Combination Of Noir Style And Existentialist Motif

: The Matrix Essay, Research Paper

The Matrix (1999) is an extension of the existentialist motifs of the mid 20th Century set in the 23rd, for its obvious influences from the American Noir Style. This is apparent when looking at the five points of this existentialism.

First, Thomas A. Anderson (Keanu Reeves), a.k.a. .Neo,. is portrayed from the beginning of the film as a .normal Joe. who holds the potential of a world savior, yet without the narcissism. He does not have X-ray vision or the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but rather, he is a lowly computer programmer for a respectable computer company. He does not appear important to anyone else in the film at first, and it is because of his lifestyle.

Mister Anderson is immersed in the world of computers. As a result, he is lonely and alienated from the world or .reality.. This feeling is also reflected in the high, swooping camera angle found in the film, which is characteristically Noir.

But what is reality. The truth. .Neo. makes the conscious choice to .see how deep the rabbit hole goes.. One finds out later in the film that at the point of making such a choice, he was nothing. or nothing more than an oversized Energizer; but upon choosing the .truth. he is also trying to .free his mind. from the prison he cannot taste or touch or see.

Neo is doomed to fail, as no one has come before him to succeed in the freeing of his own mind. As a result, he is under a sentence of death; the system is set up against him; the Matrix has him. he struggles with the choice between life and death, as he must let his instructor, Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne), die or sacrifice himself to save him. There is only one element holding his life in tact: Fate.

At first, Mister Anderson does not like the idea of fate, as he cannot stand the idea of not being able to control his own destiny. Throughout the entire film, as Mister Anderson further transpires to his alter ego Neo, he struggles to accept the reality of his destiny. But something happens that makes Mister Anderson realize the authenticity of his destiny; he learns that he is, in fact, .the One. who is to save the world from Artificial Intelligence. No one can change their destiny if they do not realize that their pseudo-reality is a part of them.

There are also other characteristics of a Noir film in the Matrix. The chiaroscuro lighting is very apparent in many scenes. Also, it invokes a great sense of alienation with its Noir-like high angle shots. The entire film is very dark and rainy. There are also many reflections, which are found in many Noir films, such as Orson Welles. Citizen Kane (1941). Kane was an obvious motivation and influence on this film, as was Alfred Hitchcock.s Rope (1948), as mentioned by producer Joel Silver, editor Zach Staenberg and Effects Supervisor John Gaeta.

These people had the Noir template in consideration when writing and editing this film. It is evident that Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), the head Sentient Program hunting Neo, is the hard-boiled detective, and Neo is the .Fugitive from a Chain Gang. that is always on the run. Moreover, there is the classic .tilt shot. seen in the film that clues the viewer to the film.s Noir-like style. This modern-day, science fiction, Kung Fu fighting Neo-Noir (no pun intended) thriller is clearly rooted in film classics from the past.

.Wake up, Neo. The Matrix has you.. Thomas A. Anderson is a respectable software programmer for a respectable computer company. He pays his taxes, has a social security number, and even helps his landlady take out her garbage. He.s just a normal guy in a normal job, doing the normal thing, much like Sam Spade in the Maltese Falcon. But one thing the viewer does not count on is Mister Anderson.s alter ego, Neo, to be one of the world.s most renowned computer hackers, guilty of virtually ever computer crime there is a law for. It is not until this e-lifestyle starts to spill over into his .real. life that he must start to make choices. choices that will forever change the way he sees the world, and changes that will forever impact his effect on that world.

Neo feels alone in his quest for the .Truth.. He is trying desperately to find out what is out there, and most importantly, .What is the Matrix.. He begins to be hunted like a fugitive, and upon capture is thrown into an interrogation cell and grilled about his life of virtual-crime. Neo does not yet realize the severity of his situation, but he still thinks the world is somehow not right, and yet he does not know what is wrong. As Morpheus put it, .It.s driving you mad, like a splinter in your mind.. It is through this alienated, helpless feeling that makes it easier for Neo to .free his mind. from the Matrix and join in fighting for the Resistance in the .real world..

There are many choices in this film. Only ten minutes into the script we see the first choice handed to Thomas Anderson: .Follow the White Rabbit.. In this sequence of scenes, it is apparent that the .responsible. thing to do is stay home to get rest for the upcoming work day, but the alter ego, Neo, would not make such a choice. He chooses to .Follow the White Rabbit. and make one more attempt to pry loose the splinter from his mind by asking his boundless question, .What is the Matrix.. It is this question that drives him. It drives him to such a point that it outweighs all r