In terminator (1984) why does arnolds gun have a laser sight? - But why

[Unfiltered Sunshine]

You can clearly see he has infra-red vision when it goes to his POV, which means he can't even see the dot.

 

[BallsMcLongDong]

I need your keyboard, your graphics card, and your rollie chair.

 

[Nice Stick]

"I want to see robots with frickin lazers", Harvey Weinstein probably.

 

[FunPosting101]

"Because James Cameron thought it looked cool and futuristic", would be my guess, honestly.

 

[Unfiltered Sunshine]

"Because James Cameron thought it looked cool and futuristic", would be my guess, honestly.

I know he came up with the concept from a fever dream, but damn

 

[peachlover669]

yeah? its infa REDDD dipshit! guess what else is red! im too smart for this shit man give me a harder one next time

 

[Absolutego]

Because James Cameron is a leaf who grew up in suburban Niagara Falls with next to zero gun knowledge?
" 'I knew nothing about guns', Cameron said, 'and then I thought, this is America, I can just go buy them!'"

 

[Dysnomia]

In 1984 lasers were the future. Also, didn't the Terminator arrive back in time naked and pick up guns later? I don't think he came to 1984 with guns included. Although maybe I'm misremembering. If he came with laser sights he doesn't need that would be one thing. But if he just acquired an arsenal as he went along it doesn't matter as long as its a weapon.

Also lasers. Very big in the 80s. Kids love 'em.

 

[Idiotron]

Because it was a low budget movie and Cameron used anything he could to make it cool cool.

 

[Cat tit bingo]

I know he came up with the concept from a fever dream

A certain angry litigious jew would disagree.

Also, didn't the Terminator arrive back in time naked and pick up guns later?

He kills Dick Miller and robs his gun store. The gun with the laser sight was the one dick showed him so you could argue that's the sole reason he uses it, but he does actively turn on the laser. Terminator also aren't perfect shots, we see plenty of misses in the movies, they might be futuristic robots but there still an 80s vision of futuristic 90s robots. Maybe it has shit ram and the sight let's him save it by not using as many aiming protocols. Also I thing red lasers are still visible in infra-red, I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure I've seen infra-red war footage where you can see the lasers.
The real answer is it looks sick as shit and is nice foreshadowing for his glowing red eyes.

Because it was a low budget movie and Cameron used anything he could to make it cool cool.

Laser sights were actually very new at the time and it was custom made by the guy who made the first commercial laser sights, Ed Reynolds. Might not have broke the bank but it was definitely a thought out investment.

 

[Sulla]

but he does actively turn on the laser.

the laser automatically turns on when you touch the trigger.

Also, laser pointers back then were the size of a brick.
The movie cheated it by having the actual device hidden up Arnold's coat.

 

[Something Awful]

Also, why does Robocop have text literally showing up in his field of vision, it should be much more efficient to just process information non-visually. This keeps me up at night. I should make a ten-hour YouTube essay about it, honestly.

 

[regalterry]

it should be much more efficient to just process information non-visually

Because maintaining some semblance of humanity is what keeps Murphy sane. It's why they stretched what was left of his face over his metal skulls.

IIRC Robocop 2 shows that all other attempts to make the cyborgs more mechanical lead to insanity.

 

[Maurice Maine]

It came with the gun. Lorewise it was set up so when you rest against the trigger the sight turns on. Wasn't really a thing in 1984 due to technology but hey movie magic, love.

 

[Dieter Hell]

Because lazers are awesome!

 

[Luke Heaven 13!]

Production reason: it’s to create suspense. The movie shows you anything the Terminator points to with that laser is killed (wrong Sarah, Ginger). As soon as you see that laser pointed at Sarah in Tech Noir, the audience thinks she’s done before Kyle saves the day. Kind of like how immediately after Kyle saves Sarah and escape while the audience is think “okay what’s going on?”, Cameron has Kyle do the exposition dump while they are escaping. Clever filmmaking.

Movie logic: the Terminator can probably see the path of the laser and needs it as a reference point.

 

[Calandrino]

You can clearly see he has infra-red vision when it goes to his POV, which means he can't even see the dot.

I think he can see better than the POV shots let on. I don't think he would need the laser anyway, though. Notice he never gets a *click* when he runs out of ammo; he count the bullets and reloads right after shooting the last one. They did put that much thought into it. Robert Patrick practiced not blinking when he fired a gun.

What I want to know is: can a T-1000 see out of the back of his head or his toes or whatever? Or do his fake eyes somehow work like actual eyes. If so, is he blind when he turns into a mercury blob?

 

[Coldgrip]

Are you telling me that if you were a robot killing machine from the future you wouldn't have lasers on your guns?

 

[We Are The Witches]

It would be better if you provided some context for those who are not familiar with the movie or don't remember.

Like for example, maybe the gun wasn't made specifically for him, so while the laser feature would be useless, it wasn't made for him to begin with, but still shoots well, so who cares.

Or maybe his infrared is just another layer on his vision, he can alternate or have a sensor that detects the target by the laser, on top of the infrared.

These are just a couple of examples that try to look at the explanation from a charitable view, non 4th wall breaking, or by reasoning it with the laws of the story, because we could just say that it was done so that it looked cool for the audience (so a cinema thing, breaking the magic of the setting).

 

[skykiii]

I do love how nobody posted the obvious answer:

Everything the Terminator has, came from the time period he landed in. It's not that he needed laser sights. It's that he happened to acquire a gun that had one and saw no reason to turn it off.