Opening Analysis | Terminator 2

Terminator 2 is a 1991 Sci-Fi, Action movie directed by James Cameron. The film is set in during its release date, however, the opening takes place in the future during the aftermath of a nuclear war in which humanity faces a new threat: Androids.

The main purpose of the opening is to give the rest of the movie taking place meaning. The audience is shown the apocalyptic future that houses the remainder of humanity right from the start. This sets the tone of the movie as the consequences of the failure of John Connor surviving results in the end of humanity, which greatly increases the tension throughout the film. The main purpose of the opening is to provide background information to the audience and, more importantly, to drive home the point that if John Connor dies, so does the species. The opening employs multiple media techniques to enforce this idea.

Right from the start, these ideas are put into place. There are no titles and no music. By removing these artificial elements, the height of the realism is greatly increased, which in turn increases the tension as the stakes of the human race are heighted, as the threat is very real. The first shot is very effective in showing the despotic future. It features a skeleton pressed against the steering wheel of an abandoned wrecked car. The skeleton here, obviously, represents the death of humanity and points to the outcome of humans if John Connor dies. The fact the skeleton is in the car is also important. The car is a huge part of human life: they are everywhere and for most people essential devices. While a skeleton could represent the end of humanity, it could also just emphasise a singular death. By showing the destruction of an essential human device, it represents the end of the human way of life in general. We are dying and so is how we live. Demonstrating the effectiveness of this scene. The shot being a mid-shot also allow it to encompass more. While the focus is on the skeleton, the audience can also see numerous destroyed cars as well as buildings. All of these are representative of our species and seeing them destroyed on such a massive scale emphasises the current state of humanity and what would happen if John Connor dies. This point is further shown by the camera pans out and reveals an extreme long shot of numerous destroyed cars and buildings. The fact the shot is extremely long shows the sheer scale of destruction and foreshadows the potential devastation if John Connor were die, greatly increasing the tension throughout the movie.

At twenty-three seconds a similar tactic is employed. The shot shows a child's play park desecrated by the nuclear war. This is done for very similar reasons to the previous shot, as it shows a key representation of humanity destroyed. The fact the shot is a play park is possibly more effective than before as children are often seen as innocent, so the shot could infer that not even the most innocent people are safe unless John Connor lives.

However, the most important representation of these connotations takes place at forty-one seconds in:

This close up of the skull being shattered by the stomp of an android. Simply put, the skull is the ultimate representation of humanity and the shot being close up only makes it more personal. The shot is also low angle on the skull, showing how humanity is seen as weak and dying at the moment. The skull is shattered, not only showing the state of the species at the moment but also the end of the species if the Terminator fails and John Connor dies. This shot that pans into a high-angle mid shot of the terminator that crushed the skull. Not only did this machine crush humanity, but the high-angle shot makes it out that these robots are far superior to humans, again, demonstrating the consequences of the movies narrative.

A shot at fifty-five seconds enforces this idea, showing caterpillar tracks traversing over a pile of human skulls. The large amount of skulls demonstrates the sheer destruction of humanity while the caterpillar tracks are a bold reminder of war and reinforces the fact humans are in a very deep struggle:

The following shots decrepit a full-scale battle between humans and robots. The scenes make effective use of juxtapositions and camera angles, as well as mise en scene to further develop the narrative situation of the opening.

Firstly, the juxtaposition takes place by showing the weaponry at disposal between the two opposing factions in the war. We are shown the androids with advanced tank-looking vehicles as well as flying artillery. It is all very futuristic and also has strong links to Sci-Fi, one of the films genres. In comparison, we see the humans ONLY war vehicle being a rusted truck. There is a huge contrast between the tech being fought, which again creates the image that humans are on their last legs, as well as the fact that the androids are superior. 

This idea is also demonstrated through the camera angles. The shots of the robot's weaponry mainly consist of high-angle shots, which as mentioned earlier, gives a sense of power or superiority to the machines.

These scenes also showcase numerous deaths of human soldiers, many killed by lasers (again, Sci-Fi links),others by explosions (links to action genre). This is important as not only appeals to the target audience, the fans of those genres, very early in the movie thus gauging their interest, it also shows that humans are being wiped out by these machines in large numbers. This links to the consequences of the narrative which in turn increases the intensity and suspense of the whole movie, as well as linking to the Sci-Fi genre.

The sound is also another important aspect in this opening. As soon as the the intro begins, the only sounds are diegetic, ambient noises of wind and creaking metal. This is effective as it creates a strong sense of emptiness or desolation, the idea that there is no life, it is completely void. Not only does this link to the previous ideas of the end of human existence, but it could also link to the idea of the androids. There is no life, but there are robots. The text during the first shot also has similar connotations, saying:'Los Angles 2029AD' In 1991, this would still be a long time away, as it is now, however, in both cases, this time is the near future, its a future that exists within our lifetime, making the connotations of the end of the human race far more scary and bleak.

During the opening there is also a monologue performed by the character: Sarah Conner. This non-diegetic voice-over is important is it provides the audience with the context of the opening, making the previously demonstrated connotations far more effective, as they now understand what is at stake. The speech itself is also effective in demonstrating the scale of the destruction: saying “Three billion human lives ended...”. This is a surprising figure that may catch the audience off guard, gaining their interest, as well as painting a bleak picture for the survival of humanity. The fear factor of this raised higher by the fact that it is stated that this event took place in 1997, a mere six years after the films release. This harks back to the idea of the event taking place within our lifetimes. It increases the tension dramatically when the audience feels involved with the world, demonstrating how sound is used to effect in the opening.

Sound is also used to create links to the Sci-Fi genre in the opening. The battle is very futuristic, with laser guns being fired and impossible looking machinery. The sounds used here all feel very spacey, combined with the scenes of all out-war raging between the machines and humans, the whole opening has strong connections to both Sci-Fi and Action.

There is also non-diegetic music taking place during the fighting scenes. The music itself is very held-back for the most part, it is mainly just a pulsating tone. This itself has links to the the sounds of machines, that consistent, mechanical sound groaning as it moves. It feels very alien and unnatural, the opposite of a human. The music also has some very sharp, shrill tones during scenes when humans are killed (I.e 1:09 seconds in), potentially increasing the scare factor and the disturbing nature of his opening. However, there are also scenes where the music is inaudible, adding to the realism of the opening, which in turn increases the tension as it makes the whole event seem very real and therefore more plausible. Demonstrating how sound is used effectively during the opening.

The editing used during this opening is very simple. There is only one transition used and that is at the very end of the opening, in which a shot of John Conner fades into an explosion, which could show the human race being wiped away, (this also corresponds with the monologue at the time, which outlines the machine's mission to kill John Conner). For the most part, however, there is very little editing used. The very start, before the fighting, consists of only two shots, which pan and showcase the environment. This lack of editing movement or cuts not only increases the realism and therefore tension, but also this lack of movement could link to a lack of life, as nothing is moving. When the action sequence of the opening commences, there are numerous fast cuts, which is strongly linked to the action genre of this movie.

In conclusion, Terminator 2's opening employs the use of many media techniques in some areas, like camera work or mise en scene, and little in others to portray a bleak vision of the human existence. The techniques used  all come together to paint a realistic, and therefore scarier, environment, giving the audience context into the movie, (which only increases the tension) as well as demonstrating the genres within the first few minutes, appealing to the target audience.

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