Bourne Trilogy

[mocachapeau]

For the past few months I have been watching the Bourne trilogy rather repetitively, particularly the Bourne Identity. It has turned into my favorite movie, the one I can watch over and over without ever tiring of it. After a while I started wondering why. I know it's a good story, and the character is really "cool" because he's kind of like a real super hero, but there have been other movies that fit that description that I have not become so attached to. Why this one? Well I think this story compares very favorably to the idea of someone, anyone, who is waking up.

Leaving aside the particular type of programing he has undergone, Jason Bourne is simply a human being who has a lot of programs running. His conscience, deeply buried beneath all the programs, finally wakes up at a crucial moment, making him realize that what he is doing is wrong. From that moment on, his programing fails - it no longer controls him. He can now think for himself and do what he feels is right, not what his controllers tell him to do. Because this presents a threat to the controllers, they immediately turn their attention on him and try to stop him. This proves to be rather difficult because his training has left him with an incredible amount of knowledge that, when applied, enables him to move about within the matrix avoiding detection when necessary, and fight back against his assailants quite effectively. Even when he seems to be out of danger he is constantly anticipating all forms of attack. And through it all, he has no memory of his real identity.

His goal is to seek the truth about his controllers and expose it to the rest of the world, and also to learn who he is, learn about his past. And when he succeeds, that group of controllers is stripped of its power over himself and others, and he is truly free.

I know there is a lot of interesting information in the movie about the type of government programing that goes on behind the scenes, but I think this comparison is what really attracts me to this story.

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[HiThere]

That was a nice observation and well put. I agree; though I haven't seen these movies more than once, I read the books repeatedly as a teenager and found them fascinating. I think your explanation for this fascination is a good one. Bourne is an example to follow, but maybe in a less violent manner! :)

 

[Laura]

I agree with your synopsis and assessment. Ark and I liked these movies as well and I think we might watch them again.

 

[Iconoclast]

i've recently read the very good book "Reel Power - Hollywood cinema and american supremacy" by matthew alford.
in it he surmises that most if not all hollywood movies, even the ones that are thought of as critical, contain basic propaganda that serves US interests. (the US is a benevolent force and the use of violence is, while not desired, necessary, etc.)

he singles out the bourne franchise as one of the more critical products with a low propaganda amount.

on the other hand he points out rightly, that the director of the 2nd and 3rd movies, paul greengrass, made the propaganda piece "united 93" while saying elsewhere "we can't trust the authorities... and we have to search for our own answers as bourne is searching for his, and those answers are on the street" [...] "government, especially secret government have not told us the truth about the iraq war"

another interesting fact: doug liman, director of the first movie, is the son of arthur l. liman, who was chief councel for the senate comittee investigating the iran-contra affair.

 

[Mountain Crown]

One of my all time favorites.

Thanks for the insightful analysis, mocachapeau.

 

[Ares]

That was a nice observation and well put. I agree; though I haven't seen these movies more than once, I read the books repeatedly as a teenager and found them fascinating. I think your explanation for this fascination is a good one. Bourne is an example to follow, but maybe in a less violent manner! :)

Unfortunately most of us aren't trained in those deadly hand combat techniques B-)
great trilogy though

 

[Lilou]

While I was in college, Robert Ludlum became one of my favorite authors. I read the Bourne Trilogy and many others (well over a dozen). While I did enjoy the Bourne movies, I always preferred the novels. They are packed with details that couldn't be included in the movies.

Ludlum obviously researched his novels very well, and I always thought he had some "insider knowledge" about the evil operating within the guberment. Ludlum was an ex-marine, so that may have been what gave him his inspiration.

I was deeply saddened when he died in 2001. He left behind quite a legacy. May he rest in peace.

 

[jordifs]

I agree with general comments.
The bourne character I find to be fascinating.
¿Is it propaganda? Probably.
There are more films that take this character (secret agent, mind control, making a perfect soldier).

As for the writer I also agree.
The personal experience is a key feature for the inspiration.
Another similar character: "James Bond".
The writer also had personal experience working within department MI5.
So the knowledge let you to fuel some fiction that, may be is not.
I remember some elements that are 'food for thought'.
An 'evil opponent' that plays with genetic modified seeds to take control of the world.
A watch with the video conference capability, based on LCD (Liquid crystal display) technology.

So they let you see how some fiction gadgets become real after 40 years. No fiction, they are real.
For the film minority report, for instance, I remember the scene of the main actor manipulating a computer with hands and glasses.
Same interface was already 'beta tested' using Xbox Kinect. A camera focus on the user and interpret your physical actions to interface with menus, and the like.
Moreover the same concept was already present some time ago on another film: Johnny Mnemonic (1995). I remember how the user 'enters the computer network', hacking, etc, using a glasses and special gloves. Interesting indeed, same gadgets, different films. Also this last film, with a very interesting ending (concepts that arise at end). No spoiler in this paragraph.

 

[Beau]

Interesting take mocachapeau. I'm a fan of the trilogy as well. It really is a fine allegory to waking up IRL, even if I'm not sure the writer intended for that effect. This is also one of the rare trilogies where the 2nd and 3rd films are not vastly inferior to the first. You just have to be able to deal with the director's penchant for shaky-cam.

 

[mocachapeau]

Unfortunately most of us aren't trained in those deadly hand combat techniques B-)
great trilogy though

No we are not trained in that way, but I don't think people like you and me would have to worry about that kind of attack.

It's only an analogy. The form of attack used against him is particular to the type of person he is, the type of threat he poses. The form of attack used against us can come in the form of viruses, laws, or maybe accidents. That is why we are acquiring the knowledge necessary to strengthen our health, along with learning how the PTB act against us, members of the general public that are discovering and spreading the truth.

In essence we are doing the same thing. We learn the modes of attack, anticipate them and use our knowledge to fight back or avoid them.

Interesting take mocachapeau. I'm a fan of the trilogy as well. It really is a fine allegory to waking up IRL, even if I'm not sure the writer intended for that effect. This is also one of the rare trilogies where the 2nd and 3rd films are not vastly inferior to the first. You just have to be able to deal with the director's penchant for shaky-cam.

I too am not sure he had this interpretation in mind. But do you think L. Frank Baum was consciously thinking about the arrival of the Wave when he wrote The Wizard Of Oz? I'm wondering if it's worth asking the C's if the Bourne story was influenced by 4D STO in the same way. It certainly became very popular, reaching hundreds of millions of people. Who knows?

 

[obyvatel]

Interesting take mocachapeau. I'm a fan of the trilogy as well. It really is a fine allegory to waking up IRL, even if I'm not sure the writer intended for that effect. This is also one of the rare trilogies where the 2nd and 3rd films are not vastly inferior to the first. You just have to be able to deal with the director's penchant for shaky-cam.

I too am not sure he had this interpretation in mind. But do you think L. Frank Baum was consciously thinking about the arrival of the Wave when he wrote The Wizard Of Oz? I'm wondering if it's worth asking the C's if the Bourne story was influenced by 4D STO in the same way. It certainly became very popular, reaching hundreds of millions of people. Who knows?

The scripts of the second and third Bourne films have no similarity with the Robert Ludlum books. The first film (Bourne Identity) has some similarity with the book in the sense that it deals with a undercover CIA spy suffering from amnesia. In the books, Bourne's arch enemy is a terrorist named Carlos.. Anyway, I think the second and third films were much better than the books of the same name.
It is interesting though that in many other Robert Ludlum books, the protagonist fights the system - a shadow one-world government in the making. Ludlum was one of my favorite authors in teenage years and through his fiction I was exposed to this idea of puppet masters pulling strings from behind the curtain in terms of world economic and political events. False flag attacks to push the population into a state of panic and then pushing for totalitarian control was a common theme in his books. Off course, there was the one main character who fought this shadow system and triumphed in the end, thus reinforcing the savior theme. All in all, the Ludlum books were interesting fiction at that age for me.

 

[istina]

While I was in college, Robert Loudly became one of my favorite authors. I read the Borne Trilogy and many others (well over a dozen). While I did enjoy the Borne movies, I always preferred the novels. They are packed with details that couldn't be included in the movies.

Loudly obviously researched his novels very well, and I always thought he had some "insider knowledge" about the evil operating within the garment. Loudly was an examine, so that may have been what gave him his inspiration.

I was deeply saddened when he died in 2001. He left behind quite a legacy. May he rest in peace.

I was Ludlum's fan also when I was young, and Bourne Identity was my favourite. And always had that feeling that he had some "insider knowledge" as you said!

 

[Voyageur]

The original trilogy by Ludlum was interesting as even with some of his other books he could describe well the circles within circles in clandestine activities which were mostly WWII or Iron curtain era. Later after RL's death, Eric Van Lustbader was commissioned by the estate to continue the series and he wrote quite a few other books featuring Bourne - although some were interesting, it kind of became mechanical and gave up on them.

If you have not seen the original 'The Bourne Identity', which is closer to the Ludlum book - sort of, try renting Richard Chamberlain/Jaclyn Smith version - think it was a two part series from the 80's - not so much techno wizardry and the acting was a little different, depending on your likes and dislikes. Some of the other cast members were very good actors in their time and it is worth it for that aspect alone.

 

[Ares]

No we are not trained in that way, but I don't think people like you and me would have to worry about that kind of attack.
It's only an analogy. The form of attack used against him is particular to the type of person he is, the type of threat he poses. The form of attack used against us can come in the form of viruses, laws, or maybe accidents. That is why we are acquiring the knowledge necessary to strengthen our health, along with learning how the PTB act against us, members of the general public that are discovering and spreading the truth.
In essence we are doing the same thing. We learn the modes of attack, anticipate them and use our knowledge to fight back or avoid them.

that was a joke mocachapeau :) but ofcourse, you make sense

 

[Lilou]

While I was in college, Robert Loudly became one of my favorite authors. I read the Borne Trilogy and many others (well over a dozen). While I did enjoy the Borne movies, I always preferred the novels. They are packed with details that couldn't be included in the movies.

Loudly obviously researched his novels very well, and I always thought he had some "insider knowledge" about the evil operating within the garment. Loudly was an examine, so that may have been what gave him his inspiration.

I was deeply saddened when he died in 2001. He left behind quite a legacy. May he rest in peace.

I was Ludlum's fan also when I was young, and Bourne Identity was my favourite. And always had that feeling that he had some "insider knowledge" as you said!

Why does istina's quote of my previous post have the author as Loudly, instead of Ludlum? garment instead of guberment? examine instead of ex-marine? Is it something to do with a translator or spell checker on her computer? Just curious.