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Home > Thomas A. Anderson


Thomas A. Anderson is a fictional character from the movie The Matrix and its sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. He is sometimes referred to as The One and has powers beyond machines. In all three movies he is played by Keanu Reeves.

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

Mr. Anderson, who later prefers to go by his hacker alias "Neo", is invited to enter the "real world", where he finds himself as the " chosen one " to save humankind from the kingdom of intelligent machines in the year of 2199 (approximately). The Matrix is an illusory construct of the world of 1999 (similar to Plato's allegory of the cave) developed by the machines to keep the human population docile and under control. Some humans break free and the " Rebels" free them. This is necessary because humans are now used by the machines as their primary energy source, after humanity blocked out the Sun by contaminating the atmosphere.

The character's names are viewed by many to have intentional plot-related meanings; Neo- is a Greek prefix meaning new, and Neo is also an anagram of one and eon. The coming of "the one" marks the end of an eon in the Matrix. The name Anderson literally means "son of man", the preferred self-title of Jesus Christ (the Messiah in Christianity). The name Thomas can be viewed as a reference to Thomas, a disciple of Jesus, who was famous for his doubting. Also, "Thomas" literally means "two", and he is indeed living a double life as Mr.Anderson/Neo. Religion often comes up in The Matrix, not just in names, for dialog and the film's metaphors are all religiously influenced.

Neo starts off The Matrix Trilogy (plugged into the giant computer simulation known as The Matrix) as Thomas Anderson, described by his nemesis Agent SmithAgent Smith is a fictional character featured in the Matrix film series, played by actor Hugo Weaving. The struggle between Neo and Smith is an integral subplot that perpetuates the story of The Matrix. Smith, Agent Smith Following the naming pattern for as a programmer for a respectable software company. He pays his taxes and helps his landlady carry out her garbage. However, he also has another life, a life lived in computers. He is a hacker and goes by the alias Neo and is guilty of virtually every computer crime for which there is a law. Morpheus, captain of the NebuchadnezzarThe Nebuchadnezzar is the hovercraft captained by Morpheus in the Matrix movies. The Nebuchadnezzar was built in 2069. It is a hovercraft designed for the sewers and tunnels under the ground. It can broadcast up to seven people at a time and can upload pr (a ship in The Real World), believes Neo is The One, a person who will end the war between man and machine.

See also

Anderson, Thomas A.

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