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robinturnerI've just finished the next section of Guns ... Lots of Guns. This one is about the marital arts theme in the Matrix films. I've also coined a new word, "matrix-fu" for the kind of physically impossible martial arts feats you see in films like this.
The Matrix is full of displays of martial arts, and this is continued in Reloaded. But of course, these are hyper-real martial arts. In our world, learning kung fu or jiu-jitsu takes years of hard training, but within the Matrix, Neo learns a variety of martial arts styles in under a minute; the first time he looks even slightly happy in the film is when he comes out of the training program saying "I know jiu-jitsu!" Apart from the practicalities of the story-line---it would disrupt the plot to have Neo go away for ten years to learn how to fight---this scene may well be a witty parody of martial arts films. In many such films, the hero needs to learn from a master in order to defeat his evil opponent, and the audience are treated to scenes of strenuous training as the hero masters his art. 1What the Wachowskis seem to be pointing out is that even this supposedly traditional martial arts training is still far too short: not even Jean-Claude Van Damme can learn a new martial art in a few weeks. Neo's instant kung fu is a clever parody of kung fu films.
An element of parody is also present in the scenes where Neo displays his martial skills, such as his lazy one-hand blocking (while looking in the other direction) at the end of the first film, or his fight with multiple Agent Smiths in the second. Martial arts films (particularly Chinese ones) have always used special effects to exaggerate the characters' abilities (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon being an extreme and rather tongue-in-cheek example). Since there are no physical constraints inside the Matrix there are no limits to Neo's martial abilities, but he still feels obliged to follow the forms of traditional martial arts.2
So is this film kung fu hyper-real? In some ways, the martial arts shown in films is hyper-real, in that to most people, this is what martial arts are all about. Actual martial artists teaching classes back in the desert of the real have to contend with the idea that the best way to defend yourself against a pair of muggers is to jump in the air and kick both of them simultaneously. On the other hand, the fight scenes of the Matrix films are not simulation, but clever parody, in much the same way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon involves affectionate parody of the Chinese kung fu film tradition. It may take some experience of martial arts to see that the fights in a Bruce Lee or Van Damme film are hopelessly unrealistic, but no one at all could be fooled into thinking that matrix-fu is "real", even in a weird Baudrillardian sense.
Fiction traditionally depends on the "willing suspension of disbelief", but here we have the opposite; it is almost as though the Wachowskis are trying to say "Look, this kung fu isn't real, and neither is the rest of the kung fu you see in films." This encouragement to disbelieve is relevant to the violence of the scenes. Whatever matrix-fu is about, it is not about physical violence. Rather, it appeals to the mythology of martial arts: that training in a martial art is essentially mental training, and that in mastering your art, you will master yourself. You may not learn to dodge bullets, but you can do things that you thought were impossible, and that is the real appeal of matrix-fu.3
1. This, of course, is just another reworking of Joseph Campbell's "hero's journey" where the hero encounters his mentor, which may explain its persistence; after the first master-student scene of this type in a popular film (probably Enter the Dragon) it has gone through various permutations, from The Karate Kid, which is nearly all about this relationship, to Luke's training with Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back.
2. Keanu Reeves went through intensive martial arts training for the fight scenes, and later said this was one of the most enjoyable parts of the film.
3. In a hapkido class I attended, I had to practice breakfalls jumping over a sword, an unnerving experience even though the "sword" in question was made of wood. The teacher said "Forget the sword. The sword's not there." "Sure," I replied, "There is no spoon."
The Matrix is full of displays of martial arts, and this is continued in Reloaded. But of course, these are hyper-real martial arts. In our world, learning kung fu or jiu-jitsu takes years of hard training, but within the Matrix, Neo learns a variety of martial arts styles in under a minute; the first time he looks even slightly happy in the film is when he comes out of the training program saying "I know jiu-jitsu!" Apart from the practicalities of the story-line---it would disrupt the plot to have Neo go away for ten years to learn how to fight---this scene may well be a witty parody of martial arts films. In many such films, the hero needs to learn from a master in order to defeat his evil opponent, and the audience are treated to scenes of strenuous training as the hero masters his art. 1What the Wachowskis seem to be pointing out is that even this supposedly traditional martial arts training is still far too short: not even Jean-Claude Van Damme can learn a new martial art in a few weeks. Neo's instant kung fu is a clever parody of kung fu films.
An element of parody is also present in the scenes where Neo displays his martial skills, such as his lazy one-hand blocking (while looking in the other direction) at the end of the first film, or his fight with multiple Agent Smiths in the second. Martial arts films (particularly Chinese ones) have always used special effects to exaggerate the characters' abilities (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon being an extreme and rather tongue-in-cheek example). Since there are no physical constraints inside the Matrix there are no limits to Neo's martial abilities, but he still feels obliged to follow the forms of traditional martial arts.2
So is this film kung fu hyper-real? In some ways, the martial arts shown in films is hyper-real, in that to most people, this is what martial arts are all about. Actual martial artists teaching classes back in the desert of the real have to contend with the idea that the best way to defend yourself against a pair of muggers is to jump in the air and kick both of them simultaneously. On the other hand, the fight scenes of the Matrix films are not simulation, but clever parody, in much the same way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon involves affectionate parody of the Chinese kung fu film tradition. It may take some experience of martial arts to see that the fights in a Bruce Lee or Van Damme film are hopelessly unrealistic, but no one at all could be fooled into thinking that matrix-fu is "real", even in a weird Baudrillardian sense.
Fiction traditionally depends on the "willing suspension of disbelief", but here we have the opposite; it is almost as though the Wachowskis are trying to say "Look, this kung fu isn't real, and neither is the rest of the kung fu you see in films." This encouragement to disbelieve is relevant to the violence of the scenes. Whatever matrix-fu is about, it is not about physical violence. Rather, it appeals to the mythology of martial arts: that training in a martial art is essentially mental training, and that in mastering your art, you will master yourself. You may not learn to dodge bullets, but you can do things that you thought were impossible, and that is the real appeal of matrix-fu.3
1. This, of course, is just another reworking of Joseph Campbell's "hero's journey" where the hero encounters his mentor, which may explain its persistence; after the first master-student scene of this type in a popular film (probably Enter the Dragon) it has gone through various permutations, from The Karate Kid, which is nearly all about this relationship, to Luke's training with Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back.
2. Keanu Reeves went through intensive martial arts training for the fight scenes, and later said this was one of the most enjoyable parts of the film.
3. In a hapkido class I attended, I had to practice breakfalls jumping over a sword, an unnerving experience even though the "sword" in question was made of wood. The teacher said "Forget the sword. The sword's not there." "Sure," I replied, "There is no spoon."
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Date: 2003-07-02 12:58 pm (UTC)Matrix studies. Whoa.
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Date: 2003-07-02 01:29 pm (UTC)Incidentally, I have to confess that I have a paper-publishing fetish. When someone from Longman mailed me to ask permission to publish one of my online essays (http://neptune.spaceports.com/~words/malelogic.html), I was skipping round the room. I know it's pathetic, but I was brought up in that culture.