Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxbat  I don't think there is any message in The Matrix. If you check interviews at the time with the directors, they admit that it's reason for being is 'Kung Fu versus computers'. |
Really? Here is Keanu Reeves on the intended trilogy:
IGN: Interview with Keanu Reeves
The directors intended it to be philosophical:
http://http://www.cleave.com/Sight/T.../wachowski.htm The film grew out of the brothers' longtime fascination (since they were teen-agers) with ideas that challenge current perceptions of reality. They said they were also intrigued by the way mythology and the Internet informed culture. "The script was a synthesis of ideas that sort of came together at a moment when we were interested in a lot of things: making mythology relevant in a modern context, relating quantum physics to Zen Buddhism, investigating your own life," said Andy
The Wachowski's tried incorporating archetypes into a cyberpunk world, but it wasn't coherent enough, It tried to be all-encompassing rather than send a specific message. Star Wars (the original, at least) did well at creating a mythology, following the archetypal hero's journey. The Matrix trilogy made a high-tech attempt at the same concept, but didn't really pull though.
Back to the original subject:
I can only think of two possible explanations for the ending. One is that everyone woke up to a changed world where they were free to choose whether to stay in it or go to the real world. Basically, its The Matrix without agents or any other safeguards. The other possibility is that everyone died since they were taken over by the multiple Smiths. The machines would certainly have new "crops" about to ripen and could start over with a new group of plugged in humans. Either option leaves the question of how long this can continue before the machines need an additional power source.
I believe the machines probably already had better options for battery power, especially in anticipation for something like this. The *real* reason they kept humans plugged in was to subdue them and keep them from becoming a threat to the machines, not really because they needed that source of energy. Once Neo sacrificed himself for a truce, the entire Matrix was no longer needed. It may have still been wanted though, by those who did not wish to live in the harsh real world. Thus, the "choice".