In all this discussion of
Cypher and the meaning of his name, no one has mentioned that Cypher, or rather
Cipher, is an actual word. I personally never saw it as a play on
Lucifer, although I can see/hear the reference.
‘Cipher’ is a mathematical term, but can also be used to describe a man. Here’s good ol’
Webster 1913 with two definitions of the word:
- A character which, standing by itself, expresses nothing, but when placed at the right hand of a whole number, increases its value tenfold.
- One who, or that which, has no weight or influence.
Both definitions make sense in the context of the character, but it is the second definition that really synchs well. In the scene where Cypher betrays and kills the others he has a nice long rant with Trinity about the whole thing, saying “all I do is what he (Morpheus) tells me to do,” while bitching and moaning about conditions in the “real world” and how he feels betrayed. Cypher “has no weight or influence.” and as a pawn he begins to develop a bit of a complex as a result.
The first definition also works quite well—with a bit of license. By himself Cypher isn’t much; spending his time doing busywork and sucking down tin bowls of goop in between running his ass off escaping agents. When he is put in a position of some power—the Judas figure—he holds the lives of the whole group in his hands. Most of the team dies as a result.
One more thing: in the scene where Neo accidentally “sneaks up” on Cypher on the Nebuchadnezzar, Cyper immediately turns off any monitors that are not encoded—as if he didn't want Neo to see them. When Neo asks about the three displays which show parts of the Matrix, Cypher responds with something like “I don’t even see it (encoded) anymore, all I see is blonde... brunette... redhead." This was intended to be a joke. I may be looking into this too much, but at certain times during the film, it appears that the three Agents appear to have different hair colors. It is only in one or two scenes—the rest of the time they all look pretty much the same—but I’d swear that one was blonde, one was a “brunette,” and one had red hair. Perhaps this was literal, and the agents were really on the monitors, or perhaps it is only a vague (very vague) use of foreshadowing. Perhaps I’m losing my mind (if anyone could confirm this I’d appreciate it).
I liked this movie when I first saw it. It was eye candy to be sure, and it had a quasi-spiritual story that wasn’t too thin. Upon repeated viewings the movie has dulled considerably, and I’m sorry to say that if I were to watch it now it would only be for the holy-shit effects and to heckle Keanu Reeves.
/me is off to watch Brazil and Blade Runner. Not 1984 though, it's too depressing...