The Matrix

Generally I feel that there is a five-year statute of limitations for how long ago you could have seen a movie and still retain a comprehensive knowledge of the plot.  The last time I saw the Matrix was in sixth-grade (2004), so needlessly to say I was way beyond said statute.  Something that really interested me about the film was its Eastern-world theme.  The way I've come to generalize, or rather define, the Eastern philosophy (& ideology) is by contrasting it with my perception of  our (Western) culture.  This generalization being that Eastern philosophy places a much heavier emphasis on the intuitive, rather than the intellectual, means for attaining knowledge.  The effect of this emphasis is a much for subjective, personal knowledge.  The element that I am specifically referring to in The Matrix that possesses these qualities is the Oracle.  The Oracle tells Neo that he is not the One.  She says that he has the "gift" but that something is blocking him from realizing it, that perhaps he is waiting for something.  The Oracle's entire purpose can be summarized by the advice she gives on knowing thyself.  The idea of "knowing thyself" is linked to intuition.  You cannot be directly told in definitive terms your own comprehension of yourself.  It is a knowledge that only you can be assured of through your intuition, in the same way that only you can know if you're in love.  This intuitive knowledge also manifests itself in what ultimately becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Morpheus is convinced that Neo is The One.  The Oracle tells Neo that he appears to be waiting for something.  In both circumstances these are assumptions that ultimately only revealed to be true through intuition and "knowing thyself."  Neo eventually proves himself to be The One by trusting his intuition and fulfilling his prophecy through this own volition.  He intuitively understands the Matrix and manipulates it by willing his fate.  The moment in which he does this is indicative I feel of the departure from Western World thinking.  He doubts himself based on what he has been told.  The generalization of Western thinking as being intellect over intuition is essentially broken down to accepting definitions of "the other"--a major theme in the previous film we watched, Blade Runner.  The moment when Neo stops "waiting" is when he fulfills his prophecy, becomes the One, and trusts his intuition.