Terminator 2: Judgement Day

The film ‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day’ is a science fiction film released in 1991 and directed by James Cameron. It is a sequel to the earlier film ‘The Terminator’ which began to explore the theme of technologies increasing impact on human life and the negative fall-out that will result in humanities over reliance on technology. ‘Terminator 2’ continues and then builds upon this theme by using religious metaphors associated with the apocalypse to give the viewers a bleak view of the future and the potential effect of technology. Not only can robots, using technology created by man, be sent back in time to try and eliminate members of the human race, but the technology itself has been developed to the point where it is able to make conscious decisions about the fate of the world and the human race. This ultimately sets the tone that humans will be the manufacturers’ of their own demise and it will be technology will be the cause. There is, however, an underlying theme of hope that technology can provide for man-kind, personified by the terminator character, T-800, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The films plot centres on a T-800 terminator that has been sent back in time by the humans to protect John Connor, a young child who will be responsible for leading the resistance to the tyranny of the machines in the future. Another terminator, the T-1000 has also been sent back in time, by the machines, in order to kill John Connor as they know he is humanities only hope. The T-1000 is an advanced model of the T-800, with the ability to mould itself into any human it comes into contact with. This is both a metaphor for how humans are all essentially ‘terminator’s’ as well as new technology replacing and superseding old technology, effectively making it redundant. This theme of new technology replacing the old is recurring throughout the film and mirrors the society in which we live, where companies are constantly in competition to usurp each other with new technology offerings that make old technology obsolete. This is a process that has been taking place for decades, most prominently with the invention of the production line, and will continue long into the future. The film captures this idea and shows it in a predominantly negative light by portraying the T-1000 as the ‘bad guy’ despite the fact that he is only trying to complete a mission that will ensure the survival of his own race in the future. The now inferior T-800 has been humanised and portrayed in a positive light, in stark contrast to the first film when it was the most advanced technology, once again raising the question as to whether this constant technological advancement is a good thing.

The film shows how this progressiveness with technology will ultimately culminate in the extinction of man-kind and society as we know it. A technology called ‘Skynet’, a type of artificial intelligence that will be responsible for the nuclear holocaust that will destroy humanity, is currently in the process of being created by a company called Cyberdyne Systems. The technology itself is for military purposes and is used to control a countries national arsenal. The problem was that Skynet was based off advanced technology, having used the chip in the arm of the original terminator, and was therefore able to learn at a geometric rate. The system would eventually gain self-awareness, to which the operators would realise the threat and try to shut it down. The system would take this as a threat and defend itself by insinuating a nuclear attack that it knew would wipe out a large proportion of humanity. This is referred to in the film as judgement day, and after the forewarning of the T-800, the protagonists set out to alter the future by stopping Skynet’s creation. This view into the future paints a very grim picture of our over reliance of technology. With the constant advancements in technology and society’s trend towards choosing machine over man for the control of important and potentially dangerous goods, the film was endeavouring to send a message as to the direction in which society could be headed given its current path. The film also effectively uses religious allegory to resonate with the audience and deliver its message. The term ‘judgement day’ refers to the apocalypse forecast in the bible, to which Jesus Christ will be humanities saviour. In the film humans are the manufacturers of their own doom, with technology being the catalyst and a replacement for sin, and the only hope for humanity is to rely on John Connor, whose initials are coincidentally the same as Jesus Christ.

The film does not give an entirely bleak outlook on technology and the future of humanity, with the exception being the humanisation of the T-800 and its ability to protect and then learn to care about the life of John Connor. The character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes a symbol of hope for man-kind and a father figure for John Connor, despite being made from the same technology of the enemies he is fighting to stop. This is due to a reconfiguration of his CPU, thereby altering his objective and focus, giving hope to the idea that humans and machines can potentially co-exist in the future when certain changes are made. At the end of the film Sarah Connor, the mother of John Connor, states after the T-800 destroys himself to ensure the others survival “If a machine can learn the value of human life maybe we can too.” This quote effectively changes the whole dynamic of the film’s message, giving hope to humanities plight that they need not be the manufacturers of their own extinction if only they could learn like the machine did.

There is no doubt that the film has a lot to say about the use and overuse of technology as well as the continuing rate of technological advancement in society and how this could potentially bring about civilisations downfall. It effectively mirrors the society of the time as well as providing an eye opening look into a version of the future given our current direction. The film does however give some hope the fact that technology can and will have a positive impact on our lives.

Evan Middlebrook
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Word Count: 1051

References:
Kimball, S, 2002. Conceptions and Contraceptions of the Future: Terminator 2, The Matrix, and Alien Resurrection. Camera Obscura, [Online]. 17, 69-107. Available at: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=2879ac3c-4585-4289-a1fa-79affda8d32f%40sessionmgr4003&vid=3&hid=4212 [Accessed 17 September 2014].

Michael Thompson. 2012. Finding Symbolism and Themes in The Terminator and Judgment Day. [ONLINE] Available at: https://suite.io/michael-thompson/5x172kb. [Accessed 17 September 14].

Sardar, Z, 1992. Terminator 2: Modernity, Posmodernism and the ‘Other’. Futures, [Online]. 24, 493-506. Available at: http://ziauddinsardar.com/2011/02/modernity-posmodernism/ [Accessed 17 September 2014].