MovieChat Forums > The Terminator (1984) Discussion > I hope this is a first time question, l...

I hope this is a first time question, lol...

posted 5 months ago by Kj1oceanlust (1456)
6 replies | jump to latest

I'm wondering if this is a peculiar thought about a certain part of the movie. It was peculiar also I thought, lol. The Terminator was anything but nice to anyone. Look how he just threw the man out of the phone booth, look how he defied and shot point blank the gun shop worker, and how he said "F U a*$hole" to the hotel worker. But when he inquired about Sarah Conner at the police station, he claimed to be her friend, then asked if he could see her, and said "please". Why would he have cared to be so polite then?

[–] mentality (468) 5 months ago

Being kind can have nice rewards.

[–] Levtones (586) 5 months ago

The Terminator had likely been programmed to be less of an asshole to authority figures when the situation required it to reach its target without drawing unnecessary attention or confrontation.

[–] DoctorThirteen (13920) 5 months ago

Just before he entered the police station we should have seen that come up on his POV screen thing, 'asshole mode option - deselected'.

[–] HellFire (561) 3 months ago

I just assumed it was simply because the cop was safely behind glass and he couldn't reach him to try and kill him without him sounding an alarm. So he just tried acting human to get access, it didn't work, so he thought "F@#k it".

[–] DarthJJ (341) 3 months ago

The Terminator was from the future, so it knew how the LAPD treated Rodney King.

[–] aavfreak (3313) 2 months ago

It's an infiltration unit. Therefore it picks the appropriate behavior for the task.

We see this when the response is selected "fuck you asshole." It's what a building superintendent in a slum would expect to hear from a short term tenant in a slum.

Conversely, when dealing with the desk clerk in the police station, he behaved in a way that he thought best to acquire his target. Asking if she's there and if he could see her, as though he's just a concerned citizen.