Sunday, April 10, 2011

Source Code Archetype Analysis



Though the trailer for The Source Code is a mere 2 minutes long, it is packed with archetypes and previews of what looks like an epic hero's journey. The trailer begins with split-second flashes of images and clips of speech, leading into the confusion that the main character, Captain Stevens (apocalyptic-type hero), is feeling in the first part of his journey, The Departure. Captain Stevens' Call to Adventure, the first stage of departure, begins when he finds himself on a train across from a woman, who knows him as "Sean", and he has no recollection whatsoever of who she is or how he came to be there. At this point, Captain Stevens is very confused and frustrated with the situation that he has been placed in, and becomes even more so when the train spontaneously explodes, and he finds himself, once again in his own body, in an unfamiliar dark room. The room itself is an archetypal symbol in that the blackness is representative of the unknown and death, both of which Captain Stevens is dealing with throughout the film. Mentors are introduced at this point, those being a very official-looking man and woman in a separate, equally dark, room filled with computer monitors and flashing buttons. This technology is their advantage, making them Captain Stevens' Supernatural Aid. After explaining the "Source Code" and Captain Stevens' mission, which is to find the bomber on the train to prevent another incident (Quest to Rid the Land of Danger), the man and the woman (who we can assume are government special agents) send Captain Stevens back into the Source Code for another 8 minutes in the life of Sean Fentress. This moment is both the Refusal of the Call and the Initiation because Captain Stevens doesn't want to go back into the Source Code, as you can see when he tries to stop it, but he has no choice, and he crosses the threshold to the alternate universe against his will. After this, one can infer that he enters and exits this universe many times, after realizing the severity and urgency of the task before him. This is the Road of Trials in Captain Stevens' journey, as he edures tests of strength, resourcefulness and endurance in order to find the bomber. Over the duration of the road of trials, it can be inferred that Captain Stevens goes through a series of changes, and ends up realizing that saving the future isn't enough, for he appears to have fallen for Christina (the Damsel in Distress). The viewer of this trailer is left with the knowledge that Captain Stevens is going to risk everything to go back for Christina, and the suspense as to whether or not he manages to leaves the viewer wanting to see the entire film. Captain Stevens' decision to go beyond his task against the wishes of his mentors is The Innermost Cave, as doing this will take all his strength and perserverance.

An archetypal theme that is predominantly visible in the Source Code trailer is that of Death and Rebirth. Captain Stevens must die 7 or 8 times in the movie and, even though he didn't physically die, he definitely went through many internal transformations each time he died and was "reborn", causing his change of heart and impacting his decision making later on in the film.

The Source Code is definitely a very good example of how archetypes, however molded to fit modern expectations, are still a large contributing factor in new texts and films and how they will continue to be a big part of media in the future. After viewing and analyzing this trailer, I definintely want to see what will happen next and if my assumptions about the gaps in the film not shown by the trailer are correct. If I get the chance to see the film, I will most certainly finish talking about Captain Stevens' journey.