Christine

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.  And when a woman is scorned, there is Hell to pay!  Just ask Christine,  the 1958 Plymouth Fury who captures the heart and soul of big time loser Arnie Cunningham.  And Arnie, Arnie, Arnie..... 

Arnie Cunningham is your typical High School Geek whose parents are so strict that they make sure Dennis Guilder, his only best friend, who happens to be on the football team, has to hold Arnie's hand just to cross the street.  Arnie is babied and sheltered at home and abused at school by big time bully Buddy Reperton and his grease ball goons.  Dennis, of course, Mr. Popular and Hot Football Jock, being the middle man between ego and sympathy.  Dennis had to be one hell of a guy to cater to a charity case like Arnie and not care what his other friends think. Very non typical of a high school adolescent huh?  But the one thing I've noticed is that a lot of the losers in Horror Movies, tend to carry a deep dark secret.  Or maybe not so much a secret but an unawareness that doesn't unravel  until much later on.  In Arnie Cunningham's case, it wasn't until he met Christine...

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder the saying goes.  But it was love at first sight when Christine, grimy, rusted, and filthy makes eye contact with Arnie, who is, well a four-eyed geek.  And  creepy George LeBay, who owned Christine, acts more like a father who is more than ready to give his daughter away to the first asshole stupid enough to take her in. That being Arnie of course, who signs his life away to buy his first true love, Christine. You don't know anybody until you fall in love with them.. Christine had a secret.  A deep and dark secret.  George LeBay's sister in law died of carbon monoxide poisoning, in Christine.  His niece had died as well..  His brother too, was madly obsessed with Christine.  Same as Arnie was slowly but surely becoming.

As I have implied in my previous posts, love harbors a certain possessive quality that takes over your rational way of thinking and functioning.  I used to think that someone had to be very weak minded to allow something like that to happen, but I was wrong.  In Arnie Cunningham's case, however, he was a lonely soul, and wanted more than anything to be noticed and worshipped amongst his peers.  When he found Christine, he changed.  Or more like, she changed him.  That is typical of any normal guy who is desperate to get laid.  I don't think Arnie was weak minded.  He just never experienced true love.  Unless being inexperienced makes somebody weak minded, I don't know.. All I can say is that Christine made a man out of Arnie.  "No more taking shit from anybody Arnie, because it is you and me against the shitters of the world".

Arnie did end up changing.  Christine was dictating the "cheat sheets" of life for Arnie.  She was in control and had that "girl" power that most girls like to think they possess.  Case in point;  Arnie lands Leigh Cabot, the most prettiest girl in school, who happens to be the apple of Dennis' eye as well.  Ah ha...here comes the competition.  Jock Vs. Loser.  "Dennis, you can't always have it all!  You think I'm going to remain a pathetic virgin for the rest of my life and continue to be used as a private toilet usage for the likes of Buddy Reperton and his grease ball goons, the whole while you continue to treat me like a charity case and scoring with the hottest cheerleader p*ssy. "I know you don't really care for me Dennis, our friendship has been nothing but a mere guilt trip for you.  But it's ok now, because you no longer need to pretend".  Following that, Leigh ends up choking in Christine, during her and Arnie's sexy date.  At that point, the mind games has begun.  Christine will only lure you in knowing you don't have a chance in hell with Arnie. To her it's a game.  A sick, twisted, evil game that will cost you your life..."Bitch, he's mine....all mine..."....

While writing this, I can't help but listen to oldies on YouTube as it takes me back to a time where you just never knew what to expect and trading your innocence meant trading your life.  It was all too tragic then.  And Arnie Cunningham was just that, tragic.  He was no longer the Momma's boy he once was, and Buddy Reperton and his greaseball goons found out a little too late that Arnie and Christine had a love that no bully can ever come between.  No matter how much Buddy and his boys attempted to destroy Christine, the love she had for Arnie and that Arnie had for her, could never be severed.  He had something that no Buddy, Dennis, or even Leigh could ever hold a candle to.  His love resurrected Christine to wipe out all the "shitters" of the world.  And boy did they pay!

Why was Arnie an easy target for Christine?  We will never know the definite answer.  The only thing I can surmise is that Arnie was an easy target because he harbored a sort of vulnerability that made him an easy target to evil entities; his overbearing parents, Buddy and his goons, Dennis' guilt, etc. This explains why a lot of insecure women tend to become possessive in reality?  Was it a suicidal death wish?  He left himself open to the possibility of a horrid tragic death, even if he didn't want to believe it on the surface.  It's sad and heartbreaking to think that Arnie's type almost always ends up dead by betrayal.  His obsession with a car and what the car itself represented, cost him his best friend, his girlfriend, his self-respect, and eventually his life.  Christine had her own demons, she had power, and knew exactly what she wanted from Arnie.  She wanted his soul.  She sucked every ounce of self importance from him that he was reduced to nothing and eventually ended up dead.  Christine sucked the life out of Arnie. 

Could Arnie have been saved?  I don't know.  I don't even know if he wanted to be saved.  When we all hit rock bottom emotionally, most of us tend to make destructive decisions.  In Arnie's case, he allowed an actual 1958 Plymouth Fury to possess him.  His weaknesses was a portal for Christine to take over Arnie's soul.  And it wasn't just a car, it was what the car represented...pure evil....

Arnie Cunningham was a tragic case of someone who was a victim of his own vulnerability...Nobody really understood; not his parents, Dennis, Leigh, Detective Junkins, etc. Maybe...we all are a victim of our own vulnerability..