Justin Blancher
Final Project
16 May 2012
Prof. Hammond
One of the great
actors in American cinema during the 1980's and 1990's was the great
Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was a body builder who then switched to
acting, and thus was often used to portray big, macho, seemingly
invincible characters, such as the Terminator, and Schaefer (in
Predator). Because of this, he sometimes played roles that used this
in comedic roles, such as Kindergarten Cop and Jingle all the way. In
2003, however, he decided to take an indefinite hiatus in his acting
career, and enter politics, where he was elected governor of
California.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger was born in Austria in 1947, and lived a difficult
life at home. His family was very poor, and he was beaten as a child,
but always seemed to maintain a “cheerful, good-humored and
exuberant character.” His father influenced him to play many
sports, and while playing soccer, he was introduced to the idea of
bodybuilding, which he chose as his career. He began to become
obsessed with bodybuilding, in a sense. He was reported to break into
the gym late at night, just to continue to work out. In his hometown,
they called him “The Austrian Oak”, to signify how incredibly
strong he was. He began his
professional competitive career at the age of 17, and won many
awards, including Mr. Europe and the youngest Mr. Universe in the
history of the title.
Schwarzenegger
eventually left Europe to go the United States, using bodybuilding to
make it. He lived in Los Angeles, working out at Gold's Gym with a
number of famous wrestlers and bodybuilders. Because of his new
location and new friends, he eventually won Mr. Olympia, seven times.
In 1970, he decided
to hand at acting in cinema. His first roles were very limited due to
his trouble with the English language and his thick austrian accent.
His first roles were either dubbed with someone else's voice, or mute
entirely. His first huge hit where he was the lead role was Conan the
Barbarian (1982), in which he played Conan. This was a box-office
hit, and this projected him into his career defining role, the
Terminator. Terminator (1984) is probably his most famous role, in
which he says “I'll be back,” which is his most famous line.
Terminator, along with his next movies, Commando (1985), Running Man
(1987), and Predator (1987), launched him into being an action movie
star, gaining him international popularity.
However, as he is
an action movie star, he uses this to make stark contrasts as he
plays in more goofy roles, such as in Twins, Kindergarten Cop, and
Jingle all the Way. In these roles, he relies on his previous roles
of tough, gruff, men who shoot things in every shot, to being a
sophisticated intellectual in Twins, the absent but loving father in
Jingle all the Way, or the same tough-guy, surrounded by small
children. In Gianetti, it is wirtten that versatility is a good
measure of the quality of an actor, but Schwarzenegger's
“versatility” is only due to his previous roles. This is not to
say that he is not a good actor, but rather, his qualities lie
elsewhere.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger has an air about him unlike any actor who has gone
before him. His Austrian accent, his gigantic stature and athletic
ability, his great facial expressions, and his unmistakable
one-liners have made him into one of the most recognizable actors in
American cinema.
His accent has
been parodied many times throughout the years. Many times, and in
many different forms of media and/or film, using an Austrian accent
in a deep voice has become indicative of a very strong person. In the
movie Aladdin, the Genie transforms into a giant muscular man, and
says “Infinite Cosmic Power!” in a Schwarzenegger-esque voice.
Even in video games, like Starcraft 2, the unit “Thor”, which is
a giant robot with gigantic cannons on top, is piloted by a Austrian
accented man who even looks a bit like Schwarzenegger.
This is due to
Schwarzenegger's own stature, which was exemplified in Commando,
where he was first seen with a whole tree trunk on his back.
Schwarzenegger's size is also alluded to in many other movies and
forms of media, including the movie Die Hard, where John McClane
states “they have enough explosives to orbit Arnold
Schwarzenegger!”
In Total Recall
(1990), Schwarzenegger had some ridiculous facial expression to show
his agony of being on the surface of Mars without a spacesuit, for
example. This has endeared him to many audiences. Even his face while
playing the Terminator is commendable for his cold and calculating
demeanor, without moving his face nor conveying any kind of emotion.
Furthermore, his face when he has some of it blown off, showing the
red eye and metal understructure of the Terminator's face, is widely
recognizable across nations.
However, the most
endearing facet of Schwarzenegger's career has to be his punctuation
of action sequences with quick quips, often puns. This has become
almost a trademark of 1980's and 90's between Schwarzenegger and
Sylvester Stallone. For example, in the movie Total Recall, his wife
says “Sweetheart, we're married!” then pulls out a gun. Quaid,
Schwarzenegger's character, shoots her in the head. He then says
“Consider that a divorce.” The link below has approximately 160
of these quotes, as they are quite prevalent throughout his
filmography.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger has appeared on many, many lists of the worlds most
influential or recognizable actors of all time. Looking at his
flimography and at his demeanor as well as his endeavors outside of
acting, this is very easy to see. He has given us many of our
favorite movies, and there are reports that now that he is no longer
the “Governator”, he will return to acting, at least in a
diminished capacity. Perhaps we will get another great movie from the
“Austrian Oak”.
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