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Friday, August 1, 2008
WANTED: A Myth Criticism The movie WANTED is not just any sci-fi/action film meant to entertain action-addicts and movie-goers. This yet another fictional film exhibited different mythical motifs and archetypal images. Connections were made and seen from the movie. Motifs and primordial images present in early myths are also present in the film. THE MAJOR CHARACTERS 1. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) Wesley is the male lead character in the film Wanted. His exhilarating, though boring at first, life was the focus of the story in the movie, Using Pearson’s heroic archetypes, the character of Wesley Gibson probably displays two different archetypal images. One can say that he is a Wanderer, and also a Warrior. Wesley was very different from all of his colleagues in the company that he was working at. He did not want to be like everyone else who was adhering to the demands of their boss named Janice. He hated conforming to what his co-workers do at work. He would rather type in his name on the Google search bar than immediately do a billing report that he was asked to finish. He was pretty much of a slacker.This makes his character somewhat of a Wanderer. His goal was to find independence, and autonomy. Wesley was searching for his own identity. And when he was finally recruited to the Fraternity of Assassins, when he became an assassin himself, he slowly became a Warrior. He acquired the strength to kill people. He unlocked his unearthly abilities which made him strong. When he realized that he needed to avenge his alleged father from his killer named cross, who later on turned out to be his real father, he worked hard to hone his skills, and be able to be stronger than ever. He started competing and fighting with the other members of the Fraternity and as well as himself in order to prove himself worthy to be an assassin. From being the slacker that he used to be, Wesley transformed into becoming a fighter, a deadly assassin himself. From having dominantly a Wanderer image before, he was consequently ruled over by the image of a Warrior. Wesley’s character also exhibited some archetypes presented by Carl Jung. The Shadow archetype of Wesley was what made him not want to be like other people. This archetype that his character possessed was what made Wesley a slacker. This was illustrated whenever the bad/dark side of him was shown in the film. The Anima, or the Soul, archetype was also displayed by the character of Wesley. The scenes whenever his heart beats up faster, and was able to move quicker than ever showed signs of the Anima archetype. Wesley exhibited unusual and amazing skills and power. 2. Fox (Angelina Jolie) Fox is the female lead character in the film Wanted. She was the fierce assassin who served significant in the transformation of Wesley. Using Pearson’s heroic archetypes, Fox’s character illustrated both the image of a Warrior, and a Martyr. Evidently enough, Fox possessed incredible fighting abilities. This simply implies that she was already an expert when it comes to battles. Her fight scenes in the film (e.g. when she meets Wesley in the grocery store and gets into a fight with Cross, when she goes after Wesley and Cross who were on a train) represents the Warrior image of Fox. She works hard to fulfill all her assignments. She literally kills to reach her goal. This Warrior figure of Fox was seen almost althroughout the movie. Nevertheless, in the near end of the film, she dies. She kills her companions in the Fraternity and dies herself in order to save the life of Wesley Gibson, the man whom she might have possibly fallen in love with. This particular scene from the movie now reveals the Martyr image of Fox. This might have been a change of perceptions. Just like the transformation that occurred to Wesley who was a Wanderer at first but turned into a Warrior towards the end, Fox also experience such transformation. Only from becoming the Warrior that she used to be, to a Martyr that she ended to be. This transformation of Fox was rather tragic, than plain quixotic. Based on Jungian archetypes, Fox’s Shadow archetype was very dominant within her during the first part of the film. It was her dark side that was most prominent in the beginning. She can also be the maiden in Jung’s story archetypes. Though very masculine in actions, Fox showed a typical maiden-like image in some scenes in the movie. 3. Sloan (Morgan Freeman) Sloan is the major antagonist in the film Wanted. His obsession and leadership of the Fraternity of the Assassins was the cause of the development in Wesley Gibson’s, as well as the other characters’ lives. Using Pearson’s heroic archetypes, Sloan’s character actually portrayed the images of an Orphan, and a Warrior. Because Sloan believed that ‘Faith’ is the one responsible for all the killings of their targets, and that only through killing them will they all achieve gratification, Sloan’s character illustrated a perfect example of an Orphan. He wanted a ‘quick fix’ to the problems of the world. According to him, by killing one, thousands of men could be saved. Obviously, Sloan wants the ‘easy way’. He doesn’t even know if the targets that ‘Faith’ was giving are actually bad people. He already had a fix belief. He awaits Faith to solve their problems. Because of this principle of his, he changes other people to be able to please himself. Just like how he turned all the members of the Fraternity against Cross. He’s able to change the thinking of the people around him for his own sake. This is one of his qualities which qualifies him to possess the Warrior archetype. Sloan can be very much the Trickster in Jung’s story archetypes. He was the deceiver in the film wanted. He deceived almost all of the members of the Fraternity. He definitely had hidden schemes planned out to his advantage. He can also be the Devious Cat, one of the animal archetypes as described by Jung. Sloan was pretty much self-serving. 4. Cross (Thomas Kretschmann) Cross was one of the characters in the film who, though he did not speak that much, had a great impact on the story. He was the real father of Wesley Gibson. Though he was being thought of a traitor to the Fraternity, Wesley eventually found out that Cross had good intentions. His character could be interpreted of possessing Pearson’s Martyr, Warrior, and somehow, a Magician. He’s character is that of a Martyr because he was willing to put himself in danger trying to save the life of his son. He knew very well that the members of the Fraternity were just as strong as he is, but he still opted to save his son, even though this can cause him his life. In the end, Cross died still trying to save Wesley. Unfortunately, Wesley was blinded by the Fraternity and consequently kills his real father. Cross also possessed the Warrior archetype because just like all the other members of the Fraternity, he showed exemplary skills in battling and competing. He was very strong and competitive. Finally, Cross somehow also exhibited the image of a magician. His principles are well developed. The fact that he wanted the Fraternity of Assassins to stop their doings already since it’s not good makes Cross a very holistic and well-balanced man. He knew what he needed to do. From Jung’s Archetypes, Cross definitely possessed the Father archetype, which is one of the family archetypes. He was stern, powerful, and controlling. Although he died in the end, he also exhibited the hero archetype. He was the rescuer of his son. THE STORY The film Wanted had a very mythical-based story. Basing it on Northrop Frye’s archetypes according to genres, the movie can pretty much correspond to the mythos of fall: tragedy. In reality, though Wesley got to kill the antagonist Sloan in the end, the movie is pretty much tragic. The sequence of events led to very tragic endings. Two of the major and significant characters in the film died. Wesley’s life after he kills Sloan was very unsure. Who knows what he would end up to be doing? The plot and flow of the story is unmistakable tragic, and its most interesting scenes are pretty much the tragedies that occurred. REFLECTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS I’d have to say that this film was far beyond what I had expected it to be. The last action film that I have watched was Vantage Point, and I was fairly satisfied by its story. This movie, however, was so much more. The character portrayals were great, the occurrences were marvelous- especially the tragedies and the twists were just the right kinds. I liked the film very much. I would definitely say that this is a must-see film, a HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED one.
8/01/2008 10:32:00 PM
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