Terminator V.S. Star Wars
In many science fiction films from the past and even in today’s era, the alien/robot/replicant/ android or cyborg often challenges or poses a threat to the human figure. In the movie the Terminator (James Cameron, 1984, U.S.) the android or terminator challenges the human by using time travel to complete his mission, which is to exterminate Sarah Conner. She is the mother of the unborn leader of the future John Conner who leads the rebel armies in a revolt against the computer machines that have taken over society. The world can be described as “a barren wasteland of nuclear destruction” (3). When the film shows it’s depiction of the futuristic world it’s very dark and shows soldiers and civilians running and hiding for their lives. The battle between them is literally man v.s. machine.
Though the terminator may appear to look identical to a human when it comes to appearance, he lacks the communication and personality traits of a real human being. There is no emotion or feelings within him. This is why he will kill anybody that tries to step in his way (even innocent people or police officers). When it comes to physical strength he shows his dominance and superiority over them, which is quite obvious throughout the film. It helps that Terminator is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, a world class body builder. He uses this to his advantage to over power them and complete his objective or mission. The terminator challenges the entire human race and the well being of all of them. In the future the computers control the well being of mankind and the only hope for survival comes from one of their leaders, which is John Conner. This is the reasoning or purpose of the terminator stopping at nothing in order to kill John Conner’s mother Sarah Conner.
The terminator has all the physical characteristics of an adult male. His target or enemy is a middle-aged woman that seems helpless and is unable to protect herself until a human of the future named Reese comes back in time to help save from against the terminator. This depicts the male dominance within our society today, not only in terms of physical strength but also social status. A good example of this in the movie is when the terminator mistakes Sarah Conner’s roommates for her and brutally kills her and her boyfriend. Besides Sarah Conner, no females really play a role within the film besides for the two women that the Terminator kills only because they too have the name Sarah Conner. At first she appears to be weak and defenseless because she is unaware of what is happening. After Reese explains why the Terminator wants to kill her, she becomes stronger and more independent by herself and in the end destroys the Terminator.
Unlike the Terminator, the humans in the film Star Wars: A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977, U.S.) are defined as superior to the alien “other”, robot/replicant/ android, or cyborg. At the beginning of the film Luke Skywalker and is uncle purchase C-3PO and R2-D2. They are two robots that refer to him as “Master Luke.” Both of them are expected to obey orders from Luke and his uncle. This seems to be a problem for R2-D2 because it still thinks that it belongs to its previous master and must relay the urgent message from Princess Leia who is captured by the Imperial Army.
Another way in which the humans are portrayed or defined is within the Imperial Army. The leader of them is Admiral Motti and Darth Vader. They are in control of all the replicants within the Death Star and outside it as well. All the soldiers or replicants look identical to each other and you can’t distinguish one from another by their personality or voice. They challenge the humans by trying to destroy all the rebel armies and anyone that tries to get in their way. The Imperial Army appears to be far superior in power and dominance towards all their enemies. The Death Star is a massive space station that appears very intimidating and not able to be destroyed. The Death Star and Imperial Army challenges the entire human race and galaxy because it poses a threat of extinction to everyone that challenges their authority. However there is a glitch within the base that will destroy it.
When it comes to gender roles within the film, males dominate them. The entire Imperial Army consists of men. The only time you even see a woman associated with them is when the Imperial Army captures Princess Leia. This is one of the main storylines of the film. After Luke Skywalker and Han Solo rescue her, Luke becomes affectionate toward her. Christine Cornea mentions in her book when she says, “ Luke’s object in the first Star Wars film, the feisty Princess Leia” (2). You tell immediately when R2-D2 transmits the video message on Princess Leia begging for help that Luke is attracted and interested in her. It’s obvious that he is willing to help someone he doesn’t even know. In a way this is foreshadowing that he is interested in helping her and has an attraction toward her.
With Princess Leia being the main female character within this film, she shows to have some dominance over men. An example of this would be how some of the men (Hans Solo and Luke Skywalker) seem to have an attraction towards her. At times she persuades them into doing certain things her way. When she gets them to jump into the garbage room when escaping from the Death Star would be an example. “Leia exists in a male dominated setting where she is one of only two female characters (the other one being a small appearance by Mrs. Skywalker) and her actions can only be compared to those men” (1).
At first it appears that Princess Leia is a helpless woman that is going to be executed by the Imperial Army. She doesn’t seem to have any significance or help in her escape from the Death Star. As the movie progresses she takes stand in her escape by finding a way to hide from the storm troopers in the garbage room.
Besides humans, the other characters in the film include various alien creatures and robots. The robots all have male characteristics; an example of this would be C-3PO. The alien “other” characters mostly appear towards the beginning of the film before they take off on Han Solo’s ship. All these different creatures also are male dominated. You can see this very obviously by the clothes and attire that they wear. Most of the creatures or alien “other” could communicate with the humans beside for a select few so they used C-3PO to translate for them. The picture below shows the scene from this.
As I have stated throughout this paper, both of these movies are male dominated, especially Star Wars. In both films the alien, robot/replicant/android or cyborg challenges the human race and is depicted as far superior and more dominant then humans. The humans overcome this and eventually defeat them in the end.

Notations
1.) http://www.helium.com/items/202509-movie-characters-that-challenge-gender-roles. Retrieved 3-23-09.
2.) Cornea, Christine. Science Fiction Cinema Between Fantasy and Reality. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. (Page 115)
3.) http://www.ambidextrouspics.com/html/the_terminator.html. Retrieved 5-7-09.

“I’ll Be Back”
In today’s film industry, special effects play a huge role in almost every film that you will see. They help the film seem more realistic, entertaining, and engaging. In the past 25 years they have helped the science fiction film industry dramatically. Scott Bukatman writes in his article, “I suspect that the return of science fiction as a film genre was partly function of the move to summer blockbusters for younger audiences and partly a showcase for new cinematic technologies” (249). Though special effects aren’t seen as frequently as other science fiction films throughout it, the Terminator (James Cameron, 1984, U.S.) is still an example of this.


The Terminator was an extremely low budget blockbuster of the 1980’s that broke many box office records. It’s unlike many of the science fiction films in today’s era because it’s not just filled with special effects, there’s more emphasis put on the plot and storyline of the movie. The main plot or storyline of the Terminator has to do with the use of time travel from the future. The Terminator travels back from the year 2027 in order to kill Sarah Conner, the mother of the future war hero John Conner. Kyle Reese travels back in order to save her and gives flashbacks of what the future holds. In the year 2027, computers challenge the well being of mankind after taking over the human race. The movies idea brings up in the time of exceeding technology; how long before man is overtaken by what they have created. This scene below is one of the few special effects that are used in the Terminator. It depicts life in the future is far more advanced in military equipment, weapons, and computer technology. The guns that are shown are all lasers or some futuristic weapon that is supposed to represent technology of the future.

Another specific scene that shows a special effects coming into play within the movie takes place at the end of film. Kyle Reese and Sarah Conner manage to blow up the Terminator with homemade pipe bombs while in a high-speed chase. This still doesn’t stop the Terminator of completing is mission which is to eliminate Sarah Conner. The scene moves to a machine factory in which the Terminator is chasing Reese and Conner without his human looking body. Instead he’s shown as a robot and no longer as a cyborg. The picture below shows how they use special effects in order to make the “skeleton” of the cyborg move.

Though the Terminator does use special effects throughout the movie, they still aren’t a huge part of the movie like other sci-fi action thrillers. They are more used for the storyline or plot instead to entertain the audience. The Terminator uses more of the real world scenes and characters (besides the Terminator) in order to make the movie seem more realistic. They show short scenes from the future using special effects in order to show the everyday life of the future and show what technology (computers) can do to the human race.

Mellencamp challenges the arguments regarding virtual technologies and immersive experiences in Scott Bukatman’s “Zooming Out” in his text. He questions weather it’s appropriate for Bukatman to use the term “kaleidoscopic perception” and “terminal identity” when referring to the movie the Matrix. Mellencamp argues that that the narrative within these technological effects driven films is being subverted. He talks about the visual effects in this article, he states that special effects in the digital age are helping enhance the narrative which disagrees with Buktaman that narratives are being dulled down due the special effects.
Mellencamp then argues that the Matrix is more of a gaming experience than a traditional film viewing experience because we view the events and narrative similar to what gamers view video games as. It’s more of a first person viewer game that you experience while playing video games in a first-person shooter. There’s also attention directed right to the camera when Morpheus looks directly at the camera, depicted viewers at part of the game.

In Scott Bukatman’s article “Zooming Out: The End of Off-screen Space,” he talks about the advancements in technology when it comes to kaleidoscope, panorama, large-scale landscapes, and diorama in the 19th century have helped acclimate the body to new urban environments and transportation technologies. These new technologies were used to create distant landscapes and endless backgrounds. The creation of on-screen visuals and the expansion of screens with the improved quality made a entire new experience for the viewer. An example of this would be Star Wars, which can be depicted as on the fictional scale of new environments and technology that our country was experiencing at the time. By using real human characters combined with the technology and special effects, it took science fiction films to another level.

Quentin Hughes
Film 301

In the article “Cybord Manifesto” Donna Haraway defines a cyborg as a “cybernetic organism, hybrid of machine, and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction” (475). In western traditional movies, you often see traditions such as male dominance, racism, and the reproduction of men and women. In this sense the cyborg has no origin story in the Western sense. Cyborgs bring new ideas to science fiction films such as being able to reproduce asexually, rather from the traditional reproduction with man and a woman.
There are different “boundary breakdowns” that give have given the cyborg myth its political potential. The advancement of animal rights is a clear sighted recognition of connection between humans and animals, which is the first breakdown Haraway mentions in the article. “Biology and evolutionary theory over the last two centuries have simultaneously produced modern organisms as objects of knowledge and reduced the line between humans and animals” (477). The second distinction is between animal-human and machine. The advancement when it comes to the technology of machine has allowed them to take the place of human work. They are more efficient and work faster compared to humans. The third distinction she talks about is physical v.s. non-physical.

Film 301
Quentin Hughes

Terminator V.S. Star Wars
In many science fiction films from the past and even in today’s era, the alien/robot/replicant/ android or cyborg often challenges or poses a threat to the human figure. In the movie the Terminator (James Cameron, 1984, U.S.) the android or terminator challenges the human by using virtual time travel to complete his mission, which is to exterminate Sarah Conner. She is the mother of the unborn leader of the future John Conner who leads the rebel armies in a revolt against the computer machines that have taken over society.
Though the terminator may appear to look identical to a human when it comes to appearance. He lacks the communication and personality traits of a real human being. There is no emotion or feelings within him. This is why he will kill anybody that tries to step in his way even innocent people or police officers. He shows his dominance or superiority over them when it comes to physical strength, which is quite obvious throughout the film. He uses this to his advantage to over power them and complete his objective or mission. The terminator challenges the entire human race and the well being of all of them. In the future the computers control the well being of mankind and the only hope for survival comes from one of their leaders, which is John Conner. This is the reasoning or purpose of the terminator stopping at nothing in order to kill his mother Sarah Conner.
The terminator has all the physical characteristics of an adult male. His target or enemy is a middle-aged woman that seems helpless and is unable to protect herself until a human of the future named Reese comes back in time to help save her against the terminator. This depicts the male dominance within our society today, not only in there physical strength but also social status. A good example of this in the movie is when the terminator mistakes Sarah Conner’s roommates for her and brutally kills her and her boyfriend. Besides Sarah Conner, no females really play a role within the film besides for the two women that the Terminator kills only because they too have the name Sarah Conner. At first she appears to be weak and defenseless because she is unaware of what is happening. After Reese explains why the Terminator wants to kill her, she becomes stronger and more independent by herself and in the end destroys the Terminator.

Unlike the Terminator, the humans in the film Star Wars: A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977, U.S.) are defined as superior to the alien “other”, robot/replicant/ android, or cyborg. At the beginning of the film Luke Skywalker and is uncle purchase C-3PO and R2-D2. They are two robots that refer to him as “Master Luke.” Both of them are expected to obey orders from Luke and his uncle. This seems to be a problem for R2-D2 because it still thinks that it belongs to its previous master and must relay the urgent message from Princess Leia who is captured by the Imperial Army.
Another way in which the humans are portrayed or defined is within the Imperial Army. The leader of them is Admiral Motti and Darth Vader. They are in control of all the replicants within the Death Star and outside it as well. All the soldiers or replicants look identical to each other and you can’t distinguish one from another by their personality or voice. They challenge the humans by trying to destroy all the rebel armies and anyone that tries to get in their way. The Imperial Army appears to be far superior in power and dominance towards all their enemies. The Death Star is a massive space station that appears very intimidating and not able to be destroyed. The Death Star and Imperial Army challenges the entire human race and galaxy because it poses a threat of extinction to everyone that challenges their authority. However there is a glitch within the base that will destroy it.
When it comes to gender roles within the film, males dominate them. The entire Imperial Army consists on men. The only time you even see a woman associated with them is when the Imperial Army captures Princess Leia. This is one of the main storylines of the film. After Luke Skywalker and Han Solo rescue her, Luke becomes affectionate toward her. Christine Cornea mentions in her book when she says, “ Luke’s object in the first Star Wars film, the feisty Princess Leia” (2).
“Leia exists in a male dominated setting where she is one of only two female characters (the other one being a small appearance by Mrs. Skywalker) and her actions can only be compared to those men” (1).
At first it appears that Princess Leia is a helpless woman that is going to be executed by the Imperial Army. She doesn’t seem to have any significance or help in her escape from the Death Star. As the movie progresses she takes stand in her escape by finding a way to hide from the storm troopers in the garbage room.





Besides humans, the other characters in the film include various alien or other creatures and robots. The robots all have characteristics of a male; an example of this would be C-3PO. The alien “other” characters mostly appear towards the beginning of the film before they take off on Han Solo’s ship. All these different creatures also are male dominated. You can see this very obviously by the clothes and attire that they wear. Most of the creatures or alien “other” could communicate with the humans beside for a select few so they used C-3PO to translate for them. The picture below shows the scene from this.



As I have stated throughout this paper, both of these movies are male dominated, especially Star Wars. In both films the alien, robot/replicant/android or cyborg challenges the human race and is depicted as far superior and more dominant then humans. The humans overcome this and eventually defeat them in the end.

Notations
1.) http://www.helium.com/items/202509-movie-characters-that-challenge-gender-roles. Retrieved 3-23-09.
2.) Cornea, Christine. Science Fiction Cinema Between Fantasy and Reality. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. (Page 115)

The Terminator (James Cameron, 1984, U.S.) is a science fiction thriller of the 1980’s that takes place in Los Angeles. A man named Kyle Reese comes back from the year of 2027 to save the mother of a war hero of the future John Conner. By the year of 2027, the world is ran by robots that try to wipe out the entire human race. The robot or Terminator comes back to kill her and will stop at nothing. The robots of the future show no emotion, pain, and have super strength.
The 1980’s was great decade for science fiction films. Following the successes of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) and George Lucas Star Wars (1977) it paved the way for other directors to make big science fiction blockbusters. James Cameron also produced the science fiction film Aliens (1986) another action packed blockbuster such as Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985). Both these films are similar to the Terminator because of the amount of violence and action. Alien is also considered in the genre of science fiction.
“The emergence of the blockbuster represents a response that was very much bound up with political, economic and technological changes that began to occur during the late 1970s and early 1980s” (1).
An example of this is the development of cable television and home video. This opened up two more sources of mass media that the film studios could use to advertise and expose their big blockbuster films to everyone. Other popular science fiction blockbusters of 1980s included E.T., (Steven Spielberg, 1982) Back to the Future, (Robert Zemeckis, 1985) and Robocop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987).
Science fiction is defined as “a branch of literature that deals with the human response to changes in the level of science and technology” (2). The Terminator is considered to be a science fiction film for a couple of reasons. Kyle Reese and the Terminator come back from the year 2027. Here they show what the world is like after humans trusted computers to solve all there problems after a nuclear war. The computers or robots eventually took over the human race and tried to exterminate them. Spaceships and lasers are shown to be the military equipment used by both the robots and humans. They created the earth to be a giant battleground and was in complete ruins. This picture depicts what the future appears to be.

Another way this film is science fiction is the idea of robots or machines that are superior then humans. They are able to repair themselves and have intelligence much greater from humans. An example of this would be when the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is repairing his wounded eye.

The Terminator could be considered or can relate to three different genres of science fiction. They include Machines/Humans, Technology/Society, and Time/Space Travel. It has all the qualities of these three genres incorporated in the film and I thought that was very interesting.
Even though I knew Terminator was released in 1984, there are many ways in which you could already tell before finding this out. One is the type of music that James Cameron chose to use in the film. If you are familiar with music, it’s quite obvious. Another way would be the hairstyles and clothing that the characters wear, especially the women.

The Terminator was one of the most action packed science fiction films of the 1980s and helped pave the path for others in the future. Since this 1984 blockbuster there have been two more Terminator films made and have a television series that is shown on FOX.