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Female Gender Representation in the Terminator Franchise

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Female Gender Representation in the Terminator Franchise Female Gender Representation in The Terminator Franchise Triantafyllos Beis English Studies - Linguistics BA Thesis 15 Credits Spring 2021 Supervisor: Soraya Tharani Contents 1 Introduction 3 2.1 Situational Background 4 2. 2 Theoretical Background 7 2. 3 Specific Background 11 3 Design of the Study and Methodology 13 4 Data Analysis 14 4. 1 Linguistic Data 14 4.2 Visual Data 14 4.3 Contextual Data 14 5 Results 15 6 Discussion 16 7 Concluding Remarks 19 References 21 Appendix I 25 Appendix II 31 The Terminator (Cameron, 1984) 31 Terminator 2: Judgement day (Cameron, 1991) 33 Terminator Genisys (Taylor, 2015) 36 1 Abstract The aim of this research is to investigate the representation of the female gender in the Terminator franchise and to examine whether there has been an evolution in this representation throughout the years. For this purpose, the representation of the lead female character, Sarah Connor, has been examined in the films The Terminator (Cameron, 1984), Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Cameron, 1991) and Terminator Genisys (Taylor, 2015), in which Sarah Connor is the only main female character. The thesis begins by providing a thorough presentation of the situational, specific and the theoretical background of the three films analysed. Then, the methodology used in the research is described and linguistic, visual and contextual data are provided. These data are then analysed and discussed in relation to the background of the films and to the objectives set at the beginning of the research. In particular, the linguistic aspect of gender representation is explored based on the way language is used to represent women in the Terminator films. After a thorough analysis of data collected and discussed, the research concluded that there has, indeed, been an evolution in female gender representation in the Terminator films, which reflects an evolution in the perception of gender by society itself. Key words: female gender representation, linguistic analysis, Terminator, science-fiction. 2 1 Introduction Female gender representation in science fiction films has been an issue widely discussed and debated by scholars, especially after the 1980s. Soon after the huge success of the female-led Alien franchise (Kac-Vergene, 2016), which redefined the role of women in the film making industry (Gallardo, 2004; Gilpatric, 2010), another science fiction franchise, the Terminator, put a female character in the spotlight (“IMDb Top Movie Meter”, n. d.). The Terminator franchise includes six films in total, as well as a series and comics. The story develops around a self-aware machine network whose ultimate goal is to eradicate humankind and suppress the last human resistance group of guerrillas by sending terminating machines from the future to the past to exterminate its leader, John Connor, either before he is even born or before he becomes a leader. Despite the fact that the franchise is named after these Terminators, the female character of Sarah Connor, John’s mother, is also of pivotal significance and central to the development of the storyline itself. Given Sarah’s indispensable part in the plotline, this study investigates her role in the films as the paradigm of female gender representation in the Terminator franchise. In particular, this study will be analysing three out of the six in total Terminator films, The Terminator (Cameron, 1984), Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Cameron, 1991) and Terminator Genisys (Taylor, 2015). The Terminator franchise has been advisedly selected for the exploration of female gender representation. The reason for the selection is its great appeal to audiences around the world as from the first day of its release it instantly became a great cinematographic success with millions of fans around the world. According to IMDb, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day are among the most popular films of all time (“IMDb Top Movie Meter”, n. d.), with Terminator 2: Judgement Day reaching as high as 294 in the list of most popular films of all time. Given, therefore, that the cinema can be a means of social and individual transformation (Kubrak, 2020), the Terminator franchise, which appealed to millions of people, becomes essential and worth investigating as, depending on its representation of the female gender, it could potentially impact society by shaping, or not, a new role for women in society, thus, shifting given beliefs and stereotypes. Choosing to investigate only three of the Terminator films of the franchise instead of investigating them all has not been decided arbitrarily either. The reason in this case has been more practical rather than theoretical, however. In Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Mostow, 2003) and Terminator Salvation (MacG, 2009), which have been left out of the 3 investigation, the leading female character of Sarah Conor does not appear at all while in Terminator 6: Dark Fate (Miller, 2019) Sarah’s role is only secondary. Additionally, this particular film has received very negative reviews and has been rather unpopular among fans to the point that it has been accused of ‘terminating ’the franchise (Lee, 2019). Lacking in quality and innovation (Bahr, 2019), it cannot be considered representative of the Terminator films, which have after all been selected based on their appeal and influence on their audiences. Before presenting the research question and the specific objectives of the thesis, however, there needs to be a clarification between the terms ‘gender ’and ‘sex’. Sex refers to the biological and anatomical differences between men and women, differences humans are born with, while ‘gender ’refers to the traits which are assigned to both men and women depending on their race, social status, and culture (Simpson, Mayr & Statham, 2018). These traits are socially and culturally determined and are, therefore, subject to change and learning (Cranny-Francis, Waring, Stavropoulos & Kirkby, 2002; Wodak, 1997). Having clarified the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’, this thesis aims to examine female gender representation in the Terminator franchise. In particular, the research question of this thesis is whether there is an evolution in the representation of lead female character in the Terminator franchise. In order to answer to the research question, sociolinguistic analysis has been used and three objectives have been set. The first objective of this thesis is to explore the linguistic aspect of gender representation and, in particular, the way language is used to represent women in the Terminator films. The second objective is to examine female visual representation and, as a final objective, a comparison of the films will be made so that any similarities or differences that might exist among them will be detected and analysed. 2 Background 2.1 Situational Background The representation of women in science fiction films has been a subject of investigation ever since the first articles regarding the science fiction genre started being written. Before any mention of such representation can be made, however, it is essential that a definition of what science fiction exactly is be provided so that it is disambiguated from other genres. 4 According to Isaac Asimov (1983), science fiction can be defined as “that branch of literature that deals with the human response to changes in the level of science and technology” (p. 10). Another, broader definition of genre is given by Judith Merril according to whom science fiction is “speculative fiction and […] literature that makes use of the traditional ‘scientific method ’to examine some postulated approximation of reality” (1971). Science fiction has also been defined as “cognitive estrangement” (Suvin, 1979, as cited in Cornea, 2007, p. 3) which allows readers to ponder on their known society from a distanced point of view (Cornea, 2007). Certainly, definitions of science fiction are not limited to the aforementioned. Different authors and different academics have offered alternative definitions of science fiction depending on the aspect of the genre they need to highlight. What is significant, though, is that each definition provides us with an aspect of what science fiction is so that all works that have been created with conscious effort and intellectual engagement, no matter how bizarre and astonishing worlds they might describe, are characterized as works of literature rather than the result of “irrational or unconscious meanderings of the human mind” (Cornea, 2007, p. 2). In this light, all definitions of science fiction are related and relevant to any science fiction work each time under discussion. A key element in all science fiction, though, and an element that has a central role when discussing female representation, is that no matter how diverse each work of science fiction is or how extraordinary the world it describes might appear, science fiction as a genre springs from, and is based on, science; And science, being rational, aims to liberate humankind from traditional, strict values, from superstitions and irrational beliefs (Vieth, 1999). It would be expected, therefore, that in contrast to every other genre which has traditionally reflected women’s role in society as it were, that is, confined, dependent, with lack of initiative or voice, women in science fiction would be offered equal representation to men. Science fiction after all, by all its diverse definitions, aims primarily at transcending the boundaries of society and at transferring people to new worlds, worlds that would and could be. Therefore, it has the opportunity and the potential to portray societies where all humans, regardless of gender or race, are equal and act in equally significant self-reliant roles beyond the norms and constraints actual societies impose on them (Basu, 2005). This way, women in science fiction could be portrayed in a “new liberated light [...] in roles that are different from the traditional portrayals” (Basu, 2005, p. 6). 5 Nevertheless, a study conducted by Basu in 2005 regarding the portrayal of women in science-fiction films from the 1930s till the early 2000s did not produce such findings.
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