Talk:The Terminator

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[edit] Censorship

In the UK, The Terminator was originally rated as an 18. When the film was released to DVD, it was re-rated to a 15. Curiously, the U.S. version remains classified as an R.

That last part about the R rating is ridiculous. Just because the film was re-rated in the UK to a 15. Doesn't mean it should be re-rated PG-13 in the USA. Whats so curious about a film with violence, strong language and nudity getting an R rating? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.79.85.85 (talk) 12:01, 9 December 2006 (UTC).

[edit] Philosophy (Retrieved from archive)

I'm not interested in getting into a big debate over this, but these are the problems with the pieces I removed and had reverted. In order of importance:

The paragraph seems like Original Research. Has a 3rd party made this analysis, or is it just what one wikieditor thinks?

  • Use of analogies doesn't seem very encyclopedic (it seems more like a textbook)
  • The evolution/ID section doesn't explain why E/ID is mentioned. Is it an analogy, or something else?
  • The language used is very hard to decipher for someone not versed in philosophy/textual criticism

Regards, Ashmoo 03:23, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I have made a number of edits to the page after receiving no comment to the above. I am sure my removal of large sections of text will annoy some editors, but I ask for calm. As it stands, a lot of the article, while good and interesting analysis, is unsourced and as such does not really belong on wikipedia. I'm happy to discuss any issues relating to this before making any more changes. Regards, Ashmoo 23:22, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Inspiration

I posted a simple remark The Terminator's "Skynet" future was inspired by Frank Herbert's Dune novel in 1966. However, it keeps getting removed.

This period in Dune, referred to as the Butlerian Jihad, was the conquest and enslavement of humans by thinking machines and, other than Spice, is the basis of all society that followed after it although its less central than this movie. I don't know of any other robot storyline before Dune that went to this depth. The first commandment in the Orange Catholic Bible is Thou Shalt Nnot make a Machine that thinks like a Man. Dune, like Lord of the Rings, was the inspiration for many, many stories after it, including Star Wars, so something like this is too much of a coincidence to ignore.

I kept the reference short, didn't elaborate on the three prequels on the Jihad, and where is the harm in pointing out the obvious parallel? I think fans of the movie believe The Terminator's premise is more original than really is. ~Lucky Day

You need to provide a source to prove that the writers of the Terminator were inspired by Dune, otherwise it is original research. Ashmoo 05:09, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dont remember that...

Guns and Roses song "You Could be mine" is about T1... ! add that to the article. renzocj@yahoo.com

[edit] "Terminator" or "The Terminator"

Is the name of this film "Terminator" or "The Terminator"? Ewlyahoocom 09:29, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

It's "The Terminator"--Name Theft Victim 22:07, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Low Budget?

If the film cost $6.5 million, how could it be considered low budget?--Alexrules43 20:38, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Most movies have budgets bigger than $6.5 million--Name Theft Victim 22:07, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Predestination Paradox

The statement "This paradox can also been seen generally, in that if the machines had not tried to stop John's birth, he never would have been born (as Kyle Reese would never have had cause to go back in time)" is untrue. In the original timeline, John Connor was indeed born, albeit not with Kyle Reese (but another man) as John's father. John would have been born regardless of Kyle's presence. The only thing different are the circumstances of his birth and likely the timing as well. If no one objects, I'd like to modify this statement. --Mike Beidler 17:19, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

What you describe is one theory of how time travel paradoxes may be resolved, but I don't think it is universally accepted, so I'd probably object to its inclusion (depending on exactly what you put in). Having said that, I think the way the section is now also suffers from the same problem (specifically Original Research) and needs to be fixed. Ashmoo 01:07, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

When Sarah asked Reese "so your from the future?" Reese explicitly replied "one possible future." Why didn't he simply say "yes"? For this reason, I always presumed that viewers were not watching the original timeline but a new one that was created as a result of the events in the movie. ----Manlady 02:31, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Inconsistency

Right now, the article begins: "The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction-action film which became the break-through role for former body-builder Arnold Schwarzenegger." However, in the page for Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, the first Conan movie is said to be his break-through role. Dorfl 17:02, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Good catch. I've changed it to "The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction-action film featuring body-builder Arnold Schwarzenegger in what would become his best-known role" and rolled the next paragraph up so that it flows a bit cleaner. It could probably be worded better, but in a pinch, I feel that this will do. The "best-known role" concept (which, to be honest, has no real source) is culled from his article, should anyone be curious. EVula 17:34, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia errors

IIRC, Bill Paxton's punk wasn't killed, since he complied by removing his clothes for the Terminator to wear. Also, IIRC, the Terminator doesn't kill anyone unless they interfere with his eventual goal of eliminating the Sarah Conner.--Mike18xx 06:34, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Yeah. Just ask the gunstorekeeper.  ;-) 80.201.106.37 11:43, 14 October 2006 (UTC)
Bill Paxton was the Blue-Haired punk. He did not comply.

[edit] Firearm question

What kind of assault rifle did the Terminator use in this movie? I thought it might be an FN FNC, but I'm not sure.

The Terminator uses an Armalite AR-18 assault rifle for the assault on the police station. This rifle is relatively uncommon but I think its semi-auto derivative, the AR-180, is still in production.

~Vin

[edit] Quotes section

I removed this section on the grounds that it didn't contain quotes, but rather the transcript of two seemingly random scenes. I couldn't determine the notably of the scenes, so I removed them. Ashmoo 02:20, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Inspiration

"Despite settling out of court, Cameron still maintains to this day that the Terminator was his original concept." -- source on this? As I recall the basis of the original case and what caused Hemdale to insist on settling was an interview in Starlog where Cameron as much as admitted to have taken it from "a couple of old Outer Limits episodes" I think the phrase was. LamontCranston 15:45, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] future debate simulation

i am in a debate class and the terminator has become the debate. we have put ourselves in the position of the people who use the time machine to try to save Sarah. i need some insight as to thought process and rational behind the time machine and the changing of events to determine the future you want. also i need to determine sides for the debate, if anyone would be so kind as to discuss this it would be of great help.

4/12/06 Taylor Culham —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 12.169.167.146 (talk) 02:18, 5 December 2006 (UTC).

[edit] Philosophy

Hey guys:

You know that the Terminator represents our dependence on machines. I'm wondering if this has been spelled out appropriately already in the current article, or whether someone needs to make it clearer. I believe that James Cameron may have been quoted somewhere discussing his reasons for creating the movie, but I can't find it now.

The article that I'm referring to discusses how Cameron was pointing out how much we depend on machines in this era of technology. I think that he was saying that we need to avoid letting the machines run, and therefore ruin, our lives.

If anyone else here has the text in question, please post it. (I may have invented this article in my mind, after having discussed the concept with my dad. I will speak to him, and figure out whether he himself came up with this concept, based on something else that he may have read.)

Thank you.

SammyJames 16:45, 25 March 2007 (UTC)SammyJames

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