Editorial

From the Business Manager

The Matrix has you Neo

The matrix series of films, the first of which was released in 1999 by the Wachowski brothers, tell the story of the fall of humanity at the hands of machines that imprison mankind in a virtual reality computer program, so they can be farmed as a power source.

The films focus on three characters – Neo, Trinity and Morpheus, who have broken free from the Matrix and war against the machines, the epitome of whom is the iniquitous Agent Smith, in their attempts to free humanity.

While a powerful commentary on the potential of artificial intelligence, the films also entertain by weaving various spiritual and philosophical themes and have even been interpreted as Christian allegory.  Neo, portrayed by Keanu Reeves, is a Christ figure of sorts whose appearance is predicted by The Oracle. His alter ego within the Matrix begins as Thomas (think doubting apostle) Anderson (which means son of man) and that is just the beginning of one thousand types and shadows if you go looking for them.  Websites are dedicated to exploring the hidden messages within the storyline and they make for fascinating reading.  Neo spends his first weeks having been unplugged from the Matrix in the original movie recovering from the toxicity of his unknown slavery and then takes up his calling to overcome the machines. 

As we enter 2023, I sometimes wonder if in some sense our world has also been taken over in recent years, such is the upheaval of western culture in the last two decades.  Our sport, our events, our movies, our workplaces, our places of education and even our public holidays are culturally unrecognisable to those who grew up in the late twentieth century.  Happily, Christian schools remain for now as a place of refuge to hold the line against negative change, while eagerly embracing positive innovation.

Indeed, Christianity is at the heart of this current cultural swing, with those who oppose our faith, seeking to delete us just as the machines sought to delete Morpheus and his motley crew of rebels.

At Plenty Valley we are in the business of forming our students into the best versions of themselves, and that includes creating daring leaders strong enough to recognise, understand and overcome evil as they take on the machines of the future.

Playing a small part in that noble mission is one of the happiest things I have ever done.

Peter Bain

Business Manager