Arnold Schwartzeneggar announced he would be running for governor last night on Jay Leno and managed to work in quotes from movies he has starred in such as The Terminator and movies he has NOT starred in such as Network… But notice Arnold isn’t quoting from Conan the Barbarian. It might be because he didn’t want to bring up the massively violent nature of most of his movies… Maybe.
Anyway it turns out one of the best-known quotes isn’t even very original. Check this out: GENGHIS KHAN: The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase thembefore you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them
bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters. Compare to this excerpt from
Conan the Barbarian: MONGOL GENERAL: Conan, what is best in life?
CONAN: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women! Notice it’s tightened up a little. My speculation is that the “fuck their daughters” aspect of the original was omitted on purpose. If you want to be REALLY alienated from our beloved would-be commander watch the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron. It’s kind of an exploration of the weird mentality you need to embrace to be a successful body-builder (See also Samuel W. Fussell’s book Muscle: Confessions of an Unlikely Bodybuilder). Bear in mind Arnold is not reciting lines here; those are his own words: ARNOLD: Feeling the pump and rush I get in my muscles when pumping iron. I love it. To me it is better than orgasm. In case you care, yes Arnold is from Austria and his dad was a member of the Nazi Party. Although since he has lived for the past few decades in Hollywood it seems unlikely he would survive if he himself was an anti-Semite.