Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Presentation Outline

Keith Campbell
Mr. Toth
English 101
May 21, 2013
Presentation Outline
·         Intro
o    The Matrix is the movie I have chosen to highlight as neo-noir.  In the far flung future of the 23rd century, mankind war daily with brutal machines gifted, by humans, with Artificial Intelligence.  The one hope of the humans lies in a prophecy.  Will The One of the prophecy be found in time to save humanity from their own creations?
·         Characteristics of The Matrix that link it to Classic Noir
o    Characters
§  Ambiguous Protagonists
·         Thomas Anderson
o    Thomas is just trying to fit into the world around him while continually being pulled to the wrong side of the line by Neo and Trinity.  Thomas is a programmer for a respectable software company. 
·         Neo
o    Neo’s actions get Thomas into trouble.  Neo is a criminal computer hacker who makes illegal programs and sells them on the black market.
§  Femme Fatale
·         Trinity
o    Leads Thomas to his death to bring Neo fully to life.  She tempts Neo with knowledge of finding Morpheus and the truth about the Matrix.
§  Detective
·         Morpheus
o    Morpheus is searching for the prophesized “The One”.  He is the Captain of a hover-ship and a leader in the human resistance.
·         Neo
o    Neo is questing for Morpheus and the truth about the Matrix.
§  Antagonist
·         Agent Smith
o    Opposes the human resistance.  An apparent government agent, though in reality is a sentient enforcer program within the Matrix for the machines. 
o    Scenery and Lighting
§  Convoluted cityscapes
·         Show “Road” Picture
o    The camera cuts to a view of the road - a seemingly endless path shrouded in shadow and rain leading deeper into the heart of a maze-like city.
§  Shadows
·         Show “Alley” Picture
o    Notice the shadow of Agent Smith preceding him into the alley.  The scene shows Trinity on a fire escape above the alley, trapped.
§  Rain
·         Show “Bridge” Picture
o    Neo waiting for Trinity under a bridge in the rain.  The rain adds to the depressive atmosphere.
·         Elements of Neo-Noir
o    Current Societal Tensions
§  Fear concerning creating a possible contender species
·         Will the AI be benign or will they be serious competitors with mankind?
§  The Establishment versus The General Public
·         The illusion of control for the public
o    Everyone believes that they in control of their lives
o    In reality the machines control everything
o    Allusion to anxieties of the public concerning government control
§  Religious Anxieties
·         Does Neo represent Jesus?
·         Question of belief

o    Is belief a requirement for the Messiah to be real?

5 comments:

  1. Hey Keith,

    Just wanted to tell you that you did a great job on your presentation, you talked calm which allowed us to understand what you were talking about and as well as your clips you showed allowed us to visualize the film a little bit more. I think you did a great job on your outline as well, you seemed to have really took the time to dig deep into the film and find how it related to Classic Noir and Neo Noir! Great Job and best of luck to you!!!

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  2. Keith, i think you did a great job on your presention. Its been a long time since ive seen the this movie, and although i saw it at a young age i didnt even see it as a noir. Now i want to go watch the movie and watch all the noir details you explained.
    Great Job!

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  3. Hey Keith!

    You seemed very confident in your presentation and the movie which really made it seem like the presentation was effortless. The Matrix is such a popular movie that I didn't even think of it as being neo-noir at all, i kind of thought neo-noir was an underground thing but a lot of famous directors actually use the genre. Everyone thinks i'm crazy because i've never actually watched the movie but the presentation really made me want to see it. good job! maybe i finally will.

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  4. Hello Keith,
    I agree with Stacey, you seemed confident in your presentation and you did a good job. You talked about the film and broke it down perfectly for neo-noir. I've never really watched The film, but after the class I watched it and payed attention to how it relates to Neo-noir. Good in your presentation :)

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  5. Hi, Keith
    I did too enjoy your presentation, just like everyone else said you did seem very confident presenting. i never really watched the movie matrix before but after you presented it made me wanted to see it i have yet not seen it but when i do im pretty sure i will understand how you related to neo-noir. but great job!!

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