This week we took a look at the 1986 film Aliens, studying the role of gender within the film. Going into the film, I had seen the first Alien  (1979) but hadn’t seen any of the sequels, this being the second in the Alien franchise. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, it was very action packed and I found myself constantly tensed waiting for what would happen next.

Discussed in the tutorial was the question of ‘Is Aliens more than science-fiction?’ and I do absolutely believe this. Aliens can be seen as more than science-fiction in terms of genre, as Aliens also brings in elements of horror, war and action within the film. It is also to be noted that the first Alien is considered to be primarily a horror film, rather than science fiction. The film uses military soldiers, jump scares and long fight scenes which can be seen as alluding to other genres. I believe that Aliens can be seen as more than science fiction in terms of its use of gender in the film. Audiences are presented with Ellen Ripley, a strong female character, with a masculine-esque body and short hair. Throughout the film she is undermined by her male colleagues, when in fact she is the only one who actually knows what is going down most of the time. The film represents a female heroine in what can be argued to be an action film. At this time action films were only known for there big male leads such as Arnold Schwartznegger, Bruce Willis and Harrison Ford. Ellen Ripley represents a female heroine who was one of the first ‘final girl’ archetypes to defeat the villain (alien) without any help from a man. Some may argue that Ellen Ripley’s character is simply a man’s character inside a female body. I don’t believe this is true as I believe Ripley represents the complete opposite to what women were portrayed for in films before her, damsels in distress, typical blonde hair, ditzy, curvy body types. Ripley is able to be portrayed as a tall, short-haired women who does not need to ooze sexuality to attract attention and does not demand male attention. The role of Newt acts as an additional level of  femininity by adding the maternal component to Ripley’s character.

The film is a great demonstration of a change in female representation and Ripley can be seen as an iconic heroine figure still today.

10/10 would watch Aliens again.