Skip to main content
Like
Create new Glog
previous
next
Email share
46 views | 0 likes | 0 reposts
The Matrix
directed by the Wachowski Brothers
The 'Subway Showdown' scene is crucial and important in the plot of the Matrix because it sees Neo uncovering different parts of himself and overcoming the conformity that the machines want him to fit into. At the beginning of this scene Neo has found a new confidence in himself. That is to say that when he send Morpheus and Trinity through the phone, he has the chance to leave but he doesn't. He chooses to fight, knowing that no one has ever fought an agent and come out alive. His newly found confidence is shown through the close up of Neo's hand flexing, after Smith has destroyed the telephone which is Neo's "escape key". This tiny movement of his fist is very significant to the idea of his unexpected confidence. He wants to fight Smith. He wants to confront him and end this chase. You may say that he wanted to do that before the newfound confidence and you would be right, except that Neo didn't think that he could defeat Smith and think is the key word. Neo may be constricted by the Matrix, but he is even more confined and restricted by himself. By his thoughts and by his mind. In his mind he has put up a barrier constructed by doubts, worries and instincts of self preservation. When Neo saved Morpheus he was straining at that barrier, trying to dislodge it. He pushed so much that he moved it a fraction and in doing so he uncovered this confidence which he himself doesn't truly understamd. It is either Neo or Smith and deep down Neo has a dormant belief that he will end up on top. This is furthered by Morpheus's earlier piece of dialogue, when Neo has the chance to run, in which he said that Neo "is beginning to believe" . This piece of dialoue shows that Morpheus will believe in and stand by Neo all the way, but also that Neo's new confidence may also give him strength and speed in battle. This confidence and self belief makes this scene extremely important because Neo has now developed the resources to try to overcome Smith. However, the part after Neo's hand flex is also very significant because Neo is starting to climb up the 'barrier' in his mind. To clarify the latter statement - after Neo and Smith have flexed and clenched their hands they begin to fight and Neo seems to be gaining an edge in Smith. This 'edge' is shown by the use if props. The extremely effective use of props is when Neo smashes one of the lenses in Smith's sunglasses. Smith thus takes his glasses slowly off and his face without them looks uncharacterustically vulnerable. Could this be because Neo will end up being the stronger person? Is Smiths flawless design starting to be cracked? Following on from this - when Smith's sunglasses lens is shattered it symbolizes Neo breaking through the restraints of the Agents and the Matrix. It signifies freedom and shackles being thrown off, because when Neo shatters Smiths sunglasses lens he also shatters Smiths perfect image of organisation and order. The Matrix itself is organisation and order and this use of props subtly also use the production device of foreshadowing. Because he altered Smiths look of control and changed it, will he be able to beat the machines and free the human race? Neo's sudden break into Smith's conformity angers Smith to a much higher level and Smith bites back. He becomes extremely ferocious and starts to pull in more of his unnatural strength. This anger is emphasised by the cinematographic angles during the fight. When Smith beats Neo down with hid fresh rage and Neo gets up again, the XCU of Smiths face sees him extremely disgruntled that Neo won't give up. Neo's getting up further incenses Smiths anger and Smith pulls out even more of his uncanny strength and speed. This is displayed by an aerial view of Smith punching Neo continuously against a wall with such speed and viciousness that Smiths arms turn into a blur. These aerial and XCU views obviously tell you that Smith has to pull out more resources than he usually needs in a fight. These aerial and XCU views also signify that Smith is so mad when Neo is climbing that barrier and in doing so crushes some of Smith's conformity. This shows that the Agents and the Matrix in general cannot be near disruption or rebellious acts. They have to fit in. They have to be the same to be in power. The idea of 'fitting in' itself is extremely hegemonic and this emphasises the machines control over the Agents and also the conformity of the Agents themselves. These XCU and aerial angles also show Smirh releasing more of his power to obliterate Neo. This power is making Neo lose his grip on th climb up the barrier. In the aerial shot Neo faces the brunt of Smiths full force. This power shoves Neo off his ascent up the barrier and into the ground. Smith after dominating Neo in the aerial shot then proceeds, in a MS, to push Neo further into the dirt at the bottom of the barrier by dragging Neo across the floor of the subway and flinging him into the wall by the tracks. Neo, after having made the amazing feat of scaling the barrier, is being shoved further and deeper into the ground. Stuck in a chokehold. This seems to be the tenor of Neo's life - stuck. Stuck behind a mental barrier, stuck in the Matrix stuck in the ground being forced to stay there. What Neo needs to do is to break free of all of this and push through his mental barriers. Ultimately, Neo needs to fight and believe in himself. He needs to do this for every human inserted in the Matrix and every person out of the Matrix, but Neo doesn't seem to be able to. This is expressed by Smiths dialogue when he has Neo in a chokehold and they've both heard the diagetic sound of the trains whistle. Smith says, "Hear that Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability. That is the sound of your death." This obviously just compounds the idea of Neo not being able to believe and thus win, but it also leaves an open space for contradiction. Neo grabs that space with this following piece of dialogue in which he fights back and resolves himself with his beliefs and cements his confidence. He doesn't contradict anything in Smiths latter excerpt of dialogue except one part. Neo expresses his strength, power, beliefs and the fact that he will win through one simple sentence. That sentence is: "My name is Neo". In the process of saying this Neo embraces his birthright and the bonds that Smith has placed on him evaporate. Physically this is shown in a MS of Neo crushing Smith into the ceiling of the tunnel, backflipping onto the platform and simultaneously having Smith flattened by the oncoming train. A MS is meant to be used to show action and this MS shows one of the most important and significant actions in the whole movie. But when you try to banish a fear from your mind or flatten it, as the train does to Smith, it is never truly gone until you obliterate it wholly and truly from your mind and thoughts. This is the same with Smith, he is not completely and wholly taken care of and when Neo hears the sound of that trains brakes grinding he knows that this fight is not yet over and he begins to run. As with fears you cannot run or hide from them forever and you will eventually have to overcome them. This is what will happen with Smith and Neo. In conclusion though this scene is vital to the plot of the movie because Neo has discovered this strength that he has to overcome Smith. He doesn't fully know how to harness it, but he knows it is there. He has seen the vulnerablilty of Agent Smith and has strived over and over again to conquer Smith. But the most important thing is that now Neo believes in himself which is what all of the rebels of the Nebuchadnezzar have been working towards through most of the movie. He has climbed at the barrier of fear in his mind, he has pushed at it and moved it a fraction. What we want to know is if he will ever destroy it
Why is the 'Subway Showdown' Scene important?
BACK
