Dean Piersiak

Dr. Tabitha Clark

ENGW 1111

04/07/22

Alien Franchise

Two seemingly utopian futures, turned into disastrous survival stories. The movie series

originated from a book of the same name, by Dan O’bannon and Ronald Shusett. Alien, 1979,

directed by Ridley Scott, and Alien3, 1992, directed by David Fincher both pit humanity against
an all-powerful, mysterious, and violent creature. Both films took adventurous leaps into the Sci-

Fi genre, with varying degrees of success. Alien was renowned for its boldness and called “a

triumph of technology over art” and raked in just shy of 79 million in lifetime gross profits

(Blowen, Alien - Box Office Mojo). Alien3, captained by the novice director Fincher, is widely

credited with “ruining any possibility for a dignified end to the trilogy” and had a bit of a slump

with only 55 million in lifetime gross profits (“A Tortured End…”, “Alien - Box Office Mojo”).

Alien (1979) is a “horror movie set in space” using lead character Ripley, played by Sigourney

Weaver, as a “concession to feminism” (Blowen). While respected for casting a heroine as the

lead role, Scott’s portrayal of Ripley, create an uneasy picture as to what role, if any, gender will

play in this futuristic society. Further, Ripley’s relationship with the master computer onboard

Nostromo (ironically named “Mother”), and the android, Ash, leave a worrisome picture as to

technologies role in our future (Scott). In the latter film, Alien 3 (1992) Fincher attempts to

rectify, and clarify the questions left by the original and sequel. Thirteen years later, the heroine

Ripley remains, and she embodies boldly the archetypal woman, keeping gender as a major

theme throughout the entire trilogy. Weaver even notes Ripley has become a story about the

“strong heroic tradition for women” (Webber). Similarly, Flinchers version exposes then truth

behind some of the technological foes in previous films reflecting how the perceptions of

adopting technology have changed. Despite artistic and technologically criticisms of Alien3, the
third movie in the Alien trilogy bolsters the importance of gender identities, whether they must

be mainstream or not, and readdresses optimism surrounding technology, by suggesting

humanities adoption of technology, may not be our ultimate savior.

In Alien, Sigourney Weaver is depicted as independent, emotionless, and authoritative. As

one of two females onboard a crew of six, her distant character is revealed almost immediately.

In the second scene, the crew awakens sharing a ‘breakfast’ all apparently equally important as

the camera rotates around the table glossing over Ripley, who’s only distinguishing factor is her

longer hair. As conversation breaks out, she remains quiet, however, the entire rest of the crew
coughs up some complaints. The other woman on board Lambert quietly notes “I’m cold”

wrapping up in a blanket hinting at her typical femininity for the time, Kane scoffs “I feel dead”

and proceeds to yawn lazily, Dallas with an exhausted look asks, “where’s the coffee”, and the

two mechanics onboard, Brett and Parker, protest and form an ad hoc mechanical union about

their shares (Scott). Continuing their protests about equal pay, the broken ship lures Brett, Parker,

and Ripley down into the steaming underbelly of Nostromo. As Parker and Brett work tirelessly,

sweating, and annoying Ripley with whiny questions, she stands unphased by the two, cockily

placing her hand on her hip. In a witty comeback to silence the two, she retorts “don’t worry, you

two will get what’s coming to you” (Scott). Ripley cocky witty remarks, superior knowledge of

regulations—which she continually uses to dissect the crews’ decisions morally and legally —

and stoic attitude ultimately leave the crew and audience with an idea eloquently expressed by

Parker. “Bitch”.

In Alien3, Ripley awakens after crash landing on “Fiorina 161” in the med bay of the all-

male prison (Fincher). Her swollen disheveled eyes well up, head hangs low, and she sits

distraught—a new look to the ‘battle’-hardened character. Upon learning she is the sole survivor;

she is exposed in a way that contradicts her actions in the first film. Instead of quickly discarding

the death of others and immediately continuing with the tasks at hand, which undoubtably kept

her alive in Alien, Ripley takes time to grieve, and commands “I want to see the body” (Fincher).
Similarly, Ripley’s newfound emotional state is coupled with a new wardrobe. Unlike her almost

genderless role in the first film, Ripley is immediately identified as an outsider to the double “Y

chromos” prisoners via her completely naked body. In continuation with her ostracizing the

prison superintendent warns her “I don’t want ripples in the water. I don’t want a woman giving

them ideas” (Fincher). The “new” Ripley, that is clearly distinguishable by her chromosomal

make up and emotional responses (in stark contrast to the monk-like prisoners), is clearly

Fincher’s statement that real heroines need not be the emotionless, strong, gender-neutral

depiction as she was in Alien, they just as well can be archetypal mother from the 80’s.

Both the hopes for, and worries about, technology in the 1970’s changed drastically by

the early computer era of the 1990’s. Scott’s generally optimistic view of technological

advancement is clear. Through the glisteningly white control room, and automated systems

Dallas enters the infirmary with Kane (“face sucker” attached), and Ash in tow. The rest of the

crew waits outside the pristine operating room. Kane’s helmet is removed via a laser cutting

device with unimaginable precision and Kane is sucked into a medical pod which easily runs

diagnostics and produces x-ray-like images of Kane’s internals. Despite the array of futuristic

machines, they try to remove the alien to no avail. As Ash pries away at the “face sucker” and

continues his tests on high powered microscopes within the infirmary, Ripley steps in demanding

answers. In scientific jargon Ash defends himself, “It’s got an outer layer of protein

polysaccharides. A lot of amino acids for prolonged resistance to adverse environmental

conditions…” (Scott). As the high-end machinery beeps and scans automatically in the

background, and the almost indistinguishable android Ash babbles on about his discoveries, it is

clear how far humanity has come not just technologically, but also medically and scientifically

(Scott). Later, when the alien has been birthed and is loose inside the ship the crew is forced to

hunt it, we see a glimpse of again how far technology has driven humanities weapons. As the

crew huddles in the bridge, realizing the only way to survive is to fight the alien head on, they

begin arming themselves. Brett, one of the crews seemingly mindless mechanics, creates long
electrically charged spears while Ash tunes up tracking devices that function on “changes in

micro air density” (Scott). With a little tinkering, and some old space junk, anyone will be able to

create the top-of-the-line weapons for whatever comes their way (including aliens). These

weapons, and the hasty manner which they are created, serve as another object of Scott’s great

optimism for the technological advancement the future will hold.

Again, Alien3 begins with a scene in utter opposition to Scotts promising vision of the

future in a familiar set, the infirmary. Rather than an android as the chief medical officer,

Clemens, a former criminal himself, oversees the medical program on the rustic prison planet.
Pulling out what appears to be a human sized meat cleaver, Clemens pressed it firmly into the

child rib cage, and crunching, sawing sounds ensue forcing Ripley—not one unfamiliar to

unreasonable gore at this point— to turn her head in disbelief. The medieval surgery is coupled

with Clemens wildly unprofessional medical language, frequenting injections as “cocktails” and

explaining cavalierly the obvious cause of death of an inmate, being shoved into a giant

ventilation fan. Just as the medical standards have returned to an archaic status Ripley later

begins to attempt to arm the remaining prisoners satirically asking “Do we have the capacity to

make fire? Most humans have enjoyed that privilege since the stone age.” Just as the rise of

feminism changed cinema forever, the change in how technology is utilized, specifically in a Sci-

Fi series, denotes a change in how society views and imagines its role in our future.

Although many loved the Alien franchise for taking a massive leap into the Sci-Fi genre it

also addressed two of the most rapidly changing aspects of our society: gender and technology.

On the tail end of the women’s liberation movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and the dawn of

the modern computer age, no two themes were more prevalent than gender and technology. The

Alien franchise presents both themes at the very forefront of its identity. It paved way for many

future heroines in the film industry by casting Sigourney Weaver in many situations where only

her own willpower and wits can save her. The sets and atmospheres in the franchise created a

Sci-Fi world that was eerily realistic and relatable, giving the audience belief that our society
very well might be headed in the direction Scott or Fincher portray. As the world continues to

change further from the hopes and visions of the franchise, some of its power has been lost, but

Scott and others have continued its legacy up until 2017. Passing through a handful of directors

and Scott’s attempted offshoot (Prometheus and Alien: Covenant) the series has been steered in

many directions attempting to address many questions about humanities’ future with interstellar

travel. If the Alien franchise wants to return to its roots as a groundbreaking, Sci-Fi leader it

needs to return to what made it so successful. Create a world, using amazingly everyday

individuals as characters, and a setting that seems so realistic we could create it in the next
decade. Let the audience feel as if they, no matter who they are, could step into the Nostromo

and be living these terrifying realities sooner than they would hope.

Works Cited
Scott, Ridley, director. Alien. Brandywine Productions, 1979.
Fincher, David, director. Alien3. Twentieth Century Fox and Brandywine Productions,
1992.
Blowen, Michael. “‘Alien’ belongs in outer space” Boston Globe, 1979, pp. 25.
ProQuest,
https://www.proquest.com/cv_1638454/docview/
757600657/3CC1AA9ABF8B475DPQ/5?accountid=12826

Ide, Wendy. "'Alien' (1979) - Screen's 40 at 40." Screen International, 2015, pp. 1.

ProQuest,

https://www.proquest.com/cv_1638454/docview/1907365110/5A2CF67BB81F4499PQ/
9?accountid=12826

O'Reilly, Seamas. "The End of the Affair: This Week, Ridley Scott Turned the 'Alien'
Franchise Back in the Direction of its 1979 Origins, and also Put an End to all
Hopes of an 'Alien 5' Sequel. on Behalf of all Xenophiles and Ellen Ripley Fans,
Seamas O'Reilly Looks Back at Two of Cinema's Greatest Adversaries." Irish
Times,2017,p.7.  ProQuest,
https://www.proquest.com/cv_1638454/docview/1897675980/5A2CF67BB81F4499PQ/
12?accountid=12826 Accessed 27 Mar. 2022.

 
"A Tortured End to the Alien Adventure: ALIEN 3 (1992, Fox Video, 114
Minutes)." South China Sunday Morning Post,1993, pp. 51. ProQuest,
https://www.proquest.com/cv_1638454/docview/1753801900/852135C095774D4
BPQ/2?accountid=12826 Accessed 27 Mar. 2022.
Webber, Bruce. "Sigourney Weaver in Alien Terrain . . . Yet again: Sigourney Weaver in
Alien Terrain." New York Times (1923-), May 17 1992, p. 2. ProQuest,
https://www.proquest.com/cv_1638454/docview/108894034/852135C095774D4
BPQ/3?accountid=12826 Accessed 27 Mar. 2022.