Over twenty years after the film’s release, one of the attributes of The Matrix that resonates the most with audiences is its coolness. The mirrored shades, leather pants, and soundtrack consisting of Rob Zombie music contribute to the enticing and memorable aesthetic of the film.
Although seemingly unassuming, the artistic choices made in The Matrix reveal truths about the real world. While attempting to promote the idea of a subculture, the Cyberpunk aesthetic often pushes toward a male-centric ideology.
In spite of the fact that the Cyberpunk aesthetic is now closely associated with science fiction films, the movement’s origins are based in literature. Critics of the aesthetic movement often cite William Gibson’s 1984 novel, Neuromancer, as the epitome of the artistic movement. Gibson’s work was the first to explore the politics of what he called “cyberspace.” The cyberspace environment that Gibson describes combines a reliance on advanced future technology with urban imagery.
In his essay, “Coded Discourse: Romancing the (Electronic) Shadow in The Matrix," professor Jason Haslam defines Cyberpunk as: “a mental projection into a computerized net, but also the retro-future feel of the genre, where space-age computer technology co-exists with grime, filth, and perhaps most importantly, an all-encompassing urban decay.” In other words, Cyberpunk is a post-modern aesthetic, combining advancements in the technological field with extreme economic and moral decline.
The duality of a Cyberpunk universe also enforces the intriguing nature of its characters. These characters are both smart and hardened by the world around them, and therefore, cool. For instance, when the audience is first introduced to The Matrix’s main character, Neo, we learn that he is an especially talented hacker that performs technological services for cash. Neo’s combined savvy and criminal streak creates a compelling character for the audience to follow.
Through Neo’s hacking business, the audiences glimpses at other people produced by a Cyberpunk society who are accustomed to drugs, sex, and crime. Such figures are shown when Neo goes to a club. At this punk venue, images are displayed rapidly, showcasing flickering lights, broken mirrors, TV static, and BDSM culture, accompanied by a booming soundtrack. Although living in decay, the audience is intrigued by these tech-savvy, leather-clad, dangerous people.
The audience sees that within this underbelly of crime, there exists an intriguing counterculture. As they watch The Matrix, the audience, in turn, perceives that they are a part of a counterculture as well. However, this counterculture the audience perceives they are a part of is ultimately false. Although the images produced by Cyberpunk films often feed into the counterculture, their plot structures and resolutions typically align more closely with the cinema of mass culture.
As stated by critic Christophe Den Tandt in the academic article, “Cyberpunk as Naturalist Science Fiction": “Cyberpunk is often sensationalistic and escapist. It resorts to the epic fabulation otherwise found in hard-boiled crime fiction or space opera: its narratives promise their readers maximum excitement and the reassuring prospect of their protagonists’ victory.” Although the aesthetics promoted in Cyberpunk films suggest something out of the ordinary, the narrative of many of these films adheres to a classic Hollywood structure.
For example, the heroes of Cyberpunk narratives, like Neo, typically adhere to the structure put in place by Westerns films. Neo possesses many of the characteristics of a cowboy figure in classic Hollywood films. He is singular, operating with his toolbelt of both intelligence and fighting moves, and a disdain for authority. Like classic cowboys, Neo solves problems his own way and, although receiving help from others, is the ultimate hero of his story.
Jason Haslam suggests in his writing on The Matrix that Neo’s characterization attempts to align him with the singular agency associated with cowboys. Haslam writes, “Perhaps the posthuman indeterminacy of the film is really only window-dressing for the reproduction of dominant ideological constructs.” Haslam extrapolates that the postmodern aspects of The Matrix help disguise the film’s resignation to tradition.
Furthermore, film analyst Nicola Nixon tracks this characterization that is present in most Cyberpunk narratives, stating, “It seems telling that the American icon of the cowboy, realized so strongly in Reaganite cowboy-ism, the quintessence of the maverick reactionary, should form the central iconography of the cyberpunk.” It is no accident that the cowboy archetype should resurface in a film whose core themes are technology and innovation.
The cowboy archetype represents an attack on rugged masculinity and an attempt to reclaim that traditional form of masculinity. In the postmodern age, a cowboy was no longer useful in defining masculinity, but a cool, leather-clad man with special abilities and trendy sunglasses became the new icon for tradition, under the guise of a new aesthetic.
Looking upon a simple retelling of a classic Hollywood cowboy story, one might ask oneself: what is really the harm in this? Is it really so damaging to tell a favorite story, again and again, adopting a new style to match the passing decades? Truthfully, this process is a lucrative and popular practice, emblematic of Hollywood. However, these retellings become damaging when they invade upon progress and representation.
Just like audiences continue to remember the music and clothes of The Matrix, they will remember that the hero was another man in a long line of male heroes that lead women and minorities towards salvation with their special gifts and physical prowess. These stories tell us that, even in the most fantastic and absurd visions of the future, heroes must be white males.