Jack is back, and so is Jo!

The first Jack Ryan film I uncovered as an example of Cinematic Chiasmus was Patriot Games. It turns out that that is not the only film featuring the famed CIA agent to be perfectly symmetrical. His initial outing, The Hunt for Red October, is also a chiasmus, and I wasn’t the one who instigated this discovery. It was actually Jo, who previously gave me the How to Train Your Dragon 2 chiasmus and asked me to look for a chiasmus in How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, who is responsible for this one, too.

She has a knack for helping me find the symmetry of additional films in series I thought I had finished with. This one will be an absolute delight to write, so let’s get started as we hunt for Red October’s chiasmus!

The Chiasmus

Here is how each point in The Hunt for Red October matches up with a corresponding one to form a chiasmus.

A. Captain Marko Ramius talks with Vasili Borodin atop the Red October submarine in North Russia, and then Jack Ryan leaves England on an airplane he can’t sleep on
 B. Admiral Greer closely studies pictures of the Red October and wonders what its doors are for
  C. On the U.S.S. Dallas, Seaman Jones instructs a cadet on how to listen to sonar, and the young man succeeds at his task. Then Jones hears the Red October for the first time and begins tracking it
   D. A political officer reads orders that say a Russian captain named Tupolov will hunt Ramius in a test, and Ramius betrays the officer’s trust and kills him
    E. The DSRV is introduced to Ryan as a universal means of docking with subs. A worker throws a hard hat to Ryan, which he puts on for his safety
     F. Skip Tyler identifies the Red October’s doors as a caterpillar drive that could be used to start a nuclear war with the United States
      G. Ramius commands crew members of the Red October to witness him take a nuclear key from the political officer’s dead body
       H. The Dallas gets closer to the Red October, but it doesn’t engage her
        I. Ramius tells his crew their orders are to engage the silent drive
         J. The Red October sneaks past the Dallas on its way to the Americas
          K. A Soviet leader gets a letter from Ramius that leaves him stunned
           L. Ryan briefs U.S. officials on Ramius and the Red October, and they strategize how to stop and destroy Ramius
            M. Ryan suggests that Ramius is trying to defect to the U.S., and Jeffrey Pelt sends him out to prove his theory and save Ramius
             N. Tupolov gets ordered to hunt the Red October, and he performs a risky maneuver to catch up to it
              O. Jones listens for the Red October’s silent drive, and Borodin gives a doctor a strange request to make him leave
               P. Ramius tells his fellow defectors there will be no turning back, and he keeps his reasons for defecting secret from them
                Q. Ramius talks to Borodin in private about his hope of reaching the U.S.
                 R. Ryan tells himself to write a memo next time as he flies to an aircraft carrier in a helicopter
                  S. Jones convinces Dallas Captain Mancuso that the Red October has a silent drive, and he knows where it’s going
                   T. Admiral Painter says, “Russians don’t take a dump without a plan” and asks Ryan how Ramius will get his crew off the Red October
                    U. The Red October begins its trench run and everything seems to be going as planned
                     V. Ramius increases speed before a turn, risking his sub crashing into a rock wall
                      W. The silent drive has to be shut off, making the Red October easier to spot by enemies
                       X. Jeffrey Pelter meets with the Russian Ambassador and tells him to drop the bull and tell him what’s really going on with the Red October, saying it looks like an aggressive military operation
                       X. The Russian Ambassador responds diplomatically to Jeffrey Pelter and tells him a total lie about what’s going on with their search for the Red October, framing it as a rescue operation
                      W. The Red October is spotted by a Russian airplane, which launches a torpedo at her
                     V. Ramius increases speed again before a turn, saving his sub from a torpedo that crashes into a rock wall
                    U. The Red October finishes its trench run as evidence comes out that they’re being sabotaged
                   T. Ryan quotes Admiral Painter’s line about Russians having a plan, and he figures out how Ramius will get his crew off the Red October
                  S. Ryan convinces Admiral Painter to take him to the Dallas because he thinks it’s following the Red October
                 R. Ryan repeats his memo line as he flies away from the aircraft carrier in a helicopter
                Q. Borodin talks to Ramius in private about what he hopes to do after reaching the U.S.
               P. The Red October turns back in a Crazy Ivan to look for the Dallas, and Ramius tells Borodin his reasons for defecting
              O. The Red October doesn’t hear the Dallas following its silent drive, and the Dallas receives strange orders to surface
             N. Ryan orders a helicopter pilot to wait for the Dallas, and he performs a risky maneuver to get aboard it
            M. The Russian Ambassador tells Jeffrey Pelt that Ramius is trying to attack the U.S., and Pelt is convinced to order that Ramius be destroyed
           L. Ryan briefs Captain Mancuso on Ramius and the Red October, and Mancuso receives orders to stop and destroy Ramius
          K. Ramius gets a periscope message from Ryan that leaves him stunned
         J. The Red October follows the Dallas south to the Laurentian Abyssal
        I. Ramius tells his crew to abandon ship after they are supposedly sabotaged
       H. A U.S. warship approaches the Red October, and it shoots a torpedo at her
      G. Admiral Greer commands crew members of a U.S. warship to forget he was ever there and that he prevented a torpedo from destroying the Red October
     F. Skip Tyler returns to take actions that will prevent a nuclear war with the Soviet Union
    E. Ryan enters the DSRV to dock with the Red October. Ryan requests a cigarette from a Russian, which he lights up to break the ice
   D. Tupolov hunts Ramius for real, and Ramius asks for Ryan’s trust before a saboteur kills Borodin and later shoots Ramius
  C. On the Red October, Ramius instructs Ryan to stop a saboteur from exploding a nuclear missile, which Ryan succeeds at. Meanwhile, the Dallas helps the Red October make a torpedo track and destroy the Russian sub that fired it
 B. The Russian Ambassador wonders if the Red October wreckage will be able to be studied more closely in the future
A. Ramius talks with Ryan atop the Red October in a Maine river, and then Ryan returns to England on an airplane fast asleep

Welcome to the New World

Okay, that was awesome. When an already-great movie is revealed to have a lot more going on beneath the surface, it takes on a whole new level of brilliance. And what better movie to have great depth than one about submarines?

Some of my favorite parts of The Hunt for Red October’s chiasmus are when an exact line of dialogue is repeated (R and T). It feels like the filmmakers knew exactly what they were doing in crafting this chiasmus. Tupolov, the DSRV, and Skip Tyler are introduced and paid off at exactly the same points of this chiasmus (D, E, and F, respectively). Ramius dishes it out and then gets a taste of his own medicine at D and K.

As for the turning point (X), isn’t it interesting that it involves a couple of bureaucrats posturing and feeding each other lies? It might seem strange at first that a movie about heroism, brave deeds, and principled action would hinge on a discussion between representatives of the U.S. and Soviet Union who seem quite disconnected from the adventure.

However, I think that’s the point this film is trying to drive home from the opening exposition. Few of the truly heroic moments that either prevent or win a war are recognized when all is said and done. The most important things in the world are shrouded in mystery and hinged on unproven assertions.

The U.S. government could never decorate Jack Ryan for his part in this little sub business, nor could it even acknowledge getting the best silent-drive technology ever created because that would undo everything that was accomplished in this story.

The opening exposition says that nothing we’re about to see ever officially happened. Of course, it’s a fictional story. But the way the government (whether ours or our enemies’) works is by denying truth and upholding falsehoods. It’s up to good men like Jack Ryan to see through the lies and do what politicians and bureaucrats can’t. That’s why he’s sent out to do their dirty work. Not because he’s expendable but because he’s dependable.

Even though he’s not officially credited with saving the world, we the audience get to be in on the secret. And now we get to be in on the other secret that this film is perfectly symmetrical!

I’d like to thank Jo for suggesting The Hunt for Red October for this chiasmus analysis. I loved doing it, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to look at films in this new, exciting way. To quote Jack Ryan, “Welcome to the New World” of experiencing the symmetry of great films like this.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

All images are the copyright of their owner.

Want to Support the Deja Reviewer?

If you’d like to support the Deja Reviewer, please consider donating a few dollars to keep this site going strong. I’ll even send you an original joke if you do! Try it, and prepare to enjoy a good chuckle.

$5.00