Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
The next offering in the Terminator trilogy, "Terminator 3," seems atfirst to exist only as a format for Arnold Schwarzenegger and his machoterminator character. However, underlying the fantastic special effectsand minimal dialogue is a film geared to the effects technology could haveon future generations. It is a dark look at technology - something we takefor granted today, and see as benign at best (except when a computer virushits the world). Technology is good, and has changed the way we live ourlives. However, it is quite clear this ideology is not embraced by thewriters of "Terminator 3," for a variety of reasons. At the core of the deadly machines in the film is "Skynet," thenetwork of machines initially created by the U.S. Government to keep theworld at bay. The core of machines and robotic fighters take over theircommand center, and bring on "Judgment Day," the day when the Earth isdestroyed, and only a few survive, including John Connor and Kate Brewster. Clearly, the writers take a dim view of technology in general, andcertainly any technology developed by the U.S. Government. The machines(even the Terminators) are generally portrayed a
Specialfeatures on the DVD give background into how the effects were created, andmany were done with computers and advanced technologies that were notavailable when the first two films were made. Thus, the story that shuns technology actually creates new technologies inthe games and toys surrounding it, and in the special effects created tosupport the minimal story line. In perhaps the ultimate irony, the film uses the mostadvanced technologies of the day to create the action sequences so pivotalto the film. The message here is technologywill take over our lives and kill us if we allow it to, and throughout thefilm, this underlying theme keeps playing repeatedly. In conclusion, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," is an actionfilled adventure that portrays technology as the beginning of the end ofthe human race. As one expert inthis film genre noted, Various critics have already noted the apocalyptic dimension to the Alien/ RoboCop/ Terminator/ Predator cycles, a dimension endemically ahistorical and reactionary that has been part and parcel of American cultural expression since the Puritans, an ideology preferring total annihilation (including self-annihilation) over radical change or even reform (Sharrett 108). This theme is common because it is frightening, andbecause with the rapid rise in technological advances we have seen in the20th and 21st centuries, it seems like it could be possible. She is beautiful but oh so deadly, and her underlying reason forbeing seems to acknowledge what the writers want to illustrate, thattechnology, when it gets out of hand, can be compelling but deadly in thelong run. One review of the game noted, "'Terminator 3: War of theMachines' will place players at the very center of the conflict outlined inthe Terminator world -- the war with the sentient machines. Ultimately, we can take the message of Hollywood and itswriters with a grain of salt with this film, and perhaps that is what theyintended all along. The film is clearly biased in many ways, and does not give a fair"reading" of technology. (Arnold makes sure nocops were harmed when he rescues Kate and John in the graveyard scene. Thus, the writers show old technology as ultimatelysuperb when weighted against new technology, because old technology is morecomfortable, pliable, and even more considerate. Their dim view of technology may simply be a tongue-in-cheek look at the very thing that makes their film so popular - rapidlychanging technology and the transformation it brings to our lives, ourworlds, and our Hollywood films.
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Acceptance Essays
