Predator

Made in 1987 and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Predator is often dismissed as just a lads movie. However, unlike the majority of movies within the sci-fi/action genre, Predator cleverly subverts our preconceived notions of what it is to be a man.

The story couldn’t be simpler: seven testosterone fuelled commandos (representing the seven classical characters in Greek mythology) are abandoned in the deepest, darkest jungle (female pubes), and after an initial barrage of ‘pussy’ jokes, brutality, and male bonding, are systematically picked off one by one by a vagina-faced alien from another world (man’s fear of the vagina personified).

It is important to remember that throughout his career Schwarzenegger has often tackled feminist subjects, whether it be sympathetically looking at the trials of pregnancy (Junior), single motherdom and childcare (Kindergarten Cop), female identity (Terminator), or being a stripper (True Lies), Schwarzenegger has always taken care to represent women’s plight within society.

During the climax of the movie Schwarzenegger beats the Predator in a match to the death with a mixture of cunning, know-how, and brute strength. The Predator, realising it has lost the battle, wins the war by setting off a self-destruct sequence, detonating itself and half the jungle, leaving Schwarzenegger powerless, frustrated, and broken. This is the taking the concept of ‘getting the last word in’ to its logical extreme.

Predator dares us to consider the emerging presence of the female within the then (mid-80s America) largely male-dominated society, and should be considered alongside Working Girl as one of the most important tomes in feminist cinema.

Nick Helm