core post 4

I never thought that I would find such a connection between the movie Kindergarten Cop and Terminator 2, until reading the Jeffords article. Arnold plays almost the same masculine character in both, an imposing robot of a man who finds tenderness and love. Much like Kimball forms a relationship with the young boy, who then leads him to his future love interest, the Terminator creates a strong bond with John and consequently with Sarah. Kimball’s two occupations of a police officer and teacher are strangely similar—both require justice, protecting, and enforcement of the rules. The same goes for the Terminator—it is his occupation to protect John and Sarah as a police officer would protect citizens. Both characters also learn a great deal from the people they are caring for, which enables them to access their feelings and grow emotionally.
Terminator 2 also exemplifies the idea of the 1980s masculine man that is discussed in regards to Kindergarten Cop. The 1980s man is thought to act hard and macho not by choice, but because society has programmed them to be that way. The Terminator is a clear representation of that concept because he is essentially a computer—something that is completely programmed and created with the purposing of serving the wants and needs of society. The Terminator is defined by the idea of a technology-crazed, and crime conscious society. Also, the 1980’s male characteristic that they act in a highly macho manner because of their bodies; clearly the Terminator acts this way because his body is made of metal—he’s a robot. His path is determined by the fact that his body is a machine programmed by the society of the future.
I think that for male actors today, there is a much bigger focus on adapting acting style and body language to fit the part, and not necessarily basing a role on body alone. Actors like Christian Bale completely change their bodies to physically adapt to their roles, they do not just choose roles because their natural physique would allow them to play the role best. I think that most would argue today that playing a role that is so dependent on your body type would mean that the actor isn’t as talented or diverse. The sign of a more talented actor can be considered to be that he is able to blend into whatever role he is placed into, regardless of the body type that the character was originally thought to be.
Some questions to think about are whether an actor’s physical stature should impact how people perceive his talent. Also, whether this question is applicable for female roles, and if this question were raised would females be offended.