I think there are a lot of interesting questions that could flow from a
feminist analysis of the Aliens trilogy. Unfortunately I have to admit I
only remember the third, which I've seen repeatedly as it has a certain
status amongst many lesbians. The character of Ripley is, in many ways,
coded as lesbian in that final film. The shaved head, baggy clothes and
take no prisoners attitude, the way she refuses to be intimidated by the
men/criminals. her entire appearnace and demeanor run counter to dominant
notions of what men find attractive in women, and particularly hollywood's
idea of an attractive woman, and yet she carries so much raw sexual energy
through the film.
But the most interesting question, I think, relates to
the fact that both the villain/alien and the hero are female. The
motherhood themes are strong throughout the entire series, but less the
nurturing mother and more a fierce mother with a drive to procreate and
protect her young. The alien-mother-as-villain is not so unusual for
hollywood, but it is unusual to see this villain go up against a female
hero. The combination allows for the curious identification that the hero
develops with the Alien, particularly as she becomes the alien, or at
least the alien-host(ie. mother).
I think Ripley is a good example of an sf amazon-hero, which goes
back to the discussion about women and the traditional idea of a hero.
Happily, this amazon escapes the two worst stories for amazons - either
the amazon is the villain to be conquered by men as proof of their
supremacy, or she is conquered by some over-powering innate heterosexual
desire and succumbs to a man, discovering that he's what she really needed
all along. The men in Aliens 3 are quite secondary.
Robin Gordon
--------------------------------------
"I view it as something of a nightmare
that the sodomites are so brazen."
Bigot Jesse Helms
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 25 2000 - 19:05:58 PDT