Anxiety. Uncertainty. Terminator.

Managing Anxiety and Uncertainty in a Terminating World

In this blog, I would like to take William Gudykunst's Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory and apply it to Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines. I'll be using this theory to examine social behaviors by John Connor and Kate Brewster as they meet and have new details about their future lives revealed to them. I'll begin by explaining how Anxiety/Uncertainty Management theory (AUM) works, then I'll summarize the plot of Terminator 3. Lastly, I'll apply AUM to Terminator 3.

First, I want to explain how AUM works. Gudykunst intended his theory to apply to any instance in which differences between strangers produce doubts or fears, thereby crippling communication. Gudykunst said that communication is only effective to the extent that the audience attaches a meaning to a message that is close to what the speaker intended. These differences, classified as "Uncertainty," which is cognitive unpredictability, and "Anxiety," a feeling or emotion of uncomfortableness, are what must be managed and overcome if communication is to be effective. Gudykunst has outlined 47 different "axioms" that classify the different possible applications of AUM that, for brevity's sake, I won't go into. The important thing to note about AUM is that it details what effective communication is and how people move toward that. I will be using AUM to explain how John Connor, Kate Brewster, and the Terminator behave the way they do. I will particularly use it to examine the growth of John Connor and Kate Brewster's relationship throughout the film.

Speaking of the film, I want to give a brief synopsis for those of you who have not seen the film and are unfamiliar with the Terminator plot. In the distant future of 2030, a war rages on of mankind versus machines. The machines are nearly invincible, but under the leadership of John Connor, the Human Resistance has held its own. With the invention of time travel, the focus of this war shifts instead to the past as the machines, led by an artificial intelligence named "SkyNet," decide to send machine assassins called "Terminators" into the past to eliminate John Connor before he can lead the Human Resistance.

The plot of Terminator 3 picks up in 2004, more than 10 years after the events of Terminator 2. This time, the machines have sent a terminator known as the "T-X," a highly advanced killing machine, to kill John Connor, his future wife, and his future lieutenants. In response, the humans have sent a captured and reprogrammed terminator of their own, the T-101, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, to protect and ensure the survival of Kate Brewster and John Connor. The T-101 is obsolete and outmatched compared to the T-X, but remains a durable and formidable opponent. Towards the end of the movie, SkyNet assumes control of the world's nuclear missile systems and fires all the world's missiles to destroy its biggest perceived threat, humanity. Connor and Brewster are led to a fallout shelter where they survive and begin the human resistance, being the only two remaining humans who know about SkyNet and how it became self aware.

The first scene I want to apply AUM to is the scene where John Connor and Kate Brewster are riding in the back of a veterinary truck that the T-101 Terminator is driving. Brewster feels anxious because she feels like she has been kidnapped by Connor and the Terminator. She also feels uncertain because she cannot predict their actions, such as where they are taking her or why they are taking her there. Connor tries to help her manage these by explaining the situation to her, why the Terminator was there, and why she was involved. This backfires, however, as the concept of a time traveling robot sounds too insane for Brewster to process. According to Axiom 10 of AUM, her inability to process and understand this information only causes her anxiety to get worse because she is now even less able to predict Connor's and the Terminator's behavior. This reaction makes Brewster's attitude toward the pair more rigid. This rigidity, according to Axiom 11 increases her anxiety even more. Sensing the anger and rigidity of Brewster, Connor changes the subject to a childhood memory they shared. According to Axioms 5 and 17, this is less threatening ground because it is a shared similarity. This serves to reduce Brewster's anxiety and uncertainty, if only slightly.

The next scene I would like to apply AUM to is another scene of dialogue between Brewster and Connor that takes place later in the film. At this point, the Terminator and Connor have saved Brewster from being killed by the T-X and have agreed to try and rescue her father. According to Axiom 23 of AUM, Brewster senses a cooperative task structure, and this decreases her anxiety and uncertainty, allowing her to open up more to the Terminator and to Connor. This time, it is Brewster who begins to engage the Terminator and ask questions, seeking to reduce her uncertainty and anxiety according to Axiom 10, which I mentioned earlier. The Terminator answers Brewster's questions freely, informing Brewster and Connor about the connection between them. We learn from this conversation that Brewster will become Connor's second in command and spouse in the future, an idea neither of them like.

I would like to briefly note that the Terminator is hilariously socially oblivious throughout the movie. This is understandable since he is a machine so "awkward" is something he is unable to understand. When Connor shows hesitance to marrying Brewster, the Terminator says that his hesitance is irrational, remarking that Brewster is a healthy female of breeding age, able to reproduce. In another scene, Connor and Brewster are, according to Axioms 5 and 17 again, remembering when they were kids in school together and smiling about the memories to relieve the anxiety of facing death the uncertainty of what might happen to them. The Terminator notices their light conversation and says "Your levity is good, it relieves tension and the fear of death." In so doing, the Terminator effectively undoes their attempts to manage their anxiety and uncertainty in saying this.

Axiom 23 is brought out again when Brewster and Connor are alone in the fallout shelter. As the bombs fall, a radio call comes in. Connor and Brewster look at each other and realize that they are the only two people on earth that know what has transpired. They realize they must cooperate, whether they like it or not. Brewster takes Connor's hand in hers and wraps her arm around his, signalling that she will stand by him. Connor looks at her briefly, then answers the radio call. We don't know what he says to them, but we know that this is how Connor begins the Human Resistance movement.

Works Cited

1. "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) - Synopsis." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181852/synopsis>.
2. Griffin, Em. "Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory." The Book—A First Look at Communication Theory. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.afirstlook.com/docs/anxietyuncertainty.pdf>.