TRON: Legacy, A Representation Analysis

Although the film TRON: Legacy may be science fiction, it represents aspects of the real world in interesting ways. TRON: Legacy's story is kicked off by the disappearance of Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer and the CEO of a tech company called Encom. Flynn is described as having a vision for and obsession with a "digital frontier" which, in his mind, would drastically change an improve society. He's introduced by telling the story of this digital frontier, which is known as The Grid, to his son, Sam. Flynn tells this story of scientific discovery as if it were a fairy tail, his voice full of wonder and optimism. This choice gives Flynn the characteristic of wisdom as well as intrigue. He's represents the eccentric genius, a man of incredible knowledge that the world isn't ready for, and this knowledge eventually leads to his downfall. 

 After Flynn's disappearance, Sam is left an orphan. He's the largest shareholder of Encom, despite the fact that he doesn't want any part of it. He's introduced as a young adult evading the police on a motorcycle. This introduction shows him as representing the young rebel, someone who's goal is to go against the established order. He sabotages Encom's newest product launch, and the audience can see that the Encom executives are very different from Kevin Flynn. They're all gathered in boardroom with sleek black walls and a large screen displaying numbers and stock prices, and they all wear similar black suits. This imagery represents the big tech industry as being ran by profit minded drones who only care about success. One of them brings up how Kevin Flynn would've wanted their operating system to be release for free, which the other board members immediately dismiss. This further represents Flynn, the visionary, as being benevolent and good while the board members, who profit off of his creations, are cold and selfish.

 After the first act of the film, Sam enters The Grid, and it's discovered that the reason Flynn went missing was because he's been trapped there. He's introduced again as an old man wearing a white robe, sitting with his legs folded in a meditative pose. His face is revealed and he's shown to have a thick grey beard. The film represents Flynn's old age as leading to an increase in his wisdom. He's taken in an apprentice named Quorra, who is the last of the ISOs, natural lifeforms created from The Grid itself as opposed to being programmed into it. She's shown as being naive about the real world while also wanting to learn about it, spending her time reading from Flynn's library of classic literature. As the female lead of the film, Quorra is represented as being defined by her difference while being a symbol of innocence and hope that must be protected.

 He tells his son the story of what happened to him, and how his exile was caused by CLU, a program he created in his image who now rules over The Grid with an iron fist. CLU is the film's antagonist, and he and his army carry a visual aesthetic meant to evoke imagery of fascism. His soldiers all wear near identical uniforms of black and red armor with helmets that obscure their faces, removing them of their individuality. A scene in CLU's warship shows him giving a speech to them as they stand in ordered lines. In this speech, CLU discusses his plan to enter the human world, which he believes his fatality flawed, and shape into his image of perfection. This goal also aligns with the ideology and fascism, and shows it as a controlling evil that, similarly to the buisness executives from the film's first act, must be rebelled against by people like Sam. The Grid itself is represented as a world that needs saving. It's a place filled with tall, angular, brutalist architecture, dark colors, a perpetual storm in the sky, and soldiers constantly patrolling the streets, who at one point chase down a homeless man. A major plot point involves supposed criminals being sent to compete in gladiatorial combat, reminiscent of ancient Rome. Another major part of the plot involves Sam needing to get information from the owner of a shifty club. These elements contribute to a sense of unsavoriness within a world of fascist order.

 

 What's interesting is that the film makes it very clear that CLU's goal is a literal interpretation of "creating the perfect system", the goal given to him by his creator, Kevin Flynn, who deeply regrets the choices he made when he was young. This represents how the supposedly visionary ideas of tech geniuses as flawed, and adds to how Flynn, in his elderly state, has finally realized his mistakes, and through doing so has began to reach a kind of enlightenment. While young Flynn is simply a genius, present day Flynn is a prophet. The citizens of The Grid treat him as their deity because he created them and their world. When he arrives to aid Sam in a battle, he dramatically enters wearing a hooded cloak, and the scene goes into slow motion as a woman is seen falling to her knees and praying as Flynn walks past. Flynn's character arc is completed in the film's ending, where Kevin Flynn must sacrifice himself to destroy CLU. He says that perfection is something that is unknowable, however it's been in front of him all along, referring his son. His sacrifice represents him finally reaching his enlightenment.