Terminator Salvation

After watching a movie with your children or students, we encourage parents and teachers to look for education opportunities to teach with movies. Here are a few discussion topics that can help with lesson plans or teaching in the home.

In 2008, the Library of Congress chose The Terminator, the original film in this series, as one of the movies to be preserved in the United States National Film Registry, citing cultural, historical, or aesthetical significance as the basis for their choice. How do you feel about The Terminator receiving this distinction? What do you think this theatrical series says about our society? What cultural impact has it had?

John Connor’s disobedience to his commander’s orders works out for the best in this film, thanks to the control of the screenwriters. However, what complications may arise in real life when officers disregard the commands from their superiors? Are there times when soldiers should be able to follow their own moral conscience rather than their leaders? What impact might that have on the other members of their group?

How does the portrayal of non-human, one-dimensional antagonists in this film help justify the amount of violence used to stop the machines? Would this film have been more disturbing if John Connor and his resistance group were fighting other human beings instead of robots?