Fate or Conspiracy?

What is fate? According to dictionary.com, fate as a noun is something that unavoidably befalls a person; fortune; the universal principle or ultimate agency by which the order of things is presumably prescribed; inevitably predetermined; destiny. The big discussion in class was how to intertwine the basic principles of Daoism and The Matrix movie with the ideals of how belief equals reality, or does it? Although it seems to be fate that encompasses the presence of Neo, he was still granted the ability to choose. He had a choice to pick the red pill or the blue pill. Yet, what may be debatable was whether or not Neo was really the One. Even though Neo was told that he was the One, he was subtly denying it, or I guess being the reluctant hero.

Somewhere I’ve heard this philosophy, B.E.A.R. philosophy. First one must Believe in oneself, and then one must have enough Energy to take Action and get Results. Since Neo was reluctant at first, he never believed himself to begin with, yet with the Oracle’s ambiguous statements, Neo finally found the passion inside himself to reveal his ability to be the One. The fundamental element of Daoism is oneself to believe. It is what he, she or I will or will not believe. Like what one of my fellow classmates stated, Neo was given the choice to pick the red or blue pill, so picking the red pill gave the person a clear mind, an open mind. In order to believe something so trivial, one must have a clear, open mind to evaluate and understand all things, to everything that nature may bring, or even what our destined fate may or may not be. In other words, Daoism is a belief that someone can follow. It is another way to choose the life we choose to live. Some people live as atheists as others as God worshippers.

Following quotes from Mr. B:

-          “Daoism has no solid answer.” At first, I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by this, but I think it means that although I may think this way about Daoism, doesn’t mean it is concrete, because Daoism is an abstract idea, that anyone may have a different perspective towards the idea of Daoism.

-          “As far as the first film goes, the real world could actually be a nice place and Morpheus could just be fooling Neo in the same way he claims the matrix is doing. Think on that for a minute.” I never thought of it like this, I was stuck on  one-dimensional analysis that the Matrix is a forbidden place, maybe because of Lawrence Fishburne plays such a convincing character, who would deny him?! Although this plays a plausible solution to Morpheus’ character as the Greek god of dreams, the movie would have turned out to be way different, even if Will Smith was asked to play Neo. Morpheus is a rebel and he wants another person to take the position as savior as he will claim to be the one whole guides them and plays as the mentor of the mavericks.

-          “Going back to Gawain, does he wait because he's scared, because he wants to defer to knights he sees as better than himself, or because he doesn't want to be a hero at all? Or is there another way of looking at his actions?” Gawain was probably scared; I mean who wouldn’t be with a big. Buff green guy asking to play a game of head chopping. As King Arthur attempts to take the Green Knight’s proposal, Gawain saw this as the opportunity to save his uncle; he most likely did not want to see any harm to his greatness. Perhaps it was an act of chivalry or an act of suggested obligation since he is family, no one else brave would stand up to the plate to take the ridiculous challenge.

word count - 653