Нео у земљи чуда: Луис Керол, Матрикс и проблем језика
Neo in Wonderland: Lewis Carroll, The Matrix and the Problem of Language

Summary/Abstract: This paper commences with a discussion on the intertextual references to the works of Lewis Carroll that can be found in the Matrix trilogy of films. Besides these, structural and narratological resemblances are noted and discussed: particularly the passive and feminine depiction of the protagonist that is influenced by fairy tales centred around female persons such as Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. Following that, the paper elaborates on the dream mechanism that is prominent both in the novels about Alice and in The Matrix. It serves to depict a world of illusion that is sustained by human beings who are unaware that they are sleeping. This mental control over humanity is shown to be mediated through language. Language – and its accompanying powers of formal logic and control of narrative – serves to establish and sustain worldviews that would then guide the way people think and therefore how they act. It is shown that these works portray language (in the Alice novels) and binary code (in The Matrix) as arbitrary, if not exactly random. As a consequence, many of the concepts that direct our societal as well as personal actions can also be shown to be arbitrary or illusory. The episode in which Alice converses with Humpty Dumpty reveals not only the way to fare in the Wonderland but also how it is that Neo really becomes the One and the Saviour in The Matrix. As Humpty Dumpty notes, the real question of our relation to language is ’which is the master?’ Is it us or is it the language? If the language – or the binary code – is the master, then we are supposed to fit into preconceived categories. In the adventures of Alice, it means to play the games set by others. In The Matrix, it means to occupy a specific position in the society, including the role of the false hero that Neo was supposed to be. If the Matrix succeeded, Neo would have played exactly the role planned for him and nothing essential would have happened. However, what happens in the story is that Neo becomes the master of language/code, thus inserting the element of unpredictability into the Matrix. He becomes the real One because he has achieved freedom from the code. That is why the code no longer rules or determines him; instead, he is able to determine the events in Тhe Matrix itself. The final conversation between the Architect and the Prophet reveals that the Machine itself is now not sure about the future. It can no longer calculate eventualities as humanity is again free to make its choices instead of following the beaten path set by the machine logic.

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