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Looking at the movie The Matrix through a Lacanian interpretation. Equating the Lacanian concept of Real with the movie's Real World and the Lacanian Symbolic Order with the movie's matrix.
Citation preview
Anika Reza
Carleton University
Rob Holton
ENGL 3002
10 December, 2007
Reality and the Real in the Matrix: A Lacanian Perspective
Jacques Lacan makes a distinction between the Real and reality. The Real is "something
faced with which all words cease and all categories fail, the object of anxiety par excellence"
(Walsh) therefore the Real is something which cannot be symbolized nor spoken of. Reality on
the other hand is constructed by way of linguistic and ideological structures, which organize our
conscious and our unconscious lives, therefore reality is the fantasy world we convince ourselves
is the world around us (Felluga “the Structure of the Psyche”). The world we live in is based on
rules and order, which distances us from the Real. This same distance is found in the movie The
Matrix where the virtual universe called matrix represents reality, which creates a distance from
the Real represented by the Real World. Lacan describes the Real as something that cannot be
categorized or verbalized just as Morpheus in The Matrix tells Neo that no one could describe the
matrix, it had to be experienced. The virtual universe called the matrix in the movie exemplifies
the Symbolic Order in that it constructs the reality we perceive through social structures such as
language and laws that describes and represents a collective belief and understanding. Since the
Real cannot be described or represented, and reality is described and represented in the Symbolic
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Order, there is always a lack in the Symbolic Order in relation to the Real of our experiences.
This lack is a gap, which is a gap in our conception and understanding of the Real. A gap
Morpheus calls “a splinter in your mind” (The Matrix). It is this very gap in the Symbolic Order
that propels Neo into seeking the Real and his eventual discovery of what the matrix is. Even so
the power of the Symbolic Order is apparent when some individuals who have been ‘freed’ from
the matrix and have experienced the Real choose to return to the matrix. The Symbolic Order
structures our psyche therefore it is based on the structure that we have developed our
understanding of the world and our sense of self. The loss of the Symbolic Order would be
traumatic, as it would mean the loss of our reality. Hence the resistance of the minds of the
people who are still within the matrix from becoming ‘free’. Therefore though the Real exists
beyond the Symbolic Order, and if it were possible to awaken people from the Symbolic Order
to the Real, it is unlikely a great many individuals would be willing to discard their reality for the
Real.
The Symbolic Order is made up of the rules and regulations of society and refers to the
human psyche’s ability to use words and language. Once the child accepts the rules of language
and the signifier of the Name-of-the-Father he/she can then interact fully with others since the
Symbolic Order is where societies hold their signifiers in common. Just as the Symbolic Order
mediates the relationship between individuals through language the matrix mediates the
relationship between individuals through the creation of the virtual universe and everything
within it. This includes everything from the sound the humans produce, the image of themselves
they perceive to the objects in the virtual world to which they refer to. The Name-of-the-Father
introduces the law that creates an order inside the psyche of subject. It also regulates desire and
gives identity to the subject. The Name-of-the-Father serves the same purpose within the matrix
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as it does in our world and it is only by breaking this acceptance of the Name-of-the-Father, and
thus the Symbolic Order, that an individual is able to perceive the Real in the movie. Humans
within the matrix do not choose their own reality since they are presented with just one and this
matrix reality has its own sets of laws and rules ranging from those that concern gravity to those
that concern society, much like our world. Unlike our world though sentient programs, such as
Agent Smith, exists in the matrix and they are not bound by these rules. They have a
consciousness beyond the Symbolic Order and have access to the Real therefore the laws that
govern the Symbolic Order do not apply to them. Morpheus tells Neo in the training segment of
the movie that some of these rules can be bent while others can be broken. In order for Neo to be
able to break or bend rules like Agent Smith he would have to first “free his mind”. To do so he
must reject the Name-of-the-Father of the matrix reality and not limit his actions according to the
rules in the Symbolic Order. This is done by “controlling one’s own destiny with a mind that
transcends the power relations that surround it” (Melzer 167) and this is what Neo eventually
achieves. By freeing the mind from the binds constructed by the matrix and connecting it to his
real body in the Real World Neo is able to break away from laws the matrix imposed. However
the Symbolic Order is powerful as it is something that has shaped Neo’s psyche since the time he
entered into language. In the scene where Morpheus effortlessly walks through a sea of people in
the simulated matrix we watch Neo struggle to not bump into people as he attempts to keep up.
Neo’s clumsiness shows that his psyche is still bound by the Symbolic Order as he moves and
acts as though the laws that govern the matrix, the Symbolic Order, still applies to him.
Morpheus on the other hand has freed his psyche from the Symbolic Order and the reality
created by the matrix therefore he is able to walk effortlessly against the tide of people. Neo’s
own eventual breaking away from reality and the Symbolic Order is seen in the scene where he
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combats Agent Smith. Neo is able to move faster than humanly possible and his strength and
capabilities are beyond those that would be possible within the reality of the matrix. Thus Neo
breaks away from the rules found within the Symbolic Order that would have limited him to
human capabilities but his struggles and efforts reveal the extent to which our psyche is
structured and bound by the Symbolic Order.
The Real, unlike the Symbolic Order, is “everything that exists unbeknownst to the
subject” (Lander 20) and is which is impossible to symbolize and exists beyond the Symbolic
Order. In The Matrix the Real is represented by the Real World, which exists beyond the matrix
but is impossible to understand. Those in the movie who are eventually chosen to be ‘woken’
from the matrix are those that instinctively know that there is something beyond the matrix.
Morpheus tells Neo “you’re here because you know something, what you know, you can’t
explain but you feel it” (The Matrix) and this feeling is what sets Neo apart. While others are
fully immersed into the Symbolic Order, which is the matrix, Neo retains enough instinct to
know there is something beyond it. Though the Real is unknowable Lacan later says there is a
partial way to access the Real. In Seminar 22, titled “RSI”, Lacan describes the Imaginary Order,
Symbolic and the Order of the Real as a Borromean knot. Lacan described these three orders as
circles that overlap each other and are thus knotted and if even one of the knots is cut all the rest
will be set free as well. As the three orders overlap this overlapping represents the fact that these
orders do not exist independently from each other but that their connection keeps the three orders
operative (Lander 21-22). Due to this overlapping the Real may occasionally break through the
Symbolic Order and disrupt it. This disruption occurs when an individual has an experience of a
matrix phenomena which cannot be understood through the individual’s prevailing Symbolic
Order; those occurrences which lie beyond the sense perception, expectations, assumptions, or
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conceptual frames through which the individual understands reality (Atkinson). Neo experiences
this in the very beginning of the movie when writing seems to appear almost magically on his
computer screen telling him to “follow the white rabbit”. Neo is further disoriented when in one
scene Morpheus gives him directions on how to avoid Agent Smith and Morpheus appears to
know everything that is going on though he wasn’t physically present there. Neo’s Symbolic
Order tells him it is impossible for Morpheus to know which cubicle is safe to hide in and which
office will lead to a successful escape. Yet Morpheus does know since the Symbolic Order does
not bind the experience of the Real of escaping. Though the psyche will need to give the Real a
form through which it will be able to understand it Morpheus has long since broken away from
the Symbolic Order therefore he is able to do things and see things that are beyond the matrix,
beyond the Symbolic Order. Thus the Real occasionally disrupts the Symbolic Order and if one
is conscious enough, such as Neo, one will be able to somewhat grasp the Real. And in the
movie this tentative grasp is enough to eventually free the individual from the matrix.
Though the movie focuses primarily on the Real and the Symbolic Order, the movie does
touch upon the Imaginary Order and more specifically the mirror stage. In the mirror stage, as
described by Lacan, a child (mis)recognizes themselves in the mirror believing that it is they that
are there while it is just the reflection. The reflection appears whole which is in contrast to the
child’s inner “turbulent chaotic perceptions, feelings, and needs” which creates a "primordial
Discord". This is the first time the child is exposed to the difference between the image of the
body and the realityi of the body (Falluga “Psychosexual Development”). Thus the child is at
once jealous of the reflection, it is perfect while the child is not, and delighted; the child will
work to achieve that perfection. The reflection is the Ideal-I, a simplified, whole form of the self
the child will attempt to achieve the rest of its life. The moment of perception of the difference
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between the image of the body and the inner emotions the child experiences a loss of the Real
and entrance into reality. In The Matrix there is a twist to the concept of the mirror stage when
Neo sees his reflection in the mirror after taking the red pill of knowledge. The broken mirror
distorts Neo’s reflection and his face is not visible due to a missing piece. This works to signify
that the mirror, instead of reflecting a deceptive whole looking self, reflects the image of the
subject with all the lacks that exists. Therefore instead of viewing an image that is in opposition
to how he feels Neo sees the Real reflected back at him. In the next scene the mirror somehow
repairs itself and Neo is able to see a complete reflection of himself. This symbolizes that within
the matrix Neo had been an incomplete self since there was a disconnect from the Real but the
act of taking the red pill and his subsequent ‘awakening’ from the Symbolic Order will see him
reconnected with the Real therefore he will be whole once more. Thus the mirror accurately
reflected his former incomplete self just as it accurately reflected his later complete self. At this
point Neo may have broken away from the Imaginary Order and ‘awakened’ in the Real World
but the Imaginary Order’s influence remained. This is apparent in the scene where Neo enters a
simulation of the matrix in order to train and learn more about it. In the Real World Neo has no
hair and has plugs in multiple places on his body that were originally connected to the Machine.
In the virtual universe of the matrix on the other hand Neo has a full head of hair and no plugs on
his body. Morpheus explains that in the matrix the self he sees is actually his "residual self-
image" (The Matrix). Morpheus states that residual self-image is "the mental projection of your
digital self" within a given virtual reality. Therefore Neo is projecting a self-image which
corresponds with his ego developed in the mirror stage. The "residual self-image" does not
correspond with the Real as the Real is not accessible in the matrix. Lacan “affirms that the Real
has ex-sistence outside the subject’s reality” (Lander 19) and reality is represented by the matrix.
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Even so the "residual self-image" in the matrix bares almost a perfect resemblance to the Real
Neo in the Real World minus a few details. Therefore the humans inside the matrix must then
possess a degree of self-awareness and identity unique to their bodies in the Real World
(Cunningham). This harkens back to Lacan’s idea that the Real is always present though we
cannot conceptualize it but it may break through the Symbolic Order in moments of absent
mindedness or even in dreams. This connection is represented in the movie The Matrix by
showing that though the humans inside the matrix cannot describe or understand the matrix or
what is beyond it they have an awareness of it as their image in the matrix corresponds with their
physical attributes in the Real World.
Neo is one of the few that is able to break away from reality and the Symbolic Order and
discover the Real World. This is made clear by the fact that only a small number of individuals
are able to do so. Compared to the billions of people wired into the matrix there are only a
handful on the ship the Nebuchadnezzar and a few hundred more in the city of Zion. As Neo
watches what looks like career men and women walk by in the simulated matrix Morpheus says,
“You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them
are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it” (The
Matrix). Morpheus’ comment reveals the fact that most individuals concept of the ‘real’ is based
on the Symbolic Order and so to take that away would be to take their reality away which would
be severely traumatic (Felluga “the Structure of the Psyche”). Each individual who has the
potential of breaking away from the Symbolic Order is given a choice between the red pill and
the blue. The red pill would free their mind from the matrix and reunite it with their body while
the blue pill would allow them to go back to the matrix and believe that all that they had come to
know was just a dream. Neo chooses to take the red pill as had Trinity, Cypher and the rest of the
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crew aboard Nebuchadnezzar. Cypher however comes to regret this decision and in his regret we
perceive the reason why reality was created; to protect us from the Real. Cypher once told Neo:
“…I’ve been thinking it ever since I got here. Why, oh, why didn’t I take the blue pill” (The
Matrix). Just as the characters in The Matrix get to choose between the red or the blue pills
individuals go through a similar stage in ‘real life’ when a child chooses to either enter into
language or not. Reality represents the Real in a format and fashion that is more palatable and
Cypher soon realizes that he prefers the constructed matrix to the Real World. He even declares,
“If I had to choose between this and the matrix, I’d choose the matrix” which shows the power
and lure of reality and the extent to which our minds are shaped and formed by the Symbolic
Order. Even after understanding exactly what the Symbolic Order is and viewing its workings
and mechanism, individuals may still choose to be enslaved by its laws rather than be ‘free’ in
the Real.
This lure may be better understood in terms of desire. According to Lacan human’s desire
is not an object but the Desire of the other. Meaning that human beings want to be wanted and
needed above all else since this puts a recognition on their human value. Desire is instated in
humans when they experience satisfaction and later lose the object of satisfaction. “The lack of
the object gives rise to the presence of desire” and so there can be no desire without a lack
(Lander 3). Dino Felluga of Purdue University states that our fantasies will always fail before the
Real which ensures that we continue to desire as a lack is created by the failure. Desire in the
symbolic order may actually be a way for humans to avoid coming into full contact with the Real
since the Real is traumatic. Therefore ultimately the goal and purpose in desire is to reproduce
itself and not in obtaining the object of desire (“the Structure of the Psyche”). In The Matrix
Agent Smith tells Morpheus that “the first matrix was designed to be a perfect human world
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where none suffered, where everyone would be happy”, he goes on to say that “It was a disaster.
No one would accept the program, entire crops of [the] humans [serving as batteries] were lost”
(The Matrix). This reveals that the human mind rejected the perfect world of the matrix since
desire was cancelled out as all need was met. Lacan states that anxiety shows when there is a
presence of an excess of the object since such presence hinders the appearance of the signifier of
the lack. Without lack desire disappears (Lander 26). Therefore the matrix’s perfect world failed
to imprison the minds of the humans because the perfect world lacked desire as there was a lack
of lack. Agent Smith continues on to say “I believe that, as a species, human beings define their
reality through suffering and misery. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive
cerebrum kept trying to wake up from. Which is why the matrix was re-designed to this: the peak
of your civilization" (The Matrix). The peak of civilization Agent Smith refers to is the year
1999 with all of its conflicts and class, race and gender struggles intact. It is ironic that it is this
virtual world, complete with the original faults and shortcomings that is most successful in
keeping the human mind bound to the Symbolic Order so that they do not try to contemplate the
Real.
The concept of the reality and the Real in The Matrix works to show the power the
Symbolic Order, represented by the matrix, has over individuals. It is through the Symbolic
Order that people communicate, formulate thought and develop a sense of self in relation to
others. Though the Symbolic Order is quite vital it also has its shortcomings. The Symbolic
Order does not include the Real as the Real cannot be symbolized and so it cannot be known.
Thus the Symbolic Order encompasses virtually everything except the Real and it is here that we
find a gap between the signifier and signified as the Real is unsignifiable. It is through this gap
the Real occasionally disrupts the Symbolic Order as it creates phenomena that cannot be
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understood, explained or conceptualized though the Symbolic Order. It is these disruptions
which catches Neo’s attention and which eventually leads him to seek the answer to the question
“what is the matrix”? The movie The Matrix ends by showing a computer screen with hundreds
of numbers cursing by and a box right in the middle of the screen that says “system failure”.
There is a voice over and we hear Neo saying:
“I know you’re afraid, afraid of us, afraid of change…[I am going
to] show these people what you don’t want them to see; a world
without [the matrix]. A world without rules and controls, without
borders and boundaries, a world where anything is possible” (The
Matrix).
Neo thus announces his mission to free the humans in the matrix from the Symbolic Order and
its rules and regulation and bring them into the Real. What Neo may soon realize is that it is not
reality that is the enemy but the Real. The Real is too abstract and chaotic for an individual to
grasp and live with. It is the very structure that the Symbolic Order provides which enables
individuals to process thought and ideas. To take away reality would be to take away the tools
which enabled individuals to create a sense of identity and the coherence of the world around
them. Thus though Neo may believe all humans will be thankful for the liberation from the
Symbolic Order of the matrix it may be wise to remember Cypher’s words: “If I had to choose
between this and the matrix, I’d choose the matrix”.
i For the lack of a better word I use the word ‘reality’ here but I do not mean it in the sense of the reality which is in contrast to the Real but ‘reality’ which represents the Real
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