Original "Ghostbusters" and T2 - a connection?

There has been something in the back of my mind about these two time-worn movies and I think I may have finally put my finger on what it is. These two flicks share something, and I'm going to try my damnedest to put a name to it.

I want you to recall the scene where our ghost-wranglin' heroes have convinced the mayor to let them try to tame the spirits-gone-wild. Bill Murray leans out of the erstwhile Caddy ambulance and says, "Come on! Let's run some red lights!" It's a typical Murrayian moment, one of those lines you imagine he insisted he get to deliver. Also, think of the goofy car Dr. Ray Stantz has procured in spite of all the necessary repair work. Think of the conversation early in the movie, where the avaricious Peter Venkman licks his chops about revenue streams: "The franchise rights alone will make us rich beyond our wildest dreams." (Paraphrasing.)

Each of these things make an assumption about the audience: they acknowledge that we are a business-wise group of people. We're not above looking for a good business angle, just as we're not opposed to having fun on the job. These lines make a statement that a whole lot more people are their own bosses, and are sophisticated enough to know about assets, revenue, debt, and making the most of what we're given.

Jump ahead with me now, seven years, to 1991's Terminator 2. This is a helluva flick for a lot of reasons, but I think I admire it for a fairly unusual reason. Starting early on, the re-booted robot, played by the esteemed ex-Governor, steals a guy's clothes and his motorcycle, and injures him grievously in the process. He later joins forces with Sarah, commandeers some SUVs, a spavined camper that he wrecks seemingly without any effort, and briefly rides a crashing big rig.

 He's using what's available. The script takes advantage of its audience's familiarity with objects - motorcycles, guns, police vans, knives, computer chips - of which efficient use is made in the service of the human race. It's the same attitude as in Ghostbusters. The producers acknowledge and make use of us as late-20th century sophisticates, ready to appreciate novel uses of familiar objects. We aren't thought of as fools.

Well, perhaps you'll think of it as a tenuous thread, and maybe justifiably. It has stuck with me for quite a while and I wanted to try to get it out there in formal thought.