In 2015, Jane Zhang collaborated with Big Sean on the song “Fighting Shadows” for the movie Terminator Genisys. This powerful track plays over the movie’s end credits and captures the intense, high-stakes energy of the Terminator franchise. For Zhang, this was her first English-language song, and it reflects themes of resilience and facing fears, which align well with the film’s storyline. Big Sean’s verse adds a triumphant touch to the track, and he expressed excitement about contributing to the Terminator universe, which he’d admired since childhood
Mario Savio’s “Machine Speech” is a powerful address delivered on December 2, 1964, during the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley. Savio was a student activist and prominent leader in the movement, which sought to secure the rights of students to engage in political speech on campus.
The most famous line from this speech is:
“There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part; you can’t even passively take part, and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop!”
In this speech, Savio criticizes the university system and, more broadly, institutional structures that he felt suppressed individuality, critical thought, and political expression. He compares the university to a “machine” that grinds down students, treating them as cogs rather than as individuals with agency. Savio calls on students to resist, emphasizing direct, physical action—symbolically “throwing themselves on the gears”—to disrupt the system until change is made.
The speech has since become an iconic moment in American history, symbolizing the 1960s counterculture movement and the fight for civil liberties, inspiring later social and political activism.
Sarah Connor, the iconic character from the Terminator franchise, is a legendary figure in science fiction. Portrayed by Linda Hamilton, Sarah starts as an ordinary woman but becomes the tough, resourceful hero who fights to protect her son, John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance against Skynet, the AI that brings about a post-apocalyptic future.
Meeting Sarah Connor in the context of the films would mean meeting someone with an extraordinary life shaped by loss, hardship, and a relentless battle for survival. In The Terminator (1984), she is introduced as an unsuspecting woman targeted by a machine from the future, but by *Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), she has transformed into a hardened warrior who trains her son for a future war against the machines. Her character arc reflects themes of resilience, maternal strength, and determination.
In the later installment, Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), Sarah Connor is depicted as older but still fierce, with Linda Hamilton reprising her role after decades. Here, Sarah becomes a grizzled veteran still fighting against new threats to humanity, embodying the legacy of a relentless fighter who never gives up, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
Sarah Connor’s legacy as a sci-fi legend lies in her transformation from an ordinary woman to an extraordinary protector. Meeting her would mean encountering someone who’s seen the future, fought impossible battles, and lived with the constant knowledge of humanity’s potential destruction, making her a symbol of survival and unbreakable will.
CONCLUSION
When I hard the Legend song about childhood chivalry, I came back to meet the legend. Even if only for a day.
