The Matrix brought something new to life in 1999 and inspired so many creators and stories. With an interesting premise and brilliant visual effects, The Matrix resonated with viewers and still holds its weight today.
By executing on the fundamentals of story structure, the story easily bears the weight of a lot of explaining and overt world-building, and audiences are happy to go along for the ride.
One Universe
Despite the fact that this section is called “One Universe,” here we actually have two. There are two sets of rules, one that governs the real world in the year 2199, and the other that governs the Matrix. When working with a story that happens in two entirely different worlds, I recommend creating a list of rules for each.
Rules for the Matrix – seemingly 1999
Rules for the real world – seemingly 2199
On both of these sheets, of course there is much more to be said. As a sci-fi story, some of these boxes could each have their own page of rules and examples. When crafting a story, take as much room as you need, you’ll likely need to expand beyond the space provided on the worksheet.
Since there are two worlds to develop, The Matrix is obvious about doing so. We have multiple scenes which are entirely explanation. Because the world is fascinating enough in itself, the audience is willing to stick around for it.
We also benefit from a strong Guide character in Morpheus, who literally explains both worlds to Neo. He explains the history, mechanics, and backstory of the “real world” to Neo (and also to the audience). Then in the process of “training” Neo, he further develops the rules of the Matrix.
Three Acts
Despite being a hard sci-fi story with lots of rules to be explained, The Matrix does not elongate the first act as many sci-fi stories do.The storytellers make the pieces fit in acts of roughly equal links (approximately 43 minutes, 53 minutes, and 32 minutes, respectively).
The Matrix does deviate from the Novel Matrix with a weak, practically non-existent “Save the Cat” moment. The opening dialogue between Trinity and Cypher establishes Neo’s importance, however, we never really see it. The opening shot of Neo establishes that he is lonely and possibly obsessed, which are sympathetic qualities, but don’t really rise to what we typically see in a Save the Cat moment.
In the second act we see a literal montage of Neo’s training in which Morpheus continues to build upon the rules of the universe. In the “Woman in the Red Dress” scene, Morpheus specifically establishes the ethical rules of the Matrix, explaining why it’s OK for them to kill civilians and police.
After the team goes to see the Oracle as we approach the Icarus moment, Morpheus discontinues his role as the Guide. This role is briefly filled by the Oracle, who provides new directions for Neo, and Morpheus falls into the Object of Affection archetype.
Effectively, The Matrix is a “true love’s kiss” story, but this is underserved. The romance between Trinity and Neo is severely underdeveloped and difficult to believe. However, by executing hard on the typical story structure, the storytellers get away with fudging the romance.
Five Conflicts
A ton of philosophical ideas are flying around The Matrix, and with Keanu Reeve’s reserved portrayal of Neo it can be difficult to pin down the internal and philosophical conflicts.
However, we do see that internally Neo struggles to believe if he is the one. He’s presented with evidence in both directions, and he wrestles with his belief, which has a major impact on the plot.
As we typically see, the Little World philosophical conflict is brought to life by the Guide and the Frenemy. Morpheus openly argues that truth and objective reality is the most important thing. Cypher openly argues that the illusion was better than reality.
Seven Characters
We initially have a large cast in The Matrix, including six tertiary characters as the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar. Despite the large group hanging around, we know very little about any of their backstories or motivations. Most of these tertiary characters are eliminated in the Icarus moment.
It’s not noted on the worksheet, but the Oracle steps in as the guide at the Icarus moment, providing new instructions for Neo. Both Guides, Morpheus and the Oracle, serve the cause more than they serve Neo. They are both willing to tell Neo incomplete truths in order to get him on mission.
Here we see a common character combination in which Morpheus serves as both the Guide and Object of Affection archetype.
There is a reasonable alternate viewing in which Cypher is the antagonist and Agent Smith represents the Matrix as the Mega-Antagonist. Functionally, either explanation serves the story the same.
The Matrix Notes
Despite the underserved romance, The Matrix delivers a super cool story that hooked viewers when it was released in 1999 and continues to entertain today.
The story relies on visual effects, the novelty of the premise, and strict adherence to the three-act structure and the Guide archetype to overcome its weaknesses. Because the story executes strongly on the elements of story found in the Novel Matrix, viewers can understand and relate to the story.
With The Matrix, we see the value of developing two different universes for a story that is set in two different worlds, and how direct and deliberate you can be in explaining those worlds with a strong, interesting Guide character.
If you’re writing speculative fiction, hit the Novel Matrix story elements hard and you’ll earn a lot of grace from your reader when you need to fudge the rules of your universe to make it work.
The Novel Matrix will keep your story on the rails. By ensuring that you’re putting those fundamental tools to work: universe, plot, conflict, and characters, you’ll tell a robust story that your reader can relate to.
Ready to get started? Pick up your own copy of The Novel Matrix on Amazon (click here) and put these principles to work in your storytelling.
If you’d like to check it out first, use this form to download the first four chapters of The Novel Matrix absolutely free:
