James Cameron – Looking to God

Terminator

Posted on August 26, 2015August 25, 2015 by Jack Flacco

Few actors in the lifetime of their careers have defining roles that make them eternal to an audience of film admirers. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of those actors. His portrayal of a robot assassin sent from the future to kill the mother of the leader of the Resistance is a benchmark for all future actors who have culled an impressive portfolio to best James Cameron‘s creation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator Genisys

Today’s Wednesday Warriors honors Terminator, which is that creation.

In the early Eighties, The Terminator became a box office sensation. Word has it when Schwarzenegger auditioned for the role, he actually auditioned for the Kyle Reese role instead, but Cameron saw differently. One look at Schwarzenegger, and he found his killing machine for the movie of the same name.

For those unfamiliar with the story, a quick spoiler-free recap is in order.

Soldier Kyle Reese, travels to the present to save the mother of the future leader of the Resistance. In his bid to keep her from harm, he leads her through a series of escapes to foil the murderous plans of an evil machine called the Terminator. In the future, the machines rule the earth hunting humans to take over the planet.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day has a similar story but this time there are two terminators to worry about. The target this time is the child who will become the future leader of the Resistance.

The Terminator is an interesting character in that it represents the relentless drive to achieve a goal at all costs regardless of the damage that happens surrounding the achievement of that goal. Much of the Terminator’s drive comes from its neural net processor, which has the capability to follow direct programming by other machines to eliminate humans from the face of the earth, and learn as it goes along

A major aspect of the character’s inclination to follow orders pertains to nothing more than bits and bytes in a CPU. However, in the progression of the series, the audience comes to learn that the terminator machine can take on a life of its own, and in several instances, become human in an inhuman world.

Of course, if one were to attempt to stop a terminator, the target would need more than a truck to take it out of commission. The target would need a special strategy to relieve it of its mission. Neither fire nor ice can destroy the cold heart of this killing machine. A sledgehammer might do the trick, but there are no guarantees.

Terminator’s focus is steadfast and does not waver from its mission, which makes the robot one of the most terrifying characters in science fiction history. 2001: Space Odyssey‘s HAL 9000 exudes as a malignant robot gone astray, using deception as its key tool to fight humans. With a terminator, there’s nothing deceptive about its goal. It plunges into the present, hunts its targets, and makes a spectacle out of it.

Having said that, as mentioned, the Terminator’s capacity to learn is its redeeming quality that may absolve it of its terrible role it possesses. That is to say, if it learns for good. If anything, this quality can lead it to become a father to a lost son.

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Have you seen any of the Terminator movies? What did you think of them?

Monday Mayhem

Terminators vs. Zombies

Posted on April 7, 2014April 9, 2014 by Jack Flacco

They keep coming and coming and don’t let up. They’ll hunt you down and kill you without mercy. They have no soul. They’re impervious to pain. They are dead inside, unable to feel empathy or feel anything for that matter. They will not rest until every single human soul lies dead under their feet.

If you think I’m talking about terminators, raise your hands. C’mon, don’t be shy. They sound like terminators, don’t they? They’re not, at least not in my book. I’m talking about zombies. How many of you guessed right? Well, you’re wrong, too. They’re terminators. Not sure, are you? Welcome to another edition of Monday Mayhem.

For those not familiar with the origins of The Terminator movie, one day, director James Cameron was suffering from a very high fever when in the midst of his dreams a metal skull appeared to him. It had burst into flames and filled his mind in a frenzy of horror. When he awoke, he immediately took to his typewriter and within twenty-four hours had the treatment written of The Terminator. Just like that.

For those unfamiliar with a film treatment, it’s a short story written in present tense prose with a liberal dollop of the director’s style. It’s much more detailed than an outline.

The idea behind The Terminator lies in man’s quest for immortality. A terminator does not feel, does not ponder on life’s great mysteries, does not fill its head with silly arguments of what is right and wrong. It roams and kills. Nothing more. Not much different from the undead, really.

Let’s have a look at similarities between terminators and zombies.

Persistence—Terminators do not know when to give up. They will keep coming after its target until either it dies a terrible death or its battery depletes. The likelihood of its battery depleting is next to zero. Therefore, you can run it down, drive a metal rod through its body, crush it with a steel girder, and blow it up. It will still come after you without relent. A zombie works the same way. Once it spots its victim, it will stop at nothing to capture it. Other than a shotgun blast to the head, nothing will deter it from its aim to make human its main dinner dish. It will keep coming and coming. It will not stop until we’re all dead.

Roaming—Those treacherous endoskeletons travel long distances to achieve their mission objective. They smash through doors, crash through windows, overcome gun blast wounds all for the sake of killing their targets. They’ll even drag their way to them if they have to, which is no different from the undead who chase after their prey. No manner of defense will discourage zombies from their inordinate plan to attack and dismember their victims. And yes, they’ll also drag to capture their victim.

Unfeeling—The driving force behind a terminator is its mission to kill its target. It does not care if its intended target has a family. It does not equate the loss of life to the loss of a relationship. Its design dictates merciless killing as its goal. In much the same way, a zombie’s ultimate quest is to satiate its craving for human. It has no empathy for the potential loss of a brilliant life. It doesn’t understand the bond between humans, the love of a parent for a child, the love of a mate for a mate. It possesses no heart. It does not cry for its victim nor does it rejoice after the killing. It can’t do any of that because it simply does not feel. How dreadful a life when a sentient life walks the earth soulless, empty and void.

Regardless of the many similarities mentioned, and I’m sure you can think of more, you know what I would find interesting? Instead of terminators and zombies going after humans, why not have them in a massive battle against each other? Wouldn’t that be something to look forward? But I think we’d know who would win.

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Can you think of other similarities between the metal endoskeletons and the undead?

Women Who Wow Wednesday

Rose

Posted on June 5, 2013June 7, 2013 by Jack Flacco

Velvet crimson hair. A delicate smile. A dreamer. Rose DeWitt Bukater, Women Who Wow Wednesday’s paradigm of perseverance. The actress. The horseback rider. The spitter.

When Rose walks aboard the Titanic, who many call The Ship of Dreams, for her it is anything but. She likens it to a prison where her soul cries out for freedom and there is no escape. Her fiancée, Caledon Hockley, a man of wealth and viable means, promises her the world if she wouldn’t deny him. His wish? Open your heart to me, Rose. The price sounds too costly.

Enter Jack Dawson, the free-spirited young man who would change Rose’s life forever. He travels from place to place on tramp steamers and such. He won his ticket on the Titanic in a lucky hand of poker. A very lucky hand. They meet in the moonlight, she, wanting to take her life, he, wanting to save it. Give me your hand. You don’t want to do this, he says. Come on. One more step and she would’ve found herself floating in the middle of the Atlantic with the water so cold it would’ve hit her like a thousand knives. You saved me, Jack, in every way a person can be saved.

Rose meets Jack in First Class, among the most important on the ship. His art captivates her. Her cheeks grow hot at his drawings of the women. Did you like this woman? I think you must have had a love affair with her. Not at all, he says, just with her hands. She was a one-legged prostitute. Rose melts knowing she promised her heart to Caledon. All the wedding invitations have gone out, there’s no escape of the inevitable. She has to marry him.

Do you love him? Oh, Jack, what a silly question to ask. It’s simple, do you love him or not? Rose props her head high, and declares her departure. Wait a minute, it’s First Class, he has to leave! Not before he teaches her how to spit. Strange kids. On the First Class deck, he aims for the sunset bathed ocean. It went far. They’re one. No denying they belong together.

But then there’s Cal. Caledon. What to do? Rose’s heart tears from knowing if she gives him up, she’d be giving up her security. He’s been good to her. If you don’t break free, Jack says, your heart will die. Maybe not right away but the fire will eventually go out. Rose makes her decision. It’s not up to you to save me, Jack. For both our sakes, leave me alone. As strong as she tries, she can’t muster the courage to ignore Jack. Nothing can quench the fire within her not to be with her secret lover.

When the iceberg finally hits, they can smell the ice. But Rose had decided. When the ship lands, she will disappear with Jack. Before that happens, he will have to free himself. Cal frames him with stealing The Heart of the Ocean diamond. Into the belly of the ship Jack goes, handcuffs and all.

As the ship sinks, Rose’s desperate search for Jack leads to a water-filled grave. Where, oh, where has my Jack gone? In the bowels of the beast, her back against the wall, the vessel groans. She will find him. She will rescue him just as he had done for her. Except this time, she will never doubt him again. Ever.

Rose eventually finds Jack, rescues him from his watery prison, and he leads her to the top of the ship where they consummate a promise of life. Whatever you do, Rose, don’t let go of my hand. We’re gonna make it. Trust me.

I trust you.

The ship bobs for a bit. Stays still. Then flounders. In a rush, waves swallow the couple whole. A few minutes later, the ocean regrets taking the lovers and releases them to the surface.

On a scrap of debris, Jack asks Rose one thing of her. With every last trembling breath he can collect, promise me you will survive. That you will never give up. No matter what happens. No matter how hopeless. Promise me now, and never let go of that promise.

I promise.

Never let go.

I promise. I will never let go, Jack. I’ll never let go.

Women Who Wow Wednesday

Sarah Connor

Posted on February 27, 2013February 26, 2013 by Jack Flacco

She’s only a waitress. Who knew she would give birth to a son who would become the leader of the resistance? In this edition of Women Who Wow Wednesday, tough-as-nails Sarah Connor of the Terminator series takes center stage.

Linda Hamilton was 27 years old when she played Sarah Connor in the film The Terminator. Originally written for a 19-year-old, director James Cameron (Aliens, The Abyss, Avatar), having been impressed with Hamilton’s audition, tweaked the screenplay to allow the part to fit the actress. It was a decision that would pay off big time in the future of The Terminator franchise.

A vast chasm exists between the character Sarah Connor in the movie The Terminator and Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

In The Terminator, released 1984, Kyle Reese, played by Michael Biehn, travels from a post-apocalyptic future to rescue the mother of the leader of the resistance against the machines. Kyle finds himself in a disco, the same place where a machine, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, steadies its laser-sighted gun on the target—Sarah Connor. In a bevy of bullets, Kyle stretches his hand to Sarah and says, “Come with me if you want to live.” From that point forward, the movie is one grand chase sequence that never lets up.

The film depicts Sarah as a vulnerable woman, weak, almost to the point of sadness. She relies on Kyle for her escape. She needs him and can’t run without him. Her countenance is that of a flower whose pedals are ready to blow away.

"The luxury of hope was given to me by the Terminator." — “The luxury of hope was given to me by the Terminator.”

In Terminator 2: Judgement Day, however, the fragile Sarah Connor of The Terminator is replaced by a strong and powerful, tough-willed juggernaut of a woman. No longer does she need anyone. From the very first frame of the film, the audience discovers Sarah is one not to be messed with. She’s buff, agile and a determined fighter with intense convictions. Her mission: Destroy the machines.

Years on the run made Sarah this way. She taught her son John everything she knows. Always be prepared for the machines. Always look before doing anything. Never assume anything. Be strong. Be a leader. The future is counting on you, John. Never give up. Never, ever give up, John.

Imprisoned in Pescadero State Hospital may have proven to be the perfect breeding ground for honing Sarah’s skills as a future resistance fighter. Strapped in a bed, she had ample time to think of how to best defeat the coming storm—the invasion—when machines finally become self-aware, sentient. That hatred for the machines is what makes Sarah protect John at all costs. Humanity depends on him.

But then, something happens. Another machine, a terminator, is sent from the future to protect John. The very machine trained to maim and kill humans was there to protect John with its life.

For a moment, Sarah didn’t trust it. Only for a moment. She then realized John needed a father figure in his life. The T-800 could provide that.

Huh, a terminator as a father. Who would have thought?

Sarah the parent let go. John had come to his own. His own mindset. His own man. His own life.

She did well.

Sarah Connor. Fighter. Mother. Friend.

What do you think of Sarah Connor? Have you seen any of the original Terminator movies?

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