[Clarste]

Originally Posted by arias

Because the person him or herself in this case is NOT pre-determining his or her own actions. That is, the influence Haruhi has is external; not internal. Presumably she cannot rewrite herself to not do what she has done; or not be what she is now. Unless this "power" is given to Haruhi later in the series, then "rewriting reality" is much different from "controlling fate"...

I don't see where you get that idea. Well, it's hard to discuss this because we're not sure what Haruhi is in the first place, but assuming Itsuki's theory (which is where the whole god idea came from in the first place), I see no reason why she couldn't rewrite her own place in the universe, change her own past, etc. I guess she may be stuck with this power, no matter how she writes the universe, but can a god throw away godhood? I don't think the question comes up in monotheistic religion...

Originally Posted by arias

But truly the philosophical issue is deeper than this, because in a truly deterministic picture no one and nothing can control fate.. It's abit hard to explain

Well, if it's purely deterministic, then all she does is control fate, because fate is determined by the preconditions of the universe. By changing the preconditions (rewriting reality), she changes fate. Simple. It's probably not purely deterministic though...

Originally Posted by arias

They keyword is "godlike". Actually, the issue of Neo is much more complicated than can be explained easily, and I myself have limited knowledge of the Matrix. The main issue is that Neo can "BEND" the rules of the Matrix (that's why he has the ability to see the code of the matrix --- by seeing the 0s and the 1s at the end of the first movie), but he does NOT exist outside the rules of the matrix. That is, you don't see him teleporting materially within the matrix. He still has to run, walk, or when he flies, he has to traverse from point A to point B in a continuous fashion. He still obeys physical laws as a material entity in the matrix.

So, your assessment is basically wrong. You should probably read up on all the Matrix fansites and their analysis because I am quite ignorant about it.

Wouldn't this just be fans retroactively justifying the later movies? All signs in the first movie point to him becoming a god within the matrix. Think about it, everyone else is already bending the rules with superhuman feats, etc. So the legendary "The One" simply bends them a bit more? Sounds rather anticlimactic if you ask me.

Sure, it's possible to read it so he's not omnipotent, but it's certainly not the intuitive interpretation of the first movie. Plus, it's a much more complicated explanation, as you imply. Occam's razor. I guess the writer's are the ones who truly decide what the answer is, but that's why I call it bad writing, and prefer to stick with my nostalgic memories of the first movie.