Dream sequences: love them or hate them, I have written an article about them. Dreams in movies are used for everything from a trippy little break from the regular narrative or as a way of giving further information about our main characters by delving into their subconscious and finding out what really makes them tick. Or sometimes it's the "it was all a dream!" retcon ending and everybody in the theatre gets angry and demands their money back. That's why The Wizard of Oz was never profitable. For every one of those, though, there's a truly brilliant dream sequence that stands out amongst the rest. Usually the symbolism is pretty easy to pick up on, because otherwise people would also get confused and angry that some non-sequitur got dropped into the middle of an otherwise easy-to-follow popcorn flick. Unless we're talking about David Lynch, which we're not. Yet. Sometimes the symbolism is less obvious, though. Regardless, I've done us all a favour and looked up the signs and signifiers that crop up in some of the best movie dream sequences on the online dictionary Dream Moods, and I think you will find the results...I think you will find the results.
12. Terminator 2
What happens: Sarah Connor is crazy. Or is she? No, she is not, that's just what the characters in Terminator 2: Judgement Day think. Because they, unlike us, have not seen Terminator 1: Pretrial Day. One of the most iconic scenes in T2, besides the shape-shifting T-1000 and Arnie being taught how to smile, is Connor's nightmare of a nuke going off in downtown LA and melting a bunch of kids - what she's been told will happen when Skynet (what we used to call Google back in the day) becomes self-aware and decides it's not a friend to the humans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASzBAOzRaBw What it means: "To dream of a nuclear bomb suggests feelings of helplessness and loss of control. You are experiencing some strong hostility and rage, where it is nearly destructive. Important changes are about to occur. You may also be expressing a desire to wipe out some aspect of yourself." That's actually pretty perceptive, Dream Moods. Sarah Connor is suffering a loss of control, as a violent patient in a mental facility. And there's the important change of, erm, the world ending. "Alternatively, the nuclear bomb serves as an indication that something crucial and precious to you has ended." I think this is about Linda Hamilton's career.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
