Kanes Son. Males and Masculinity in Alien
In this regard, Alien is more interesting and more complex film than so many feminist readings have given it credit for. But hey, thats just my opinion……. I absolutely agree that seeing the film as feminist is, at worst, a mis-reading. At best, a purely feminist reading requires tuning out a lot of evidence in the film that reveals apprehension in having a woman in such a position. But for me, that conflict between the feminist and patriarchal aspects of the film is what makes it so rewarding after all these years and so many viewings.
That decision was made during casting. Anybody can take any film and make it mean their own crazy thing. I could say that Batman is symbolic of a drunken hippopotamus eating a bagel…. Or Gone With The Wind is symbolic of ice cream cones sprouting wings. They are just movies and the only objective of this movie was to scare the hell out of movie goers. An in-depth and excellent analysis! She is more than a strong woman, she is a strong person, and worthy of respect regardless of her gender.
While the young Sigourney Weaver is a stunning female to behold, I was turned on by her mind. To have her body paraded at the end diminishes and taints that feeling. It has always bothered me. Just wondering though, how is she dead at the end? I know that originally Scott intended to kill her off, but I do think see anything to suggest she is dead as the movie stands now.
In the shot, she literally fades away. To me, that clearly symbolizes death rather than any sort of in-between state, and I think it reads that way no matter how you interpret anything else about the film. If one subscribes to my overall reading of the film, her death is a natural conclusion for other reasons as well. Her death illustrates that without that role, the species will die. Through that reading, her death becomes the symbolic death of all humankind. I do see how it could be metaphorical, but I think what gets me is the open title sequence. It mirrors the movie, from known to unknown, and back out to the other side.
However, i do think her ridiculous undergarments are valid, specifically for your reasons. In that same light, her character actually dying, to me, feels like a cop out. I want to see the transformation. Again, thanks for a great read. This is where my reading of the film diverges from most: I see her emergence as the feminist hero as being ironic in that it signifies death for the human race.
To me, her dying at the end is a very natural bookend to the beginning because I view that opening as a birth or rebirth! This is where I should also note that my reading of Alien is based on what I believe the film is conveying, but is not a reflection of my own opinions on gender roles or feminism. By feminoska on September 8, at 1: Hi Jason, I am an Italian feminist — and Alien fan, of course! The only part of it that left me dubious is your reading of the end of the film: I do not see it as death — of Ripley or the human race.
But apart from that, following your reading of the film and the Snow White similarities, is it possible that in this last closing scene Ripley is put once again in the stereotypical depiction of impotence and need of most of the female characters in stories of all time? This is what I thought while reading your article, thank you so much for the amazing read! Thanks for contributing to the discussion! You are welcome to translate and post this article and thanks for asking first. I just ask that you cite me as the author and link back to the original.
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I also see the ending as a reference back to the beginning, but for me the connection only adds to the evidence that the ending should be read as a death. I absolutely agree that the ending of the film puts Ripley into a position that reveals her impotence and need. I will say though, regarding the comments on the final scenes in which Ripley walks around in nothing but her underwear, that my read of it was completely different.
The movie, as the author of the article said several times, and as pretty much everyone can see, uses several symbols to refer to the process of birth: Sure, Sigourney Weaver is a beautiful woman, and the scene can be perfectly provocative, but all I could see in her removing her Corporate uniform was the only moment in the movie in which we are reminded that Ripley is a woman.
Ellen Ripley is a woman. In fact, dialogue only encouraged the idea that, as the article mentions, gender roles have become a thing of the past in the day and age in which Alien takes place. Again, congratulations on the article, it was a fantastic post! Thanks for presenting your alternate reading of the stripping scene, Cosme. One of the things that I love most about Alien is that affords many different readings! Along with Solyaris and , one of the three great sci-fi films of the history.
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Kane’s Son: Sexual Violence and Symbolism in Alien and Aliens
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