Is "Oblivion" The New "Matrix?"

I haven't seen this level of buzz within the alternative media about a movie in a good long while.

"Oblivion" is not only a box-office success, but is being cited by many as, simply, the new "Matrix" -- a study of revolution against the "Illuminati". (possible spoilers for the film to follow):

Like the classic film by the Wachowskis, "Oblivion" is about a dwindling humanity being exploited and oppressed by a machine-like "alien" force. As I've written before on this blog, movies like this and the upcoming "Elysium" speak to a future dystopia where the elites live "offworld" and the masses are left to fend for themselves in squalor. Ideas like outer space colonization and transhumanism are "pushed" by the mainstream, but the result could conceivably be a nightmare for humanity.

But two things really shock me about the box-office success, and alternative media embracement, of "Oblivion":

1) Tom Cruise is pretty much hated, both for his connections to Scientology and his oft-strange behavior (the infamous "Oprah's Couch' incident and his relationship with Katie Holmes being the two biggest examples). And yet, "Oblivion" has not been the first film Cruise has starred in that illustrates a struggle against sinister alien/elitist forces. I mean, he was in "Eyes Wide Shut," for Christ's sake!

2) The Scientology connection in general. Let's face it -- any movie Cruise stars in is going to be scrutinized as having symbolism related to the religion. And in the end, both "Oblivion" and Scientology are about humanity being oppressed/exploited by alien forces. Important to remember who actually inspired Scientology, however: Aleister Crowley, who has been repeatedly demonized (if you will excuse the pun) by some sectors of the alternative media community.

The most vocal supporter of "Oblivion" at the moment is current mainstream media darling villain Alex Jones, who calls the film an "Anti-Illuminati tour de force." In the video below, he goes into detail about the very symbolically-loaded design of the main baddie:

"The main alien spaceship called the Tetrad obviously represents the pyramid of control, the Illuminati power structure, centered in Rome. Note throughout the film the Tetrad pyramid spaceship, is shown upside-down to the way a pyramid is normally. This is just like satanist turning the cross of religion upside-down to disrespect it, so the inversion of the pyramid is showing disrespect to the Illuminati power structure. Also inverting the pyramid now places the people who were at the bottom of the pyramid above those who used to control them, showing the gaining of power by the awakened people."

"Stench Of Truth" has also recently reviewed it (noting especially its portrayal of drones as evil), and many mini-documentaries have popped up online analyzing its symbolism. "The Matrix" had a huge impact on the alternative media community in the late Nineties, almost tailor-made for a post-9/11 society -- David Icke has literally based a lot of his philosophy on the movie, basically co-opting the name.

Is "Oblivion" the next major "Anti-Illuminati" film? And is the Scientology "connection" (as thin and tenuous as that may be) significant at all (especially in light of the fact that the strangely-similar upcoming film "After Earth" features yet another celebrity connected to Scientology, Will Smith)?

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"Oblivion" Trailer: Tom Cruise Opens His Eyes

The trailer for the post-apocalyptic film "Oblivion," starring Tom Cruise, has recently been released. Some quick observations and syncs here:

The first shot is of a burned-out (American) football stadium: "the last Superbowl was played here." It's immediate all-seeing eye imagery to kick things off; not necessarily sinister symbolism, but definitely one that activates our subconscious. Also spontaneously brings to mind "The Dark Knight Rises":

Football = "American Way Of Life."

Then we have a scene of Cruise's character, Jack Harper (check out Sync Whole for more info on connection between Cruise and "Jacks"), with a dog. This reenacts the Fool tarot card, indicating that Harper is unknowingly setting out for a new adventure, and really does not know what is truly "going on.":

INTERMISSION SYNC!

At this point in the writing of the post, I am called upstairs to accompany members of my family to a visit to a pool hall called "Fast Eddie's". Of course, "Oblivion" star Cruise co-starred in "The Color of Money," a film about pool featuring the character Fast Eddie Felson:

When I get to Fast Eddie's, our two tables are positioned in front of large framed photos of football and baseball stadiums:

And, of course, there's tons of football playing everywhere.

END INTERMISSION SYNC!

Back to the trailer: the next scene is of a ship flying past the ruins of a skyscraper: "60 years ago, the Earth was attacked" -- stirs up latent 9/11 fear/symbolism. Again: "American way of life" threatened:

Now we move from 9/11 fear to recent Hurricane Sandy fear, as Cruise puts on a New York Yankees hat and we hear him say: "Everyone's been evacuated." Yankees = NY = evacuated = hurricane. Yankees = American Way Of Life.

He then has a little plant sample next to him, subliminally recalling the movie WALL-E -- this point is further driven home by his words: "...nothing human remains":

His ship even has "eyes" like WALL-E:

But the movie suddenly turns into "The Matrix" as he finds the "true" world behind the facade -- that there is a whole world of "resistance" members.

Here is Morgan Freeman as "Malcolm Beech" -- Morpheus, basically:

Malcolm will literally provide enlightenment -- the match -- so Jack can really "see" (the "seeing" motif also present in the ship with "eyes.")

Through this process, Jack finds out that the people he's been working for "aren't even human":

We've seen these dead-eyed "human impostors" (of possible alien origin?) in the recent trailer for the movie "The Host":

But there are even suggestions here that Jack's very sense of perception is clouded, faulty -- Matrix-like flashbacks to the NYC of "today":

 Spotting "The Girl" who might be the link between the world of reality and that of maya/illusion (note the eyes/lenses imagery again):

 and the idea that "Earth Is A Memory..."

Tom Cruise has starred in a number of movies dealing with these issues of memory, perception, and reality, most notably "Vanilla Sky", a remake of a Spanish film whose English title is "Open Your Eyes":

navigating realms of reality to see the Truth

 He also strongly resonates the symbolism of the Eye and Sight:

Tom Cruise, the symbol of the "American Way Of Life," as integral a symbol of the Glory Days of the United States and baseball and football, is trying to make us see something:

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