Why is Sigmund Freud in The Matrix?

It makes sense when you realise Freud is the baddie…

Damien Walter
1 min readJun 13, 2023

It’s true that The Matrix sequels aren’t as good as the original movie. But The Matrix Reloaded contains the single best scene in the entire franchise.

When Neo meets the Architect of The Matrix…who is styled upon the the “father of psychoanalysis” Sigmund Freud.

This moment is the conceptual heart of The Matrix. It’s the moment Neo discovers that he is The One…but that The One is just another control mechanism in the system.

But it’s also the symbolic heart of The Matrix. Sigmund Freud was both mentor to, and later opponent of, the great Carl Jung. And The Matrix is a movie built upon the Jungian archetypes — Anima, Shadow, Trickster, Persona, Self…

…and the Demiurge, the False God that structures reality…

…who in The Matrix just happens to look like Sigmund Freud!

WATCH THE FULL ESSAY ON CARL JUNG AND THE MATRIX ON THE SCIENCE FICTION CHANNEL

OR LISTEN ON THE SCIENCE FICTION PODCAST FEED

https://damiengwalter.com/2021/12/19/the-matrix-and-the-archetypes-of-carl-jung/

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Damien Walter
Damien Walter

Written by Damien Walter

I tell stories about the future, technology and culture. Published by The Guardian, WIRED, BBC etc.

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