The films Eat Drink Man Woman and The Terminator take two very different approaches to women’s roles within society. While The Terminator urges women to realize their own strength, Eat Drink Man Woman focuses on a traditional view that women belong in the home. The Terminator toppled the Hollywood cliché of a damsel in distress at least partially, for although most of the film centers on Sarah constantly being saved, she is ultimately the one to save herself. On the other hand, Eat Drink Man Woman contains a subtle reminder to audiences of the tenacity of patriarchy, serving as a suggestion that women ought to re-learn their place in society.

Eat Drink Man Woman belongs heavily to the Auteurs movement, due to Ang Lee’s substantial involvement in the film. Not only did Lee direct the film, he also co-wrote it, on top of which, the movie was filmed largely in Taiwan, where directors are known to do a great deal of the work. Lee said of filming in Taiwan in a 1994 interview with Stephen Rea, “In Taiwan, it’s much more of a director’s show. … you have to generate everything, initiate everything. People look to the director for everything.” The Terminator was an unexpected film that rose to blockbuster fame, as critics such as Matt Zoller Seitz pointed out in his 2017 review of the film. Though the film was made on a small budget and was fully expected to flop once it hit audiences, The Terminator surprised everyone, becoming an instant hit.

According to Ang Lee in his interview with Barry Norman in 1994, “filial piety is the essential virtue in a human being.” This conveys Lee’s thinking behind the film Eat Drink Man Woman, explaining the meaning in the very last scene of the film, wherein the most career-minded of the three daughters cooks for her father.

Similarly, the opening scene of the film, depicting the father preparing an intricate Sunday dinner for his daughters aptly illustrates the idea that the father is the one who has his life straight. These scenes act as understated and delicate reinforcements of patriarchy in the household.

The Terminator was unconventional, because it was made on a small budget of 6.4 million dollars according to an interview with Cameron by Joe McGovern, and was starred in by unknown actors and actresses. Moreover, it was not expected to succeed, nor was it anticipated to make a profit. The Terminator outdid itself and its early critics, ultimately making a profit of forty million dollars. Meanwhile, Eat Drink Man Woman was highly conventional. Not only was its ending decisive and clear, but also it was easy to follow the storyline. Moreover, the film did not challenge any social beliefs, ignored politics entirely, and was co-written and directed by Ang Lee, who was at the time very popular in the film industry.

Eat Drink Man Woman was enjoyed all over the world, as was The Terminator. Both films were globalized almost immediately; The Terminator because it was an instant hit with audiences, and Eat Drink Man Woman both because it was liked, and because it was filmed in Taiwan, spoken in the native language, and subsequently watched all over the world. Ang Lee continued his ‘father knows best’ theme with Eat Drink Man Woman, refining and honing his artistic techniques as the film progressed. Furthermore, the 1990s saw an uptick in films that championed strong women, so this movie was an effort to put women in their place. As stated in this essay titled “Visuality and Identity” by Shu-mei Shih, “In an understated manner, the old widowed father … ultimately emerges as the hero.”

This quote serves to further the point that although Eat Drink Man Woman appears to be a film about three daughters, it does in fact revolve solely around the male figure in the household. On the other hand, The Terminator chose to embrace a forceful female lead, giving women someone to look up to. The climax of the film shows Sarah ultimately defeating the terminator, as he is crushed while still attempting to pull himself towards her. This scene reflects the public’s growing desire to see women fighting, and winning, their own battles, instead of watching as men save them.

The film went through significant internal artistic changes, as James Cameron and his then wife, co-screenwriter, and producer Gale Ann Hurd were experimenting with new special effects and methods. In “The Making of The Terminator: A Retrospective”, James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger discuss the special effects at length. In particular, they talk about the scene wherein the terminator stalks Sarah in a parking garage in a police car he stole, driving slowly, reminiscent of a shark gliding through water.

Cameron says, “you [Schwarzenegger] came up with the idea of moving your eyes, then moving your head to follow the eyes, then moving the eyes back and the head back almost like a surveillance camera.” This shows just one of the many small pieces of the special effects and mannerisms that were agonized over throughout the production of the film. Additionally, the movie trailer for The Terminator shows audiences that the film utilizes technology and new special effects to create a story that is as unique as it is terrifying. Although both of these films were drastically different in many ways, they both addressed the pivotal role that women play in Hollywood and society.