Revelation Paper

“Deconstructing the discourse of revelation”
Language and has come a very long way to develop into the many complex dialects currently found across the world and one of the most impressive aspects of human language is the written word; transitions of spoken words into an array of symbols, each representing simple sounds that when combined exemplify spoken language and more. With the creation of language, came more than the ability to converse, but also allowed for messages and information to be carried from one generation to the next. Stories have been told and passed down for thousands of years – nearly as long as humans have been able to communicate verbally as well as visually. Oftentimes these stories will follow a similar structure to one another, establishing a generic layout and theme that is commonly used. Additionally, stories will every so often have themes that recur and repeat inside their own bodies in order to communicate the message. These structures may be referred to as “tropes.” A trope can be defined as an element of a story that helps to set its structure. Within literature, a trope will often refer to a commonly used recurring theme. Within the large away of tropes seen in literature across history and the world, one in particular has provided the basic structure for some of the most influential stories ever written. The trope of revelation within a story is one that utilizes components of revelation such as a prophetic figure delivering a message, and a figure on the receiving end of the revelation accepting or denying the delivered message. The idea of revelation is made up of basically those things; it is
The development of the written languages has allowed for humans to strengthen their creative minds through fiction, allowing thoughts that exist solely as ideas to take form in writing.
The Matrix was a film in which the elements of the trope of revelation could be easily identified when sought after. We follow Neo, the main character, who from the beginning is already very skeptical of the reality that he is living in. As we find out more about Neo, we see that he is unsatisfied with the version of reality that he is given. He knows that there is something more than the on-screen view of the world that he and most others are wrapped up in. Right off the bat we witness Neo being exposed to subtle glimpses of the revelation he is on track to receiving. We are introduced to Neo as he is suddenly woken up in his cluttered one bedroom apartment as a simple message of text appears on his computer screen. It says: “Wake up, Neo…” “The Matrix has you…” And follows by telling him to “Follow the white rabbit…” This is Neo’s first contact with the prophets and exposure to his upcoming revelation in any way. Following the white rabbit leads him to a party at which he meets Trinity and eventually to Morpheus, the character of the movie who best fits the prophet label. Early in the movie Neo meets Morpheus for the first time, and is fully presented the reality of the Matrix (the revelation). More specifically, Neo is presented the reality of the Matrix through a verbal explanation – and his understanding of the truth of the Matrix is developed only as far as an explanation of it could bring it. In the movie, as Morpheus is finishing his explanation he says to Neo, “Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.” This implies the idea that a person can only be presented the revelation. But for them to fully come to terms with the truth, they must take a certain initiative and pursue it on their own. In Morpheus’ words to Neo: “I told you I can only show you the door. You have to walk through it.”
At one point in the movie, soon after Neo has is brought out of the Matrix into the world of the real, he is in obvious distress, due to the shock of his incredibly abrupt departure from the reality he has known all his life. He is lying on a mattress as Morpheus sits beside him, expressing sympathy: “I feel I owe you an apology. We have a rule we never free a mind once its reached a certain age. It’s dangerous, and the mind has trouble letting go.” Morpheus’ point in this scene is that people who are born into the false reality that is the Matrix become so used to that frame of thought that any other form of reality becomes extremely hard to except. “…the mind has trouble letting go.” This line touches on the idea that the revelation of a new reality does not come easily to those who have come to know the false reality of the Matrix as the only reality, a category of people, which may also be described as the “dumb masses.”
Near the end of the movie, Neo has an obvious “flash revelation.” He becomes trapped within the Matrix and is apparently cornered by several of the powerful villains of the movie: the agents. Neo is actually killed, shot many times. His pulse flat-lines and for a moment all seems lost. A kiss from his lover, Trinity apparently brings him to live once more, and in the next few minutes, Neo comes to the realization, that he has ability beyond any other within the Matrix. He begins to literally see the Matrix for what it is – a series of codes that make up a computer program. At this point Neo is able to act as he pleases while in the Matrix and wards off the agents without any problem. This flash revelation allowed for Neo to see the “world” in a different way and therefore granted him new ability.
The first of the original three “Star Wars” films, “Episode IV,” introduced us to Luke Skywalker a young boy who lives with his aunt and uncle Beru in a small farm-type facility. The universe in which Luke lives, is ruled largely by a malicious military force known as the “Galactic Empire.” He is fully aware of the Galactic Empire’s suppressive and evil temperament, but feels that the matter is out of his hands, choosing to stay uninvolved by ignoring it. A little ways into the movie, Luke catches his first glimpse of the revelation to come. He is purchasing two droids (robots) from a traveling droid shop for work for his family. These two droids turn out to be continuous characters in the story. While cleaning one of the droids, Luke accidentally triggers a holographic message; an image shoots out in front of it, and begins to play, but abruptly cuts short and repeats every few seconds. However a name is mentioned in the short part of the message that is actually played. Luke is very curious, recognizing the name Obi-Wan Kinobi, who the message speaks of – tracing it to a local man named Ben Kinobi. His only guardians – his aunt and uncle whom he lives with, particularly his uncle, attempt to diminish his curiosity of the issue by making it seem unimportant and lying to him by saying that Obi-Wan Kinobi has been dead for a long time, and that Ben Kinobi is simply a crazy hermit. The message embedded droid at one point runs away into the dunes of the surrounding desert in search for Obi-Wan, the person that its message had been intended for. Luke heads out in search of the droid and soon runs into Ben Kinobi, and discovers that Obi-Wan and Ben are the same. He spends some time with Obi-Wan and learns a great deal about his father and Obi-Wan both. He learns of the fact that they had both been Jedi fighting in the clone wars – a historically important war of their universe. Obi-Wan also tells him of “the force,” a mystical energy that allows the Jedi their power. Having heard these things, though intrigued, Luke still finds much of that world beyond his grasp and out of his life. Shortly after his encounter with Obi-Wan, Luke travels back to the home of his aunt and uncle to find that they had been brutally murdered and their house destroyed. At this point, Luke’s world crumbles, what little of a family life that he has known had been wiped away in an instant. Shortly after the discovery of the wreckage, Luke makes the decision to learn the ways of the Jedi and fight the evil powers that destroyed his home and suppress the people of the galaxy. This was a moment of flash revelation. After the shock of seeing his relatives and home burnt and destroyed, he felt an apparent burst of initiative – a desire to get both revenge and to bring justice to the oppressors. Shortly after these happenings, Kinobi and Luke unite with Han Solo and Chewbaca, the pilot and first mate of the Millennium Falcon, and proceed to leave the planet in order to join with the rebels in the fight. During this flight Kinobi begins to teach Luke the ways of the force – how to utilize and harness its ability. Luke is training with the light saber Kinobi had given him against a small floating ball, which is hovering around him shooting small lasers from different angles. Luke’s goal is to deflect the beams as they are shot. He effectively blocks several of the shots but is not one hundred percent accurate. Kinobi then does something that Luke was not expecting. He places a helmet over Luke’s head with a solid metal visor that intervenes his vision and tells Luke to “use the force.” After several tries Luke successfully deflects several shots regardless of his blindfold.
When looking at the use of the revelation trope in two or more stories, we can compare and contrast the multiple uses and identify the varying aspects of the trope at different points in the two examples. For instance, in “The Matrix,” there is an obvious main prophet that delivers the revelatory message to Neo. Morpheus, in a scene near the beginning of the movie sits Neo down across from himself, and explains the truth about the Matrix as best he can. He asks Neo if he is truly keen on learning the whole truth during the blue pill-red pill scene, and when given the go, lays out the reality of the human race’s enslavement in the masked world of the Matix. This element of the revelation trope is clear to us. Within “Star Wars: Episode IV,” we can single out a similar prophetic figure. Obi-Wan Kinobi plays a comparable role in Star Wars to the character of Morpheus in The Matrix. Kinobi reveals several truths to Luke Skywalker, partially clearing up a bit of the confusion he has about his father. He also, explains the great mystical power of “the force” to Luke, who had been completely oblivious to it previously. Succeeding this Luke says the following to Kinobi: “You know I did feel something. I could almost see the remote.” Kinobi’s response: “That’s good! You’ve taken your first step into a larger world.” It can be inferred that at this point Luke has experienced the beginning of an ongoing revelation pertaining to his ability with the force.
The messages within “The Matrix” and “Star Wars” are in some ways different from one another as well as the same. In “The Matrix,” Morpheus is reveals to Neo that the reality in which he has been living in is unreal and in turn, also reveals to him the “real world,” outside of the Matrix. The message is of a new way to perceive the world before ones eyes. In “Star Wars,” Kinobi delivers a revelatory message to Luke about his father, Jedi and the force. Luke is given a new understanding of his ability and of the rebellion against the galactic empire. In both of these stories there is an obvious “unacceptable situation” that the characters are apart of. In “The Matrix,” it is the entrapment of the human race inside the Matrix program. And in “Star Wars,” it is the suppressive rule of the galactic empire. Within both stories, the main recipients of the message being given were partially aware of the suppressive situation. Neo, before his revelation, had been skeptical of his reality. He knew that something was not right about the world he lived in. Luke on the other hand, before he came to know Obi-Wan, knew of what the galactic empire had been doing, and was aware of the struggles occurring beyond his planet.