The Matrix: Characters who don't last long

[Skye]

[size=1][font=veranda][color=indigo]Well, my brother bought the first Matrix movie recently, and I loved it. I love the movie, and the characters are great. I know people love Neo(Yeah, Keanu!), Trinity, and Morpheus, while a lot of people hate Cypher(*beats him*). But has anyone a favorite of those who get killed? Or any non-main characters? I want to hear who else likes who.

Out of the other characters, I would have to say I am (so call me crazy or sick) nearly obssessed with Mouse. Yes, digital pimp or no, he is one freaking cool character. Of course, he is also the first to get killed off. Which is sad. Because he's cute, and he shouldn't have died. Heh, okay, I sound stupid. But Mouse was just a really cool character! ADMIT IT! ('How do I know what I think Tasty Wheat tastes like doesn't really taste like... say... oatmeal? Or tuna fish?')Okay, fan-girl rant over. lol

But who do you all like? Apoc? Switch? Tank? Spoon boy? The girl in the red dress? Or maybe your fave is the little girl from the third movie?[/size][/font][/color]

[Brasil]

You know, it's difficult for me to choose, because most of the characters there are fairly useless in the film, and exist really only to "fill out" the team...Switch and Apoc, especially, and Dozer isn't excluded here, either. They really have no purpose within the context of the films.

They have nothing meaningful to say (when they say anything to begin with--I don't recall Switch, Apoc, and Dozer having [i]any[/i] medium amounts of dialogue), they exist only on the fringes of the story, are never really developed at all. There are hints that Switch and Apoc are "involved" but that's really all there ever is, and it's minimal at most. They really don't represent anything in the films.

So, it comes down to Mouse and Spoon Boy, really, if we're concentrating on the first film, and it seems like we are, given the poll choices.

Now, Mouse vs Spoon Boy, I'm going to go with Spoon Boy, if only because Spoon Boy's dialogue ("There is no spoon") directly relates to nearly everything that Morpheus is telling Neo throughout the film. S.B. explains how "it's not the spoon that bends, the only thing that bends is your mind." The Spoon is symbolic of everything within the Matrix, that "everything" being fake, a shadow, something that doesn't really exist. To affect it, you can't treat it like it's a solid spoon, because it's not. It's not even there. "There is no spoon."

To affect it, you need to understand (and believe) that what you see before you is just a shadow that can be bent and broken ("Free your mind")...it ties into what Morpheus says ("Rules can be bent, others can be broken"). The spoon is one of those rules.

This is why Neo fails in the Jump Program: because he hasn't truly let go and realized that there really is no distance between the buildings, and there's only a distance because he thinks there is. He fails because he isn't bending his mind; he's still trying to bend the "spoon."

When Neo and Trinity are in the elevator, about to ride the cable up, Neo says "There is no spoon." He can do this (freeing Morpheus, killing Agents) because the Matrix doesn't exist.

During the Spar Program, Morpheus asks him, "Do you think my being faster, stronger has anything to do with my muscles in this place? Do you think that's air you're breathing now?" The "air" doesn't exist. The Spar Program doesn't exist, lol. Something that doesn't exist can't stop you, and that's what Spoon Boy is saying.

The spoon isn't an obstacle, because it doesn't exist.

[Morpheus]

I agree, Steph. Mouse was really cool, and had the best death in the movies. Too bad the wachowskis killed [I]everyone[/I] off in the first movie.

[James]

[color=#811c3a]I think that I'd have to agree with Alex, when it comes to "Spoon Boy" (the orphan/exile). I don't think I could sum it up better than that, really. I mean, he reveals the fundamental point to Neo -- that Neo isn't manipulating the world, so to speak, he's manipulating [i]himself[/i]. The limits of his mental abilities are what dictate his strength/speed/agility within the Matrix.

But bear in mind, the orphans do not die. At least, they suffer the same fate that most of the city's residents suffer. Like Sati, they are absorbed by Smith, until the very end.

In terms of Mouse...I don't care much about his character (or of many of the peripheral characters, who were never intended to be major players in the films), except to say that I liked his point about tasty wheat, or whatever it was. As well as the whole "why everything tastes like chicken" thing. I thought that was a subtle, clever little reference. It makes a lot of sense, too.[/color]

[AnonymousSource]

Personally, I love Mouse.

He's useless and he rambles a lot... what's not to love?

If we're talking the people who mattered to the plot, then it's spoon boy. But Mouse was just so naive and cool.

Plus he died taking a ton of officers with him - he's heroic!

[Manic Webb]

[quote name='AnonymousSource']Plus he died taking a ton of officers with him - he's heroic![/quote]
Actually, you have a point. Mouse contributed more to the story than any other crew member of Morpheus' ship, with the exception of Morpheus, Trinity, Neo, possibly Tank, and (although in an entirely different way) Cypher. Mouse's comment on the food and tasty wheats led gave us an insight into how the matrix works. Nobody tastes anything. They only believe they taste it because of electric signals sent to the brain that give the sensation of taste. And yah, that's why everything tastes like Chicken.

That, like the spoon kid, helped Neo perceive the matrix as being less real. If you don't taste anything, who's to say you feel anything at all? Also, when Cypher betrayed them, Mouse took out several of their potential captors. The deaths of Switch, Apoc, and Dozer only helped to prove how ruthless Cypher was. Mouse's death, on the other hand, accomplished something.

Nevertheless, I'm going with the Spoon Boy for reasons others have stated before me.

[Skye]

[size=1][font=veranda][color=indigo]Heh, I can see that with spoon boy. He?s a cool chara, and I like him. But I, personally, just like Mouse better. That could be for any number of reasons(one, I?m a teenaged girl. Two, his trying to be like Morpheus is totally adorable.). I mean, didn?t anyone else see the totally cute look he got on his face right after he checked to wall/window? ?On, no!?

James, I can see where your going with that. ?Instead, try to t\realize the truth. There is no spoon.? But, sorry, Mouse perspective on chicken rules. ?I mean, take chicken for example. The machines couldn?t figure out what chicken was supposed to taste like, so that?s why it tastes like everything.?[/size][/font][/color]

[SaiyanPrincessX]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][SIZE=1]In terms of chracters who died, then I would have to go with Tank or Mouse. Tank, simply for the fact that he trained Neo, and Mouse due to his corky comments. That whole idea that food may not taste like what you believe is anothe enigma withein the brilliantly designed, yet slightly flawed Matrix.

The exile is another good candidate who shaped the movies. As already stated.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[GTK]

Mouse was cute ^_^ but out of that group, he was sort of the only one who did much O_o the other's were mostly silent (minus Tank and Dozer)

...but no love for the Twins? T_T I liked them.

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.

Honestly I found Mouse to be my favourite character from the original movie, something about his character did define what the Matrix was about. After all he did as Manic pointed out show us many of the truths behind the Matrix [even before we realised them] before Spoon Boy did. However his entertaining nature in the film is what made him a firm favourite for me, from his "pimping" of the Woman in Red to him actually going to far as to be staring at a centre-fold of her while jacked-in was quite funny. As well as that he did have one of the best deaths of any of the characters from the original film, although Dozer's death was also very heroic.

Cypher to me actually represented a very interesting character, he wasn't actually evil he merely wanted to get out of the horrible existence he felt he was stuck in. Yes he turned into a very nasty character to try and get what he wanted [going so far as to kill Switch, Apoc, Dozer directly and indirectly Mouse] and he did represent many of the worse points about humanity but that was his role in the film, Neo is supposed to be everything good about humanity where as Cypher was meant to be everything bad.[/SIZE]

[Lilt]

[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid]Darn you, Rhian! *shakes fist* You're obsessive fangirl-ness is contagious! Now I've caught it! (Actually, I'm just kidding, Skye-kun. I do like Mouse, though.) Anyways, here's what everyone else said, but with fewer words:[/color][/size][/font]

[b][font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid]Mouse said it first.[/color][/size][/font][/b]
[b][font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=#9932cc][/color][/size][/font][/b]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=#9932cc]And here's what the spoon boy lovers basically said:[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=#9932cc][/color][/size][/font]
[b][font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=#9932cc]You can't eat Tasty Wheat, without a spoon. But there is no spoon, so you can't eat the Tasty Wheat. Which doesn't matter, because it doesn't exist anyways.[/color][/size][/font][/b]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid]Sorry, I actually wasn't paying attention to what anyone else said. o_O[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid]Anyways, here's my list.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid]1. Mouse - Too many reasons, so I'll just say because I'm now an obsessive fangirl too.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid]2. Dozer - Was he the one who got killed? Or was he the one who tried to get revenge for his brother? Oh well, they were both cool.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid]3. Switch - (If that was the name of the other girl in their team.) 'Cause she had potential. ^.^[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid]This post has really made me want to watch the first Matrix over again.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=2][color=darkorchid][/color][/size][/font]

[sinna]

Man, Mouse ruled. A few people have said before me that Mouse rambled alot which, it seems, a lot of geniuses do. Other than this I can't think of any other reason why I like Mouse more than any other non-main character.