Tron (1982) simplified introduction to help enjoy the film

    I have seen the Tron (1982) over 600 times. The production Team kept changing in different ways. It originally was going to be a completely animated film. As the ideas, concepts, and artists kept changing it really changed the end project. The director Steven Lisberger, basically showed what Avatars in the PC would look like by using the program's user as the character on the grid in the computer. The term would be popular in 1985 with the release of Ultima IV : Quest of the Avatar.

    Kevin Flynn, a young, promised programmer, has been fired from ENCOM. The game programs he was writing using ENCOM servers had gone missing, until his co-worker, not so nice, but very, very sneaky, Edward Dillinger went to the ENCOM board with game programs with Kevin Flynn's name on them, but Dillinger took all the credit. Dillinger had moved Kevin Flynn's computer files from the ENCOM memory servers. The files were games that were turned into arcades. Kevin Flynn had written a whole slew of them. Space Paranoids would be the biggest money maker. It has the player using a Light-Tank to shoot at Space Ships called Recognizers. The profits from the arcade programs are what catapulted Dillinger to Senior Executive Vice President at ENCOM.  

    

    The movie starts with an A.I. program controlling all the server data of this company ENCOM, a lot like I.B.M./Apple type company. Master Control Program or MCP for had been a chess program that Edward Dillinger had wrote. At some point Edward Dillinger had made the MCP into a learning A.I. program that could merge with other programs. Kevin Flynn may have helped with the programing of the MCP which could be why the MCP is so familiar with Flynn's code work. When the MCP appropriates CLU from the High Clearance Memory, the MCP tells Dillinger that it, "Felt like Flynn." Later we find out that Flynn use to play a lot of Chess with the MCP. There is a lot of history between the Programmer Kevin Flynn and the Program Master Control Program.
    

    Kevin Flynn after being fired from ENCOM keeps hacking ENCOM servers going through the storage memories to find his files so he can get proof that states the arcade games are his work personal work. At the same time his Ex-Girlfriend Lora is working with the creator of ENCOM to transfer real items like an orange fruit into computer CGI. Think of it like the Wonkavision that zaps the candy into bits then rearranges the data at the home of the customer just like a teleporter.

    

    At the same time, the Ex, Lora, is working on this new technology while her Boy friend, Alan, is working on a program at ENCOM which Alan calls Tron. Tron is a monitor program that moderates all servers. It is basically a type of Anti-Virus.

Kevin Flynn continues hacking with his program called CLU (Codified Likeness Unit) to find the files. Tron the movie starts with CLU in a High Clearance Memory along with his companion Bit. The MCP (Master Control Program) along with his team of repurposed programs are on the grid/server, always catching CLU trying to copy files. The MCP always can appropriate or absorb the new CLU program. Kevin keeps improving the CLU program each time he fails.

    

    The MCP's A.I. has a system setup where he sees while interacts with the real world just like an advanced "Skynet"/SIRI/Alexa. After CLU was found in the High Clearance Memory The MCP asks for help from the Senior Executive Vice President, Edward Dillinger, on what to do about Kevin Flynn's hacking. Kevin Flynn's CLU almost had found where the files were stored. Dillinger advises that they will lock down their ENCOM system unless the user has a very high clearance.

    Alan the programmer was about to release the Tron Monitor program onto the system from his computer, but the MCP states Alan's access has been blocked. Alan then visits Edward Dillinger to ask Dillinger to give him access to Tron. Dillinger asks Alan what Tron does. Alan reply's that Tron monitors the programs and if anything weird happens, Tron will close that program down. Edward Dillinger who programed the A.I. MCP knows the MCP is listening to Alan speak about the Tron program. It basically means that the "bad guys," Dillinger and MCP have to basically delete the Tron program. Luckily the Tron program was already jailed" on the grid by the MCP.

    The MCP has turned all the ENCOM servers into chaos. Along with just the ENCOM servers the MCP has been connecting to all computer terminals connected by the ARPANET or Internet. To keep some order on the system the MCP has his main program "Sark" whose, Dillinger's avatar, have all the programs fight each other. If the programs are compliant then they "work" for the MCP, if they believe in their User who created them, then they fight, but if MCP can add the program's code to his own code making his A.I. even stronger, then the MCP will absorb the program by "appropriate" the program.

    Lora, Flynn's Ex, takes Alan to Flynn's house/Arcade, to ask about the hacking. That's where they all decide to break into ENCOM company. Lora had a higher clearance. After getting in, Kevin uses Lora's computer in the laser lab, while Lora, hangs out with Alan at his computer cubicle.

    Kevin Flynn has to hack in and kind of crash the MCP so that Alan has access to the Tron program giving him time to activate Tron. While Kevin Flynn is commanding the MCP to "solve" impossible questions that will cause the MCP to crash, Kevin also keeps talking out loud to the MCP, and taunting the program. Instead the MCP activates the Laser, that will allow Kevin Flynn access as a "program" inside the grid on the servers so that maybe the MCP can appropriate or absorb Kevin Flynn as a code.

     Now the movie starts. Kevin Flynn is literally in the computer. Kevin has to crash the MCP so Tron can be released. Instead he finds Tron, a prisoner, fighting other innocent programs. Luckily the programs look exactly like their users, so Kevin Flynn confuses Tron as Alan, which is how they decide to team up. The program that introduced them is named RAM, an actuarial program, who helps them a great deal. RAM's user is actually Alan's cubicle buddy, Roy in the real world.

    Now get ready for that adventure where these rogue programs attempt to undue the damage the MCP, Sark, and Edward Dillinger have created.