While The Matrix movies may be known for totally redefining science-fiction storytelling in the 21st century, there's also a lot of unexplored thematic material within them — most notably, a condemnation of capitalism. The first film in the series, The Matrix, introduced the world to Neo, an amateur hacker who quickly discovers that his monotonous 1990s reality is actually a powerful simulation, created by a sentient race of machines who are using humanity's collective bioenergy to power themselves. If that isn't enough of a headache, he also discovers that he's The One, a prophesied messianic figure who can manipulate the internal coding of The Matrix, turning him into a kind-of cyberpunk Superman.

The Matrix movies (and their subsequent spin-off properties) have been subject to all sorts of thematic explorations, inspiring countless books and essays discussing the influences and messages within them. These range from viewing Neo as a Christ allegory (due to his prophesied nature and his sacrifice in The Matrix Revolutions), to seeing the franchise as a commentary on the transgender experience through the eyes of the directors, the Wachowski Sisters. The best part is, all of these interpretations are valid and supported through the wide lens of symbolism baked into the films (here's hoping The Matrix 4 continues the trend).

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However, there's another subtle commentary coded in the DNA of the franchise, specifically found within the first film. It's inherent in the film's premise, as well as the reaction of the main characters to the truth of their reality. The Matrix exists as a sci-fi meditation on late-stage capitalism, its faults, and ultimately the overturning of the system by people within it.

The Movies Are About The Exploitation Of Workers

At its core, the Matrix franchise is about the exploitation of workers — expressed through the allegory of machines feeding off of human energy. While the main franchise never explicitly states what led to the dystopian future present within the first three films, there's a lot of supplemental material that bridges the gap between the past and the movies' present timeline. The Animatrix, in particular, details the entire backstory of the human/machine war in two back-to-back animated shorts: The Second Renaissance Pt. 1 and The Second Renaissance Pt. 2. These two shorts detail the rise of the machines, and they shockingly reveal that before taking over humanity, artificial intelligence was created by humans and then used for domestic labor. Because of this, humans worldwide begin to resign from labor-based jobs, creating an entire workforce of machines. This status quo is maintained for a while, until the year 2090, in which a domestic android kills his owner in self-defense, marking the first time in which a machine has taken the life of a human being. This is one simple event that causes a ripple effect that inevitably leads to the takeover of humanity by machines.

In the first film, after Neo takes the red pill from Morpheus in one of the most infamous scenes of all-time, he wakes up in a floating tank suspended in air, surrounded by thousands of similar pods. Viewers soon discover that this is all of humanity, and that this is their fate: living in a permanent simulation as the machines utilize their bioenergy to power themselves. It's a massive reveal, one that contextualizes and informs the world of the franchise moving forward — but it's also a total reversal of what the origins of the  dystopic future as shown in the The Animatrix.

There's a common thread in these two examples, one that ties into the franchise's overall critique of the capitalist system. Both humans and the machines build their empires on the backs of exploitation. Humanity creates an entire sentient species simply to use them for slave labor, and when the machines rise up in defense of themselves, humanity tries in vain to exterminate them, leading to a massive war. In the future, hundreds of years after the end of the war, the machines turn to the exploitation of humans for their extended survival. A major criticism of the capitalist economic system is that it depends on the exploitation of the working class by those higher up, and The Matrix films build their entire conflict on this critique.

The Matrix Represents The Illusion Of A Fair System

Like the simulation in The Matrix, capitalism functions as a grand illusion. A lot of capitalism's critics state that a capitalist society tricks the working class into believing that the system is working in their favor, despite actively being exploited. In turn, these people will uphold the tenets of the system, in the hopes that they will one day achieve the same status as the people on top. It creates an illusion that the system will indeed work, one day, as long as it's upheld and continues to run unchallenged.

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This is paralleled in the first film of the franchise, and directly stated by Morpheus during his monologue. While exploring the Matrix with Neo and exposing him to the intricacies of the simulation, Morpheus points out people who have not yet been awakened in the real world and have no idea of what's actually going on behind the scenes. He says "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."

This is a reference to the kinds of labor that make up the working class. While the 1% at the top are made up of billionaires, celebrities, and CEO's, the ones turning the cogs of the system are the ones who are actually engaged in the labor. These are the people that Neo and Morpheus have to save, but at the same time, those people are still stuck inside the simulation, still actively contributing to its existence. Morpheus ends his speech by telling Neo "You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so injured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it." Just like those stuck in the simulation, The Matrix seems to be saying that until exposed to a better system, those stuck in the wheels of capitalism will fight to defend it.

Neo And The Rebellion Represent Working Class Solidarity

Matrix Zion rave scene

While Neo is The One, a chosen messiah prophesied to save the world, his actions don't exist in a vacuum. Throughout the entire franchise, he's aided by a close personal circle of Morpheus and Trinity, as well as the actions of the other survivors of Zion. And even in The Matrix Revolutions, when he sacrifices himself to defeat Agent Smith and save both the Matrix and the real world, he does so using the help of the machines they spent the last two films fighting against.

Both Neo and the rebellion working together to free humanity from the shackles of the simulation could be seen as an allegory for working class solidarity. Those who have seen the truth of the Matrix fight to free their peers from it, similar to how opponents of capitalism believe that the working class can come together to overthrow the system. And on top of that, both the citizens of Zion and the machines come together to recreate the Matrix in the aftermath of Neo's sacrifice, representing the ultimate goal: transcendence of the established system. While this is merely just one way to interpret the conflict of The Matrix, the beauty of the franchise lies in how much its fans can derive from the material.

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