Clayton Vozzella
Cailin O’Brien
Giuliana Petrocelli
Ali Appelbaum
Sabrina Sonner
1. Our first impression of him is the Governator (Terminator and Governor of California). We remember first and foremost his physicality, deep voice, and accent that are all huge parts of his identity, which seem to dull his intelligence and emphasis his “masculine” physique. We compare him to Rudolph Valentino in the sense that they were both typecast and only given one type of roles. In the two films we watched with Schwarzenegger and Valentino they both are initially ill intentioned or appear to be but give in to their emotional side by the end of the film. They are also both stars whose accents play roles in narrowing down their star identities, seeming more dangerous and/or exotic because of them. Arnold more typically in popular culture embodies notions of hard-bodied masculinity, and the internalization of manhood and aggression. He helps us visualize what masculinity means in our society by way of his physical strength and power, even if it is a false sense of what masculinity really is in the greater population. Later in his career, he brings emotion to masculinity as he becomes a father figure and sacrifices himself for the greater good.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arnold_Schwarzenegger_1974.jpg
http://www.neontommy.com/news/2010/10/what-will-governor-schwarzeneggers-legacy-be
http://www.conservapedia.com/Arnold_Schwarzenegger
2. Both Marilyn and Arnold are positioned as spectacles. However, there are different consequences for sexualizing Arnold vs. Marilyn. Arnold gets to be celebrated and elevated for his sexual body, whereas Marilyn, while “celebrated” for her body, is sexualized and reduced to just an object. In the images below, we see how both are sexualized bodies, but Arnold’s is given more power and authority, while Marilyn’s is more submissive and passive. They face different obstacles and consequences for being sexualized in films. Arnold is the hero who saves the day in superhero films, whereas Marilyn is a manipulator of men who uses her sexuality to destroy maleness. Arnold is out for the world’s interests, whereas Marilyn’s interests as a woman are self-serving. If Arnold’s reign comes to an end, it affects the world; if Marilyn is defeated, she is the only one who suffers. Additionally, Arnold was able to use the positive aspects of his star image as the man who saves the world to expand his career from entertainment into politics and business, while Marilyn was ultimately unable to break out of the type that she was seen to embody.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/09/arnold-schwarzenegger-hercules_n_4565069.html
Arnold shirtless in the film Hercules.
https://outlet.historicimages.com/products/mva80663
3. In the 1980s, Arnold as the Terminator is essentially the lone ranger. He is a super tough guy and his interests are more self-serving. But in the 1990s, he goes from killer to protector. He’s now trying to save the same woman he once tried to kill. His image is still a hard bodied masculine one, but comparing the two posters we see a slight change from the dangerous muscle mass with an open shirt in The Terminator to the more-clothed protective image in Terminator 2. The second film recreates ideas of masculinity present in the first film by inverting them instead of duplicating them. Jeffords discusses how the one good thing to come out of the Reagan era was the return to the home for men. Men shifted their priorities and focused on providing for their families, becoming true family men. Hollywood represented this using masculine men like Arnold as objects to find hope and faith in America in an era of uncertainty. In the Terminator 2, Arnold’s character represents this notion as he becomes a father figure to John, takes care of, and protects both Sarah and John. Terminator 2 Arnold is equal to Bush, T-1000 is Reagan, and termination of the T-1000 is the termination of the Reagan image.
http://www.red8agency.com/product/perth-terminator-double/
4. At first glance, we might see Sarah Connor as a badass independent character, but with closer analysis we see that in the movie, some other force or outside entity (usually male) ultimately has to step in to save the day for her. She aids us to getting to the end goals, but is never the one to complete the final act that advances us to the next point in the plot. The climactic death of the T1000 emphasizes this (clip below); Sarah Connor gets some shots in, but it is ultimately the terminator who saves the day and delivers the killing blow. Both films, from the 80s and 90s, fail to give her character much agency, demonstrating that while the role of men may change between the time period, her narrative is still secondary or second-class. Because Terminator 2 wants to emphasize Arnold’s role as protector, it ultimately reduces Sarah Connor’s role in the film, by giving her driving motivation of saving her son to the terminator in this film.
5. His image as man who saves the world aided him to gaining political power as Governor of California. He was a person, who on screen sacrificed his life for the good of the people, and Californians responded to that positive image and saw him as someone who could save California. The power and notoriety he earned from being a celebrity allowed him to create a platform for himself in politics because he was already in the public eye. People already knew who he was, so they paid attention to him. He earned a level of prestige from his celebrity recognition that allowed him to win the election.
“Former "Body Man" to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Explains Why Protocol Is for the Other Guy”
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