Technology and mythic narrative: The matrix as technological hero‐quest

Abstract

This inquiry analyzes the narrative structure of the technological hero‐quest myth contained within the recent film, The Matrix, and explicates the implications of this message upon the audience. Joseph Campbell's hero‐quest, modified with insights from narrative theory, is applied to the The Matrix in order to highlight its appeal to modern audiences. Utilizing insights from the philosophy of Kant and Schopenhauer, Campbell's monomyth is altered to account for the existential and ontological separation the technological hero experiences. This film is shown to be a powerful myth for alienated and disempowered individuals in technologically driven communities, with potentially troubling consequences due to its theme of “solitary enlightenment.” Auditors are offered the chance to identify with a hero who is enlightened, but ontologically separate, and thus warranted in destroying the community in order to “save” it.