As the scene transitions from Trinity’s escape to our introduction to Neo the camera pans from within the computer to a close up of the screen and in big text across the camera frame the word “Searching…” This image becomes very interesting in the context of the character of Neo who is at this point literally searching. For what, he’s not exactly sure. In reference to frederic Jameson who writes that there is a certain fragmentation of identity that has occurred in our postmodern society. Here Neo is literally labeled as ‘searching’ and as we learn more about his character it becomes clear that he is looking for a way to understand his own identity and he isn’t able to do that within the Matrix.
As the camera continues to pan out from the computer, we see that it is searching through various newspaper websites. This is happening while neo is listening to music and sleeping, surrounded by indecipherable computer stuff. Neo is being bombarded by a seemingly uncontrollable amount of media, and he is literally unconscious of it. So much so that it is beginning to affect his identity as Mr. Anderson. Like in Delillo’s White Noise there is a blurring for the children of the reality of the television and their physical reality. This same idea is in effect here with Neo’s fragmentation of identity into Mr. Anderson and Neo. The Neo identity is one that is heavily involved with digital world and it’s this identity that begins to take over the Mr. Anderson Identity. This is a much more dramatic version of the blurring of realities in comparison to Delillo’s and is only in someways utilized here as a simulacra to create a hyperreal character that becomes almost universally identifiable. It’s similar to the creation of an icon, in Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics he uses the example of a realist’s interpretation of the human face contrasted with a simple drawing of a smiley face. Though we can identify both as faces we the smiley face comes to represent all smiling faces whereas the other face can only be representative of that one person. By eliminating certain details and maintaining only the most basic identifiable details it becomes an icon. With Neo certain simulacra are used to define him as an outcast, a trait many people can identify with. Jameson discusses the importance of ‘alienation’ in understanding the fragmentation of our identity. If our own identities weren’t fragmented to an extent Neo would be a far less identifiable character and The Matrix wouldn’t have had such widespread appeal.
As the scene continues, Neo wakes up and hears a visitor at the door after a brief conversation the scene jarringly cuts to a club scene and then again cuts to an alarm clock blaring and Neo waking up late for work. The jarring transitions create a visual allegory to Neo’s fragmentation of identity.
Neo’s identity from our very first introduction to him is fragmented, from the obvious Neo/Mr.Anderson division, to even our visual understanding of his life which seems to us very disconnected. It’s only once he is able to leave the Matrix that he and our understanding of what is going on becomes more coherent.