Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and James Cameron's Terminator 3
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and James Cameron's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines have come to occupy similar positions in American popular culture-largely, for their iconic appeal-but they are also comparable in more subtle ways. Specifically, each tale depicts the emergence of human nature within entities that superficially seem nonhuman. Frankenstein's monster and the T-101 both come forward as compelling and sympathetic characters because they learn and express themselves in terms that human beings are able to understand. The T-101's apparent progression from a methodical killer into an unwavering companion within the Terminator movies is mirrored by the monster's progression from an infantile murderer into a sensitive literature aficionado. Additionally, it is significant that both are brought into creation through clandestine scientific practices; thus, similar themes surrounding the T-101 and the monster make themselves apparent. Essentially, both characters represent the volatile nature of too much knowledge: they are the violent culminations of scientific inquiries gone terribly wrong. Nevertheless, the T-101 and the monster demonstrate human emotion; consequently, their existence questions our very understanding of what
John Connor: "Fuck you, you fucking machine!" Notably, the T-101 not only is able to convey wisdom regarding emotions, but he is able to manipulate them to his ends. Since he needs John Connor to behave as leader, he influences his emotional state in order to make him more effective. So, even though the T-101's expressed conception of feelings seems to be relegated to what is practically useful, his ability to act within the midst of human agents and make use of their emotions demonstrates a complexity in his mental capacities atypical of common machinery. Accordingly, with reference to his origins, his human-like qualities make him both great and terrible: he is intelligent, but unpredictable. In order to grasp the gradual emergence of human qualities within the T-101 and the monster, it is important to investigate their physical origins. Frankenstein's monster was brought to life by a single man, in secret, seeking to reanimate dead human tissues. On the surface, this sort of birth may seem to have no conceptual connection to the artificial intelligence exemplified by the T-101, but the ideological questions surrounding both remain almost identical. One of the pervasive themes running throughout Frankenstein is the recurrent symbolism concerning ice and fire. Fire represents a number of things, to Shelley, but its most significant association is with knowledge and enlightenment. In his first letter Walton expresses his feelings regarding knowledge which, initially, is identical to the passion felt by Victor: "What may not be expected in a country of eternal light?" (Shelley, 6). This is the utterly optimistic view of science and discovery that Walton possesses in his search for a northern passage-or anything unknown. Implicit in this statement is the notion that the pursuit of ultimate knowledge will result in good; this is what Walton and Victor both believe, at first, about their respective interests. The light, in effect, possesses the capacity to both illuminate-to make more clear-and to blind. Terminator: "You're right. You're not the one I want. You're wasting my time."
Some common words found in the essay are:
Walton Victor, John Connor, Nevertheless T-101, Namely T-101, Rise Machines, Consequently T-101, Notably T-101, Connor I'm, Terminator Anger, Connor T-101, john connor, t-101 monster, frankenstein's monster, terminator 3, monster t-101, brought life, monster brought life, human emotion, t-101 able, dead human, monster comes, dead human tissues, terminator john connor,
Approximate Word count = 1829
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
