Dave Nawrocki

Film 301

18 February 18, 2009

Tron both reflects and is impacted by the video game generation

The early eighties was an interesting time in the United States, the cold war was nearing the end and America was still considered the foremost superpower in the world. Technology was developing at a phenomenal rate and this “success” was also reflected in the movie-scene of the era, pac-man and space invaders were a hit at the arcade. These technologies allowed for new types of films to be produced and also gave writers new avenues to pursue never before thought of plot ideas. One such movie that took the science fiction genre to a new level was Steven Lisberger’s cult classic Tron.

Years before the idea of the internet was made popular or even public, the movie suggests the technology that can take matter and transfer it into a computer program. The main character “Flynn” gets trapped in a program (lured there by the Master Control Program) and is forced to compete in gladiatorial games.

How do we identify the movie Tron as a work of science fiction? There are many ways to answer that question. First is the very basis of the movie taking place inside a computer limits the movie to the “sci-fi” genre as it would not fit into a drama, western, comedy or any other type of film genre. Secondly, as probably the easiest identifier, is the use of special effects, specifically the use computer generated graphics and sound effects. There is virtually no way ideas such as “data-discs, light-cycles and space paranoids” could be used in another movie genre.

The screen capture above shows the interaction between two “programs” and their style of dress with electronic circuitry clearly displays a sci-fi “feel” that would be out of place in any other genre.

We learned in the first week’s reading that the sci-fi genre has a certain iconographic look to it (Greene) and this is truly fulfilled by the costumes the programs wear along with the ships they fly in and the vehicles they drive (as evidenced by the following screen capture from the end of the light-cycle battle.) Here is probably the most famous scene from the movie and, coincidently the most “video-game” like.

While the movie also has scenes that take place outside the computer world, there is more than enough sci-fi iconography to justify putting the film in the genre.

The movie was produced in the early eighties by the Disney Corporation (after being passed on by many other companies) and was given a generous budget of $17 million. Nominated for best costume design and best sound and went on to make $33 million in North America, making it a moderately successful film, especially amongst those who played video games. This is a considerable feat considering it was Steven Lisberger’s first major feature film. None of his other works received the fanfare that Tron did and add no information to the purposes of this essay.

The early eighties were a very successful time for the sci-fi genre with blockbusters like Blade Runner (1982), E.T. (1982) and Terminator (1984.) Unlike these other films, Tron took a leap with the special effects in the movie and used film techniques that had never been used on such a large budget film before. While many of them depicted the classic battle between good and evil, Tron did so with a unique twist that was only possible in the science fiction genre. Below is the movie poster for the motion picture.

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It shows the hero with his data-disc communicating with his programmer “Allen.” It also shows the female lead character and Tron’s love interest, Yori. Notice, again their costumes, trimmed in the same neon glow we see throughout the movie in the computer landscape.

Perhaps the reason the film was not immediately as successful as hoped as it was still early in the development of the video game system. (Cornea, 255) Very soon into the 1980’s the home video game system became exceptionally popular and a movie depicting warriors inside a computer would have reached a larger audience had it been released later in the 1980’s.

In conclusion, the movie Tron’s success, or at the time of its release lack thereof, is intertwined with the technological advance of the day. This coincides with other science fiction works of the time period. Had the movie been released much earlier, it may not have developed the cult following it has today. It’s also easy to say that the movie may have been more successful had the release been delayed slightly to better reach the upcoming video game generation.

Works Cited

Cornea, Christine. Science Fiction Cinema. New Brunswick New Jersey: Rutger’s University Press, 2007

Greene, Shelleen. American Science-Fiction Film. Institute of Public Affairs Review, 2009.

Tron. Steven Lisberger. 1982. Film. Disney Corporation. 2003. DVD Disney Home Video.

The Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084827.) Searched on 17 February, 2009.