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Neo-Christ: Jesus, The Matrix, and Secondary Allegory as a Rhetorical Form

When The Matrix was released in 1999 it provoked a firestorm of response from pop culture critics, philosophers, technophiles, and communication scholars. However, one of the strongest reactions came from the evangelical Christian audience. Within days of the film's release, Matrix terminology and images began to appear in sermons and other pedagogical rhetoric. This essay argues that for the Christian audience The Matrix functions as a secondary allegory. Weaving together theories of allegory, I propose a two part analysis based on the form of rhetorical allegory (narrative format, pretext, knowledgeable audience, and assumed allegorist) and its functions (epistemological and pedagogical) to better understand the evangelical Christian reaction.