1984s The Terminator directed by James Cameron tells the story of  human soldier Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) who is sent back in time from 2029 in order to stop a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from killing a young woman called Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) who is unborn son John, is the saviour of humanity in the future from a post-apocalyptic world where machines rule over us. At surface level this film could be taken as yet another Schwarzenegger style sci-fi action flick however, The Terminator is a cautionary tale upon the dangers of technology, man’s assimilation into the machine and a exploration upon fate and free will within humanity.

From the very opening of the terminator we are shown the paranoia and fear of the machine and is technology is present throughout the film as man has become assimilated by the machine and is now a subservience to its sealing our own fate, this technophobic attitude is a theme running throughout The Terminator franchise. As the Terminator is shown travelling through time to the past from the future the film showcases that mankind is ultimately doomed to its fate and that we will forever be subservience to the machine. Humanity’s reliance upon technology will ultimately be our undoing as mankind will ultimately lose its humanity as the machines shell control us. This is further exemplified with The Terminator killing the street punks showing them as an unstoppable force and that man will ultimately come to an end. The Terminator shows the age of machine as a kind of evolution and revolution of sorts as we have created something that goes beyond our own capabilities and intelligence and in playing God, we have suffered the ultimate price.

However, as Carl Reece comes through the time travel portal, we are also shown the idea of future not being set people can change their future and ultimately control their destinies a key theme throughout the Terminator franchise. Throughout the film Carl Reece and the Terminator are symbolic of the two subvert opposing forces symbolising the battle of man versus machine highlighting our technophobic paranoia inducing anxieties on technology. Within the film both the Terminator and Carl Reece acts like machines stopping at nothing to achieve their goal. Terminator is an exploration in the classic sci-fi question what it means to be human and is humanity merely subservience to our mechanical overlords. Also, the casting of the film showcases a great subversion in casting Arnold Schwarzenegger in a bad guy a role in which he does not typically do but is perfectly cast and makes for an intimidating presence in the film. Interestingly enough unlike the films that follow Sarah Connor throughout most of the movie is just presented as an average woman trying to survive a terrible situation this creates quite a nice change of pace from the action movie bad arse her character role would take on in the films that follow. Sarah Connor’s transformation from waitress at a diner two one of the most bad arse fighter women in the sci-fi is one of the most interesting arcs throughout both The Terminator and the franchise as a whole.

In the film both in The Terminator and Carl Reece have to resort to using weaponry of the present day showing that both man and machine must adapt in order to survive, this is again apparent as the terminator goes to the phone book again showcasing the idea of primitive techniques juxtaposed by futuristic machines. Terminator showcases the idea of maintaining humanity and identity through the rise of technology. The film again asked the question what it is mean to be human within a technological society complete with humanoid looking terminators whereby humanity’s own identity has been warped and distorted and ultimately assimilated through machinery. The film again asks the question what does it mean to be human as it plays on our fears of technological paranoia in our inevitable simulation with the machine as throughout human history technology is always bound us and it is only now that it rears its ugly head as the dominating masters of our own destiny.

Another aspect of what makes The Terminator so brilliant is how it treats these themes of warfare seriously as we are shown the PTSD of soldier Kyle Reese again showcasing the real effects that war has despite its post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting. After some clever dialogue-based foreshadowing for both The Terminator and Terminator Two such as, “better mortal man deserves” and “you’re talking to a machine but it’s okay machine to need love to”. As Sarah enters a club funnily enough called Tech-Noir, we in shown the reliance on archaic technology throughout the film as the Terminator tracks victims through archaic means such as a phone book and asking people. When the Terminator finally comes after Sarah, it shows the unstoppable nature of the machine and the inevitable death of humanity as machine now creates its own technological evolution. However with Carl Reece shooting the terminator and rescuing Sarah the scene also showcases another key theme throughout The Terminator that being the notion of fate and destiny and that you can shape these ideas to your will ultimately proving humanity has free will over the dominance of machine.

When Carl Reece shoots the Terminator and save Sarah delivering the classic “come with me if you want to live” line, the film further showcases its analysis upon fate and free will rejecting the notion of instantly showing that mankind ultimately controls its own future. This is further showcased with Sarah and Carl running away from the Terminator as  running from fate exercising their right of choice as well as highlighting the technophobic subtext of the film commenting on the dangers of technology within our society and how AI will inevitably kill our humanity. In the film’s explanation of the Terminator being the cybernetic organism the film showcases the idea of humanity playing God thereby creating the machines which gained sentience took over the world again AI domination and rebellion a key theme throughout the film. When Carl Reece explains what the Terminator is it is symbolic upon the dangers of AI dominance within our society showcasing our technological fears and the paranoia it induces is in our quest to become goods we have given the machines at the tools necessary to turn against their creators showcasing the darkness in humanity.

This continues with the back story of the film being that of a nuclear war resulting in defence network systems gained sentience with the AI of Skynet says its core showcasing how technology ultimately dictate humanity’s fate. Again, The Terminator showcases our fears of AI dominance and its rebellion resulting in man’s simulation into the machine. Not only this, the film also shows a twisted humour in our subservience with humans use the slave labour in factories to build the machines further highlighting our technological paranoia upon the dangers of robotics and artificial intelligence.

Within both the film and the franchise, John Connor is symbolic of the hope of humanity showcasing a rejection of the idea of fate and that you are free to change your destiny. This is further showcased with the characters constantly either running away or fighting back against the Terminator further cementing the idea of the ability to change your fate. With the Terminator coming after them the film showcases the fears of AI dominance within humanity and how technology has transformed from subservience to the dominating force that we ourselves created as humanity ultimately needs to be destroyed.  Running away from the Terminator is a metaphor for outrunning your fate and overcoming the dominating presence of technology, again the film showcases humanities paranoia and fear of artificial intelligence through machinery as it will ultimately overturn humanity and resulting our inevitable simulation.

When Carl gets arrested and taken into custody it makes perfect sense in the minds of Sarah and the police to see him as a madman speeding with a panicked woman in his car shooting at another man. Reece explains the story of him being a soldier sent back in time under the guise of John Connor and how Skynet was a computer defence system built by a military company creating a war between man and machine. This ultimately resulted in humanity starting to win and in a last-ditch effort and the machines went back in time to kill his mother to stop this whole event from happening. Although within the reality of the film this is a truth it is very easy to understand how they would think he is crazy. As this is going on the Terminator infiltrates a police station to kill Sarah. This again highlights the technological paranoia of the machine as an unstoppable in human force. The film highlights the dangers upon society’s overabundance and need for machinery and technology and how humanities dominance will ultimately lead to a robotic rebellion against its masters. The scene ultimately showcases man’s destruction at the hands of technology and the rise of technological dominance is something to fear. The Terminator killing several male cops in the police station further highlights the themes of masculinity within the film. As well as this, humanity within The Terminator is shown within little bits and pieces such as Sarah and Carl talking about her son commenting on the idea of finding the humanity in a future overrun with machines.

Terminator does an excellent job at the world building as we are giving more depth and back story to the universe creating a more realistic vision of the future. We learn that the survivors usually come out during daylight as there is less patrols at night-time and the terminator’s roam about the Earth. We are shown a post-apocalyptic society and the impact upon the future generations such as children growing up in this destroyed shell of the world. A key theme and idea resonating throughout The Terminator are the idea of memories and scars of the past affecting the future. We are shown first-hand the destruction of humanity both at the hands of the machine but also dictated by our own decisions. Humanity created this future and has now become subservience to the machine it built again showcasing the themes of an AI controlled dominance over the world and a rebellion of technology against its human masters key themes running throughout the franchise. When Carl Reece looks at the picture of Sarah, burning it is symbolic of his own personal hope being destroyed which in turn showcases the hope being extinguished for full humanity as the Terminator’s are slowly killing them all.

Throughout the film the Terminator is shown to be an inhuman robotic killing machine. The Terminator is ultimately symbolic of humanity’s own technological paranoia and fear of an AI dominance will start the as due to a rebellion against their human creators. As well as action we also shown the emotional manipulation of the Terminator as he kills her mum and then uses her voice to get her location. This showcases The Terminator is a lot more than just an action film but more one of horror as these machines look like every day normal people but, are undercover killing machines. As Carl and Sarah have sex the plot twist is revealed in that Carl Reece is John Connor’s father. This gives the film another layer of depth and showcases a personal fight in their battle against the Terminator. In the action scene in the truck Carl throws dynamite out the window as the terminator shoots them with a machine gun throughout the film it is shown a use of modern technology is needed in order to defeat a futuristic vision showcasing the power of humanity.

As they slam the Terminator over the road in the truck causing it to flip over the scene showcases how Sarah Connor is finally living up to her saviour of the world image bestowed upon her. For as much as The Terminator is a study of masculinity, the film showcases a strong female lead in the third act in the form of Sarah. Her growth throughout the film from a typical young woman into a badarse soldier is a realistic and interesting turn of events that pays off well within the film as well as lending a lot of weights to its sequel. In a brilliant use of bait and switch they believe that the Terminator is dead signalling the traditional happy ending, only to reveal the Terminator in its fully machine skeletal like body. This scene perfectly demonstrates mankind’s technological paranoia and the dangers of artificial intelligence domination and rebellion, as well as showing off incredible practical effects.

In Sarah helping the injured limping Karl the film further showcases her evolution from helpless individual until now acting as the role reversal of the action hero within the film, this is further cemented with Sarah shouting to Karl “move it Reece on your feet soldier on your feet” further showcasing her transformation into the action hero. With the Terminator chasing them down in an industrial factory the mise en scene of the setting further showcases the technological paranoia of man’s assimilation into the machine and the fear of AI dominance and rebellion at mankind, This is clearly shown in the Terminator closing them as technology now has a dominance over man. With Karl Reece fighting the Terminator, the film showcases its themes of masculinity is reinforced when he blows up the terminator.

In full out the metal shards from her leg Sarah is symbolically rejecting the technological control over mankind. As the still little remains of the terminator call to wall Sarah she ends up crashing it in a hydraulic press cementing her action movie hero status complete with her own badass line “your terminated fucker”. Not only do receive a strong arc of growth within the film relating to her badass saviour of humanity future self, but this scene acts as poetic irony as a machine is killed by mechanical device. This scene also relates to one of the key themes within the Terminator franchise being fate. Within the film Sarah rejects the notion of a set future and decides to make her own decisions acting upon her own actions to carve out a future for herself. At the end of the film, Sarah records messages for John again relating to the idea of the past dictating the future but being able to change humanity supposing fate. One of the petrol station employees state “there’s a storm coming”. The war between man and machine is not over however man is able to fight as they have the power to choose and decide their own fate.

The terminator is exploration upon the dangers of technology and artificial intelligence showcasing man’s inevitable demise. However, the film ultimately rejects the notion of this post-apocalyptic future to be set and that if humanity tries, they can ultimately dictate and control their own destiny.