From: thssapk@iitmax.iit.edu (<[{((|-|))}]>)
Subject: Re: terminator ii
Organization: Illinois Institute of Technology
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 20:07:05 GMT

In article <1992Jul29.1489.24963@channel1> "eric walker" <eric.walker@channel1.com> writes:
>MAB>Can you give a serious, well-thought, well-written critical analysis of
>MAB>why you did not like T2?
>
>     Aside from the points mentioned in the previous message, I can point
>     out "T2's" major fault in two words:  Political Correctness!
>
>     This whole movie was set up not to offend anyone.  We've got Ah-nold
>     Schwarzenegger, the #1 movie star in America, in the sequel to the
>     movie that made him a major player - and of course they cast him
>     as the good guy.  We can't have "Ah-nold" playing the villain now,
>     can we?
>
Well, sure!  Didn't you notice?  Arnold did not kill ONE person
in the entire movie!!  Horrible track record for a 'Terminator'. 
He should hold his metallic head in shame . 8)

>     This is why we have the idiotic final scene of the movie.  After
>     Sarah Connor goes through hell and high water to blow the T-1000
>     to hell, she JUST HAPPENS to run out of ammo at the crucial
>     moment.  So what do we do now?  Oh, it seems the Good Terminator
>     JUST HAPPENS to have an alternate power source, so that he can
>     come back and save everyone.  This leads to the shamelessly
>     tear-jerking final scene, complete with a thumbs-up to show everyone
>     that the sacrifice was necessary.
>
Yeah, Cameron's theme of 'humanity triumphs over technology' is quite
obvious here, isn't it? 8)

>     Two other plot points deserve mention:
>
>     1) It is no coincidence that the T-1000 disguises himself as a COP
>     for the entire movie.  Although the story tells us that it's not
>     a real police officer, the image on the screen is very strong.
>     These days, police-bashing is "in," and it's very fashionable to
>     cast a cop as a movie villain, because it lets the studio make money
>     off of the American public's fear of the police.  (Example: "Unlawful
>     Entry.")  So in effect, we have a COP for a villain in "T2."
>
That's an interesting point.  Both movies cash in on the fear of the
'the guy next to you might be a homicidal lunatic' variety.     
However, IMESVHO:

1)  Police bashing may be "in" right now, but it wasn't anywhere near
    this level a year ago, when T2 was released.

2)  Aside from the first 15 minutes, the T-1000 is NEVER shown using
    his uniform, badge, gun, or other police equipment in order to
    catch John Connor.  Of course for those 15 minutes, the T-1000 is
    a very nice example of how one can misuse authority.

[OBLIGATORY T2 PLOT HOLE]
Why did the T-1000, with a police car AND Connor's address, not
make it to Connor's house until AFTER Arnie (with neither car nor
address) did?

3)  The movie makes it ambiguous in the beginning as to who is the
    'good' Terminator and who is the 'bad' one.  The T-1000 could
    have been portrayed as a cop in order for the audience to
    sympathize themselves with him and to consider him the 'good'
    guy in the picture.  (in the beginning, he doesn't even reveal
    himself to be a terminator!)

4)  I DO believe it's totally fair to say that all the cops in T2
    are idiots.

5)  However, the cops start to look pretty good, when 
    you compare them to the portrayal of the mental institute 
    commmunity.   They could sue Cameron's ass, and win! 8)    


>     2) That old cliche rears its head again:  A black man dies so that
>     a family of white people can live.  If you take a close look at the
>     movie, you'll see that the only time the police simply charge in
>     and fire, WITHOUT yelling "Freeze" or "Hands Up" or "Don't Move,"
>     is when they blow Miles Dyson - a black man - away.  This image of
>     black men dying while the white people get away is so widespread
>     in Hollywood movies - and it's been like that throughout the ENTIRE
>     history of the movies - that the writers of that scene probably
>     didn't even think that they were writing a cliche; rather, they
>     were only writing a "dramatic death scene."  But it wasn't.
>     (The "kill the black guy" cliche also appears in "Alien3.")

Best (WORST) Example:   The Shining

>---
> ~ SLMR 2.1a ~ Forget the virgins - we're OUT of virgins!
>--
>Channel 1 (R)   Cambridge, MA
>
Later!!!

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