However, as the robot’s appearance continues to become less distinguishable from that of a human being, the emotional response becomes positive once again and approaches human-to-human empathy levels. Mori’s original hypothesis states that as the appearance of a robot is made more human, some human observers’ emotional response to the robot will become increasingly positive and empathic, until a point is reached beyond which the response quickly becomes that of strong revulsion. The hypothesis is nicely summed up by Wikipedia: “The Uncanny Valley” was first proposed by Japanese robotics researcher Masahiro Mori in a 1970 article in the periodical Energy. “God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image, but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance.” This is one of three reasons that I think casting Summer Glau as a terminator was a brilliant decision and created one of the most frightening terminators of the series. To me, the truly frightening terminator is one that doesn’t look dangerous. This is what made his character much more intimidating than Schwarzenegger’s. This was truly someone who could blend into a crowd and you’d never suspect just how dangerous he was until it was too late. Here we have a blandly handsome, five foot eleven man with a slim, athletic build and he’s dressed as a cop. This is what made Robert Patrick such a revelation to me in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. It also makes him very easy to spot and hard for him to sneak up on his target.

You have a six foot two, heavily muscled actor with a buzz cut and you dress him in black biker leathers and Ray-Bans (at night) and of course he’s going to look dangerous. I don’t wish to slam Arnold Schwarzenegger (he has a lot of fans) but I think this would have been a much better casting decision.Ĭasting Schwarzenegger as a cyborg assassin was somehow too ‘on the nose’. The character was supposed to look like an average man, in other words. When James Cameron was casting the first Terminator film, he originally considered Lance Henriksen for the title character because he wanted someone who could blend into a crowd. He’s a scary robot.Ĭharley: He’s a scary robot? You? You’re a very scary robot. And here you are, carving up this guy…into chum. Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton.Ĭharley: Okay, ‘scary robot’. But on the inside, you’re a…Ĭharley: Is that…is that a complicated way of saying ‘robot’?Ĭameron: Cybernetic organism. On the outside, you’re as pretty as a picture. Charley: Uh, yeah? You know, little girl…you freak me the hell out.

Terminator 2 quotes cybernetic organism