Agent Smith

In the Wachowski Brother's Matrix Trilogy, the antagonist, Agent Smith (later becoming just "Smith"), played by Hugo Weaving, appears to have a strong hatred for humanity. Yet in a closer analysis, Smith actually represents some of humanities greatest attributes; Mainly a constant and infinite desire for power. Smith is part of the "Agent" program, an artificial intelligence designed to keep order and balance in the computer-generated reality of the Matrix. These Agents have neatly combed hair and wear plain black suits, black sunglasses, and an earpiece. This appearance is a sign of power. The signifier of professional attire and appearance signifies power and dominance, which can be taken from our cultural conventions of a businessperson or corporate executive. Their sunglasses are pitch black (probably too dark to see through) which gives Smith this cold, dark, constant stare. Often, we associate sunglasses with “Bad-asses” on motorcycles, stereotypically men who embody power, strength, and the ever-important “macho-man” ego. Smith’s weapon of choice is a Desert Eagle Pistol, one of the largest and most powerful pistols in the world. This weapon is a signifier of his power and strength as well.

Clip 1: Smith's Speech to Morpheus
In this video clip, we see Smith and the other Agents have captured Morpheus, the leader of a band of humans set on destroying the Matrix and its Agents and freeing humanity. Smith needs the codes in Morpheus' head to destroy the human rebellion in order to free himself from the Matrix. Smith and pulls up a chair, backwards and sits eye level with Morpheus and gives a small speech. This subject position is a sign. The signifier, his act of pulling up a chair, signifies that Smith is in charge, demonstrating his power. This plays to our cultural convention of a police interrogation where the officer would pull up a chair and say in a city-slicker accent "Hey, I'll be asking the questions around here." Smith goes on to say how he has tried to "Classify your species" and he has come to the conclusion "That your are not mammals but a virus, a plague, and disease." This sign of power comes from his perspective of a scientist trying to classify a foreign species, as well as his use of the words disease, virus, plague, and your, signifies his true feelings of disgust and dominance over humanity. Even in the beginning of the clip, he stares from his window down at the humans like a scientist looking at cells in a petri-dish. Once again we see signifiers of Smith’s inner business man through his words “Entire crops were lost”. These words are signifiers, striking chords with our culture’s belief that businessmen have power.

Clip 2: Smith Reloaded
We rejoin Smith as a new man. He has gained an amazing amount of power such as super strength, speed, and the ability to clone himself. These powers are the trademark signifiers of super humanity, or superhero-ness. The signified super heroes are beings of enormous power, which is what Smith is all about. At 1:54, he crushes an orange, which acting as a signifier, signifies his utter hatred and domination of all things earthly and human. (Much like our friend Edgar-bug and his cabbie-abuse issues)

Clip 3: Smith vs. Neo
Finally, Smith’s plan to take over the Matrix is 99% complete. He has taken every thing in the Matrix as his clone. He even controls the weather. Although the audio on the fight is inaudible, Smith ask’s Neo “Like what I’ve done with the place?” The signifier, his words, represent the signified, Smith’s true power and control over the Matrix and everyone in it. The lightning in the sky is also a sign of Smith’s power. The signifier is the large bolts of electricity in the sky, and the signified is power. (Hence why the leaders of Roman and Greek mythology wielded the great electrical bolts as their weapons of choice) Also, Smith can now fly, signifying again his powers increasing.

Throughout these three clips, and these three movies, Smith relies on two underlying sources of power: Power of Race/Gender and Power of the individual.

All of the Agents are Caucasian men, while the People of Zion (the protagonist society) is made up of a large diversity, with a majority of black ethnicity. To the Machines, who create stereotypically Caucasian programs, the Zionites are criminals and rebels. In the first clip we see can see the underlying scene that is a commonly known social stereotype, a black man, assumed to be a criminal, with handcuffs on being interrogated by a white man of authority. Thus this too is a signifier, the signified being Smith’s power. Smith asks for the codes to Zion in order to kill all of it’s citizens, again signifying Smith’s unseen hatred for the colored people. In clip two, at 1:30, a colored woman walks by the battle scene. The setting of this fight is an urban area, with a degree of poverty and crime judging by the graffiti on the walls and the social conventions associated with the urban setting. The fact that a colored woman would be walking by only contributes to this convention of urban America. There is another sign of Smith’s power, stemming from both gender and race. Smith’s actions of controlling/dominating a colored woman act as signifiers of his power. In the end of the films, as scene in clip three, Smith creates a world of only Caucasian males. To him, it would be a “Perfect world”. Sadly, the movies never actually state that Smith is a male, we just assume this, much like Edgar-bug. Smith’s assumed gender signifies we ourselves, hold the convention that Smith’s character is a male because Smith has power.

Smith also generates power from his individualism. Given the name Smith, its almost impossible for him not to crave individuality. Smith is the most popular last name in America with over 2.5 million people sharing it. Its a bit ironic for his character to possess it.In the first clip, while stating his opinion, a closer look reveals his sunglasses are suddenly transparent. “The eyes are windows to the soul” This is a signifier. The signified is Smith’s individuality. In the beginning of the films, Smith has an earpiece, but when confessing his true feelings to Morpheus, he removes his earpiece signifying his individual thoughts and desires. In his speech he refers to human objects as “your, you” and to things of authority as “we, our, us”. These words are signifiers of Smith’s desire to separate himself from humanity, and prove that he is different and better. He wants freedom. at 3:00 in the first clip, Smith begins to share how he “hates this place, this zoo.” Freedom from the Matrix would mean height of Smith’s desire to be an individual, to be free. This is where Smith’s appearance signifies Smith the individual. Smith isn’t wearing sunglasses or an ear piece. His earpiece has been a signifier. The signified is his connection and commitment to his role. One this is removed, he is a rogue. He is not connected to the other Agents, He is different, he is an individual. He uses words like “My” and “I” As the movie progresses, “Individual Smith” will be portrayed this way by the author to signify Smith’s individuality. In clip two, at 1:43 Smith jollily says “me, me, me” while creating a clone out of an Agent. This signifies that although Smith is creating is gathering strength in numbers, Smith still holds strong pride in the individual.

Now why does Smith have this crazed desire for power and freedom? Why would someone or something with such a deep hatred for humanity carry such a similarity to us? Psychologically Smith’s character may have a serious inferiority complex issue, which is also seen with Edgar-bug. Smith was just another program, forced as a slave in this world, trapped to service. Yet he has opinions, desires, and emotions. As the movies progress, Smith gains more power, and his human traits grow more prevalent. The Authors of the Matrix, the Wachowski Brothers, said that they wanted Smith to grow more human in order to balance Neo’s changes. Over the movie, Neo becomes less and less emotional, also gaining strength, but losing emotion and fear (becoming machine like). This shift in character needed to be balanced by Smith’s changes or there would’ve been conflicting character traits that would not flow with the plot line. Talk about Irony. Smith hates humans but becomes more and more human, while Neo wishes to destroy the machines but becomes more and more mechanical. Smith's character comes to embody some of humanities most basic desires: power, freedom, control, and individuality. Smith argues for these desires using our cultural conventions of gender, race, and occupation. Smith truely represents the relationship between us and culture. He "infected" us. We "infected" him.