Matrix reloaded: Race matters

Devotees of the Matrix may have marvelled at the state-of-art fight sequences, and the now legendary car chase, or perhaps the philosophical conundrums that are dispersed throughout the film. But how many moviegoers will have noticed that in this film portrayal of the future, the last vestiges of humanity is quintessentially Black.

It is true that our action hero Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, is white, although in truth he is half Chinese. It is also true that the head of Zion's council is also white but the society in which they live - the last free human city on earth - is overwhelmingly Black. The council that rules Zion is almost all Black including Black women, as is the head of the armed forces, and perhaps the most important character in the film, the spiritual, intellectual fighting leader, Morpheous, aka Lawrence Fishburne.

Morpheous, which is Greek for Dream God, plays an omnipotent father figure not only to Neo - the chosen one - but also to all the surviving humans. In a speech on the eve of war, Morpheos evokes the spirit of Dr Martin Luther Kings, imploring his people to believe in themselves, in society and in their capacity to overcome the struggles they face.

Of course we shouldn't get too excited about a fictional story that is in essence pure Hollywood. Nevertheless in Hollywood's long and often chequered history it is difficult to find another blockbuster that has portrayed so many Black people in so many prominent roles that isn't a 'Black film'; a film that is made primarily for a Black audience, mainly dealing with Black issues.

Hollywood not unlike western society has generally viewed Black people as inferior to white. It began with the baffoon characters such as Sambo, Rastus and 'Steppinfechit' who would roll their eyes for the amusement of white audiences. The next stereotyping stage has been the noble savage such as Woody Strode who played the Black slave in Spartecus. Strode's character in the film was both strong and wise, but one that would accept his place in the white man's world even amongst fellow slaves. As we reached the end of he twentieth century Black individuals such as Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and Wesley Snipes could for the most part play lead roles but only as isolated individuals thereby creating the myth of equality whilst never really challenging society's status quo.

The brilliance of this film therefore, is that the stereotypical view of Black people in the wider world is dramatically yet subtly challenged. Morpheous is not one prominent Black face in sea of white faces but one of many that make up Zion's society.

As a consequence we watch a film that simultaneously is and isn't a Black film. It is, because of the abundance of Black characters, and it isn't because the film's focus is not about race but rather the complex nature of good against evil, our perception of reality and the difficult choices we have to make.

When Morpheous gives his speech to the people of Zion the audience see him as an inspirational leader; for most he engenders legitimacy, for others, particularly Black people, it is legitimacy that is long overdue.

The writer, Michael Agger, makes the point that the Wachowski's brother's un-stereotypical view of the world was no accident. Larry Wachowski has for a long time been a big fan of the Black philosopher, Cornel West from Harvard University and particularly his seminal book 'Race matters'. In it West views 'Jazz' as a metaphor for one's place in the world that is, 'an improvisational mode of protean, fluid and flexible disposition toward reality suspicious of either/or viewpoints'.

West's complex conundrums are played out in Matrix Reloaded. And as a tribute to his philosophy teacher Wachowski even writes in a part for West as a member of the Zion council, with the disarming line 'Comprehension is not requisite for co-operation'.

Despite the film's racial modernity there are still taboo areas and prevailing stereotypes. Interracial relationships in Hollywood films as in the Matrix are not on the agenda. And although for many they may not be problematic, what is and panders to the stereotype is the usual screen portrayal of Black relationships as problematic. Whereas, Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie Ann Moss) have a loving relationship, Morpheous becomes embroiled in a tense love triangle with two other Black characters - his personal battle here is with Captain Ballard, (Roy Jones JR) for the attention of starship fighter Niobe, (Jade Pinkett-Smith).

Nevertheless, with Matrix Reloaded the tinsel town dye is cast; the boundaries of racial stereotypes can be effectively challenged without always using an overtly racial theme. As Professor Cornel West might say, whether it's a Sci-fi, Western, Thriller, or comedy, with a white director with Black actors or a Black director with white actors, race matters.