Analysis of The Matrix's Steak Scene

Probably one of the most important pieces of food ever filmed.

I'm talking about the steak scene with Cypher in one of the greatest

movies ever made, and I have something important to tell you

at the end of this

video, so stay tuned.

Cypher knows something terrifying.

He knows this steak doesn't exist.

He looks at it, he cuts it, and he chews it.

He tastes it, and he literally says, "This steak

doesn't exist." But then he admits when he eats it, that

the Matrix is telling his brain that it's juicy and

delicious, and suddenly this steak becomes the entire

spiritual argument of The Matrix.

Because what's more important, truth or

experience? This goes all the way back to Plato's

cave. Human beings are chained inside a cave,

watching shadows on the wall. They mistake the shadows for

reality because they've never experienced reality.

And The Matrix, one of the greatest movies in existence,

is the

technological version of Plato's cave, and this

steak is one of the shadows. But Cypher already escaped

the cave. He's seen the truth, and he wants to go

back inside, and that's what makes his character so

fascinating.

Neo suffers because he doesn't know the truth, but

Cypher suffers because he does know the truth.

The steak is temptation. It's almost like a forbidden fruit

in reverse. In Genesis, eating the fruit gives humanity knowledge.

Cypher eats the steak because he wants the knowledge taken away.

He doesn't want to be awakened. He wants unconsciousness,

and that's why he tells Agent Smith, "Ignorance is bliss."

Cypher wants to forget, and this is where The Matrix becomes

deeply Gnostic. Gnostic traditions often described

humanity stuck in this prison, and liberation comes

from gnosis, comes from knowledge and awakening.

Neo, played by the immortal Keanu Reeves, chooses

awakening, and Cypher, played by the legendary Joe

Pantoliano, chooses the steak. And the steak is perfect

because it appeals directly to the senses.

Everything the spiritual seeker is supposed to see beyond.

Cypher knows intellectually that none of it is real, yet his

senses overpower his knowledge. Cypher's not being

stupid in this scene. He's awakened.

He's simply deciding that awakening hurts too much, and the

Matrix is seducing him with that pleasure.

What happens after you discover this gnosis?

Because knowing the steak is fake doesn't stop you from wanting

another

bite. What's your favorite scene in The Matrix?

Drop a comment.