The Matrix 1999

Directors: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Writers: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss

Analysis of The conversation between Morpheus and Smith, The Battle between the humans and the machines.

“Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet”

Cross cutting with Neo and Trinity trying to save Morpheus, testing Neo’s powers and the length he will go to save Morpheus.

Semiotic Analysis

PRIYA PATEL

• The war between man and machines.

• Humans compared to a virus.• The five black marks: Signifier

and Signified (Ferdinand De Saussure, The Theory of Semiotics, Umberto Eco, 1977)

• The Wachowski brothers incorporate many signs and symbols into the movie, relating to Christianity, Greek mythology and Marxism.

Semiotics and Structuralism

The Matrix compared to the Bible – Biblical Semiotic Theory.

Alice In Wonderland

The Matrix and Marxism (Karl Marx)

Bourgeois vs. Proletarian

Upper Class/Agents vs. Working class/Humans (Mythologies, Roland Barthes, 1972)

Formal Textual AnalysisMARWO MOHAMOUD

Mise-en-scene, Lighting

Staging and Costume

•Morpheus’ body language and mouth bleeding presuming his been beaten, body language showing his weak on the other hand Agent Smith. When reading a close analysis on both actors Morpheus is the stronger heroic protagonist whereas Agent Smith is the antagonist. This is established to us through the use of sweat to suggest his struggle in resistance to tell agent Smith where ‘Zion’ is.

•‘Mr Smith’ use of costume shows he is dominant in this clip. The formality represented through wearing suits establishes to the spectators that perhaps Agent Smith who is a machine is a representation of the working class, e.g. Lawyers, businessmen and teachers. Whereas Morpheus who is wearing an unbuttoned shirt and bleeding whilst tied back on a chair represents the free human being who has a choice.

•Could be implying working class are machines because they are caught in a system in following orders like them.

•The lack of colour and individuality throughout my analysis e.g. worn by Agents and unplugged humans from the matrix show there is a loss of identity and therefore dehumanized.

•Dim lighting is used to connote mood and atmosphere in this case use to suggest the real world is dull, grey and lifeless AND also in the Matrix

Sound:

Dialoge Sounf FX

Non-diegetic sound

•Dialogue•‘Human beings are a dieses and we are the cure’ said by agent smith establishes his believe that human beings are a virus. By doing this the spectators then identify with Morpheus and sympathise him. ‘I think they are trying to save him’ said by an Agent is a surprised manner fulfils expectations of both Morpheus’ believe….. Neo ‘The One’ and audience’s expectations to wither Morpheus will be saved.

•Sound effect•When Mr Smith leans in and says ‘there is another orgasm on this planet that follows the same pattern’ a screeching sound effect is added in the background establish that something is about to happen. As Mr Smith continued with his speech the screeching increased in volume which leads to builds tension and anticipation on the spectators.

•Non-diegetic sound•The non-diegetic sound used in the fight sequence glamorises the violence yet makes it enjoyable because we identify with the winning side (neo and trinity)

Cinematography and Editing

•Close-up and Tilt•The close up of Neo’s feet as he enters the building is positioning the spectators in the sincerity guard’s point of view which creates a terrifying atmosphere.•As the camera tilts up to Neo’s face we are relived because we identify with the protagonist.

Editing:•Paste•Slow paste and long takes as Mr Smith talks down to Morpheus, however this speeds up as we cut away to the rescue team. •Rhythmic editing •Rhythmic editing is a key technique used when Neo and Trinity are saving Morpheus. The significance of this is to create tension but also to engage the spectators in the action.

•Main Characters•Explicit Message•Implicit Message•Intended Meaning

Main Characters:•Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) is the God of sleep and dreams in Greek mythology. He contributes to the narrative by finding the ‘The One’ with the help of Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss). Morpheus is significant in guiding Neo (Keanu Reeves) in defeating the machines and all powerful Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving).

Explicit Message:•Playing with the concept of the ‘REAL’ and ‘REEL’. What’s real the machines or the human beings. •The spectators are engaged in an intellectual level when watching ‘The Matrix’ because they are required to watch actively and not passively in order to keep up with the narrative. •‘The Matrix’ is a factory that uses ‘unplugged’ humans to generate it. •‘Human beings are dieses, a virus and we are the cure’ said by agent Smith creates an irony. The artificial intelligence trying to destroy mankind yet saying mankind are the dieses and virus because they adapt, multiply in different environments and destroy every living organism. When actually it’s the other way around.

Implicit Message:•Technology is out of control and manipulates human beings who believe they are its master.•The film approaches to what extend do we use technology and if there will be a future for mankind due to the constant growth of new and advanced technology. •The implicit message of ‘The Matrix’ evokes the paranoia in America in the 1950’s of communism.

Intended Meaning:•good triumphs over evil•ordinary people becoming superheroes•love concurring all•human spirit

Similar Movies:•There are two other futuristic thrillers with aspects of science fiction, action and adventure around the time of ‘The Matrix’. •ExistenZ by Canadian film maker David Cronenberg (1999) •Shows psychological statement of how humans react and interact with technologies. In this case video games.•Terminator 3: rise of the Machines by Jonathan Mostow (2003)•Is about a young boy being hunted by new technology machines but is saved and helped by old technology machines (Arnold Schwarzenegger) both from the future. Here there is a collision between technologies. •Advanced technologies could be a danger in the future, a world like ‘The Matrix’

Bibliography

Books:

Film, Form and culture (second edition) Robert Kolker

Film Art (sixth edition) David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson

Films:

ExistenZ (1999) David Cronenberg

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) Jonathan Mostow

Ideological Analysis

ALICIA DE SOUSA

What is ideology? 

Ideology is a systematic false consciousness.

 How’s ideology related to

the Matrix?

• In the Matrix there’s an idealism which is a belief that the material world is an illusion created by ideal forms.

•Marxist theorist Luis Althusser says that ideology is made and passed by the ruling class (the bourgeoisie) and the proletariats think these ideologies are real.

•These ideologies are passed down using ideological state apparatuses.

Ideology and the characters

 The machines:

•They’re like the bourgeoisie in the society we live in.•Made by humans butare intelligent enough to rule the humans.•The bourgeoisie are clever humans that use other humans for labour•The machines keep humans in a delusional world to keep them captive and docile.•Dormant humans are plugged to the Matrix in which information of the delusional world is sent.•The machines feed on humans to power up themselves and the Matrix

 Morpheus, Neo and Trinity: •Fight against the machines to gain freedom after they’vebeen freed from the Matrix.•This is the equivalent to someone “opening their eyes” andrealising the truth and the inequality in our capitalist society.•Peter Joseph and ‘Zeitgeist: the movie’ are an example ofpeople that go against the capital system.

The Agents:

• They would simply be the police, C.I.A or the law in oursociety that eliminates anyone that knows too much and is threating thecapitalist system. 

Humans are a virus •Agent Smith compares human to a virus because of our bad human characteristics.

•We’re the cure à machines want to enslave humanity for eternity.

•Karl Marx says conflict is cause because materialistic things but a communist state would solve that

•However, that idea isn’t convenient for the bourgeoisie.

•This can be applied to The Matrix because the machines want to keep ruling and want to get rid of the rebellious ones. 

In conclusion:

•The film “The Matrix” reflects the society we live in and the ideas of Karl Marx and Luis Althusser.• •It looks at human sacrifice and the delusional world that they think they live in. This is trying to reflect the modern invisible slavery of the proletariats and how materialistic things keep them from rebelling.

•Humans are a virus because they consume resources and spread. The solution that the machines have is to keep the humans plugged to the Matrix so the machines can rule and use humans to keep the Matrix programme going.

Bibliography

•Terry Eagketon, Ideology: An introduction (1994)

•David Hawkes, Ideology (1964)

•Philip Rosen, Narrative, apparatus, ideology: a film theory reader (1986)

Industrial AnalysisSARA KARIMI

Warner Brothers (established in 1918)

Global leaders of Creation, Production, Distribution, Licensing and Marketing

The directors reason for not commenting on the film:

“you make a work of art and you want it to be provocative you want people to dialog about it”

“ I don’t want the spectators to rely on me telling them what it is.

The nature of the movie is to pursue it your self”

Bullet Time effect “Bullet time is a stylistic way of showing that you’re in a constructed reality and that time and space are not the same as you know, us today living our lives. It’s slowing down time, to such am extend that you really see everything around you as clearly as you possible could.” (John Gaeta)

Green Screen

Green Screen is a very popular digital video effect because it lets your imagination rule your video production, not your budget or location restraints.

Green Screen is also known as Chrome Key:Chroma means colour.

In video, key means to put one image on top of another.Chroma key means you remove any one colour from your image and replace it with any image you want.

Computer Generated Imagery

It’s one of the most outstanding computer generated imagery techniques out there: motion capture. Motion capture is being used in many movies.

It has the technique of copying (capturing) human movements and transforming them into realistic computer simulations.

PsychoanalysisZOE SPENCER

 

 

What is psychoanalysis Theory of the mind, from the work of Sigmund Freud.

Exploring in to the unconscious mind.

ID internal drives Thanatos

and Libido Sex drive

Super ego

Ego

(Freud p.43)

Agent Smith

(Lacan p.75)

Transference

Agent Smith on Zion

Racial connotations

Morpheus being the Other.

Bibliography:

Adam Curtis takes a statement from Bernay the re-nound Public relations ambassador for the smoking campaign in the USA “give the woman a penis”"The Century of the Self" (2002) (TV mini-series)

aka "Century of Self" - USA (DVD title)"The Century of the Self“ (2002) (TV mini-series)

aka "Century of Self" - USA (DVD title)Philip Hill, Lacan for beginners, Righters and Readers Publisher: London, 1997Zion Anti Slavery http://www.tititudorancea.org/z/zion.htm accessed [20th february 2010].

Richard, Appignanesi, Freud for begginers, Pantheronbooks: USA 1979

Trinity image

Lacanian Desires to be as good a man

Give the girl a gun (give the woman a penis)

Power

Thank you for listening.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Presented to you by:

PRIYA PATELMARWO MOHAMOUD

SARA KARIMIZOE SPENCER

ALICIA DE SOUSA

Special thanks to:

David Ingram Xavier Mendik

Sean Harrington