Is the future written ?

Rating: Null/10 (14 August 2013)

Movies from Terminator franchise, especially first two (The Terminator and Judgement Day) directed by James Cameron are considered by many as strong anti-nuclear films with deep message of preciousness of peace in the time where immense destructive power of modern technology if abused beyond limits can bring our civilization to destruction and human race to the brink of extinction. First movie The Terminator was made in 1984. still the time of Cold War and increased tension and competition of two superpowers - USA and USSR. That was a time of Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative or so-called "Star Wars" program, last phase of Cold War period while nuclear arsenals of both superpowers were at their peak (some 60.000 American and Soviet nuclear warheads by the end of 1980s which was enough to destroy life on our planet several times over, today's American and Russian nuclear arsenals are two and half times smaller, but still enough to wipe out Earth's life two or three times).
James Cameron made a movie The Terminator, first in series that represented a message of mankind faced with existential threat against nuclear weapons and any kind of madness that would bring us to the edge of survival. That element of message is also present in a second Terminator movie (Judgement Day) from 1991 (both movies talking about 3 billion casualties of nuclear war caused by Sky Net), although by then period of Cold War was over with most of the nuclear threat to mankind removed (threats of today, including those with nuclear weapons are of much different nature). But there is a deeper message of Terminator movies. It's a story that tells us about destructiveness of human nature. That element is present in all four Terminator movies (including Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines from 2003 and Terminator Salvation from 2009) and that element will probably be the basic ingredient in next Terminator movie scheduled for 2015.
Destructiveness as part of human beings is so greatly shown in a scene from Terminator 2 when T-101 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is commenting on children's game with guns (although just toys) telling to John Connor (Edward Furlong) - "It's in your nature to destroy yourselves". So, is it? If I say, it is, it would be just part of the answer. Part of the point of all Terminator movies (of which Terminator 2 Judgement Day represents pinnacle and the best one of whole franchise) is that our advanced technology served to make our lives much easier but it did n't serve to make ourselves better, and if we are still savages deep in our selves we represent threat to us and life on the planet.
Or is it next step of evolution? Artificial intelligence becomes aware of itself (Sky Net) and it rises to obliterate human race it was built to serve. Exploitation of fears of some modern humans that we are going to be replaced by machines, frightening vision of the future. I can only say time will show what will be. Basic premise of Terminator movies is travel through time to change events of the future by changing what happened in the past. Topic exploited in many books and films. T-101 is either sent to kill John Connor leader of human resistance like in first Terminator or to save his life like in Terminator 2 and 3, race against time against more sinister Terminators (like T-1000 played by Robert Patrick or T-X played by Kristanna Loken). After dreaming of terrifying visions of nuclear obliteration, worst kinds of nightmares haunting her, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) carves in wood words "No Fate" meaning future is not written and its course depends on our actions. In Terminator 2, she, T-101, Miles Dyson and John Connor, her son manage to prevent nuclear war by destroying building where Sky Net was kept changing the course of the future. But as we see in Terminator 3, they only postponed something that was inevitable. In Terminator 3, T-101 is only sent to save lives of John Connor and Kate Brewster, not to change the future, because obviously it can not be changed, so there must be fate. From that point forward Terminator franchise (Terminator 4 and future Terminator 5) deals with human resistance, struggle to survive and defeat machines that lasts for decades after nuclear destruction of most of modern civilization.
But the other part of the point of Terminator franchise is a message of hope. It's a story of resilience of human race, even when it faces near destruction and hopelessness mankind keeps fighting because it' s the only thing it has left, fighting for hope, for better tomorrow, for the day when it will rise again. And there is something that humans have and machines still lack - pure emotions. In the end of Terminator 2, when John Connor has to lower T-101 to liquid steel where its chip and T-101 will be destroyed which is strongest emotional scene of any Terminator movie, T-101 says to John Connor something that represents whole point of Terminator movies and message they are trying to tell us - "Now I know why you cry, but it is something I can never do".