Memory as a textual device in Twelve Monkeys.
The screenplay for Twelve Monkeys was inspired by Chris Markers' film/photo roman La Jetee (1962), adapted by David and Janet Peoples and directed by Terry Gilliam. It is a complex story about an apocalyptic future, madness, time travel and fate. In addition to the screenplay and the visual, audio and technical devices which have been used to create the illusion of memory within the linear construct of the film I will also be looking at some of the more general factors which have been considered during its' creation.
With the applications of the 'digital revolution' becoming
increasingly influential in cinematography, the demands made upon the
film industry by audiences and critics have changed considerably. Audience
expectation now requires more than the 'good guys dressed in white and
the bad guys dressed in black'. It is no longer sufficient to portray
a 'Time Machine' and to expect its' existence and use to go unquestioned.
Special effects, technical wizardry and computer animation, cinematographers
are now able to provide the necessary audio/visual stimuli to enhance
a films' impact on an increasingly sophisticated audience, however this
alone is not enough to carry a film. A credible concept and script must
accompany the technical achievements of the digital age, if the film is
to be successful as a medium for escapism. Conveying these concepts clearly
to the audience can be achieved either by 'telling' the audience directly
via the dialogue or indirectly by 'leading' the audience to a certain
conclusion by 'showing' them audio/visual clues or by a combination of
both.
In portraying a concept it is also necessary to consider the 'techno-babble',
as it is referred to in the industry, with which so many fans of the Science
Fiction genre have become familiar. 'Techno-babble' is usually based to
a large degree on known scientific facts, enhanced with reasoned supposition
and presented in such a way that it does not seem implausible to an educated
mind. The "Ray Guns", "Atomisers" and "Death
Rays" of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers fame have evolved, into the
well thought out concepts and terminology inherent in popular movies and
television series such as Star Trek and Star Wars. Any subsequent deviation
or challenge from/to these well-reasoned and firmly established conceptions,
unless meticulously constructed, is likely to be dismissed by an audience
at ease with their 'techno-knowledge' as 'too far fetched'. A successful
filmmaker therefore cannot afford to underestimate the degree to which
an audience has been educated, by exposure to the concepts and technical
achievements displayed in existing films and also the carefully constructed
realities in alternative mediums such as novels, graphic novels and magazines.
Since H. G. Wells' foray with The Time Machine, the concept of time travel
has been explored more thoroughly in such films as Back to the Future
and Timecop, in which the dangers of meddling with time are clearly portrayed
for the audience. Memories or more accurately the concept of 'false memories'
have been employed successfully in films such as, Total Recall, Bladerunner
and more recently The Matrix. The concepts portrayed in these films are
supported directly or indirectly with explanations as to how they have
occurred. Bearing in mind the above considerations the screenplay for
Twelve Monkeys approaches the complicated issue of time travel in a unique
way, employing the memory of the central character as a means of expressing
the confusion of the intermingling of past, present and future.
The central character James Cole, played by Bruce Willis, is flung backwards
and forwards in time with the events on screen switching between past,
present and future throughout the films' timeline. Gilliam uses the memories
of the central character as a frame of reference upon which the film depends,
however he is deliberately enigmatic in the way in which these are depicted.
He leaves the audience unsure as to whether the scenes depicted are dreams
or memories and also unsure of the central characters' sanity. The film
starts with a small boy witnessing an event in an airport, in which a
man is shot, before the scene cuts to a close up of a man just awakening
from a dream or is it a memory? This airport scene is repeated a number
of times during the film, as an event or action causes the central character
to recall or imagine the scene, however each time the editing provides
the audience with a little more information about the characters and events
in it. It is revealed at the end of the film, that the scene is the childhood
memory of the central character, who witnessed his own death as an adult.
At the start of the film the significance of his dreams/memories is unknown
to the 'adult' and his role in the events which are to form his memories
is as yet unfulfilled. The subsequent use of memory throughout the film
plays on this obvious anomaly, the use of time-travel to return to the
past, while the central characters plunge towards the future, that it
is already the past and a memory. The 'predestination' of the central
characters is a foregone conclusion, it is the past which has already
happened, but in order for it to have happened the characters must fulfil
their futures. The end of the film thus is also the beginning. Terry Gilliam
in an interview for FilmFours', Time Travel Night: "One of the things
I like about Twelve Monkeys, is that it is circular - it keeps going round…It's
Eastern in this wheel of life that just keeps turning and rolling on and
our characters will never get off." (1)
A number of different editing techniques are used within the film to convey,
to the audience, the sense of accessing a memory or dream. Gilliam uses
sleep as a medium for this throughout the film, in the prison cell, the
hotel, the future hospital and the cinema, typically using a close up
of a person's face before wiping/cutting to an alternative scene representing
the dream or memory or visa-versa. At the start of the film Gilliam overlaps
the audio imagery between the first two scenes, that of the airport shooting
and the close up of the young boy who witnesses it and the close up of
a man awakening from a dream. The announcer heard on the Tannoy system
in the airport merges into that of the prison announcer as the central
character awakens. Overlapping the audio track between two scenes or inserting
isolated sound effects that coincide with events on the screen, but which
represent to the attentive audience an audio image related to another
event with which they have already been familiarised, are two ways in
which Gilliam blends the distinct scenes. The events in the airport are
filmed with a hint of slow motion, effecting both audio and visual tracks
and this helps to create a sense of difference, contrasting with the contemporary
action and events within the film.
He also uses visual props to instigate the scene changes, certain similarities
in the interactions of the characters are used to provoke the insertion
of a 'memory scene'. In the mental hospital the central character, James
Cole, is grabbed and restrained by a hospital porter, this grabbing action
is used as a catalyst to switch to the memory of the young James Cole
as he is grabbed in the airport scene. Environment is also used to make
flash references to memory. One of the earlier scenes in the film shows
the character of Cole searching for specimens in a derelict department
store after the viral apocalypse. Later (in the past) he finds himself
in the same department store some thirty years prior to his initial visit.
The architecture, fixtures and fittings are used in conjunction with the
audio/visual techniques to depict the confusion of memories as they merge
with the confusion of time travel.
There are also a number of direct references to memory within the film.
The character of James Cole is chosen because he is a good observer, "that's
why they chose me, I remember things" (2). His efficiency at remembering
things is shown regularly throughout the film as he recalls numerous small,
but relevant details and more blatantly as he repeats verbatim, the order
of countries in which the virus first appeared and the content of a taped
message to the 'psychiatrist' played by Madelaine Stowe.
The use of memory as a textual device in the film is not however clear-cut.
The memories of the central character are deliberately undermined, he
is portrayed as a deluded mental patient living in a "meticulously
constructed fantasy world" (2) and his exposure to the inmates of
an asylum and his apparently insane behaviour serves to reinforce this
illusion. The confusion of time travel and its' subsequent effects on
the 'traveller' are resisted admirably by the character of James Cole,
whose resilience to the events that occur and to the suggestion of insanity,
is stalwart. However as the realities of the past, present and future
gradually become indistinguishable, the susceptibility of the character
to suggestion increases, he begins to doubt his own memories, preferring
the diagnosis of insanity over the actuality of reality. Conversely it
is at this point in the film that the roles of the two main characters
are reversed. Just as the character, James Cole, begins to doubt the reality
of what he is doing, the psychiatrist (Stowe) begins to accept his psychosis
as potentially 'real' and simultaneously starts to doubt her own understanding
of reality. Her discovery of a photo of 'Cole' in a World War One trench
confirms his story, as does the ballistics report on the bullet that she
removed from his leg. The screenplay also uses references to contemporary
news events, which are remembered by the time travelling Cole. The boy
'trapped in a well' who is in reality hiding in a barn is an event remembered
from childhood by the adult James Cole, his memory of the boys' deception
is used as a device to help confirm his perception of reality.
To add to the confusion there are a number 'Memory Red Herrings' within
the screenplay. After meeting the 'insane' character of Jeffrey Goines,
played by Brad Pitt, the audience is deceived by his appearance in the
airport scene as the central character mistakenly 'remembers' his presence
there. This sort of accidental substitution can actually occur, which
is what makes its' use here more pertinent as it effects the subsequent
behaviour and course of action of Willis' character. Similarly, from the
initial meeting of Stowe and Willis' characters in 1990, we are 'misinformed'
by Stowe regarding her having met Willis' character before. In the timeline
within the story, Stowe first meets Willis as an adult in 1990, again
in 1996 and later sees him as a child in the airport. At no point is there
any way in which her character could be familiar with the character of
James Cole, prior to the events that are occurring for her on her timeline,
yet there are repeated references to a "strange feeling", or
a familiarity etc.
While Twelve Monkeys employs numerous different techniques to convey the
story to the screen, the resulting film can be confusing to the uneducated
(or Drunk) audience, who perhaps were expecting a modern day "Hollywood
Blockbuster" type of movie, where the good guys still wear white.
However for an intelligent audience, the screenplay, audio/visual effects
and the direction of Terry Gilliam, combined with the fine acting performances
of the cast make an excellent film. The use of memory as a textual device
enhances and drives the characters and events in the film forward towards
a future that is already past and is therefore itself a memory.
"It's about remembering and using the past to try to save the future"
(1)
Footnotes.
1. Stubbs. P. 12 Monkeys: Dreams Facts. http://www.smart.co.uk/dreams/monkfact.htm
(1999)
2. Gilliam. T. Twelve Monkeys. Universal City Studios, (1995).
'Text…a book or other written or printed work, regarded in terms of its' content rather than its' physical form' (1). 'Narrative…a spoken or written account of connected events' (1). 'Realism…the quality or fact of representing a person, thing, or situation accurately or in a way that is true to life' (1).
I have chosen the film The Matrix (1999) as my textual example for this
essay and it is the latter part of the Oxford Dictionary's definition
of text, which particularly applies to this film because the storyline
itself actually questions human perception of reality. Film text comprises
all the visual and audio devices employed in its' construction, the plot
and the storyline and it is in this sense 'a composite language by virtue
of its' diverse matters of expression' (2, pp258). Audience comprehension
and interpretation of this language is governed by the way in which a
director structures the narrative, which if it is to make sense must follow
certain of the conventions that have developed during the evolution of
cinematography. Narratology has examined many aspects of the film industry,
applying semiotic, psychological, sociological, philosophical, cognitive
and even biological theories to interpret and understand the processes
involved in the production, presentation and ultimately the interpretation
of film. The cinematic techniques employed by filmmakers include: Camera
specific - establishing shots, angles and points of view, depth of field,
close-ups, lighting etc; Mise-én-scene; Editing - 'parallel, accelerated
and montage by attraction' (3, pp25); Audio - sound effects, soundtrack
and diegetic music; Actor/actress portrayal of character(s); Special effects
(where appropriate); Story, plot and script; storytime and discourse time.
Realistic depiction is thereby reinforced by a narrative that successfully
utilises all these elements to render 'a fictional world [that is] characterised
by internal coherence, plausible causality, psychological realism and
the appearance of a seamless spatial and temporal continuity' (2, pp259).
The plot of The Matrix is fairly straightforward: an unwitting hero is
drawn into a conflict on the side of the oppressed to fight the oppressors,
achieving along the way enlightenment, understanding, a sense of purpose
and love, it is a classic good guys versus the bad guys. The storyline
however is not nearly as clear cut. Humankind go about their daily business
in the late 20th Century, unaware that the Earth and indeed their very
existence as they perceive it is in fact a Virtual Reality (VR) created
by sentient computers in the 24th Century. The evolution of artificially
intelligent computers (AIC’s) into a state of awareness/consciousness,
during the 21st Century, brought them into conflict with mankind who were
perceived as a potential threat to their existence. Following an apocalyptic
war with the machines, that mankind lost, the remaining humans were subjugated
and kept comatose in pod-like life support machines, where they are cultivated
for the biochemical energy that their bodies produce. The virtual reality
that they “experience” is a giant computer program known as
the Matrix, designed by the AIC’s to replicate an environment capable
of providing the mental stimulus necessary to prevent atrophy of these
human “batteries”.
There is however a small number of rebels led by a character called Morpheus,
living in the "true reality" outside the Matrix, who are involved
in a guerrilla movement which aims to sabotage the virtual reality created
by the machines, and thus set mankind free. To achieve this they infiltrate
the (VR) "Earth" through an interface, which allows them to
operate freely within the confines of the computer program as a (VR) being.
Aware that the 'interactivity is an illusion' (4, pp13) they are able
to transcend the limitations imposed by the Matrix i.e. the effects of
gravity, the laws of physics etc and can interact with the (VR) world
in an effectively superhuman fashion. The AIC's response to the infiltration
of the Matrix, are human simulant programs in the guise of Government
agents, who also operate independently in the (VR) Earth. There is an
added twist, in that should the virtual representative of the infiltrator
die whilst in the program, he/she dies in the real world - the mind believing
that the virtual death is real responds accordingly. The rebels are searching
for a messiah-like figure who it has been prophesised will lead them to
freedom, to do this they must search the Matrix for the "real mind"
that is behind the identity, which is represented by the existence of
a virtual being in the (VR) world. The film follows the discovery of this
figure, Neo, whose (VR) persona is that of a computer "Hacker",
his rescue, awakening and adjustment to the "Real World" and
also the revelation that he is indeed capable of exceeding his compatriots'
virtual capabilities inside the Matrix. If we view this whole concept
as a (VR) game, Neo is revealed the personification of the ultimate gamer,
a player who is able to defeat the ultimate "Bad Guys" of the
game.
To produce a film that could effectively portray this storyline, the writers/directors
- Andy and Larry Wachowski, had to successfully organise a narrative,
which could comply with the prerequisites of realism ibid. (2, pp259).
In writing the screenplay the brothers extensively researched amongst
other things: [theoretical mathematics; theology; mythology; Jungian psychology;
Hong Kong Kung Fu; Lewis Carroll's, Alice in Wonderland; and Cyberpunk
novels] (5): which they then managed to fuse into an intricately constructed
diegesis that is 'a thoroughly realised and considered universe…'
(6). 'This film is actually a graduate thesis on consciousness, transcendence,
and salvation cleverly disguised in the sheep's clothing of the action-adventure
genre' (7). They also explored and utilised new techniques of filmmaking,
incorporating film and digital imagery, to produce the special effects
necessary to portray the super-physical abilities of the rebels and the
simulant Government agents in the (VR) world. The juxtaposition of (VR)
world and the "Real World", is skilfully rendered throughout
the film. The action in the former takes place in an "American city"
and is presented as the World as we perceive it to be today, populated
by the sort of people we would expect to see there, all behaving in the
way in which we would expect them to behave. The action in the latter
occurs in the futuristic hovercraft, in which the rebels cruise the sewers
hiding from the machines, beyond the world is glimpsed as an uninhabitable
wasteland. The Wachowski's use of lighting in the hovercraft, 'is expressive
[in] setting the mood [and] giving the film a [certain] look…the
gloomy darkness…is an index of [the real worlds']…decay' (8,
pp54), which enhances the contrast with the perceived reality of the Matrix.
Throughout the film the Wachowski brothers choose to employ an omnipotent
point of view for their camerawork and it is from this perspective that
the audience observes the story. Bearing in mind the genre specific audience,
the establishing shot is of an atypical armed police raid on a building
in a contemporary American city, the narrative thus effectively provides
a schematic, cultural and cognitive reference point from which the audience
can progress into the film. This perceptual standpoint is quickly challenged
as we are shown, 'an amazing opening chase scene that effectively poses
more questions than it answers' (6), characters performing incredible
feats of gravity defying super-agility and leaping impossible distances,
before disappearing from a crumpled phonebox (9, 09:00 - 12:08). The films'
narration is also used to clarify the existence of these parallel "realities",
as the character of Neo is briefed by his liberators as to the true nature
of the "real world", the truth is simultaneously revealed to
the audience. For example, when the character of Neo first interfaces
with a (VR) training program, his questioning of reality prompts the character
of Morpheus to pose a series of philosophical questions that are not only
directed at "Neo", but also the viewer. 'What is Real? How do
you define Real? If you are talking about what you can feel, what you
can small, what you can taste and see, then Real is simply electrical
signals interpreted by your brain' (9, 44:48). Thus the causality of this
futuristic situation is also explained in a form of 'distributed exposition'
(10, pp404) within the narration. The philosophy laden dialogue of the
film also poses many questions for the audience relating to human perception
of reality. And as the represented "reality" in question in
the film corresponds with "Reality" as we, the audience, "know
it" it supports the "suspension of disbelief" and gives
added credence to the storyline.
The realism of this hypothetical future is further enhanced by the fact
that the potential technological advances in artificial intelligence proposed
in the script are based on contemporary theoretical facts, that are reasonably
well known to the informed audiences of today's cinemas. Coupled with
this is the fact that The Matrix is 'An anthology of dystopic science
fiction…[that] plunders [such films as] Bladerunner (Ridley Scott,
1982) and The Terminator' (James Cameron, 1984) (5). The elements of these
films that are directly or indirectly cross-referenced, through the similarities
of plot/storyline/philosophy etc, to the ideas and concepts contained
in The Matrix provide an additional experiential reference point from
which the audience is able to comprehend and interpret the complexities
of the narrative structure.
As with any film the visual presentation is extremely important and the
Wachowski's use of special effects takes full advantage of the fact that
a great deal of the action takes place in the (VR) world of the Matrix.
The super-physical feats performed by both the "rebels" and
their adversaries in this virtual environment make for spectacular viewing
and once the concept of the twin realities has been grasped their nonconformist
behaviour in relation to the physics is given a contextual basis. As part
of his "training" to operate in the Matrix, the character Neo
learns martial arts from a computer program that is loaded through a "bioport"
plugged directly into his brain (9, 52:34). To ensure that the fight scenes
were realistic, each actor was personally assigned a martial arts master
whose job it was to teach them martial arts. The actors thought that the
combat training would only last a couple of weeks, in fact it lasted five
months, (9, Do you know kung fu 2:27:09) the resultant combat action reflects
the time and effort which the actors put in. The Wachowski's casting is
also worthy of consideration, as realistic character portrayal is essential
in any attempt to convey a fiction through the medium of film. The "familiar"
faces of Lawrence Fishburne (the "super-cool" Morpheus) and
Keanu Reeves (Neo), are supported by a cast who believe that their roles
are an important contribution to the film.
The Matrix has received critical and popular acclaim, it has been given
both good and bad reviews, it has questioned and examined the nature of
perspective not only its' narrative discourse, but also in its' method
of construction. The Wachowski brothers have explored the use of new cinematographic
techniques and devices, paradoxically involving the use of the "ancestors"
of The Matrix, while simultaneously encompassing the more established
filmic conventions into their narrative. The film sports an excellent
soundtrack, which at least one reviewer recommends be experienced in 'the
centre of a modern theatre with a good surround sound or THX system' (7).
Realism? 'An audience will be willing to believe anything from a film
as long as it’s apparent that the film believes it, and that belief
can be found here in the audacity of its premise, in the thoroughness
of its design, and in the intensity of the actors' (6).
Footnotes.
1: The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Britannica © CD2000, 1994
-1998, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
2: Robert Stam and Tony Miller, Film and Theory: Alternative Aesthetics,
(2000), Oxford, Blackwell.
3:Bazin André (1967) What is Cinema, The Evolution of the Language
of Cinema. Vol I, London & L.A.: University of California.
4: Andy Cameron, (1995) Dissimulations, http://cyan.media.wmin.ac.uk
5: Geocities, (2000) Review by Popular Metaphysics [WWW] http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Meteor/3777/grev7.html
(1st November 2000)
6: Film Journal International, (2000) Film Review Archive [WWW] http://www.filmjournal.com/DisplayReviews.cmf?ID=554&UI=9609
(31st October 2000)
7: Cleave, (2000) What is The Matrix [WWW] http://www.cleave.com/Sight/The_Matrix/the_matrix.htm
(1st November 2000)
8: Graeme Turner, (1988) Film as Social Practice
9: A. and L. Wachowski Brothers, (1999) The Matrix. Warner Brothers. [time
counter reference is from start of tape]
10: Seymour Chatman, (1992) 'What Novels Can Do That Films Can't (And
Vice Versa)' in Mast, et al, (eds.) Film Theory and Criticism. Oxford,
OUP
Bibliography.
Bazin, A. (1967) What is Cinema: The Evolution of the Language of Cinema.
Vol 1., California: University of California.
Britannica © CD2000, 1994 -1998, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Cameron, A. (1995) Dissimulations. http://cyan.media.wmin.ac.uk
Chatman, S. (1992) 'What Novels Can Do That Films Can't (And Vice Versa)'
in Mast, et al, (eds.) Film Theory and Criticism. Oxford, OUP
Cleave, (2000) What is The Matrix [WWW] http://www.cleave.com/Sight/The_Matrix/the_matrix.htm
(1st November 2000)
Film Journal International, (2000) Film Review Archive [WWW] http://www.filmjournal.com/DisplayReviews.cmf?ID=554&UI=9609
(31st October 2000)
Geocities, (2000) Review by Popular Metaphysics [WWW] http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Meteor/3777/grev7.html
(1st November 2000)
Stam and Miller. (2000) Film and Theory: Alternative Aesthetics. Oxford,
Blackwell
Turner, G. (1988) Film as Social Practice
Filmography.
The Matrix, A. and L. Wachowski, (1999) USA, Warner Brothers