Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

In the Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Miles Dyson, the creator of the first cyborg, invents an army of robots programmed for military training, known as Skynet. Once these radical cyborgs become aware of their own power around the year 2029, they begin to destroy all of mankind and attempt to kill off any human existence. The Terminator, an early cyborg prototype, is sent to the past to save a young John Connors’ life by protecting him from T-1000, a Skynet robot made from liquid metal. Throughout the movie, the Terminator defends John and his mother, Sarah, who has escaped from a psychiatric hospital. Together, they try and destroy the first invented microchip and robotic arm that will eventually lead to the Skynet catastrophe, all while being chased down by the futuristic, shape-shifting, T-1000 cyborg. 

The Terminator has an internal program which allows him to analyze the people, places, and things around in his current environment. This allows him to scope out any potential enemies and detect their exact location. In the movie, he uses this advancement in order to search for the T-1000 robot in smokey, dark situations. He also uses this technology in the very beginning of the movie to find someone with the best match to his body shape and size in order to steal their clothes and motorcycle for a more natural, human look. Compared to the T-1000 model, the Terminator is more highly dependent on his technological and robotic mind, even though he uses it only a couple of times throughout the film. The later generation cyborg’s biggest advancement is its ability to reform after being shot or wounded. Its liquid state gives an advantage when it needs to slip through walls or even transform into a pseudo human to cover it’s identity. The Terminator is sculpted internally with electronic wires and metal limbs. At one point, some of his head is scraped off and half of his bionic skull is exposed along with his bright, red, robotic eyeball. The Terminator is more stereotypically “cyborg” than the later created models with his robotic skeleton.

This movie touches base with whether or not being a cyborg could be a positive or negative thing. The Terminator is seemingly indestructible and often uses his body as a bulletproof shield for John. He is immune to pain and willingly puts himself in situations of great distress to protect John and Sarah. For example, when the metallic  cyborg is following them in his big tractor trailer truck, the Terminator allows John to take control of the car, hops out the front window, and fights face to face with the other cyborg. He shoots at him repeatedly and hangs off the side of the truck in order to steer him away from the car with John in it. In a realistic situation, not many people would jump out of the window of a moving car and risk their life to do something like this. It shows that being an immortal cyborg could be a serviceable thing. However, Terminator and his silver-blobbed cousin, can’t express any emotions or feel any “normal human feelings”. They walk and talk just like you’d expect a robot to and John even tries to teach the Terminator to speak like an actual human with slang terms such as his most famous line, “Hasta la vista, baby”. Being a cyborg can bring some usefulness in a battle scene, but when living day to day in a place surrounded by other people, speaking with a cybernetic dialect isn’t always the most favorable thing.

The movie draws a line between being considered a cyborg and truly being human. Human life is expressed through feelings and emotions. It is human nature to become responsive about different situations, to engage with the world, and to have this “inner soul” which defines who we are as humans. The cyborgs in this movie are quite obviously programmed. The Terminator questions John’s tears and at the end of the movie, says, “I know now why you cry. But it’s something I can never do.” After he experiences all the drama they go through, he understands John’s emotions, but he admits he will never show them because he does not have such senses like humans. The T-1000 model does not even remotely feel emotions and talks with such emptiness in his voice. Another reason they are undoubtedly cyborg beings, is how they came into existence. They are created by a certain person, Miles Dyson, who has an ownership over them, up until the possible future of when could potentially begin to take advantage of the world and wipe out human existence. These cyborgs have a central processing unit built off of a microchip and eventually they become more advanced to the point where they are created in liquid metal. Humans are created equally and naturally without a specific inventor, wiring and scientifically programming their brain. The Terminator and his futuristic enemy are both superior to humans with their super strength and extended immortality. The Terminator’s body is made up of wires and metal and when his arm is crushed in the gear, he starts to fall apart, but he still continues to put up a fight and pushes through until the end. He can take a gunshot like a concrete wall and is unfazed by any other type of threat. The T-1000 model on the other hand, is not at all affected by bullets or wounds because he is able shape-shift and reform himself back together after any kind of combat. 

     In the end, Terminator 2 displays the connection between cyborgs and technology and prove what it means to be human. Both cyborgs use their advanced systems to help guide them through the fight. The Terminator blatantly illustrates the connection of humans to our emotions and family with his expressionless and stiff ego. However, even though he may be all metal and wires, he shows strength and courage risking his cybernetic life to save them.