1/9/2024 0 Comments Arnold soundboardThis appreciation for that artificiality is especially evident on the internet, where Arnold’s cumbersome vocal performances can be enjoyed with a kind of camp appreciation. It’s a sort of unintentional subversion of the Hollywood action hero. This paradoxical demand to be the quintessential American hero while sounding “less American” than any of the other contenders is part of what endears him to his fans. This, coupled with his generally low register, constantly reminds us we are watching Schwarzenegger rather than the character he is supposed to be playing. The cadence or the inflection is frequently off. ![]() ![]() ![]() His heavily-accented delivery of snappy, pun-filled dialogue is often not quite right, just a little askew. But one wonders whether this can fully account for Schwarzenegger’s mass appeal, particularly outside of the United States. Where do we place Schwarzenegger in this tradition? Film and Women’s Studies scholar Chris Holmlund – in her book Impossible Bodies: Femininity and Masculinity at the Movies (2002) – suggests Arnie’s accent ensures a perception of “foreign ethnicity” that “is a plus in a country where, for the first time since 1930, one in ten people is now foreign born”. But the vocalisations are invariably performed with an American accent, delivered with the confidence and fidelity of a native English speaker. American action films often employ the wisecrack, the one-liner, or the pun after dispatching an enemy in a particularly creative way. While his bodybuilder’s physique was important for embodying larger than life, “All-American” action heroes, what made Schwarzenegger distinctive was his peculiar vocal performances in those roles. The Reagan presidency, American ascendancy in the wake of the crumbling USSR, the reputed weakness of the previous Carter administration and popular obsession with fitness all contributed to Hollywood heroes transitioning into big, muscular metaphors for a reinvigorated United States. The dominant physical profile of the action hero – tall, slim figures of grizzled masculinity such as Clint Eastwood or John Wayne – gave way in the 80s and early 90s to a more muscular frame.įilm scholar Susan Jeffords – in her 1994 book Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era – links the emergence of these “hard bodies” to the socio-cultural climate of the time. Schwarzenegger was one of several muscle-bound action stars to emerge in the 1980s. It landed him his first big role as Conan the Barbarian in 1982 and then as the Terminator two years later. His impressive physique was his ticket to stardom. He came to prominence as a prolific world champion in bodybuilding. He’s back (again) – and he has a new catchphrase: “I’m old, not obsolete.” Not his most menacing one-liner, is it? Even Bill Shorten could do better! Doesn’t it sound a little pathetic, even laughable?īut laughable, ridiculous one-liners have always been part of Schwarzenegger’s Hollywood career. ![]() In the latest chapter in the franchise, Terminator: Genisys (2015), he continues to make good on his promise. It’s been just over three decades since The Terminator (1984), wherein Arnold Schwarzenegger first declared “I’ll be back”.
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