What is the “crushing foot” motif?
This refers to the recurring imagery of humanity being crushed by the machines. First, in the 2029 sequence of T1, there is a closeup of tank treads rolling over human skulls. Next, when the Terminator approaches the house of the first “Sarah Connor,” it crushes a small toy truck. Also, after the Terminator kills Sarah’s friend, he walks over her Walkman headphones. In T2, the title sequence starts with a Terminator endoskeleton crushing a human skull. The imagery of the Hunter-Killer tank rolling over skulls reoccurs. The Terminator crushes one of the roses that falls out of the flower box when it removes the shotgun at the Galleria (may be a reference to the T2 tie-in video by Guns ‘n’ Roses). The T-1000 treads on the Terminator’s sunglasses at Pescadero State Hospital. Mark Reed
