Analysis of the film The Matrix (1999) based on Joseph Campbell's hero's journey perspective

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Art Research, Faculty of Art, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 M.A. student in Art Research, Department of Art Research, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/scart.2025.139747.1363

Abstract

Considering the structural similarities of stories and myths of different nations, Joseph Campbell drew a single model for the hero of all stories, which he called the "hero's journey". This pattern, which has 17 stages, has undergone changes and transformations in terms of the difference of cultures and times, and the number of its stages may not exist in some stories and tales, but its foundation has always been constant and includes the three main stages of departure, Initiation, and return Stage. In this article, an attempt is made to answer the question with a qualitative method and relying on the hero of the film Matrix (1999), to what extent the stages of the hero's journey are consistent with this approach. This research is of a basic type and the method of data collection was done by documentary and field method (film observation). The obtained results show that the hero of the film enters the departure stage with the aim of answering the question of what is the matrix. In the Initiation stage, the truth of the matrix is revealed to the hero after passing various tests and obstacles. He, who has now become a savior, returns to the real world in the third stage And returns to release other humans connected to the matrix. Perhaps one can find less stories that have all the stages of Campbell's approach. But the Matrix film is among these exceptions and completes the cycle of the hero's journey [17 stages] without any shortcomings.

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