• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    4 days ago

    it’s hardly an explicitly “about women, produced/directed by women, staring proud feminist protagonists.”

    No. It’s largely an indictment of capitalist colonialism, ecological degradation, and space exploration as a means of loud throat clearing sound alienation of the working class.

    But that’s mostly the horror trappings, rather than her being an explicit proud feminist protagonist.

    Her “final girl” status is definitely a horror trope. But her path to survival is rooted in her compassion and comradery. This sets her apart from the male cast, who embody a more traditional masculine frontier stereotype that ironically fail to serve them on The Final Frontier.

    also “follow workplace safety protocols, always wear PPE when dealing with non-earth planets and alien fauna”

    Going in cowboy style reflected a 70s/80s attitude of masculine indifference towards personal safety.

    • Skullgrid@lemmy.world
      1·
      4 days ago

      Her “final girl” status is definitely a horror trope. But her path to survival is rooted in her compassion and comradery. This sets her apart from the male cast, who embody a more traditional masculine frontier stereotype that ironically fail to serve them on The Final Frontier.

      From wiki, since , again, I haven’t watch alien in forever.

      spoiler

      The remaining crew decide to initiate the self-destruct sequence and escape in the shuttle, but the alien kills Parker and Lambert as they gather supplies. Now alone, Ripley starts the sequence but the alien blocks her path to the shuttle. After trying unsuccessfully to abort the self-destruct, she reaches the shuttle with Jones and launches it before the Nostromo explodes.

      Now, this shows there’s 1) another woman who also dies, and 2) another man in the same situation as the women.

      Part of this that I find kinda annoying is that we’re basing these things off “traditional assignments” on what “masculinity” and “femininity” are, which as we are finding out (and have been finding out through feminism) is fucking bullshit. Men and women embody various roles and archetypes, and have done forever.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        4 days ago

        we’re basing these things off “traditional assignments” on what “masculinity” and “femininity”

        It’s a movie released in 1979, during the thick of Third Wave Feminism. You’re going to get some tropes. But it helps to remember a core conceit of “Alien” as a movie is “What if a man could get pregnant?” Presenting tropes and subverting them is part of the appeal of the franchise.

        Men and women embody various roles and archetypes, and have done forever.

        Movies tend to boil down the human experience for entertaining consumption. That’s another reason why “We’re writing a male oriented satire about toxic masculinity” stumbles over its own dick. At some point, you’re only going to have so many characters and perspectives and a limited amount of time for each of them. You’re going to get caricatures whether you want them or not. You have to if you want your film to be watchable.

        • Skullgrid@lemmy.world
          2·
          4 days ago

          But it helps to remember a core conceit of “Alien” as a movie is “What if a man could get pregnant?” Presenting tropes and subverting them is part of the appeal of the franchise.

          true dat.

          You’re going to get caricatures whether you want them or not. You have to if you want your film to be watchable.

          Whether or not this is true, it’s sad.