Comparison of Star Wars & The Matrix in relation to the Hero's Quest

"Nobody can be told exactly what the Matrix is; you have to see it for yourself."-Morpheus "You must learn the ways of the Force, if you are to come with me to Alderaan."-Obi-Wan Kenobi One character is played by one of Hollywood's strongest black actors; the other, by one of the elder statesmen of film. But Morpheus and Obi-Wan Kenobi have a lot in common. Those similarities take place in the larger context …

…these symbols are, by and large, less specific in Star Wars than in The Matrix. Star Wars is a derivative of everything from Flash Gordon to the films of Akira Kurosawa, The Matrix is influenced by sources as diverse as the Neuromancer to Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation to Buddhism and the Bible. Also, there is one more important difference between the two films: Star Wars looks back, while The Matrix looks to the future.