The Cassandra Complex: The relationship between the Trojan War and “12 Monkeys”

(Contains Spoilers)

12 Monkeys may take place in the future, play with the idea of time travel, and discuss dangerous virus research, but the movie itself is deeply influenced by Classical literature. Cassandra, the most beautiful of Priam's daughters (1) is the namesake for the “Cassandra Complex.” When Cassandra rejects the Greek god Apollo he curses her with the ability of foresight but inability to gain anyone's belief in her prophesies. Therefore, she knows the future without any means of changing it. In this essay, I will attempt to show that the Cassandra Complex is a three step process – disbelief, death, and rebirth. These three steps create a pattern that is replicated throughout history. 12 Monkeys is based on the Cassandra Complex and follows the three-step pattern.

Troy falls to the Greeks because the Trojans ignore Cassandra's warnings about the war's outcome. Cassandra also speaks of a Trojan victory while Homer and history clearly show the Greeks to be the victors. This contradiction may be a result of Cassandra's interpretation of victory. If, for instance, Cassandra views the act of dying to protect one's fatherland the truest form of honor, the honor would correctly be given to the Trojans, despite the fact they lose the war.(2)

An alternative interpretation of this contradiction is that Cassandra predicts the conclusion of the war on a different level. The Greeks are technically victorious in the Trojan War. However, according to Virgil's Aeneid , the surviving Trojans sail away from Troy and establish the origins of Rome . Virgil's story supports both Cassandra and Homer's claim. It says that the Greeks win Troy but the Trojans win a new land. When Railly gives her lecture on “Madness and Apocalyptic Messages,” she acknowledges three prophets foretelling the fall of man—the man from the 14 th century, the soldier during WWII, and Cole. All three men's warnings are ignored, and because they are ignored, their predictions become reality.

After Troy falls, the surviving Trojans travel by sea in search of a new home. They confront countless trials – which can be interpreted as an extended right-of-passage. Although they used to be powerful, the Trojan's homelessness leaves them degraded, and they are urgent to create a new fatherland. Likewise, the surviving 1% of humanity in 12 Monkeys moves underground and lives, as Cole describes it, as worms do. Instead of humanity ruling the world above ground, the bears and lions have control and the humans survive as best they can, waiting for the day they can resurface.

The final step in the Cassandra Complex is the restoration of a fallen people. The Trojans find the land that is destined to be Rome and can stop wandering. The power of the Trojans returns through the founding of Rome . Some critics feel that the ending of 12 Monkeys indicates that humanity's attempt to return to their former lifestyle will always fail. They see Cole's death and the survival of the man who releases the virus as a sign that history will repeat itself indefinitely. The Cassandra Complex indicates a different option. If 12 Monkeys is meant to follow the pattern laid out by Cassandra and the Trojans, then the surviving 1% of humanity has an excellent future to look forward to. They will find the pure form of the virus and create a vaccination that will allow them to return above ground.

While the Cassandra Complex has a negative connotation, it is actually uplifting because it patterns itself after the phoenix. Cassandra and the three prophets in 12 Monkeys are unable to prevent the tragedies that befall their people; however, their predictions of desolation also foretell resurrection. The Cassandra Complex reflects the birth and death cycle, our perseverance in overcoming obstacles, and our prevailing hope for a better future. Both tomorrow and a century from tomorrow, humanity will be living proof of sorrowful and joyous message of Cassandra.

King of the Trojans during the Trojan Wars

Croally, Neil T. Euripidean Polemic: The Trojan Women and the Function of Tragedy p. 125-127 Link 5/4/05

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