Pretty
People
Movie Stars of the
1990s
EDITED BY
A N N A EVERETT
R U T G E R S U N I V E R S I T Y PRESS
NEW
B R U N S W I C K , N E W JERSEY, A N D
LONDON
LIBRARY
OF
CONGRESS
C A T A L O G I N G -1 N - P U B LI C A T I O N
DATA
Pretty people : Movie stars of t h e 1990s / edited by A n n a Everett.
p. cm. — (Star decades : American culture / American cinema)
Includes bibliographical references a n d index.
ISBN 9 7 8 - 0 - 8 1 3 5 - 5 2 4 4 - 6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 9 7 8 - 0 - 8 1 3 5 - 5 2 4 5 - 3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 9 7 8 - 0 - 8 1 3 5 - 5 3 2 5 - 2 (e-book)
1. Motion picture actors a n d actresses—United States—Biography. I. Everett, A n n a ,
1954.
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2011023339
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M a n u f a c t u r e d in the United States of America
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Stardom in the 1990s
ix
I
A N N A EVERETT
1
A r n o l d Schwarzenegger: C o r p o r e a l Charisma
19
LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
2
Jodie Foster: Feminist Hero?
43
KAREN H O L L I N G E R
3
Denzel Washington; A Revisionist Black Masculinity
65
MELVIN D O N A L S O N
4
Julia Roberts: Cultural Phenomenon
85
R. B A R T O N PALMER
5
Leonardo D i C a p r i o : King of the " W o r l d "
103
MURRAY P O M E R A N C E
6
A n t o n i o Banderas, A n d y Garcia, and Edward James O l m o s :
Stardom, Masculinity, and "Latinidades"
123
L A U R A ISABEL SERNA
7
Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise: T h e Box Office and "True Masculinity"
144
MARY BETH H A R A L O V I C H
8
Angela Bassett and Halle Berry: African American Leading Ladies
166
MIA MASK
9
Michael Douglas: A n O r d i n a r y Man
189
D O N N A PEBERDY
10
Pierce Brosnan: Licensed t o Sell
206
TRACEY H O O V E R A N D T O B Y MILLER
11
Johnny Depp and Keanu Reeves: H o l l y w o o d and the Iconoclasts
225
A N N A EVERETT
In t h e W i n g s
249
A N N A EVERETT
W o r k s Cited
255
Contributors
265
Index
269
I
Arnold Schwarzenegger
C o r p o r e a l Charisma
LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
In 2003 the American Fihn Institute published lists of the
fifty greatest heroes and fifty greatest villains in U.S. movie history, accompanied by a t h r e e - h o u r broadcast o n CBS hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger's Terminator character was the only role to appear
on both lists, by virtue of the volte-face taken between The Terminator in 1984
and its first sequel. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, in 1991. For French theorist
Edgar Morin, stars are godlike because they weld hero to villain in a way
that is b e y o n d h u m a n , which in itself might seal Schwarzenegger's prohle
as exemplary 1990s star. The m o v e from destroyer to protector has been
read as highly symptomatic of a sliift enacted by m a n y a Hollywood male at
the start of the 1990s—action stars m o r p h i n g into softer thespians, killers
becoming dads, insensitive hulks discovering their sensitive side. Everything
20
LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
A r n o l d S c h w a r z e n e g g e r has d o n e in his f o r t y - y e a r career h a s b e e n forged
o n a m o n u m e n t a l scale, a n d t h e p i r o u e t t e f r o m villain to h e r o w a s replete
w i t h e r a - d e f i n i n g significance. I n d e e d , his s h a p e - s h i f t i n g has always
s e e m e d e m b l e m a t i c of its m o m e n t .
The story of Schwarzenegger's s t a r d o m is also a story of e x t r e m e selfcontrol t h a t r e v e r b e r a t e s t h r o u g h t h e institutions a n d individuals a r o u n d
h i m (a self-control t h a t b e c o m e s controlling)—control over his body, a b o d y
s h a p e d a n d r e m o l d e d in t h e bodybuilding career t h a t p r e c e d e d his movies;
in fierce s e l f - p r o m o t i o n as h e e n t e r e d film in t h e 1970s a n d 1980s; a n d in
t h e p a t h w a y h e n e g o t i a t e d t h r o u g h key Hollywood genres in t h e 1990s, all
a c c o m p a n i e d by t h e h a r d - w o r k i n g publicity m a c h i n e assisting his every
m o v e . "Modesty is n o t a w o r d t h a t applies to m e in a n y w a y — I h o p e it
n e v e r will," S c h w a r z e n e g g e r h a s asserted (qtd. in M o r i n 66).
Schwarzenegger's rise to s t a r d o m can be f r a m e d t h r o u g h a n u m b e r of
familiar star trajectories a n d m y t h s . He is t h e i m m i g r a n t f r o m old E u r o p e
m a k i n g good in t h e n e w world, t h o u g h u n l i k e his studio-era ancestors h e
d i d n ' t h a v e to perfect a n A m e r i c a n accent or Anglicize his n a m e to secure
f a m e . ' He is t h e exploitation p e r f o r m e r w h o , by 1990, h a d risen to t h e top
of t h e Hollywood A-list. J o h n Ellis has discussed h o w s t a r d o m is a negotiation of a p p a r e n t "ordinariness" a n d g l a m o r o u s r e m o t e n e s s (91). B u t this
r e s o u n d i n g l y N e w Hollywood star has striven to forge a n identity t h a t is
a n y t h i n g b u t ordinary. M o r e like t h e godlike figures of studio-era Hollyw o o d Babylon, S c h w a r z e n e g g e r w a n t s visibly to b e as e x t r a o r d i n a r y as possible. E x t r a t e x t u a l glimpses of t h e Schwarzenegger-Shrivers jet-skiing in
Florida do little to suggest a sense of a n average family m a n m u c k i n g in
w i t h t h e kids. Stardom, as m e n t i o n e d above, is o f t e n t h e o r i z e d as a c ontra dictory state—stars speak to a variety of a u d i e n c e s a n d s h a p e - s h i f t if t h e
m a r k e t requires it, b u t p r o f o u n d contradictions m i g h t o p e n u p b e t w e e n
public/private e l e m e n t s of a star profile a n d b e t w e e n w h a t a star projects at
different m o m e n t s of his or h e r career.
The balance b e t w e e n (pseudo) private a n d public, h a m m e r e d o u t by
publicists, agents, a n d t h e industries t h a t circulate star images, is o f t e n precarious. E l e m e n t s of private life a n d screen p e r s o n a d o n ' t necessarily fit
together, a n d poorly m a t c h e d s u t u r e lines enable contradictory messages to
leak o u t . B u t S c h w a r z e n e g g e r does n o t look as contradictory as m a n y of his
f o r e b e a r s or c o n t e m p o r a r i e s — h i s public image is of total identification
b e t w e e n self a n d role, w i t h little else seeping t h r o u g h t h e cracks. I n d e e d ,
t h e r e a r e n ' t m a n y cracks—in public a n d private h e appears a m a n of steel,
w e l d e d into his iconic f o r m t h r o u g h t h e f u r n a c e of self-will a n d exercise.
W h i c h is n o t to say t h a t t h e r e is n o contradiction a b o u t S c h w a r z e n e g g e r or
A R N O L D SCHWARZENEGGER
21
t h e roles h e plays, b u t r a t h e r t h a t contradiction is manifestly present on i h e
glossy surface of his star body. He is b o t h old a n d n e w — o l d world, old-style
h e r o , w o r k i n g in N e w Hollywood, f r o m a n d for the Baby B o o m g e n e r a t i o n .
He is b r a n d e d as h y p e r - m a s c u l i n e despite starting in a sport that is associated w i t h s e m i - n a k e d posing, male spectacle, a n d gay visual c o n s u m p t i o n .
He m o c k s "girlie m e n " yet, in his willingness to exhibit himself, has b e e n
r e a d as a m u s c l e d - u p version of one.^
He is a n A m e r i c a n star par excellence, but an American star with a
residual G e r m a n accent w h o , w i t h a special dispensation, retained his Austrian citizenship w h e n h e was naturalized as American in 1993. Certainly
his E u r o p e a n n e s s has n o t always w o r k e d in his favor: Schwarzenegger is
n o t just a w h i t e star, he's a w h i t e r t h a n w h i t e star, a n x i o u s e n o u g h about
his A u s t r i a n heritage to investigate his father's i n v o l v e m e n t with the Nazi
Party d u r i n g World War II. He has e v e n argued that the residual accent is
n o t a p e r f o r m a n c e failure b u t a deliberate affectation, which endearingly
r e m i n d s his fans t h a t "I a m indeed a m o r t a l h u m a n being" (qtd. in Van
Scheers 208). His E u r o p e a n n e s s , b r a n d e d as h a r d - w o r k i n g b r a w n r a t h e r
t h a n effete culture, has contributed to his universal marketability and, as 1
discuss t o w a r d t h e e n d of this chapter, h e took t h e global m a r k e t p l a c e far
m o r e seriously t h a n m a n y of his peers.
By t h e 1990s Schwarzenegger's brand had b e e n forged in a n u m b e r of
arenas, each i n f o r m i n g the other, w i t h cinema just one e l e m e n t in the firm a m e n t of his m a r k e t ab le products, identities, and m e r c h a n d i s e . The oftr e p e a t e d story of t h e p o o r boy f r o m a n obscure Austrian village w h o took to
sport partly o n t h e e n c o u r a g e m e n t of his brutal father, partly to escape thai
brutal father, is told in parallel w i t h the story that at the t e n d e r age of ten
little Arnie d e t e r m i n e d that o n e day h e w o u l d m a k e his way to the USA and
get very, very rich. He started off as a bodybuilding brand, with an empire of
m e r c h a n d i s e radiating out f r o m his multiple physical successes: before he
ever hit cinema screens h e was m a k i n g m o n e y with businesses supplying
sports e q u i p m e n t (first, a mail order business marketing products u n d e r (he
n a m e "Arnold Strong," also his first screen n a m e [see Schwarzenegger and
Hall 108]; a n d second, t h r o u g h property investment). The Schwarzenegger
b r a n d is not, t h e n , just a figurative w a y of f r a m i n g his approach to movie
stardom; h e sells products with various p e r m u t a t i o n s of his n a m e wrapped
a r o u n d t h e m , a n d n o t just a r o u n d theatrically released movies.
By t h e 1990s the p o w e r of his b r a n d was also highly evident in the
h o m e viewing m a r k e t . Schwarzenegger's crest of stardom was p u s h e d along
as VCRs a n d DVDs entered the living r o o m with his n a m e p r o m i n e n t l y
affixed to t h e packaging: h e was the Video Software Dealers Association star
22
LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
of t h e y e a r in 1990 (Prince 116). Star studies h a v e f o c u s e d o n t h e i n t e r play b e t w e e n ancillary m a r k e t i n g texts a n d c i n e m a t i c i m a g e s ( C a t h e r i n e
D e n e u v e a n d C h a n e l No. 5; S h a r o n Stone w e a r i n g Gap outfits; see T h o m p son a n d Epstein, respectively). I n this p e r i o d S c h w a r z e n e g g e r m a d e this a
plainly visible p a r t of t h e well-oiled m a c h i n e of t h e m u l t i t a s k i n g b r a n d
t h a t s p o k e his star m a c h i s m o in v a r i o u s c o n s u m e r t o n g u e s . All his p r o d ucts ( f i l m / v i d e o texts y o u can w a t c h , g y m s y o u can exercise in, b o o k s a n d
political m e s s a g e s y o u c a n b e i n s p i r e d by) s e n d o u t a m u t u a l l y r e i n f o r c i n g
a n d m a r k e t - c o m p a t i b l e m e s s a g e : s t r e n g t h is good, p o w e r is good, m o n e y
is good.
The 1990s w e r e particularly significant for Schwarzenegger. This was
t h e m o m e n t w h e n h e consolidated his family-friendly, cross-genre appeal,
crucial to his w o r l d d o m i n a t i o n bid. A n d t h o u g h as t h e decade progressed
his b o x office r e t u r n s d i m i n i s h e d s o m e w h a t — L a s t Action Hero (1993) w a s
his first flop; Batman
& Robin (1997) w a s also a critical a n d c o m m e r c i a l
f a i l u r e — h e h a d l e a r n e d t h e message of flexibility a n d diversification. In
1986 h e m a d e a good m a r r i a g e to political royalty (Maria Shriver, J o h n R
K e n n e d y ' s niece), a n d b y t h e 1990s t h e y w e r e building a family. Action
c i n e m a also t o o k a familial t u r n at this point, a n d S c h w a r z e n e g g e r b e c a m e
t h e p e r f e c t p r o d u c t to capitalize u p o n this shift. As t h e decade progressed
h e f o r g e d a n e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r p e r s o n a t h a t straddled politics a n d e n t e r t a i n m e n t . His s u p p o r t for t h e R e p u b l i c a n Party w a s r e w a r d e d w i t h his b e i n g
n a m e d t h e chair of t h e President's Council o n Fitness a n d Sports f r o m 1990
to 1993 u n d e r George H. W. Bush, w h o called h i m " C o n a n t h e Republican."
Schwarzenegger's sports star p e r s o n a b e c a m e t h e rock u p o n w h i c h his film
star p e r s o n a w a s built, a n d o n t o t h a t s u p e r s t r u c t u r e political s t a r d o m w a s
welded, secured w i t h his election as California g o v e r n o r in 2 0 0 3 . These
t h r e e f o r m a t i o n s of s t a r d o m w e r e systematically bolted o n t o e a c h o t h e r as
t h e decade d a w n e d a n d progressed.
O n s c r e e n h e a d o p t e d a k i n d of b o l t e d - t o g e t h e r s t a r d o m , too, w h i c h
t o o k a n u m b e r of different shapes a n d t u r n s as h e identified w h a t w a s
lacking in his p e r s o n a l f i r m a m e n t a n d a t t e m p t e d to p l u g a n e w p e r s o n a l
" t a l e n t " into t h e gap, c o m e d y b e i n g t h e m o s t cynical a d d - o n . Charisma
e m e r g e s in t h e c o n j u n c t i o n of t h e s e m o v i n g parts. It is n o t a deific e f f u s i o n
as b o r n e o u t by H o l l y w o o d stars of old, b u t s o m e t h i n g far m o r e fleshily
g r o u n d e d a n d commercially m a n u f a c t u r a b l e in response to n e e d . Charisma,
for Schwarzenegger, is s o m e t h i n g t h a t e m e r g e s first f r o m t h e b u i l t - u p
body, s e c o n d f r o m t h e versatility a n d m u l t i p l e roles it plays. It e f f u s e s f r o m
fleshly m a n i f e s t a t i o n a n d t h e m a n u f a c t u r e of p e r s o n a , like t h e r e e k of
b o d y fluids.
A R N O L D SCHWARZENEGGER
A A
C h a r i s m a , C h a r m , and t h e C o r p u s
W h e n w e speak of charisma, w e are transported t o the domain o f the
heroic, the extraordinary, the magical. And, unlil<e in life, the film charisma is
not dissipated and routinized. Congealed in the emulsion, it is released by
the projector t o radiate again and again.
—Lorraine M o r t i m e r in Morin viii
I knew I had an advantage over most bodybuilders; when you have the
size, the whole rough cut, you can sculpt it into a masterpiece.... I chiseled
and polished, rendering that animal mass Id brought from Europe d o w n t o
the w o r k of art I wanted, I'd had jewel-like abdominals for the first time.
— A r n o l d Schwarzenegger t o Douglas Kent Hall, 1977
Schwarzenegger p r o v o k e d extensive critical response during
t h e 1990s, a n d writers usually start w i t h his body as a w a y of t h i n k i n g
a b o u t his b o d y of w o r k . The body as sexual-cultural s y m p t o m becomes ihe
e m b o d i e d crystallization of tlie decade's most successful genre; action. Perh a p s in n o o t h e r g e n r e (with t h e possible exception of p o r n o g r a p h y ) are the
b o d y of t h e film a n d t h e body of the star so s y n o n y m o u s . This is not simply
b e c a u s e Schwarzenegger's body is so massive and manifest, but because the
m a l e b o d y in particular was a key focus for theorists of the politics of spectacle a n d s t a r d o m wlren Schwarzenegger's global star was a s c e n d a n t . Critical writing o n action cinema as it emerged as a discrete focus for film studies
in t h e early 1990s started n o t w i t h t h e narrative or formal hallmarks of the
genre, b u t w i t h the bodies of its stars. Susan Jeffords and Yvonne Tasker in
particular d r e w parallels b e t w e e n the hard bodies onscreen and the hard
right-wing politics of the Reagan and Bush eras, t h o u g h t h e r e is also n
strong focus o n these bodies as suffering and d a m a g e d .
Thus t h e spectacle of action was f r a m e d not simply t h r o u g h its central
technology so expertly wielded by Schwarzenegger—Uzis, Harley-Davidsons,
Clock 9 m m s ( a n o t h e r f a m o u s Austrian e x p o r t ) — b u t the m o v e m e n t ol,
damage to, and generally spectacular excesses of the h u m a n body in e x t r e m e
f o r m . In Eraser (1996) h e suffers a nail t h r o u g h the h a n d , a spike throngli
t h e thigli, a n d a bullet in the shoulder, while in End of Days (1999) he is
dangled f r o m a w i n d o w sill with his hand e m b e d d e d in broken glass, run
over by a train, strangled, stitched, thrashed by a baseball b a t - w i e l d i n g gang
of Satanists, and, p e r h a p s most undignified of all, beaten up by a d e m o n i cally impelled Miriam Margolyes. In Terminator 2 (1991) he is repeatedly
shot, r u n over by a truck, and finally dissolved in molten steel. Examples
like this can be f o u n d in most of Schwarzenegger's films; the spectacle of
24
LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
m a l e suffering is as u b i q u i t o u s in action c i n e m a as t h a t of tooling u p . S u c h
images are salaciously p r e s e n t e d , appealing to a sadomasochistic aesthetic,
a n d d e m o n s t r a t i n g , above all, t h a t S c h w a r z e n e g g e r can take it.
S t a r d o m is extra- as well as i n t r a t e x t u a l , a n d it m a y well b e t h a t t h e
m e a s u r e of his success is t h a t w e k n o w S c h w a r z e n e g g e r w i t h o u t ever h a v ing seen a S c h w a r z e n e g g e r film. His signature elaborate action set-pieces
are almost s t a n d - a l o n e cinematic vignettes, p e r h a p s arbitrarily e x c h a n g e able across a n d b e t w e e n movies. In Eraser h e shoots his w a y o u t of a plane,
sets fire to o n e of its engines, loses his p a r a c h u t e , a n d t h e n catches u p w i t h
it midair. The p l a n e t h e n chases h i m t h r o u g h t h e sky a n d , still dangling
f r o m t h e p a r a c h u t e , h e shoots straight into t h e cockpit b e f o r e l a n d i n g in a
breaker's yard. C o m p a r e , or e x c h a n g e , this w i t h t h e c r a n e s e q u e n c e in Last
Action Hero, t h e Harrier s e q u e n c e in True Lies (1994), a n d t h e s u b w a y
s e q u e n c e in End of Days, a n d a star profile begins to e m e r g e w r o u g h t in t h e
i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e b o l t e d - t o g e t h e r parts of h i g h octane, kinetically edited,
r o c k - m u s i c spectacle, all o r c h e s t r a t e d a r o u n d t h e exploits of a b o d y by t u r n s
imperiled a n d heroic.
Star quality has o f t e n b e e n d e f i n e d t h r o u g h charisma, t h o u g h this is
usually quite diffusely articulated a n d tied to t h e b o d y t h r o u g h g l a m o u r or
b e a u t y . I n t r o d u c i n g Edgar Morin's seminal 1972 text The Stars, Lorraine
M o r t i m e r writes t h a t s t a r d o m lies "at t h e crossroads of w h a t w e call t h e
'aesthetic,' t h e ' m a g i c a l / a n d t h e 'religious'" (in M o r i n vii). Star charisma
is also highly corporeal; as M o r t i m e r also suggests in m y e p i g r a p h above, it
is b r o u g h t b y t h e star's b o d y into t h e b o d y of t h e film. S c h w a r z e n e g g e r is
m o r e s u p e r m a n t h a n deity, sporting t h e b o d y of a h e r o driven by a n iron
will, a n d larger t h a n life. Yet so b r a z e n is h e a b o u t t h e m a n u f a c t u r e d n a t u r e
of t h e b o d y t h a t h e has w r i t t e n a b o o k a b o u t h o w to achieve it; Arnold: The
Education of a Bodybuilder,
first p u b l i s h e d in 1977, b u t a bestseller in t h e
1990s. Part l i s a muscle-obsessed a u t o b i o g r a p h y ; p a r t 2 is Arnold's b e s p o k e
training p r o g r a m a n d diet, w h i c h r o d e t h e crest of his success o n t h e big
screen w i t h reprints a n d n e w editions. The p r o g r a m is p e r h a p s p a r o d i e d in
t h e t r a i n i n g schedule to w h i c h h e subjects his small charges in Kindergarten
Cop—"Time
to t u r n this m u s h into muscles!" h e declares. This ex-Mr.
Olympia, Mr. World, a n d Mr. Universe spent t h e 1990s c o n n e c t i n g iiberm e n s c h to m o r t a l , the e x t r a o r d i n a r y to everyday, t h o u g h h e is n e v e r quite
a regular Joe. Given Schwarzenegger's later " G o v e r n a t o r " role a n d his
developing political profile d u r i n g t h e decade, it is also interesting t h a t for
o t h e r writers—including m o s t significantly Richard Dyer m e d i a t i n g M a x
W e b e r — s t a r p o w e r a n d political p o w e r h a v e t h e s a m e m e s m e r i c origins.
For W e b e r charisma is "a certain quality of a n individual personality by
A R N O L D SCHWARZENEGGER
25
virtue of w h i c h h e [5;c] is set apart f r o m ordinary m e n and treated as
e n d o w e d w i t h supernatural, s u p e r h u m a n or at least superficially exceptional qualities" (qtd. in Dyer, Stars 30).
Dictionary definitions present charisma as mingling the political with
t h e religious—a charismatic person has a magnetic charm and has been
favored by t h e gods. Charisma, then, is a bearing that suggests the star's
right to d o m i n a t e the space h e or she inhabits. Schwarzenegger's charisma
is rooted in straight corporeal prowess, a u g m e n t e d by the damageable/
u n c o n q u e r a b l e quality the body exudes while engaging in performed acts
of derring-do. The self-reflexive postmodern sense of irony lent by some of
his films, his infamous one-liners, and the self-promoting/self-mocking
biographical stories both reinforce and contradict the iron m a n persona, but
all these elements work together to suggest a m a n in c o m m a n d of screen
space and personal fate. "We m u s t not regard Arnold as the n e w Laurence
Olivier," Paul Verhoeven said of him; "He is mo re of a Charlton Heston. His
strength is his charisma" (qtd. in Van Scheers 209).
But Dyer goes f u r t h e r w h e n he suggests that the well-timed, wellplaced charismatic star emerges in response to contradictory social impulses
a n d forces, glamorously and symbolically making sense of his or her
m o m e n t . Quoting S. N. Eisenstadt, charisma is most effective "when the
social order is uncertain, unstable and ambiguous and w h e n the charismatic
figure or group offers a value, order or stability to counterpoise this" (31).
Schwarzenegger was one such figure. To paraphrase Dyer on Monroe, in
the late 1980s and t h r o u g h o u t the 1990s Schwarzenegger seems to "be" the
very tensions that ran t h r o u g h U.S. culture. Such tensions are well docum e n t e d in studies of gender, action, and cinema at this time. Mark Gallagher
argues that "cinematic and literary representations of male action c o m p e n sate for threats to stable, traditional masculinity, threats posed by economic
and cultural changes affecting men's roles in the workplace and in the
domestic space." For Gallagher, figures such as Schwarzenegger offer viewers "Utopian solutions to social problems, privileging the transformative
effects of physical agency" (3). With male identity widely viewed as crisisridden, super-body Schwarzenegger (and his chosen genre) promoted physical solutions and unalloyed masculinity. At a time w h e n m e n were m or e
u n c e r t a i n t h a n ever about their role in the family—wedded to work, yet
n e w l y required to be a t - h o m e h an d s-o n fathers—he made movies in which
he was a beleaguered father {Jingle All the Way), an ambivalent father-hgure
(Terminator 2, Kindergarten Cop), the father of a lost child (End of Days, Kindergarten Cop), a male-mother/birthing father (Junior), and an oversized oddcouple sibling searching for his m o t h e r (Twins). At a tiine w h e n postiriodern
26
LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
u n c e r t a i n t i e s a r o u n d identity a n d t h e real w e r e b e c o m i n g t h e stuff of p o p ular discourse, h e m a d e m o v i e s playing w i t h his o w n s i m u l a t e d star identity t h a t a t t e m p t e d to resolve questions into apple-pie conclusions (Total
Recall, True Lies, Last Action Hero).
S c h w a r z e n e g g e r b e c a m e a star first t h r o u g h physical p e r f o r m a n c e ,
t u r n i n g to bodybuilding for r e a s o n s of masculinity a n d individualism. Team
sports disappointed h i m b e c a u s e t h e y lacked individual rewards, h e writes
( S c h w a r z e n e g g e r a n d Hall 14). But m o r e t h a n this, bodybuilding s h o r e d u p
Schwarzenegger's sense of w h a t a real m a n o u g h t to be. As h e r a t h e r disarmingly reports o n his first sight of m e n lifting weights, b o d y b u i l d e r s are
individual, a n d very male: "Those guys w e r e h u g e a n d b r u t a l . I f o u n d
myself w a l k i n g a r o u n d t h e m , staring at muscles I c o u l d n ' t e v e n n a m e ,
muscles I'd n e v e r e v e n seen b e f o r e . The w e i g h t lifters s h o n e w i t h sweat;
t h e y w e r e p o w e r f u l looking, H e r c u l e a n " (14). This r e m a r k a b l e m o m e n t of
h o m o s o c i a l if n o t a v o w e d l y h o m o s e x u a l spectatorship seals his desire to
b e c o m e t h e spectacle h e sees, only b e t t e r — t h e best. O n first e n c o u n t e r i n g
a picture of his h e r o Reg Park, h e writes, w i t h n o a p p a r e n t sense of selfirony: "I r e s p o n d e d i m m e d i a t e l y to Reg Park's r o u g h , massive look. The
m a n w a s a n a n i m a l . That's t h e w a y I w a n t e d to b e — u l t i m a t e l y : big. I
w a n t e d to be a big guy. I d i d n ' t w a n t to be delicate. I d r e a m e d of big deltoids, big pecs, big thighs, big calves; I w a n t e d every muscle to explode a n d
be h u g e . I d r e a m e d a b o u t being gigantic"(17). B o d y b u i l d i n g w a s Schwarzenegger's passport o u t of E u r o p e a n obscurity a n d into U.S. celebrity: h e w a s
t h e y o u n g e s t ever Mr. Olympia (in 1970), a title h e w o n a record s e v e n
times; t h e m o s t lucrative e v e n t in bodybuilding c h a n g e d its n a m e to t h e
A r n o l d Classic in his h o n o r . Sports s t a r d o m is n o t t h e s a m e as film stardom,
b u t it gave S c h w a r z e n e g g e r a taste of s t a r d o m per se: h e describes t h e "feeling of m a g n i f i c e n c e " h e got w h e n p u m p e d - u p a n d posing (74), a n d v i e w e d
signing a n a u t o g r a p h (writing t h e self in a celebrity context) as a s t a r d o m
rite of passage. Schwarzenegger's drive to s t a r d o m is b o u n d u p n o t just w i t h
t h e desire for m o n e y b u t w i t h s o m e p o w e r - e x u d i n g charismatic effect t h a t
t h e trappings of success s e e m to give off. Of his idol Reg Parks's h o u s e h e
writes, "It h a d a n a u r a a b o u t it: it was t h e h o u s e of a star. That quality was
u n m i s t a k a b l e . In t h e dining r o o m , for instance, y o u pressed a b u t t o n a n d
servants a p p e a r e d " (82).
Of course, t h e r e is a long tradition of sports-stars-turned-actors, w h i c h
Schwarzenegger j o i n s — J o h n n y Weissmuller, Esther Williams, O. J. Simpson,
a n d C h u c k Norris. Weissmuller is p e r h a p s t h e n e a r e s t c o m p a r a t o r : hailing
f r o m central E u r o p e and b earin g a foreign n a m e t h r o u g h o u t his Hollywood
career, h e was a r e co rd -b reak in g s w i m m i n g star a n d s o m e t i m e b o d y b u i l d e r
A R N O L D SCHWARZENEGGER
27
himself. He b e c a m e f a m o u s globally, primarily for t h e iconic role of Tarzan,
t h e most p o w e r f u l commodification of the Weissmuller-branded sports m e r chandise. T h r o u g h o u t the 1990s w h e n h e was at his film-starriest, Schwarzen e g g e r also m a i n t a i n e d his sports star p e r s o n a for m e r c h a n d i s i n g purposes.
P e r h a p s in his focus o n the body h e t u r n e d film s t a r d o m into an extension
of sports s t a r d o m . Yet inore t h a n s w i m m i n g or martial arts, bodybuilding
m i g h t be s e e n as perfect training for male spectacle.
Doubts h a v e b e e n raised over its status as a b o n a fide sport, and
S c h w a r z e n e g g e r himself admits that t h e posing of bodybuilding is "pure
t h e a t r e " ; "I'd see w h e r e they did slow poses, and figure out h o w 1 could put
in t h r e e poses for their one, a n d t h u s be able to s h o w m a n y m o r e body parts
to t h e judges" (Schwarzenegger a n d Hall 69). Showier t h a n the track, field,
or w a t e r e v e n t s o t h e r s p o r t s m e n used as star-springboards, arguably this
m a d e bodybuilding a n easier r o u t e for segueing into o t h e r "showy" a r e n a s
(film s t a r d o m ) b u t a p r o b l e m w h e n it c a m e to establishing t h e cast-iron
credentials of masculinity. Both Tasker (Spectacular Bodies) and Dyer ("Don't
Look") h a v e reflected o n the ambivalence of the bodybuilder's body as leminized by virtue of its showiness, and as a m a s q u e r a d e object. As feminized
s p e c t a c l e — h o w e v e r iiber-masculine it inight in itself be —Sc hw a rz e ne gge r's
b o d y has b e e n used to challenge male gaze theories. As a c o s t u m e f o r m a tion, albeit a costume-as-flesh fused to the f r a m e of its wearer, it has been
read as a f o r m of m a s q u e r a d e , a building block in a r g u m e n t s for n e w kinds
of identity politics. The m e a n i n g s it seems to bear out speak lor the wider
culture, a n d so his stardom, h o o k e d o n t o t h a t fleshly f r a m e , is recognized
as a p r i m e s y m p t o m of that culture.
E v e n if, during t h e 1990s, h e worked d o w n f r o m the excessive m u s c u l a t u r e of t h e c h a m p i o n bodybuilder's form and p r e s e n t e d a relatively lithe,
flexible f r a m e m o r e suited to the mobility of action roles rather than the
static posing of bodybuilding p e r f o r m a n c e , his visible body was still his )irim a r y asset, closely followed by his aural b o d y — t h a t voice, with its h e a v y
E u r o p e a n accent a n d limited m o n o t o n e pitch. His movies m a k e m u c h ol his
m a g n i t u d e despite the fact that he's only 6 ' I " (or 6'2", d e p e n d i n g on which
source you t r u s t ) — n o t excessively tail by a n y m e a n s . Low-angle shots arc
used in Kindergarten
Cop to emphasize his gigantic size relative to his six-
year-old charges, while b o t h Junior and Twins m a k e m u c h of the difference
b e t w e e n Schwarzenegger and his diminutive co-star, D a n n y DeVito (the
h i g h - c o n c e p t f o r m u l a t i o n that u n d e r p i n s Twins—that
these unlikely beings
are twins—effectively presold it to distributors; see Wyatt 55).
Of course, Schwarzenegger was not the only m u s c l e d - u p male on the
Hollywood A-list. The battle of t h e action h e r o giants was fought in the late
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LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
"You're the best celebrity look-alike I've ever seen!" A r n i e is doubled as star and character
m e e t in The Last Action Hero (John McTiernan, C o l u m b i a , 1993). Digital f r a m e enlargement.
1980s o n t w o fronts. On t h e o n e h a n d , A-list action stars vied for d o m i n a tion, in t e r m s of a w h o l e r a n g e of qualities. Schwarzenegger's colleagues in
t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of t h e Planet H o l l y w o o d r e s t a u r a n t c h a i n in 1991—Bruce
Willis, Sylvester S t a l l o n e — w e r e pitted against h i m a n d each o t h e r in a
struggle t h a t was n o t just for b o x office supremacy. Willis h a d a history in
o t h e r genres, particularly t h r o u g h t h e r o m a n t i c c o m e d y - t h r i l l e r TV s h o w
"Moonlighting," a n d h e was willing to tackle m o r e i n d i e - m i n d e d character
roles such as in Mortal Thoughts (1991), Pulp Fiction (1994), a n d 12 Monkeys
(1995), so h e h a d a versatility built into his career t h a t Arnie could n o t
m a t c h . Stallone was a writer-director w h o c o n t i n u e d to d e m o n s t r a t e his
t h e s p i a n chops w i t h titles f r o m F.I.S.T (1978) to Cop Land (1997). Schwarzenegger, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , has his biceps, confidently c o m p a r i n g t h e m to
Stallone's o n a Rambo poster h e passes in Twins. Last Action Hero p r e s e n t s us
w i t h a curious "George Bailey" m o m e n t : ' as Jack Slater (Schwarzenegger's
c h a r a c t e r - w i t h i n - a - c h a r a c t e r ) , h e c o m m e n t s o n a Terminator 2 poster feat u r i n g Stallone, n o t S c h w a r z e n e g g e r as t h e cyborg icon. Curiously, this only
goes to s h o r e u p his world d o m i n a n c e ; Arnie is first choice; Stallone is
t h e r e — i n action t e r m s — o n l y if S c h w a r z e n e g g e r is n o t . On a n o t h e r f r o n t , a
key star battle w a s f o u g h t w i t h t w o o t h e r t h i c k - a c c e n t e d E u r o p e a n s — J e a n Claude Van D a m m e (from Belgium) a n d Dolph L u n d g r e n (from S w e d e n ) .
L u n d g r e n a n d Van D a m m e parlayed martial arts skill into cinematic action
ability. They were, as Christine Cornea points out, far m o r e mobile actors
t h a n Schwarzenegger, w h o s e p e r f o r m a n c e s are " r e m a r k a b l y inactive . . . his
A R N O L D SCHWARZENEGGER
29
bodily m o v e m e n t s f r e q u e n t l y a p p e a r considered, posed and held for inspection" ( 2 8 5 - 8 6 ) — a n inactive action star, t h e n . Despite the fact that
S c h w a r z e n e g g e r n e v e r really t h r e w off the impression that English was a
foreign l a n g u a g e to h i m (an i n s u r m o u n t a b l e p r o b l e m in Hollywood since
t h e coming of s o u n d ) , his stardom w e n t stratospheric relative to that of his
E u r o p e a n compatriots. T h o u g h Van D a m m e a n d L u n d g r e n appeared primarily in action hlms in the 1990s, Schwarzenegger b e c a m e the genre's
charismatic p a t r o n saint.
Family, C o l l a b o r a t i o n , A c t i o n
Charisma is also, for some critics, g e n e r a t e d t h r o u g h the
"perfect fit" of role w i t h star a n d body genre. J o h n O. T h o m p s o n ' s comm u t a t i o n test focuses o n t h e semiotic "rightness" of casting: "One asks o n e self if a c h a n g e in t h e signifier w o u l d m a k e a difference, and the a n s w e r
can surprise o n e " (185). Could t h e Terminator be p e r f o r m e d by a n y o n e
else? W o u l d Schwarzenegger be the s a m e w i t h o u t t h e Terminator? W h a t
traces of charisma e x u d e f r o m that cyborg body? The c h a r a c t e r / s t a r motifs
of l e a t h e r jacket, h e a v y a r m a m e n t s , motorcycle, flat ironic dialogue delivery, a n d , m o s t iconically, s u n s h a d e s s h a d o w e d his roles f o r e v e r m o r e . Yet
S c h w a r z e n e g g e r w a s n ' t C a m e r o n ' s first choice for the role, and they met
w i t h a v i e w to his playing heroic Kyle Reese (Leamer 158-59). Sean French
a n s w e r s t h e c o m m u t a t i o n test w i t h r e f e r e n c e to the simple fact of s t a r d o m :
"The m a i n difference . . . b e t w e e n Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael
B i e h n ( w h o played Reese) is that Schwarzenegger is a star in a w a y that
B i e h n could n e v e r h o p e to be" (46). W h a t "fits" b e t w e e n S c h w a r z e n e g g e r
a n d t h e Terminator is also w h a t fits t h e star for his career in action films
generally, t h o u g h t h e m o v e f r o m villain to h e r o is not the only t o n e shift
S c h w a r z e n e g g e r m a k e s w i t h i n the genre. A c t i o n - a d v e n t u r e is a slippery
a n d a m o e b i c genre, and Schwarzenegger has ranged across its hybrid
forms, playing h e r o e s and villains in action sci-fi, action w a r films, action
swashbucklers, action comedies, and p o s t m o d e r n action parody. T h r o u g h
each of t h e s e f o r m s r u n s a m y t h of relentlessness that takes its cue from the
star's biographical PR messages, and in turn i n f o r m s the w a y in which his
films are received. Like the Terminator, Schwarzenegger is often read as
driven, focused, and, in Kyle Reese's words, o n e w h o "absolutely will not
stop." George Butler, w h o directed him in Pumping Iron (1977), has said,
"He is a m a n of bottomless ambition. . . . He sees himself as almost mystically sent to America" (qtd. in Indiana 3 3 - 3 4 ) . Of course the Terminator,
circa 1984, "will n o t stop" for deeply negative reasons, a motivation with
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LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
w h i c h a star h o p i n g to w i n family a u d i e n c e s in t h e global m a r k e t p l a c e
w o u l d n o t w i s h p e r p e t u a l l y to be identified. J e f f o r d s reads t h e m o v e f r o m
t h e first (1984) to t h e second (1991) Terminators as s y m p t o m a t i c of a shift
in p r e f e r r e d masculinities b e t w e e n t h e 1980s a n d t h e 1990s ("Masculinity"); for her, "1991 was the year of t h e t r a n s f o r m e d U.S. m a n " ("Big Switch"
197). Fred Pfeil reads 1991 as "The Year of Living Sensitively," i n c l u d i n g
Terminator 2 in a discussion of N e w M a n images, b e c a u s e h e r e t h e Termin a t o r is " s i m u l t a n e o u s l y s o f t e n e d a n d sensitized into a m a n w h o can b o t h
kill and care" (53). The shift f r o m Reese's v i e w of t h e b a d Terminator's
relentlessness ("It can't be b a r g a i n e d w i t h . It c a n ' t be r e a s o n e d w i t h . It
d o e s n ' t feel pity, or r e m o r s e , or fear. A n d it absolutely will n o t stop, ever,
u n t i l y o u are dead") is e c h o e d in Sarah C o n n o r ' s reflection o n t h e good
Terminator's credentials as a p erfect f a t h e r ; "The T e r m i n a t o r w o u l d n e v e r
stop. It w o u l d n e v e r leave h i m a n d it w o u l d n e v e r h u r t h i m , n e v e r s h o u t
at h i m or get d r u n k a n d h u r t h i m or say it w a s too b u s y to s p e n d t i m e w i t h
h i m . It w o u l d always be t h e r e , a n d it w o u l d die to p r o t e c t h i m . Of all t h e
w o u l d - b e f a t h e r s w h o c a m e a n d w e n t over t h e years this thing, this
m a c h i n e , w a s t h e only o n e w h o m e a s u r e d u p " {Terminator 2). N o n e of this
w o u l d w o r k quite so well if S c h w a r z e n e g g e r did n o t p r e s e n t a n extracurricular air of i n e x o r a b l e will, a n d if his starriness w e r e n ' t indelibly
m a r k e d as driven, ambitious, calculating. It is, t h e n , n o t so m u c h his m a s sive physical f o r m as it is his p o w e r f u l c o m p u l s i o n to a c h i e v e his goal t h a t
m a k e s S c h w a r z e n e g g e r a n d t h e T e r m i n a t o r so right for e a c h other. A limited actorly r a n g e n e e d n o t be a p r o b l e m if star h e f t can be w i e l d e d to m a k e
t h e p e r f o r m a n c e m o r e convincing. S c h w a r z e n e g g e r "was a star w h o s e o w n
p e r s o n a w a s his only capital," says his b i o g r a p h e r L a u r e n c e Learner, w h o
generally takes t h e m o s t favorable v i e w of his subject. "Arnold was n o t a n
actor as m u c h as h e w a s a p e r f o r m e r w h o p l a y e d v a r i o u s versions of his
idealized self o n - s c r e e n " (158). V e r h o e v e n t h o u g h t of h i m as a "total film
star" for this r e a s o n (qtd. in C o r n e a 164). Reports of a u d i e n c e s s h o u t i n g ,
"Watch out, Arnold. B e h i n d y o u ! " at a screening of Total Recall b e a r o u t t h e
sense t h a t , by 1990, h e w a s simply Arnold: "In t h e eyes of his public,
A r n o l d S c h w a r z e n e g g e r w a s n o longer a n actor; h e h a d b e c o m e a p e r s o n a .
. . . He w a l k e d t h r o u g h his films as Arnold, i n d e p e n d e n t of t h e story, a n d
in t h e s h a d o w of his o w n p e r s o n a h e lugged along t h e c h a r a c t e r h e was
s u p p o s e d to play" (Van Scheers 207).
Of his bodybuilding w i n s h e has said, "The energy a n d m o m e n t u m
a r o u n d m e was unbelievable. I was insatiable, u n s t o p p a b l e . . . . A n d n a t u rally 1 w o n . It could n o t h a v e b e e n o t h e r w i s e " ( S c h w a r z e n e g g e r a n d Hall
91). This s t a t e m e n t could do service for o t h e r p h a s e s of his career as well.
A R N O L D SCHWARZENEGGER
31
Yet S c h w a r z e n e g g e r could not afford to be only Terminator-certain or
Arnold-fixed if h e was to d e m o n s t r a t e versatility. By the early to m i d - 1 9 9 0 s
w h i l e his career c o n t i n u e d in this u n s t o p p a b l e m o d e , his roles played out
as s o m e t h i n g other, as elem en ts of failure or c o m p r o m i s e w e r e c o n f r o n t e d
o n s c r e e n a n d incorporated m o r e widely into t h e star image, but these elem e n t s also provided t h e best o p p o r t u n i t y for diversification. Domestic concerns posed t h e biggest challenge to the t r i u m p h of the action star's will. As
t h e 1990s progressed Schwarzenegger repeatedly took on roles that set him
u p as father, failing father, family outsider, at just the time h e was publicly
establishing a n image of real-life doting h u s b a n d and dad. These films suggest t h a t m e n achieved the d r e a m (feminism's d r e a m ) of "having it all" w a y
b e f o r e w o m e n ever did ( ; / t h e y ever did): action a n d family, hard bodies and
soft e m o t i o n s , w o r k a n d h o m e , w i t h o u t consequences. Gallagher focuses
o n t h e i n c o r p o r a t i o n into action in the 1990s "of formal e l e m e n t s associated
w i t h t h e ' f e m a l e ' g e n r e of m e l o d r a m a " (45), t h o u g h in Schwarzenegger's
h a n d s , familial action is m o r e often t h a n not comedic.
Bringing l u m p e n or siinple solutions to bear o n complex family situations conservatively refigures those problems as failure of individual power.
Or, as Gallagher puts it, "Wliat a traditional m e l o d r a m a might present as a
p r o b l e m of capitalism or family structure, an action film presents as a ma!ter of action a n d inaction." This is entirely in keeping with the master narrative of Schwarzenegger's stardom itself. His biography—as told by liimscif
a n d by b o t h authorized a n d n o n - a u t h o r i z e d writers—is essentially a series
of m o m e n t s of mastery, over his origins, his body, and his personal w e a k nesses. The Schwarzenegger s e l f - m a d e - m a n m y t h is thai n o t h i n g will hold
h i m back; " W h a t 1 liad m o r e t h a n a n y o n e else was drive. I was h u n g r i e r
t h a n anybody. I w a n t e d it so badly it h u r t . . . . The m e a n i n g of life is not
simply to exist, to survive, but to m o v e ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conq u e r " (Schwarzenegger and Hall 53, 112). Pfeil notes Time magazine's identification of this s e n t i m e n t as specifically American, linking a story of
Arnold's steady, self-willed rise to s t a r d o m — e m p h a s i z i n g his old-fashioned
industriousness, tractability, strong will, and good cheer—to its e n s u i n g
story, also slotted in the "Business" section, on American d o m i n a n c e in the
global "Leisure Empire" (31).
Gallagher goes on to argue that the a c t i o n / i n a c t i o n response (or failu r e to r e s p o n d ) also characterizes family narratives: "By i n c o r p o r a t i n g
family into cinematic narratives of ritualized heroism and combat, action
films sustain t h e illusion that viewers m a y attend to pressing social concerns . . . w i t h i n t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l terrain of a master narrative that puts a
p r e m i u m o n individual a u t o n o m y and d o m i n a n c e " (49). Of course part of
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LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
T o o l e d - u p masculinity in Eraser ( C h u c k Russell, K o p e l s o n / W a r n e r Bros., 1996). Digital
f r a m e enlargement.
Schwarzenegger's narrative j o u r n e y in his family-actioners is to discover
t h a t n o t all problems can be o v e r c o m e w i t h a M a g n u m Desert Eagle. Gallagher concludes t h a t action a n d family are n o t h a p p y bedfellows: "True
Lies d e m o n s t r a t e s t h e fallacy of o m n i p o t e n t masculinity, observing t h a t
m e n of action m a k e unreliable h u s b a n d s and fathers" (72). This is n o t
characteristic of t h e message of Schwarzenegger's films of t h e period, and
I w o u l d argue t h a t True Lies concludes t h a t y o u m a k e a better f a t h e r if you
can kick ass as well as care. As twelve-year-old D a n n y says to Jack in Last
Action Hero, "We're perfect b u d d y movie material. I'll teach you to be vulnerable, you'll t e a c h m e to be brave." E m o t i o n a l unpredictability a n d
childish or female intuition or irrationality challenge t h e discourse of individual a u t o n o m y , a challenge the 1990s Schwarzenegger was welcoming.
There's also a distinction in Schwarzenegger's 1990s oeuvre b e t w e e n texts
rated at fifteen or higher (in t h e United Kingdom) t h a t c o n f r o n t family
crises and those rated lower and m a r k e t e d at family audiences; those
a m o n g t h e latter tend to provide comedic resolutions t h r o u g h a n action
spectacle (I t u r n to these in t h e final section of this essay). Some of his
films eschew firepower a l t o g e t h e r — J o h n C o n n o r bans h i m f r o m killing
people in Terminator 2 (he m a i m s t h e m instead), while Jules, t h e i n n o c e n t
genius Schwarzenegger plays against type in Twins, declares, "Actually I
h a t e violence" (to w h i c h D a n n y DeVito's Vincent retorts, "But y o u ' r e so
good at it!"). Both Terminator 2 and End of Days see individual will
expressed t h r o u g h m a r t y r d o m : at each film's conclusion Schwarzenegger's
character self-destructs to save t h e world.
A f u r t h e r qualification to the individual self-fashioning m y t h is t h e
e x t e n t to w h i c h his most celebrated star vehicles w e r e t h e products of
A R N O L D SCHWARZENEGGER
33
s e r e n d i p i t o u s partnersliips. For such a self-promoted, self-made m a n ,
S c h w a r z e n e g g e r has relied heavily on collaborators to lubricate his p a t h lo
success. Total Recall was a characteristic Paul Verhoeven film—a t o n g u e - i n cheek celebration/satire of U.S. genre cinema by a n o t h e r E u r o p e a n emigre
to Hollywood. If Verhoeven and J a m e s C a m e r o n m e n t o r e d Schwarzenegger's d o m i n a n c e in sci-fi action, Ivan R e i t m a n m e n t o r e d his paralleltrack comedic career. By 1994 C a m e r o n a n d R e i t m a n had both directed
t h r e e Schwarzenegger films, o n e each in t h e eighties {The Terminator and
Twins, respectively) a n d t w o each in the nineties (action films Terminator 2
a n d True Lies for C a m e r o n ; comedies Junior a n d Kindergarten Cop for Reitm a n ) . The f r u i t f u l collaboration with C a m e r o n exemplifies a certain strain
of nineties c i n e m a — w h a t Larry Gross in 1995 has called the "Big, Loud
Action M o v i e " — h u g e budget spectacles in w h i c h every cent can be seen
onscreen, a n d w h i c h are critically defined t h r o u g h hyperbole a n d superlatives. Excess a n d exaggeration u s h e r the Big Loud Action Film's e n t r a n c e
into t h e m a r k e t p l a c e , a n d they follow its record-breaking a c h i e v e m e n t s at
t h e b o x office. A lot of Cameron's cents w e n t into Arnie's salary—an
u n p r e c e d e n t e d $14 million, following his previous paycheck of $10 million
plus a p e r c e n t a g e for Total Recall (Prince 147-48). As some of the essays in
Tasker's 2 0 0 4 collection Action and Adventure Cinema argue, t h e r e is a p u b licly perceived correlation b e t w e e n the h u g e success of action films and
their paltry critical status. In this sense the genre exemplifies the p o p u l a r
l o w - c u l t u r e , h i g h - r e v e n u e modality. All the figures circulating a r o u n d
S c h w a r z e n e g g e r products of this period are w r o u g h t in superlatives: Terminator 2 w a s o n e of t h e first of a spate of "ultra high budget films," m a d e for
$100 million ( t h e n a record), grossing $204 million domestically and $310
million in foreign r e v e n u e (Balio 59). Schwarzenegger is the corporeal
e m b o d i m e n t of this negative relationship b e t w e e n high commercial and
low aesthetic a c h i e v e m e n t . He is b r a w n , quantity, and substance rather
t h a n talent, quality, a n d subtlety, and success is judged in quantities of dollars r a t h e r t h a n quality of reviews.
C a m e r o n ' s third film with Schwarzenegger developed this correlation.
True Lies was bigger a n d brasher, but it still h u n g on a domestic c o n u n d r u m ,
as m i g h t be expected f r o m a director w h o has specialized in m e l o d r a m a t i c
affect e m b e d d e d in action such as Titanic. Harry Tasker is a secret agenl w h o
m a s q u e r a d e s to his wife, Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), and d a u g h t e r as a comp u t e r salesman. He lets t h e m d o w n repeatedly, and Helen nearly strays.
W h e n she finally discovers his true role, she quips, "I married Ram bo" and
joins h i m as a secret agent. The action concludes in a ludicrous s e q u e n c e of
s t u n t s set in t h e Florida Keys, with Harry saving their imperiled d a u g h t e r
34
LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
(and saving t h e w o r l d f r o m terrorists) in a n AV8B Harrier b o r r o w e d f r o m t h e
m a r i n e s . According to t h e IMDb.com "Trivia" section for t h e film, seventyo n e p e o p l e die in True
(IMDb o f t e n includes a b o d y c o u n t as a crucial
statistic for S c h w a r z e n e g g e r pics). I n Last Action Hero t h e character A r n o l d
S c h w a r z e n e g g e r — p l a y e d by S c h w a r z e n e g g e r — m a k e s good publicity of
diminishing b o d y counts, saying to a r e d - c a r p e t i n t e r v i e w e r a b o u t his filmw i t h i n - a - f i l m , "In this m o v i e w e only kill 4 8 p e o p l e c o m p a r e d to t h e last
o n e w h e r e w e killed 119."
C a m e r o n has n o such qualms, sculpting Schwarzenegger into a m o r e
acrobatic action h e r o t h a n Cornea credits h i m f o r — h e dances t h r o u g h flames
firing w i t h b o t h hands, dangles f r o m heUcopters, a n d rides a horse b e t w e e n
skyscrapers. The packaging of star, spectacle, a n d domestic peril m a k e s True
Lies a pret-a-porter
action vehicle following—by 1994—a familiar familial
recipe. But it also develops a n o t h e r interesting strain in t h e Schwarzenegger
profile, t h a t of c o n c e a l m e n t a n d qualified identities, w h i c h has b e e n r e a d as
indicative of a p o s t m o d e r n b e n t in his characterizations. Total Recall—the
second in Paul V e r h o e v e n ' s "psychosis trilogy" (Van Scheers 2 3 4 ) — m i g h t
h a v e initiated this. After t h e script h a d m a d e t h e r o u n d s for several years,
V e r h o e v e n w a s finally c o m m i s s i o n e d to develop it as a S c h w a r z e n e g g e r
vehicle. As Van Scheers p u t it, "The b u s i n e s s m a n S c h w a r z e n e g g e r gave Paul
V e r h o e v e n t h e task of delivering t h e p r o d u c t A r n o l d to t h e public in t h e
most effective w a y " (208). The story of a m a n w h o literally loses his m i n d ,
Schwarzenegger's character(s) resolve(s) h i s / t h e i r divided i n t e r n a l n a r r a tive t h r o u g h action strategies. In this Philip K. Dick-inspired tale of recreational psychosis, Schwarzenegger's buff blue-collar w o r k e r Douglas Quaid
is given a m e n t a l holiday by h a v i n g a m e m o r y i m p l a n t t h a t gives h i m t h e
e x p e r i e n c e of being Hauser, a spy w h o ends u p helping a g r o u p of u n d e r g r o u n d m u t a n t dissidents o n Mars, a n d h e frees t h e p l a n e t in godlike fashion. Here h e gives t h e M a r t i a n s back t h e very air t h e y b r e a t h e . We are
n e v e r sure if t h e story is a n i n t e r n a l f a n t a s y or if h e is participating in a
m e n t a l double-bluff conspiracy (he m i g h t really be t h e he roic H a u s e r w h o ,
through enforced brain-reprogramming, was inadvertently masquerading
as Quaid), a n d in t h e e n d h e n e i t h e r k n o w s n o r cares.
Action spectacle—he kicks ass, displays muscles, a n d gets t h e girl—is
predicated o n p r o f o u n d psychological u n c e r t a i n t y . T h o m a s Elsaesser sees
Terminator 2 a n d Total Recall as typical of a t e n d e n c y in post-classical Hollyw o o d to p r e s e n t character as i n d e t e r m i n a t e if n o t d o w n r i g h t inconsistent
(200). A n d for a n ostensibly n o n - c e r e b r a l a n d monolithically straight performer, S c h w a r z e n e g g e r t o o k o n a surprising n u m b e r of roles dealing w i t h
m a s q u e r a d i n g , f r a c t u r e d , or self-deceiving selves, selves t h a t are n o t t h e m -
A R N O L D SCHWARZENEGGER
35
selves. The p r e m i s e of Eraser is that h e is a g o v e r n m e n t agent w h o specializes in disappearing people, erasing their identities for security p u r p o s e s
a n d placing t h e m in safe h a v e n s if they are good, or killing t h e m outright if
t h e y are n o t . E v e n t h o u g h t h e disappeared identity story is all but subordin a t e d to a s e q u e n c e of elaborate a c t i o n - b y - n u m b e r s set pieces, nevertheless
t h e action takes place in various shadow-locations p o p u l a t e d by people
w h o h a v e lost all a n c h o r s to their previous lives. Elsewhere Schwarzen e g g e r does at least t w o t u r n s as a w o m a n — a robotic disguise in Total Recall,
a n d a drag t u r n h e deploys in order to a t t e n d the w o m e n - o n l y a n t e n a t a l
c a m p in Junior.
In True Lies Harry is "truly" a spy w h o plays at/lies in his role as f a t h e r
a n d h u s b a n d , a n d most of his c o n c e a l m e n t devices are directed not at the
e n e m y b u t at his family. His p a r t n e r has to supply h i m with the props of
m a r r i a g e — t h e w e d d i n g ring, a n d a backstory sufficient to ease his path
back into t h e h o m e after t h e first excessive B o n d - e s q u e s e q u e n c e . M e a n while, Helen is being w o o e d by a loser (Bill Paxton) w h o p r e t e n d s that h e
is a spy for seduction purposes, and unwittingly tells Harry that he t h i n k s
of it "as playing a role—it's fantasy. You gotta w o r k on their dreams." Harry
conceals himself b e h i n d shadows and a taped voice w h e n he w a t c h e s his
wife do a striptease, a n d h e interrogates her t h r o u g h a t w o - w a y mirror
using voice-distortion techniques. All this m a k e s for u n c o m f o r t a b l e viewing for feminists, but its relationship to other Schwarzenegger m a s q u e r a d ing m o m e n t s is interesting. While few of his post-Total
Recall films s h o w
Schwarzenegger in quite such a self-forgetting role, these are r e s o n a n t
examples. I n o w t u r n to m o r e overt images of self-parody or m a s q u e r a d e —
t h e c a r t o o n e s q u e Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin (1997) and Jack Slater in
Last Action Hero—and
the career drive that led h i m to m o r e ambitious,
w o r l d - c o n q u e r i n g excesses.
H u m o r , P o s t m o d e r n i s m , and B o l t e d - O n S t a r d o m
Schwarzenegger's m o v e into co med y was well planned and
effectively executed, the most overt portfolio shift during an era w h e n Alist stars of b o t h genders w e r e busy d e m o n s t r a t i n g that they could lake on
a n y role, h o w e v e r apparently against type. Despite his lunking obviousness,
Schwarzenegger is identified with a popular p o s t m o d e r n turn in Hollywood
cinema of the 1990s (postmodernism as overt commercial strategy, not
covert cultural code), w h e n complex and self-referring narratives, sellreflective characterization, and pastiche b e c a m e the b r e a d - a n d - b u t t e r of
m a i n s t r e a m culture. Nineties-vintage Schwarzenegger plays with earlier
36
LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
iconographies of a u t h o r i t y (including his o w n ) a n d embraces a m b i v a l e n t
characterization. Fred Pfeil calls h i m "a m o n s t r o u s m u t a t i o n of t h e deadp a n , d e a d - s o u l e d lineage of B r o n s o n , Eastwood, a n d C h u c k Norris" (31),
w h i l e S t e p h e n Prince sees Schwarzenegger's films as a series of w i n k s at t h e
a u d i e n c e "to say t h a t h e k n e w w h a t e v e r y o n e else k n e w , namely, t h a t t h e
films w e r e live-action cartoons" (184). David Tetzlaff reads Commando, o n e
of Schwarzenegger's films of t h e 1980s, as subversive b y v i r t u e of its
comedic critique of t h e action genre. B o r d e r i n g o n slapstick a n d laced w i t h
verbal b u r l e s q u e , Schwarzenegger's " s t r o n g - m a n star-persona is actually
s u b v e r t e d by inflating it to t h e p o i n t w h e r e a n y r e a s o n a b l y intelligent
v i e w e r can see t h a t m u c h of t h e action is f a k e d " (275).
While developing action into a g e n r e t h a t c o n f r o n t s serious familial
concerns, h e was also s i m u l t a n e o u s l y engaging in a series of pastiches of his
o w n p e r s o n a . Gallagher reads t h e against-type roles as comic b e c a u s e t h e y
are disabling: Twins,
Kindergarten
Cop, a n d Junior
"gain t h e i r p r i m a r y
comedic v a l u e f r o m placing t h e action star in situations t h a t d e n y his tradem a r k p h y s i q u e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y to f e n d off e n e m y h o r d e s " (163).
This sense of i r o n y separated S c h w a r z e n e g g e r f r o m Stallone, w h o ,
a l t h o u g h a far m o r e accomplished actor, did n o t so successfully b r a n c h o u t
into n o n - a c t i o n roles. Schwarzenegger's t r a d e m a r k o n e - l i n e "zingers" or
"Arnie-isms" w e r e f r e q u e n t l y inserted into w o r k i n g screenplays by h a n d picked writers to provide t h e star w i t h v a l u e - a d d e d pizzazz a n d , as Paul
Verhoeven's b i o g r a p h e r p u t s it, to m a k e "the excessive violence of his persona digestible" (Van Scheers 208). ("Hasta la vista, baby" f r o m Terminator
2; "I'm t h e p a r t y p o o p e r " in Kindergarten Cop; "Consider t h a t a divorce," o n
s h o o t i n g his wife in Totai Recall; a n d "You're luggage," to a n u n f o r t u n a t e
alligator in Eraser). Like p a r o d y or i m p e r s o n a t i o n , linguistic catchphrases
t h a t infiltrate t h e w i d e r culture are o n e sign t h a t a star has b e c o m e a n icon.
"I'll be back" is S c h w a r z e n e g g e r ' s career p h r a s e , f o l l o w i n g its use in t h e
Terminator f r a n c h i s e a n d its e x p o r t to almost every o t h e r film h e has m a d e .
For M u r r a y P o m e r a n c e , S c h w a r z e n e g g e r exceeds his action f r a m e (he
"becomes m y t h i c by o u t p e r f o r m i n g his context") w h i l e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y
ironizing it: " W h a t m a k e s his p e r f o r m a n c e ironic is t h e v e n e e r of civility
a n d civilization lying just b e n e a t h t h e violent surface; his ability to u t t e r a
p o i g n a n t one-liner, in J a m e s B o n d fashion; his gemiitlich A u s t r i a n accent;
t h e c h a r m i n g t w i n k l e in his eye; his friendliness to w o m e n a n d children
(particularly children); t h e sense in w h i c h h e seems generally a n d adorably
clueless" ("Hitchcock" 45). This m a k e s S c h w a r z e n e g g e r a n e v e n stranger
star icon, s i m u l t a n e o u s l y clueless a n d relentless ( t h o u g h surely P o m e r ance's texts are selective).
A R N O L D SCHWARZENEGGER
37
Masquerading as merchandise: A r n i e as T u r b o m a n c a n n o t help himself f r o m shouting, "I
could get i n t o t h i s ! ! " in jingle All the Way (Brian Levant, 1492 Pictures/Twentieth C e n t u r y Fox, 1996). Digital f r a m e enlargement.
But friendliness to children s o o n b e c a m e t h e c u r r e n c y of friendliness
for children; S c h w a r z e n e g g e r ' s t u r n to c o m e d y w a s increasingly familya u d i e n c e - o r i e n t e d as t h e 1990s progressed: b o t h Kindergarten
Cop and Last
Action Hero w e r e classified for t e e n or older audiences, w h i l e later in the
decade Jingle All the Way (1996) a n d Batman & Robin w e r e m o r e squarely
directed at y o u n g e r audiences.'* B o t h films f e a t u r e d S c h w a r z e n e g g e r in
overt s u p e r h e r o / s u p e r v i l l a i n m o d e . For m u c h
of Jingle All
the Way,
S c h w a r z e n e g g e r plays a n o t h e r failing f a t h e r : t h w a r t e d in his desperate
Christmas Eve search to secure a T u r b o m a n , t h e m u s t - h a v e toy desired by
his son, h e m o r e t h a n c o m p e n s a t e s at t h e e l e v e n t h h o u r by inadvertently
(cluelessly?) becoming a live-action T u r b o m a n in a Christmas Eve parade.
T h o u g h a r g u a b l y o n e of t h e m o s t m i s a n t h r o p i c films of the nineties (every
character is repulsive; Christmas is repulsive; c o n s u m e r culture is repulsive), t h e c a r t o o n e s q u e i m p u l s e of T u r b o m a n seems to possess and overcome
the
father's
ineffectual
qualities,
transforming
him
into
a
v i l l a i n - v a n q u i s h i n g p o w e r h o u s e , and S c h w a r z e n e g g e r only really comes
into his o w n w h e n h e d o n s t h e T u r b o m a n disguise. Verhoeven refocused
Total Recall a r o u n d S c h w a r z e n e g g e r as comic book star, "partly forced by
h a v i n g a s u p e r h e r o , b o d y b u i l d i n g / t o t a l film star in the movie, which led
m e to apply a m o r e c o m i c - b o o k style" (Cornea 135). He does gesture and
posing r a t h e r b e t t e r t h a n realist delivery ( p e r h a p s a liangover from his
38
LJN[%\RUTHW^UAMS
b o d y b u i l d i n g days), m a k i n g his c a r t o o n characters m o r e credible t h a n his
r e g u l a r h u m a n s (dads, h u s b a n d s , w o r k i n g m e n ) .
The s a m e m i g h t be said for Batman and Robin. W h e n Jules in Twins asks,
"Do I look cool n o w ? " Vincent replies, "Mr. Ice!" as if S c h w a r z e n e g g e r w e r e
already lining himself u p for Mr. Freeze, t h e DC Comics villain h e w a s to
play in 1997 for a close-to-record-breaking fee of $25 million for just six
w e e k s ' w o r k (Learner 246). Despite or p e r h a p s b e c a u s e of his relatively
limited screen time, Mr. Freeze plays to t h e star's strengths. He is relentless
a n d monolithic, a n d practically every line h e speaks is a zinger, m u c h of it
reflecting o n his c h a r a c t e r ("Ice to see you!"; "Cool party!"; "Let's kick
s o m e ice!"; "The ice m a n c o m e t h " ) . As a comic-inspired (if n o t comedic)
figure, h e is r e q u i r e d to do little m o r e t h a n p a n t o m i m i c gesture a n d quip.
Last Action Hero, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , takes its a u d i e n c e into a l a b y r i n t h
of layered identities w i t h n o externally verifiable r e f e r e n t , for Schwarzen e g g e r at least. D a n n y is a t w e l v e - y e a r - o l d film f a n w h o e n t e r s t h e m o v i e
world of his favorite star. Jack Slater, courtesy of a magic ticket. At first Slater
has n o n o t i o n t h a t h e is a fictional c h a r a c t e r played by A r n o l d Schwarzenegger, i n h a b i t i n g a m o v i e - r e n d e r e d H o l l y w o o d of p n e u m a t i c w o m e n a n d
screen cops. Danny, h o w e v e r , k n o w s t h e rules a n d slots in as Schwarzenegger's sidekick. W h e n t h e pair b r e a k s back into D a n n y ' s "real" w o r l d
p u r s u i n g t w o screen villains. Slater saves "Arnold Schwarzenegger," w h o is
at t h e N e w York p r e m i e r e of t h e n e w Jack Slater film. Both, of course, are
p e r f o r m e d by t h e real actor Schwarzenegger, b u t in t h e playoff b e t w e e n
t h e t h r e e of t h e m t h e configuration of actor and roles begins to challenge t h e
star r e f e r e n t u p o n w h i c h it is predicated. The fictional A r n o l d Schwarzenegger e v e n has a r e d - c a r p e t ticking off f r o m Maria Shriver (played, of
course, by t h e real Maria Shriver) a b o u t plugging "the r e s t a u r a n t s or t h e
gyms. It's so tacky." Slater says to t h e character Schwarzenegger, "I d o n ' t
really like you. You've b r o u g h t m e n o t h i n g b u t pain," as if h e w e r e a selfrealizing Toy Story (1995) figure looking in t h e mirror, or o n e of t h e m a n y
Malkoviches in Spike Jonze's m o r e highly acclaimed s m a r t film Being John
Malkovich (1999). In t h e e n d Slater has t h e self-awareness to say to Danny,
" I ' m just a n i m a g i n a r y c h a r a c t e r " — p e r h a p s this is w h y it w a s a relative
failure o n theatrical release.
These c a r t o o n e s q u e texts s e e m to be t h e overt, self-conscious m a n i f e s tation of o n e t r u i s m of s t a r d o m as articulated by star studies. Last Action
Hero, Batman
& Robin, a n d Jingle All the Way seem to reveal t h a t A r n o l d
S c h w a r z e n e g g e r does n o t actually exist (manifestly fleshly t h o u g h h e is)
except as b r a n d or t h e celluloid ghost of genre. Charisma, t h e n , seems to
ooze f r o m a film b o d y quite separated f r o m t h e real sweat of t h e g y m . Per-
A R N O L D SCHWARZENEGGER
3-?
h a p s p o s t m o d e r n is too broad a t e r m or is not as interesting as w h a t is actually h a p p e n i n g h e r e . The genius of these schlocky movies is that they grasp
t h e essential f o r m t h a t stardom takes in n e w Hollywood—stars arc e m bodied ciphers u p o n w h i c h t h e most lucrative n e w identity might t e m porarily hang, until a m o r e lucrative o n e takes its place. Of course it is hard
to see t h e massive corporeal f o r m of Schwarzenegger as cipher, but it is
equally h a r d to see w h a t else h e might be, w h i c h might explain w h y so
m a n y critics h a v e n e v e r g o n e b e y o n d the muscles. Stardom is the s m o k e
a n d mirrors masking the real person b e h i n d the persona (some actors even
talk a b o u t their star brand in the third person—"Marilyn M o n r o e , " "Sharon
Stone"), b u t t h e fluctuations of this product's appeal to which a star brand
is attached h a v e intensified.
This is most striking w i t h Schwarzenegger because he e m b a r k e d on
s u c h deliberate r e b r a n d i n g strategy, a n d in a direction—comedy—that was
a p p a r e n t l y n o t his forte. It might be simpler, t h e n , to think of him as a kind
of b o l t e d - t o g e t h e r star, created, F r a n k e n s t e i n - f a s h i o n , t h r o u g h the addition
of w h a t e v e r missing parts (role opportunities or identity elements) are
r e q u i r e d to give the impression of a complete person. Proved y o u r action
chops? N o w you n e e d s o m e t h i n g comic. Done family-friendly? Now s h o w
t h a t y o u d o n ' t take yourself too seriously with a k n o w i n g m o v i e - n o d to the
a u d i e n c e . If a n d w h e n all the parts slot together into the semblance of a
fully r o u n d e d character, t h e Californians might even elect you g o v e r n o r
(this is the subject of Gary Indiana's savage polemic Schwarzenegger Syndrome
[2005], w h i c h reads voting for Arnold as a form of brand loyally and sees
t h e star's shape-shifting as the "Epitome of Arnold").
Scliwarzenegger's "personal b r a n d " is a "compilation of re-inventions,
a n advertisement for itself, a personality remarkable for its periodic shedding
of layers" (Indiana 26). Unlike Willis, Schwarzenegger didn't tackle c ome dy
because h e h a d a n a t u r a l talent for it, or because it stretched him artistically,
b u t because t h e ongoing j u g g e r n a u t of his career dictated that he must.
C o m e d y is derived f r o m the incongruity of his form, accent, and w o o d e n
delivery in the situations in which he is cast—Goliath to his m i n u s c u l e
twin, p r e g n a n t m a n m a s q u e r a d i n g as a w o m a n , action cop melted by
k i n d e r g a r t e n kids. These are perfect formula films, the formula key being
b o t h t h a t w h i c h will develop Schwarzenegger's career in desirable directions a n d t h a t w h i c h drives a hybrid g e n r e to commercial success.
But w h a t bolted-on need drove or p u s h e d him to messianic aspirations? Schwarzenegger's p o s t m o d e r n forays go f u r t h e r than his signature
self-ironization and c a r t o o n e s q u e role-play. Fredric J a m e s o n
famously
l a m e n t e d t h e political failures of t h e p o s t m o d e r n era, in which we can
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LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
b e t t e r i m a g i n e t h e e n d of t h e w o r l d t h a n t h e e n d of capitalism. The 1990s
are b o o k e n d e d by t w o significant e n d - o f - t h e - w o r l d films, b o t h of w h i c h
f e a t u r e t h e star in plainly Christ-like p o s e s — o n e dystopic sci-fi, t h e o t h e r
religious h o r r o r . Terminator 2 actively visualizes n u c l e a r apocalypse, t h e n ,
t h r o u g h m a n i p u l a t i o n of its t i m e - l o o p p a r a d o x , f e n d s it off by opting for t h e
Terminator's self-sacrifice. End of Days has S c h w a r z e n e g g e r battling w i t h t h e
devil, w h o is i n t e n t o n bringing a b o u t a satanic apocalypse. B o t h films,
t h o u g h earnestly positing their p r e p o s t e r o u s narratives, also f e a t u r e t h o s e
k n o w i n g quips a n d ironic looks. B o t h flirt w i t h anticapitalist discourses,
suggesting t h a t apocalypse a n d capitalism c a n n o t be s e p a r a t e d . Terminator
2's conclusion is t h a t c o r p o r a t e America in t h e specific f o r m of t h e a r m s
i n d u s t r y n e e d s to self-immolate if t h e f u t u r e is to be safe, w h i l e in End of
Days t h e devil chooses a Wall Street b a n k e r as his h u m a n host.
Not t h a t End of Days fails to offer m u l t i p l e action c i n e m a thrills, s h o w ing off Schwarzenegger's assets to their best a d v a n t a g e . This is a diversification vehicle u p to a p o i n t — n o w aged fifty-two, S c h w a r z e n e g g e r h e r e
a t t e m p t s a m o r e varied characterization. Jericho C a n e is a b e r e a v e d alcoholic ex-cop w h o p u r s u e s t h e devil t h r o u g h a m i l l e n n i a l tale t i m e d nicely
for its l a t e - 1 9 9 9 release date. It is Schwarzenegger's last film of t h e decade,
a n d a r e t u r n to action after t w o years a w a y f r o m movies. Here h e is
r o u g h e r - l o o k i n g t h a n before, a n d press materials stress t h e c h a n c e to s h o w
off a w i d e r r a n g e of p e r f o r m a n c e skills. W i t h uncharacteristically noirish
visuals, Jericho squints t h r o u g h Venetian blinds or is obscurely f i g u r e d
t h r o u g h chiaroscuro lighting setups t h a t e m p h a s i z e his u n s h a v e n a n d lined
visage. Nevertheless, t h e star himself admits in a DVD special f e a t u r e t h a t
End of Days w a s his message to fans, r e a s s u r i n g t h e m t h a t t h e h e a r t surgery
h e h a d u n d e r g o n e in 1997 h a d n ' t h e l d h i m back, t h a t h e w a s still capable
of t h e physical rigors of action. Co-star Kevin Pollack said t h a t h e e x p e c t e d
t h e j o b to be like w o r k i n g w i t h a live action h g u r e (interview in "Spotlight
o n Location" d o c u m e n t a r y . End of Days DVD). Jericho dangles f r o m a helicopter, shoots multiple b a d guys, leaps f r o m crashing s u b w a y trains, r u n s ,
j u m p s , a n d tools u p . The devil is t h r e a t e n e d — t h o u g h n o t d e f e a t e d — w i t h a
w i d e array of firepower ("Between y o u r faith a n d m y Clock 9 m m , 1 t a k e m y
Clock," Jericho says to a priest). But, as before, action also involves destruction of t h e m a l e body, a n d along w i t h a glimpse of biceps o n e of t h e first
things w e see in this film is Jericho p u t t i n g a g u n to his f o r e h e a d in a cont e m p l a t i v e suicidal gesture.
The film's diegesis subjects h i m to a m p l e physical abuse, as is t r u e in all
his actioners, b u t p e r h a p s m o s t extraordinarily it provides a crucifixion
s e q u e n c e : t h e satanists tie h i m to a cross of m e t a l girders a n d s u s p e n d h i m
A R N O L D SCHWARZENEGGER
tl
aloft in a gesture t h a t recalls the good Terminator's self-sacrifice. Finally,
w h e n t h e devil possesses h i m after the Wall Street banker's body b e c o m e s
u n u s a b l e , h e t h r o w s himself o n t o the p r o t r u d i n g sword of an angel statue.
"The message itself is extraordinary, 1 think," Schwarzenegger said, "especially for s o m e o n e like myself w h o has always solved every problem with a
w e a p o n " (interview, "Spotlight on Location" d o c u m e n t a r y ) . If stardom, as
M o r i n w o u l d h a v e it, is a version of god iriade flesh, Schwarzenegger's
1990s forays into Christ-iconography are b o t h the ultimate star gesture and
suggestive of higher ambitions t h a n siinple political office.
Those ambitions are (at least) global, a n d his success is u n d e r p i n n e d by
a recognition that, as the 1990s progressed, the rest of the world increasingly m a t t e r e d m o r e t h a n the United States. Will Smith reports that
S c h w a r z e n e g g e r told him, "No m a t t e r h o w big y o u r movies are in America,
y o u are n o t a m o v i e star until y o u r movies are big a r o u n d the world" {Variety, 15 D e c e m b e r 2008). Language—or its lack—might be the key to action
cinema's global success, as was t h e case with p r e - s o u n d cinema, which
m i g h t also a c c o u n t for t h e relative u n i m p o r t a n c e of the accent issue in
Schwarzenegger's case. "People d o n ' t need to u n d e r s t a n d English to k n o w
s o m e t h i n g is exploding a n d to enjoy that spectacle," l a m e n t e d Meryl Stree]i
in 1990 (qtd. in Prince 175). If stars c o n t i n u e to be read as contradictory
entities, t h e p a r a d o x of Schwarzenegger is this: t h o u g h he has striven to
p r e s e n t himself as t h e e x e m p l a r y individualist, a self-made m a n entirely in
charge of his o w n destiny, h e has developed iconic characters and m a d e
choices t h a t speak to t h e period's Zeitgeist. W h a t he risked, or reveled in,
w a s t h a t h e w o u l d be b r a n d e d by those characters; and in becoming so
identified w i t h his characters, h e b e c a m e e m b l e m a t i c of his m o m e n t . In
1990 Time n a m e d the symbol of U.S. d o m i n a n c e in the global marketplace
as "an o v e r g r o w n Austrian m a n with a face and body out of a s u p e r h e r o
comic" (qtd. in Pfeil 31). This makes Schwarzenegger a curious if familiar
A m e r i c a n i c o n — a n i m m i g r a n t w h o s e success lies in his films' ability to sell
worldwide.
NOTES
t . S c h w a r z e n e g g e r m e a n s "btactc field," t h o u g h t h e i g n o r a n t h a v e used t h e siinilarily—
to a n A n g l o p h o n e ear—of "negger" to "nigger" as a w a y of r e i n f o r c i n g r u m o r s aboiil Arnie's
racial backstory. Hack b i o g r a p h e r s in particular m a k e m u c h of t h e n a m e — " s w a r t h y acre" is
a n o t h e r t r a n s l a t i o n , w e d d i n g t h e fleshly Arnie e v e r m o r e firmly to his old world Falherlaiid.
O n e h i l a r i o u s w e b discussion c o m p a r e s " S c h w a r z e n e g g e r " lo "Heidegger"; see m a v e r i c k p h i l o s o p h e r . p o w e r b l o g s . c o m / p o s t s / l I 6 9 7 7 2 9 7 3 . s h l m l , accessed 15 .January 2 0 0 9 .
2. S c h w a r z e n e g g e r used t h e t e r m "Girly M a n " twice w h e n campaigning for George 11, W,
B u s h , i n c l u d i n g it as an insult to D e m o c r a t s d u r i n g t h e 1992 |iresidential c a m p a i g n , h u l — l o
t h e h o r r o r of gay activists—it has b e c o m e a regular part of his political vocabulary.
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LINDA RUTH WILLIAMS
3. T h e s c e n e f a i n t l y e c h o e s F r a n k C a p r a ' s It's a Wonderful Life ( 1 9 4 6 ) , in w h i c h G e o r g e
Bailey ( J a m e s S t e w a r t ) is a l l o w e d t h e e x p e r i e n c e of seeing t h e w o r l d as if h e h a d n e v e r
lived.
4. Kindergarten Cop a n d Last Action Hero w e r e r a t e d P G - 1 3 in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d 15
in t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m (no o n e u n d e r f i f t e e n y e a r s of age c o u l d see t h e films i n t h e t h e a t e r or r e n t t h e videos); Jingle All the Way w a s PG in b o t h c o u n t r i e s ; Batman & Robin w a s PG
in t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m b u t P G - 1 3 i n t h e U n i t e d States, p a r t l y b e c a u s e of its s e x u a l i n n u e n d o e s . D a n n y in Last Action Hero m o c k s Slater b y c h a l l e n g i n g h i m to r e a d o u t a p r e s u m ably o b s c e n e line w r i t t e n o n p a p e r . "You c a n ' t possibly say it," h e c o n c l u d e s , " b e c a u s e this
m o v i e is P G - 1 3 . "