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Comment by TheAlchemist | Hacker News Reader

This guy is one of the most under-rated celebrities out there. Sure the films in which he played didn't help - I actually felt to the trap too.

His autobiography is just amazing - you realize he's just extremely smart, hardworking dude that also happens to have a vision.

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Many "making of" shows him as a very very respectful and friendly (right amount of goof on set) person. His words about body building are also not shallow, he talks about the dedication and the inner exploration about your own limits. It resonnated with ideas I had in other fields that are much less "dumb" in the public eye.

ps: he's also directly responsible for movies like Total Recall, which were burried for years, and he arranged financial and directorial setups for it to happen because he loved the script and the filmmaker. I've heard it for other movies but my memory is in DDoS right now.

> Sure the films in which he played didn't help

"Total Recall" and "Last Action Hero" are two of the greatest films made in the last 30-40 years, and I'm not saying that just because I'm a huge Paul Verhoeven and John McTiernan fan. The final action scene from "Predator" is one of the best from all time when it comes to action-movies.

I think Conan the barbarian (the first one of course) was his best movie. A perfect fit for Arnold and wonderful cinematography. I watch it every year.

If copyright didn't exist my dream film would start with Arnold as an old man sitting in front of a fire. "You could say I had an interesting life..." It would begin as it attempted to draw a single timeline from every one of his films as if he was playing the same character in all of them.

Yes. I think it is a really imaginative and well-made piece. At the time, with all the violence and sex around, it was quite frowned upon where I lived, but in fact I think it was made in perfect style.

Conan, what is best in life?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PQ6335puOc

What I like about Conan is to see how the character evolves through the movie. In the beginning through his upbringing he believes in violence as a means to solve all problems, however he slowly realizes that power lies elsewhere - Thulsa Doom reveals to him that strength is not about one's abilities, but about the ability to control and influence others. And there's the whole myth about the father and its role in one's life (and ultimately Conan's father's sword is broken at the end of one fight, while his father told him right at the beginning "you cannot trust men or beasts... but this (steel), you can trust".)

Most people see Conan the Barbarian as a barbaric movie with blood and sex but it goes much, much deeper than that. There are multiple interpretations and ongoing symbolism everywhere in this flick.

And the music... the music! It's almost like an opera.

>> "Total Recall" and "Last Action Hero" are two of the greatest films made in the last 30-40 years.

Last Action Hero is still one of my favorites.

I still recite a lot of the one liners from that movie. Arnold was so funny in that movie, and it was really well done. I was impressed his his ability to lampoon his own typecasting as an "action movie star" and all the cliches that go with it without being overdone like many of the parody movies you see these days.

Under-rated? How? He's a huge star in four or five different fields.

Many times the praise is qualified

- Body Building "for dumb people"

- Acting "just in dumb movies"

- Governor " Just because he's an action star. He won for because of the lols"

I'm not a megafan, but the more I think about him, the more I'm surprised I completed discounted how he completely dominated 3 fields. I sometimes wonder whether it's because of his accent. So many subconsciously connect strong accents with stupidity.

In Europe, most people don't know / remember he was a Governor. You say Arnold - they think Terminator.

Goverminator.

For some reason, not remembered as a bodybuilder or Conan.

I understand some of it. He did enjoy many aspects of "meathead" culture. Though "smart" people considering him dumb because he didn't signal intelligence properly is... well, probably an unexamined position.

> connect strong accents with stupidity

That's too generalized. To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication. This has been studied, not just my opinion, though I can't immediately find a citation.

Also, to me, certain foreign accents sound very charming. Arnold's voice sounds authoritative, but it's probably more to do with the deep pitch than the accent.

You're right. Thinking about this more, I think perhaps there's an association between verbal communication difficulty and intelligence.

I've personally experienced situations where people seem to think I cannot understand some simple concept when I am not a native speaker. Just an an anecdote, though

I've caught myself on the giving end of that. I'd think "Oh, they don't speak clear English, therefore they can't be smart." But that is obviously completely wrong. I don't know why my brain goes that direction, or what I can do to stop it.

It happens to everyone, and the best you can do is to try to be aware of it.

It happened to me often when interacting with Chinese CS professors during college. I'd constantly have to remind myself that they were much more knowledgeable than I was despite having subpar communication skills.

To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication.

Not all British accents carry that stereotype.

And not all Americans hold that same stereotype in their minds.

>To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication.

Oi boyz, we gotz errselves a posh git roight 'ere.

> To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication.

Which British accent? It's unlikely that you associate prestige and sophistication with scouse, cockney, geordie, scots, west country, so on and so forth. These are generally played up as being working class or not smart in movies and other media.

> That's too generalized. To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication.

'Respectable businessman' Badger from the Firefly universe probably wishes that were true for all 'British' accents!

Not to mention he was also a millionaire via real estate before he even started acting. He's extremely hard working.

You can't be successful in so many areas with just sheer luck. I think people have to realize that Arnold is far from being just a stupid bodybuilder, even though he started his career like that.

You can, that's how sheer luck works. It sometimes clumps.

That said, being a bodybuilder, an actor and a politician has some skills and talent in common.

>> Governor " Just because he's an action star. He won for because of the lols"

Actually a story had been circulating for years about him and Jesse Ventura. I guess they've always had a very healthy competition and close friendship. Jesse said they had both talked about going into politics for years, and after Jesse became governor in Minnesota, Jesse said he called him and boasted that he had beat him to the punch.

Sure enough, right after Jesse was elected, they had the recall in California and Arnold jumped in and won the recall election. I've heard in several interviews Jesse stating the only reason that Arnold got into politics was because of him.

would underestimated be a better word?

His book, Total Recall, was a fascinating read. I found it a lot more interesting than I expected to.

He's also somewhat active in the fitness groups on Reddit, passing on tips and advice.

I also found that book incredibly interesting. I kept thinking that it must be full of lies and self-aggrandising hyperbole. If it is, at least it's very good lies and self-aggrandising hyperbole. Emotionally, I couldn't help but liking him after reading his book. I know he's had some questionable sexual conduct or worse, some of which he acknowledges in his book. I just hope it doesn't come up later that he has a string of silent rape victims like other once-loved celebrities.

My guess is that, any serious skeletons in his closet would have been at least partially exposed when he ran for governor.

+1 I was even quite a big fan of him before reading it - but wasn't expecting much from the book, or expecting it to be somewhat bland. But I really liked it and will absolutely read it again.

have to agree here. Arnold is far from the guy he just pretends to be in movies.

He's also an extremely weasely manipulator and an egomaniac.

In the documentary "Pumping Iron" he manipulates an entire family, who trusted him as a friend. Oh, and he also boasts about this in front of the camera.

I would consider his autobiography to be a brilliant marketing piece (with the positive and negative connotations of the "marketing" concept), although of course this is personal opinion, and I doubt this will be ever fact-checked to dis/prove it.

edit: of course, I don't imply he is devoid of good/inspiring traits.

FYI a lot of it was staged/planned [1][2]. 'Pumping Iron' was almost like a proto-reality show. Arnold "played" the role of a villain.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumping_Iron

[2]http://spotmebro.com/pumping-iron-what-was-real-and-what-was...

Agree. Pumping Iron was the marketing piece that launched an industry. The "better than sex" quote still comes to mind, and I haven't seen the movie in decades.

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