What is the disordering event in The Terminator?

[Chuck58]

I just watched the Terminator series for entertainment. Still, in the first movie, the focus was on the terminator, yet there wasn't much doubt that, in my opinion anyway, in the first movie he was the bad guy. He morphed into the good guy during the next couple of movies.

I think had Terminator been anybody but Arnold, we'd see him as the antagonist.

[rnbrewer]

I've found that by looking at the first two movies as a whole, the Terminator (while certainly the antagonist in the first film) appears to be the driving point of view. In the second movie, Sarah Connor actually becomes the anti-hero when she attempts to kill the guy from Cyberdyne Systems. John Connor is certianly the heroic type, but, like his mother, his juvenile attitude pushes him into the anti-hero category. The story appears to be told from the perspective of the Terminator.

The Terminator is the first thing we see, and is often the last thing we see the movies. Also, if we followed the story as a whole I think we'd find that the movies are actually all about the Terminator and the characters evolution from the perfect killing machine to the hero. It is, after all, not John or Sarah who destroys the T-1000 in T2. It's an ongoing evolution. Watching the characters transform into the hero's they will eventually become. Even in the first movie I found myself rooting for the Terminator. Yeah, it would have sucked if he's succeeded in his mission to kill Sarah, but he was still one mother of a villian. Kind of like Darth Vadar. He's the bad guy, yeah. But in the end, he's still the hero. He's the guy who fulfills the prophecy and brings peace to all of mankind...well...sort of.

I suppose I could be reading into this a bit and it might be considered cheating since I'm refferencing the first and second movie. But I also feel they need to be looked at as one story.

I don't know. Just my opinion. What do you guys think?

Ryan

[ScriptNurse]

He's the antagonist. The protagonist is Sarah/Arnold.

[Lappj]

Well who's the protagonist? I said it was Sarah Connor, but if you think about it, the Terminator's wants (to kill Sarah) drive the plot, so wouldn't he be considered the central character--the protagonist?

[Chuck58]

I'll agree. I've never heard the term disordering event before. The entire movie centers on Sarah Connor and the fact that she must live.

Most films, at least those I like, have basically three things. 1. Somebody has something. 2. Someone wants it and tries to get it. 3. The conflict between those who have and those who want, which ends in success or failure for one or the other.

It could be a cop trying to catch a bad guy, or a robbery/burglary, a love story, or any other genre.

[Lappj]

The disordering event, sometimes called the precipitating or inciting incident, is the dilemma or crisis that disrupt the character's lives. So what is the disordering event in the classic film The Terminator?
 
I say that:

•   The disordering event, in my opinion, occurs when Sarah Connor hears from the TV in the bar that a second “Sarah Connor” has been murdered. She has gone from being a little bummed down because her date dumped her to being terrified and fearing for her life. This discovery disrupts her simple life and causes a problem she must solve—staying alive. This disordering event also initiates Sarah’s character development: she is no longer just an average young woman working a waitress job; she is now the hunted and must adapt to the dangerous task forced upon her if she wants to survive.
•   Maybe some viewers might claim that the part when The Terminator portals into the present time is the disordering event because his arrival sets the stage for future conflict, but I disagree. The life of Sarah Connor, the protagonist, has not been disrupted yet and therefore the disordering event has not yet occurred. If the Terminator simply came to the present time and just went and got some ice cream and played mini-golf, then there would be no dramatic problem or conflict.  Therefore, the arrival of the Terminator does not alone constitute the disordering event. The protagonist, Sarah Connor, must be faced with a problem she must solve, and this does not occur until she discovers that she is being hunted by some evil killer.

Am I right or wrong? You decide.