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Ancient
themes in pop culture
In Gnostic
cosmology, an alien God creates the prototypical human as a male/female
androgyne- the World Soul, Sophia, and Christ, the messiah. The
material universe is an evil creation by the demiurge ('half-creator')
Yaldabaoth, a pseudo-God who entraps the souls of men in sleep. The
forces of sleep are so overwhelming, they can only be overcome by
means of special insight (Gnosis), which forces one to realize the
truth and awaken to the true nature of reality. Sophia (wisdom) is
responsible for sending the serpent (Christ) to enlighten the inhabitants
of the Garden to the nature of their enslavement. These twin messengers
continually manifest in the material world to alert its inhabitants
of their inherently divine nature.
But what
does all of this arcane and outdated theology have to do with the movies?
Over the last decade, movies have frequently dealt with apocalyptic
themes- but now that the millennium has turned without the fiery destruction
of the universe, moviemakers are exploring more subtle theological ideas.
Recent technological and scientific advances have led people everywhere
to question our perception of reality, and our movies have followed
suit. Recent films exploring virtual worlds and false perceptions of
reality include Vanilla Sky, the Matrix, The Truman Show, Pleasantville,
and the Thirteenth floor.
Philip
K. Dick, Gnostic Prophet?
Likewise,
there has been a resurgence of interest in the stories of sci-fi
author and self-described Gnostic Phillip K. Dick; directors revisiting
his stories have produced last year's Minority
Report and Impostor, mimicking themes from earlier films
Total Recall and Bladerunner. A Scanner Darkly,
coming later this year, will feature Matrix's Keanu Reeves
as a man living seperate lives as two completely different individuals-
each unaware of the other. Many of the themes Dick explored in his
work stemmed from his very own visionary experiences.
Dick's
stories are ripe with intentional Gnostic emblems, psychological
symbols that profoundly affect the emotions on a subconscious level.
Take, for example, the unicorn that romps through Decker's dreams
in Bladerunner, a secret clue to his own artificial existence. The
Unicorn is also a symbol of the Messiah, or intellect, which provides
the knowledge necessary for awakening. These themes parallel Dick's
own experiences with visions and divine communication, as he himself
had difficulty deciding whether he was experiencing a religious
awakening or losing his grip on reality.
The
False World and the Way Out
A common
theme in the new genre is the existence of a manufactured world,
a virtual reality in which the participants don't realize they are
trapped. In The Matrix, humans exist in a forced
dream state so that machines can harvest their bio-electric energy.
When hero Neo Anderson (whose name means, literally, 'son of man')
inquires why the world is not perfect, the computer generated agent
responds that were the artificial world to be without suffering,
the sleepers would awaken too quickly- better to keep them in continual
struggle. This idea is nearly identical to the ages old Gnostic belief
that human souls are trapped on earth so that our psychic energy
can be consumed- and as we are consumed with the day to day struggle
of life, we forget to awaken. The identical hordes of "agents" fulfil
the role of archons, evil angels whose role in the Gnostic hierarchy
is to thwart awakening humans with temptation, fear, and ignorance.
The sequel explores these themes even more, with rogue computer programs
fulfilling roles of luciferian liberators, and the manifestation
of the Demiurge as the "architect" of
the prison world.
The hero
of Vanilla Sky is a dead man living unknowingly in a fantasy
life of someone else's creation. His redeemer is none other than
the lovely Sophia: "Open your eyes," she exhorts, until
he does. He ultimately awakens with the help of a guide sent from
the 'real' world, and returns to reality by leaping confidently
into the abyss. This scene is paralleled in the Michael Douglas
film The Game,
where the character takes a similar leap after a rebirth experience,
and again in the Matrix, when hero Neo walks off a skyscraper,
awakening with the ability to manipulate the false reality of
the matrix code. In every case, the jump into the unknown is only
taken after the character casts off his false perceptions- the
ultimate test of one's understanding of the nature of illusion.
These scenes also illustrate the ultimate uselessness of the intellect
in confronting the unknown- sometimes, you just need to take
a deep breath and jump.
More
Gnostic Themes
In the
Thirteenth Floor, programmers of a virtual reality game are
concerned that their creation is taking on a life of its own. In the
course of their investigation, they discover to their horror that they
are simply creations themselves, with imperfect creators.
The
Truman Show follows the self discovery of Truman, a man raised
in a fully artificial environment, who eventually uncovers the deception.
In Pleasantville, townspeople in a sanitized fifties-style
sitcom utopia awaken from artificiality when 'infected' by outsiders...ultimately
liberating the townspeople from their repressed, drab and lifeless
existence. The symbol of their liberation, incidentally, is a single
red apple shared by a couple, bringing a new twist to the fable of
Adam and Eve. (Many Gnostics believed the serpent to be the true hero
of Genesis.)
The Cult
film Donnie Darko follows the misadventures of bva reluctant
Messiah- an angry, disenfranchised teen who awakens only after
making the decision to sacrifice himself to save the world- a sacrifice
that will go unnoticed. An archontic figure in the form of a demonic
rabbit haunts Donnie, and encourages him to give in to his anger
at the falseness around him.
In one
scene, Donnie chastises his ridiculous companion, "Why are you
wearing that stupid Bunny Suit?" The Bunny laconically
responds "Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?" Donnie's
predicament is paralleled in the movie listed on the theater
marquee: The Last Temptation of Christ.
Donnie feels like an alien, who sees the truth where others cannot
and is rejected and punished for speaking it- and like Dafoe's
Christ, he must face his destiny before he is fully prepared to accept
it.
These
movies explore gnosticv themes in a variety of ways, but the overwhelming
Message is Wake
up. Is
there a larger world outside of this one? Open your eyes and see.
Next
page > Check out these Gnostic movies
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