. There’s his initial choice to take the Red Pill and discover the truth of the Matrix, even if he wasn’t certain that what lay before him was that truth. However, once he was free of his shackles and in the real world, he had to trust he was the One despite his own doubts and the fact the Oracle said he wasn’t. In short, as Morpheus says, there’s a difference between knowing and doing, which is good advice in many different contexts.
9 “The Matrix Is A System, Neo. That System Is Our Enemy.”
“But when you’re inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy.”
Morpheus delivers this speech while he and Neo traverse the “Woman In The Red Dress” program. Morpheus’ argument echoes the masses who defend harmful institutions because they can’t see an alternative. After all, the parallels between the Matrix and the alienation of late capitalism are obvious; when the film begins, Neo is an office drone. This theme of how individual wills are sublimated to the whole of institutions foreshadows Reloaded‘s twist that the myth of the One is actually the Machines’ narrative for producing controlled opposition.
8 “What Is Real? How Do You Define Real?”
“If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.”
It goes without saying that the nature of reality is a key theme in The Matrix. Morpheus utters the above when he and Neo talk in the Construct and Neo argues their surroundings aren’t real. Aside from the philosophical implications, this line serves two key narrative functions. One, it reinforces for the audience that what’s happening in the virtual world is “real” – the stakes are just as high inside the Matrix as they are outside. Two, Neo’s awakening as the One is him gaining a heightened perception of the Matrix, enabling him to bend its world to his will.
7 “No, Neo, I’m Trying To Tell You That When You’re Ready, You Won’t Have To.”
The Matrix may be a thoughtful film with enough insight to fill a Philosophy 101 course, but it’s also one of the coolest, most badass action movies ever made. Towards the end of Neo and Morpheus’ talk in the Red Dress program, Morpheus stresses the danger that Agents pose and that Neo is their only hope against them. When Neo asks if he can dodge bullets, Morpheus answers with the above. The scene is both a frightening preview of what the Agents are capable of and an exciting prelude for Neo’s actualization as the One.
6 “All I’m Offering Is The Truth.”
When Neo gestures for the Red Pill, Morpheus tells him the above to make sure he’s confident in his choice. Neo considers for half a second before swallowing the Red Pill. Considering the true state of the world and the hardship the free humans live under, it makes sense that Morpheus would scan for last-second hesitancy. It also speaks of the kind of people his crew target for extracting – people who have such an itch in the back of their mind that something isn’t right. To those kind of people, the truth is everything.
5 “Welcome To The Real World.”
The first time we see Morpheus and his crew outside the Matrix, they’re saving Neo from a water-y death. As the freshly-freed Neo is pulled into the Nebuchadnezzar, Morpheus looks down at him and offers him this welcome. The earlier parts of this sequence are meant to disorient. Neo awakens from his pod at the power plant and comes face to face with the “Doc Bot” machine. Up to this point, the film had given little indication of science-fiction, so the reveal is as shocking for the viewer as it is for Neo. Seeing Morpheus’ familiar face provides momentary relief before the grim gravity of his words sets in.
4 “Have You Ever Had A Dream, Neo, That You Were So Sure Was Real?”
Just after Neo has accepted the Red Pill, and just before he awakens from the Matrix, Morpheus asks him the above question. He presses further, asking how he would be able to tell the real world from a dream if he was unable to wake himself from it. These questions are likely meant to prepare Neo for what’s about to happen to him; he’ll be truly awake for the first time in his life, and in a world that will seem like a nightmare.
It’s also a line riddled with subtext. For one, Morpheus takes his name from a Roman god of dreams, and his mission is to free others from what is, essentially, a shared dream.
3 “The Matrix Is Everywhere.”
“It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. “You can feel it when you go to work… when you go to church… when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth… that you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.”
The true nature of the Matrix is common knowledge now. However, it was as much a mystery for audiences seeing it for the first time in 1999 as it is for Neo in the film’s first act. Morpheus’ introduction is when the viewer and Neo alike start to get real hints about what his mysterious thing is; the above quote elaborates on the mystery while still tantalizing viewers with unrevealed information.
2 “Unfortunately, No One Can Be Told What The Matrix Is. You Have To See It For Yourself.”
The above is Morpheus’ reasoning for why those who wish to learn the truth about the Matrix must choose between the blue pill and the red pill. It’s an understandable position; if he just told them, they would dismiss him and his followers as lunatics. Even after Neo sees the real world with his own eyes and learns the world he knew was fiction, his gut impulse is denial. Still, Morpheus’ elusiveness comes off as underhanded manipulation. As Cypher puts it after his betrayal, “If you’d told us the truth, we would’ve told you to shove that red pill right up your ass.”
1 His Explanation For The Blue Pill Vs The Red Pill
“You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.” These are the words Morpheus tells Neo before he presents him with the point of no return, culminating in the perfectly framed shot of Neo and the two pills reflected by Morpheus’ eyeglasses. The whole concept of the blue pill & red pill, and the underlying dichotomy between blissful ignorance and painful truth, has become a cultural touchstone (for good and ill). Morpheus’ quote also had some of the most explicit Alice In Wonderland references in a film filled with them.
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