362 Part VI: The Part of Tens
This film demonstrates the power of beliefs. Everyone sees Jerome when
they look at Vincent because that’s the person they’ve been programmed to
see. Vincent’s unshakeable belief in his own abilities helps him to fulfil his
dreams, as does his refusal to buy into what the world at large doesn’t consider
possible. Some poignant moments revolve around Jerome’s acceptance that
even with everything going for him, he was still second best, and that he
really found a real purpose in life, even for a short time, when Vincent ‘lent
him his dream’. Vincent’s focus and determination gave Jerome a purpose
in life, which he hadn’t had, despite being given all the advantages Vincent
hadn’t. Despite all the advantages, Jerome was on a path of self-destruction
until he started to work with Vincent.
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. Director: Andrew
Niccol. Studio: Columbia/Tristar Studios (1997).
The Matrix
A thrilling sci-fi exploration of reality and what you can come to see and
achieve when you begin to believe in yourself. This film has many NLP
lessons to offer, from the use of language to the beliefs that lie behind the
action.
At one point, agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) says ‘we are willing to wipe the
slate clean’ and emphasises the metaphor in his words by sliding Neo’s
(Keanu Reeves) file to the end of the desk: auditory words to a kinaesthetic
action. The really interesting scene is where Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne)
explains that reality is simply interpretations the brain makes of electrical
impulses that are produced from what you take in through your senses.
Elsewhere in the film, Morpheus and Neo are sparring and Morpheus tells
Neo to stop ‘trying’ to hit Mopheus and actually hit him. To try to do something
can actually give a clue to a doubt, because if the doubt didn’t exist, you’d
carry out an action instead of just trying.
Another point to notice is after Neo fails to make a jump in virtual reality
but finds himself bleeding in actual fact; Morpheus points out that the mind
makes the injuries a reality. Initially, Neo is just another person retrieved
from the matrix, but gradually, as his confidence builds, his self-belief grows
and he achieves feats that surprise even himself.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Hugo Weaving. Directors:
Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski. Studio: Warner Studios (1999).
