🥸 #214 - Who do they think they are?
It's different once you get to know them.
What’s useful about having a big difference between the way a character sees themself and the way others see them? What can you do when the person and the persona clash? And which version of the person is true: the one they see themselves as, or how others see them?
Danny Boyd breaks down how the MCU’s Tony Stark acts as a solid example of a character with a divide between their character and how others characterize them. The arc of Stark is all about developing that internal heroism and bringing it to the surface for others to see.
The Matrix traffics in plenty of character dualities. The idea of having a Residual Self Image inside the Matrix while your body may look different. Is Neo “The One,” or just another person Morpheus unplugged and taught martial arts to? Consider this scene where Agent Smith lays out that there are two different people being interrogated: The Thomas Anderson that people know, and the hacker Neo that hides online.
Smith himself is another example. Ben from Canada examines the way that Smith disrupts the audience’s conception that he’s just another drone like the other agents, showing how he has a personal agenda and a hidden sense of unique identity:
Keeping on the Keanu Train,1 Film Junkie looks at John Wick, a film where the hero could easily be the terrifying villain of a different story. It’s a deft balancing act that keeps the character imposing, but avoids characterizing him as a simple slaughter machine.
A.J. Gnuse wants you to think about creepy children. Specifically, the expectation that children are vulnerable and innocent contrasted with how they’re often used in horror stories.
Blade Runner gives us a story with multiple characters walking the tightrope between our expectation and the reality of who they are. Rick Deckard needs to determine if the individuals he’s interrogating are human or robotic replicants. The Tyrell Corporation, maker of the replicants, uses the slogan “More Human Than Human.” It’s all in the service of asking questions about what defines a human, and whether it matters if an android believes it is truly a sentient being.
Niclas Hermansson looks at interviews with the cast and crew to discuss one of the long-running ambiguities of the film: Is Rick Deckard a replicant? Is he as he appears, a human hunting androids, or is his true identity a secret even to himself? The Take digs in to the many cuts of the film to see how changes in the edit can lead to different interpretations of whether or not Harrison Ford’s iconic character was born or manufactured.
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Previously on Inneresting…
In case you missed it, last issue’s most clicked link Tom Cox imagined that life after the inevitable collapse of the internet in 2029 will mean more rather than fewer arguments with strangers.
What else is inneresting?
Zoe Curzi on being in hell, and how sometimes healing looks like playing video games and going to therapy.
Dan Cullum on how adults need to learn that mistakes aren’t permanent, and corrections are allowed.
Pop Culture Fixations shares the history of Sonic Blast Man, the arcade game with the Guinness record for most real-life injuries caused by a video game.
This is going to ruin the tour: Robin Sloan’s Book Tour Simulator 2024
And that’s what’s inneresting this week!
Inneresting is edited by Chris Csont, with contributions from readers like you and the entire Quote-Unquote team.
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Post-Credits Scene
The Keanu Train’s whistle goes “Woah woah!”