Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 73
When we consider modern cults, the same logic appears to be operating time and time
again, with Jim Jones's People's Temple in Guyana or David Koresh's Branch Davidians in
Waco being two striking examples (cf. David G. Bromley and Edward D. Silver: 58). John
W. Morehead points out that the cosmic struggle element is standard in today's aggressive
religious sects (article), and so is the need to refer to a sacred text:
Their role in battle is symbolized by various scriptural or authoritative imagery that confirms
for them the nature of the divine struggle. The ideology then provides the appropriate moral
justification for violent acts against civilians who would not ordinarily be seen as combatants
and appropriate targets for destruction.
Let us recall in this connection the above-cited passage from The Matrix where Morpheus
tells Neo that everyone in the out-group is the enemy. The scriptural equivalent in this war
is the prophecy that drives Morpheus. Since there was a godlike individual who woke up
from the Matrix and predicted his own return in the guise of The One (Neo), the struggle of
the rebels in the Wachowski film shifts from the political sphere to the
transcendental/cosmic one. Thus, anyone standing in the way of the rebels is preventing
something sacred from being accomplished, which justifies all violent acts against innocent
people in the out-group.
Two attitudes toward the out-group seem to be combined in The Matrix. On the one hand,
the unawakened population of the Matrix is the unquestionable enemy, a threat that must
be dealt with decisively. This would be epitomized by Neo's well-known request that Tank
provide him and Trinity with "guns, lots of guns." Such a position corresponds to that of
the Japanese Aum cult, for example, regarding which John. W. Morehead writes:
From within the mindset of terrorist ―cultures of violence‖ the world is already a hostile
place, and the groups themselves, and those they represent, are the ones under attack.
What those on the outside view as terrorism and unprovoked aggression, those perpetrating
the acts consider self-defense.
This difference of perspective is well illustrated by agent Smith who asks Neo to help in
bringing "a well-known terrorist to justice." To Smith, Morpheus is a terrorist while to the
rebel group Morpheus is a heroic liberator.
The other attitude toward mainstream society is a paradox inherent not only in aggressive
religious cults but also in many 19th and 20th century revolutionary movements. This is
well illustrated by the lyrics of the Russian version of the Communist International: "The
whole world of violence shall be destroyed by us down to its foundations, and then we shall
build our own world..." (my translation:
http://www.funet.fi/pub/culture/russian/html_pages/internatsional.html). As Herbert L.
Rosedale indicates with respect to the Aum cult,
In a recent work dealing with Aum Shinrikyo, Robert Lifton has commented on how the view
of that cult was manifested in the apocalyptic goal of ―destroying the world in order to save
it,‖ and the group‘s action in killing innocent non-believers was viewed as altruistic murder
that benefited both the victims and their perpetrators.
Morpheus's position is similar in that he too seeks to save the deluded population of the
Matrix but considers every sleeping individual as a foe at the same time (see above).
The disdain with which the out-group is viewed by the rebels in The Matrix is suggested by
the term "coppertop." This is how Switch calls Neo in the car when she points a gun at him
and tells him to lift up his shirt for debugging. Unawakened humans are treated like
batteries by the machines, and the evil of that attitude is indisputable. But Switch seems
to share in this dehumanization, demonstrating not compassion for the enslaved but a
sense of haughty superiority. This social exclusivism can be traced back from the modern
When we consider modern cults, the same logic appears to be operating time and time
again, with Jim Jones's People's Temple in Guyana or David Koresh's Branch Davidians in
Waco being two striking examples (cf. David G. Bromley and Edward D. Silver: 58). John
W. Morehead points out that the cosmic struggle element is standard in today's aggressive
religious sects (article), and so is the need to refer to a sacred text:
Their role in battle is symbolized by various scriptural or authoritative imagery that confirms
for them the nature of the divine struggle. The ideology then provides the appropriate moral
justification for violent acts against civilians who would not ordinarily be seen as combatants
and appropriate targets for destruction.
Let us recall in this connection the above-cited passage from The Matrix where Morpheus
tells Neo that everyone in the out-group is the enemy. The scriptural equivalent in this war
is the prophecy that drives Morpheus. Since there was a godlike individual who woke up
from the Matrix and predicted his own return in the guise of The One (Neo), the struggle of
the rebels in the Wachowski film shifts from the political sphere to the
transcendental/cosmic one. Thus, anyone standing in the way of the rebels is preventing
something sacred from being accomplished, which justifies all violent acts against innocent
people in the out-group.
Two attitudes toward the out-group seem to be combined in The Matrix. On the one hand,
the unawakened population of the Matrix is the unquestionable enemy, a threat that must
be dealt with decisively. This would be epitomized by Neo's well-known request that Tank
provide him and Trinity with "guns, lots of guns." Such a position corresponds to that of
the Japanese Aum cult, for example, regarding which John. W. Morehead writes:
From within the mindset of terrorist ―cultures of violence‖ the world is already a hostile
place, and the groups themselves, and those they represent, are the ones under attack.
What those on the outside view as terrorism and unprovoked aggression, those perpetrating
the acts consider self-defense.
This difference of perspective is well illustrated by agent Smith who asks Neo to help in
bringing "a well-known terrorist to justice." To Smith, Morpheus is a terrorist while to the
rebel group Morpheus is a heroic liberator.
The other attitude toward mainstream society is a paradox inherent not only in aggressive
religious cults but also in many 19th and 20th century revolutionary movements. This is
well illustrated by the lyrics of the Russian version of the Communist International: "The
whole world of violence shall be destroyed by us down to its foundations, and then we shall
build our own world..." (my translation:
http://www.funet.fi/pub/culture/russian/html_pages/internatsional.html). As Herbert L.
Rosedale indicates with respect to the Aum cult,
In a recent work dealing with Aum Shinrikyo, Robert Lifton has commented on how the view
of that cult was manifested in the apocalyptic goal of ―destroying the world in order to save
it,‖ and the group‘s action in killing innocent non-believers was viewed as altruistic murder
that benefited both the victims and their perpetrators.
Morpheus's position is similar in that he too seeks to save the deluded population of the
Matrix but considers every sleeping individual as a foe at the same time (see above).
The disdain with which the out-group is viewed by the rebels in The Matrix is suggested by
the term "coppertop." This is how Switch calls Neo in the car when she points a gun at him
and tells him to lift up his shirt for debugging. Unawakened humans are treated like
batteries by the machines, and the evil of that attitude is indisputable. But Switch seems
to share in this dehumanization, demonstrating not compassion for the enslaved but a
sense of haughty superiority. This social exclusivism can be traced back from the modern
