"In his own image": genre, memory and doubling in Schwarzenegger's films

Sears, John (2003) "In his own image": genre, memory and doubling in Schwarzenegger's films. Post Script: Essays in Film and the Humanities, 22 (3). pp. 104-114. ISSN 0277-9897

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Abstract

Explores the presence of "the double" in several science fiction and action films starring Arnold Schwarzeneggar, and argues that doubling is central to the movie star's enduring popularity. Doubling is theorised in psychoanalytic, textual, and deconstructive terms by Sears, who observes that, as a central illusion of Hollywood cinema, the conflation of character and actor within a film enables spectators to construct a star's identity over the duration of his or her career. In the case of Schwarzeneggar, the actor's own masculinity and his physical body are constantly challenged and reinforced by the presence of "the double"; films examined include "The Terminator," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," "Total Recall," and "The 6th Day."