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The other day, I watched The Predator just to see why the 'Get to the chopper' is so famous. Finally, I heard the 'Get to the chopper!' line. But it was not funny or memorable at all.

I had presumed that it was famous because of his Austrian accent before watching the movie. (The Simpsons' Rainier Wolfcastle is basically Arnold and his 'Up and atom!!!!' line was funny.) But his pronunciation did not sound weird to me.

Could someone explain why it is so famous?

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KnowYourMeme has an entry for this here.

"Due to Schwarzenegger’s thick European accent, the line came off as a comical relief rather than exclamation of urgency and it eventually became one of the most celebrated quotes attributed to the actor."

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  • Schwarzenegger is Austrian born. Maybe it has something to do with that.
    – bobbyalex
    Dec 19 '14 at 1:51
  • It doesn't hurt that the phrase "get to the choppa" is in fact uttered by Dutch no fewer than 3 times through the course of the movie.
    – Darren Ringer
    Nov 26 '19 at 2:49
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The word was pronounced che-aw-par, I think that was a first in movies. A lot of mimicry artists picked on that dialogue and voila.

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  • Perhaps I did not noticed the accent because I am not a native English speaker.
    – Damn Vegetables
    Dec 18 '14 at 14:34
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    It's more like "Chop-pah". He doesn't pronounce "R's" very well.
    – Johnny Bones
    Nov 9 '16 at 18:04
  • @JohnnyBones as evidenced when trying to pronounce "Avatar". "This is Avadah"
    – JMERICKS
    Jul 2 '21 at 18:43
  • @JohnnyBones I thought in 'English', the r is not pronounced? 😉 (this is the kind of comment that could start a war)
    – John
    Jul 18 '21 at 9:08
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This brief but perfectly executed line of dialogue is possibly Schwarzenegger’s finest performance. It is arguably his most famous/ iconic movie. This movie was also a archetype of the 80's action genre, with more testosterone than any movie put to film. Issuing his final order to his last (surrogate) team member he boldly summarizes their hopes and the need to carry on and forget about him. He brings a passion and emphasis that lesser actors strive for but fail to attain. fearing he is mortally wounded, he selflessly empowers the girlto continue "Get to da Chawpah!!!" arent we all really trying to? Getting to the ultimate goal and forgetting the minor things is certainly something we can all aspire to and understand.

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    This isn't an answer so much as it is fustian rambling.
    – Jason P Sallinger
    Jul 2 '21 at 17:00

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