Film Review: The Matrix - Archetypes

The 1999 science fiction action film The Matrix, directed by the Wachowski Sisters, is another example of the Hero's Journey with the way that the story plays out. However, it is also an example of the different archetypes that can be found in a number of stories all over the world. Many people have talked about the different archetypes that can be found and the ways that we can find them, be it characters following tropes in the story or in the deeper workings of the mind.

Carl Jung did a lot of work on the different archetypes that appear in our minds and the ways that they affect our day to day lifes with the way we act. Carol S. Pearson looked at the way that archetypes can be used to put people and brands in to groups because of the ideas they hold and follow. Chris Vogler broke down the different character types that we can find in films, and other stories, who play importment put in moving the plot along.

When looking at The Matrix I will be using some of Chris Vogler's archetypes. I was not able to work out who the Trickster is as none clowns around nor was I able to find the Child archtype as none in The Matrix has an innocent view of the world they are in.

The Hero

The role of the Hero is pretty easy to understand as we all know what to expect with this archetype, they will be the one that will stop the evil forces as that everyone can live happy ever after. Neo is the one that goes on the Hero's Journey in the film and is believed to be the one that will free everyone from the Matrix.

The Shadow

The villain of the story that wants to stop the Hero, in the case of The Matrix it would Agent Smith a computer program designed to stop humans getting out of the Matrix. This means that he faces off against Neo and his allies so that they don't ruin the machines plans for using humans as a power source.

The Herald

The Herald is the one that triggers the Call To Adventure step in the Hero's Journey by giving the Hero the infomation they need to set out on they quest. In The Matrix I think that there are two Heralds both of whom show up near the begining - Trinity and Morpheus.

Trinity is the more obvious one as she tells Neo to "Follow the white rabbit" which leads to them meeting and her telling him to met with Morpheus. With Morpheus he to tells Neo that there is something out there along with giving him a chose to find out what the Matrix is or to go back to his normal life, this can also be seen as the Crossing The First Threshold step.

The Threshold Guardian

The Threhold Guardian is the one that stops the Hero before they start their quest, with their main role telling the Hero "turn back now before it's too late". The Agents play this role when they arrect Neo and try to make him forget about the Matrix and meeting with Morpheus.

The Mentor

The Mentor is the one who tells the Hero the history of the quest they are about to undertake and train them to be ready for what they are going face. Morpheus is the one who teachs Neo about the Matrix, what he can do in it and why they are fighting back so it is clear that he is the Mentor. He also doubles up as the Father archetype as he is the leader of the fight against the Matrix and helping those freed from it.

The Allies

The Allies of the Hero are normaly a set of different archetypes who will help them out throughout their journey. For Neo it is the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar and more closely Morpheus and Trinity.

The Mother

The Oracle fits in with the archetype of the Mother as she is kind to Neo and is one of the most calm characters in the film. The Oracle can also fix in to Mentor role as she gives advice to Neo when they meet to help him take the next step in his journey.

The Maiden

The Maiden can fit in to two roles ever as the symbol of purity or sexuality but most often than not they are the one that the Hero needs to save from evil. Trinity doesn't need saving but she does stand for being the strong female characterand even fulls in love with Neo.

The Shapeshifter
The Shapeshifter is the character that the viewer is unsure about as they can switch sides at any point, in The Matrix this is Cypher as where we first meet him we believe that he will help Neo fight against the Agents. However, he ends up betraying everyone for his own goals.