Intro by Brandon
Terminator 2 is the best action movie of all time. It has two robots fighting, a smart science fiction plot, and Sarah Connor, who is very hot. It also has a 10-year-old John Connor, played by a kid who was 14 and was dating a 28-year-old woman.
The plot follows both Connors as they try to stop the impending robopocalypse of 1997. The robots send the T-1000 terminator to kill John Connor, and John Connor sends a reprogrammed T-800 Arnold Schwarzenegger model to fight the T-1000 and protect John Connor. John finds in the T-800 the father figure he never had, since his father was killed in the first movie. Sarah is generally a badass and is really good at blowing things up.
After being traumatized by the terminator in the first movie, Sarah is imprisoned in a psychiatric ward, where she is abused because they think she’s crazy. And that right there is our dilemma: that there seems to be an acceptable pattern of abuse if someone is crazy. So we talk about that. We also talk about how inconsistent John Connor’s character was in the film.
So buckle in, bust out your best one-liners, and get ready for us to talk about this stellar action film in this episode of Peculiar Picture Show, the podcast that talks about movies, maladies, and mental health. And Sarah Connor.
Resources
- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mentally-ill-mental-health-act-detained-physical-violence-threats-treatment-a8329891.html
- https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/mental-health-act-detention-review-psychiatric-hospital-abuse-trauma-a8332301.html
Show Summary
General: A smart thrill ride
Brandon: In the running for top two action films of all time; more intellectual than some action movies; this made it easy to talk about artificial intelligence and its potential impacts
Maria: T2 Universal ride; no point in this movie where I’m bored; interesting things about artificial intelligence; this films runs 24/7 in my house
Like: A lot of little successes, including effects that hold up
Brandon: So many things this movie does well, especially action scenes and special/practical effects; effective sci-fi film; entertaining; Linda Hamilton; character of the T-1000 is clear even when played by different actors
Maria: Practical/special effects; entertaining; good example of an action movie
Dislike: What the fuck is up with John Connor?
Brandon: John Connor’s character; showing its roots as a 90s movie
Maria: John Connor is supposed to be 10? WTF
Mental Health: Mental health crises are not an excuse for abuse
Brandon: Common trope that someone has seen something so outlandish that everyone thinks they are crazy (gaslighting), but makes you wonder, what would people do if she actually was going through a psychotic episode? Dehumanization of psychiatric patients
Maria: State hospitalizations/institutions
Next Film
Joker (2019) vs. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
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