#showing up in multiple statements without getting killed or being a monster is a feat

[enjoyvoidblack]

The fact that Jon so heavily respects and roots for the one (living) person he sees who seems to be actually trying and succeeding to fight the Fears, even if it's something he'd consider too risky or futile to do himself, says so much about both how trapped he feels and how impactful Gerry's work was, and both make me insane.

The fondness in Jon's voice when he says, "that'll be our Gerard." makes me want to scream because they didn't even know each other and yet Jon likes him. Jon doesn't speak about anyone like that. Jon has heard enough about Gerry in the tapes and notes that he's formed an opinion of him. He says "our Gerard" the way others speak of a family member. In the same way someone would loving call a cousin a brat. Jon likes Gerry.

[raceandspeculation]

Ripley the Hero

Zakary Kelley Dr. Smalls February 21, 2017 English 3690

Ripley the Hero

Ripley, the main protagonist and ultimate savior of the “Alien” franchise is a character the first of her kind. After watching the movies something that became apparent to me early on was the skepticism that is show towards Ripley (especially in the earlier movies), and her ability to not let her gender affect her getting things done despite others. She is second-guessed a fair amount and becomes a nuisance to ulterior motives that exist throughout the movie. For the time period seeing a female character as strong as her is very intriguing and long due. She breaks gender roles while still maintaining her femininity. There are a few key situations in the first two movies of the franchise that signify her as a hero and what she is capable of. In these situations we see; she as a character is the perfect mix of femininity (as seen in her motherly tendencies in the early movies) and being a character that transcends her gender and does not let it hinder her. Her treatment of Jonies and Newt in the first two movies exemplifies her as a women and her character identity. We see indications of how people are quick to second-guess her in both movies and how if people were to listen to Ripley many events could have either gone better or could have been avoided all together. Ripley is a strong female character that exudes femininity but at the same time is the badass hero that we are accustomed to seeing in movies such as these.

          Ripley possesses motherly tendencies throughout the first two films and they’re embodied through Jonsey and Newt. She risks her life for the sake of this cat and little girl and it really shows just who Ripley really is as a women and hero. In Amy Taubin’s essay The Alien Trilogy: From Feminism to Aids the motherly tendencies of Ripley are mentioned,” In terms of Ripley’s character, the trilogy works better when Ripley’s maternal desire develops gradually on screen rather than being realized in the back story. In the first film, she’s the career woman whose nurturing impulses are invested in her cat. In the second, she becomes the adoptive mother of Newt. In the third, having lost Newt, and with her biological clock running out, she discovers she’s pregnant – with an alien.” (Taubin 95) At the end of the day Ripley is a mother not just to her actual daughter (who is dead after Ripley’s rest in the hyperspace) but too these three characters. In the first movie Ripley’s care for her cat Jonsey ends up just being a taste of how strong her motherly tendencies are even though it may be the most revealing. Most people would not risk their lives for their animal in any case. People see their lives more important but not Ripley. She has the strong motherly notion to protect and protect she does. The level of care and selflessness that someone has to have inside of them to save a cat, risking life and limb is unheard of and really it really sets who Ripley is deep down inside. It’s her relationship with Newt in the second film that exposes fully her motherly tendencies. She sees Newt as her daughter and the lengths that she goes to save her throughout the film is breathtaking. From when they are locked in the medical unit with the aliens by Burke, to the very end where Ripley goes head on into the Mother Alien’s den to save Newt.  

These instances show just how motherly Ripley is but also just how strong a female she is. Her character just isn’t some generic cookie-cutter guy who saves the hot damsel in distress, but a strong woman who saves the ones who can’t defend for themselves. One last motherly instance that I feel is overlooked is her ultimate forgiveness of androids, in the first film she is pretty much screwed over by an android and it cost everyone their lives besides her own. She has no reason to ever consider trusting an android again regardless of what model they are or what their success rate is. But ultimately her motherly tendencies kick in and she lets herself trust an android. Instead of endangering her life the android played a major part in the ultimate escape, and even risked his own artificial life so that Ripley could defeat the Alien at the end of the second film. Her being able to forgive and lend trust to the android brings the idea that she is a natural mother full circle. Her motherly tendencies even almost kill her several times it also saves her, she could have tried to take things all on her own and she would have most likely perished for it. Ridley is a first in this genre and this is reinforced in an Article written for TheGuardian.com” by Xan Brooks when it is stated,” Before Ripley, the horror movie was a more ordered place. Here was a happy hunting ground in which young, sexually active women were there to be punished and the abiding image of motherhood was provided by mummified Mrs Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Alien took a tired landscape and shook it up.” (Xan)  She is a strong feministic hero, with motherly tendencies unseen in heroes in films such as these. Ripley changed the genre, by making female characters in films such as these not just a sexualized joke. She adds seriousness to a genre plagued by masculinity and shows that a woman can also be the hero. Without Ripley who knows how long it would have taken to have a true strong female protagonist, who puts the situation on her shoulders and saves the day.  Ripley is the perfect mix of what it means to be a strong female hero; she retains her motherly tendencies but also shows that not just men can save the day.

Ripley’s ability to get out of danger and fight back is not only impressive and unheard of (for a female character of her time) but fully envelops her into a true hero.  There are a few instances in the first two movies that truly show how strong of a hero she is. The ending sequence of the first movie is in my opinion the finest moment of heroine. Her taking out the alien once and for all cemented her as a true hero and viable adversary for the aliens. Just like any other hero she’s tough and is able to think quickly despite the odds. She has a full hero package and her being a women is just the thing that wraps up her being so transcendent for the role. Her being able to take out a creature like the Alien is a feat in heroic acts. I believe that the alien is so much of a force against the feeble bodies of human beings that her being able to kill multiple is more than impressive. The impact that the alien had was described in an article by Pamela Gibson where it is stated,” This particular alien has an extraordinary fascination for audiences and academy alike. It can be understood as “monster from the Id,” manifestation of sexual terrors, reflection of xenophobic fears, or as this essay suggest, all of these and more, tied to the structures of power- the monstrous.”(Gibson 37) The alien is serious in the eyes of the viewer and seeing a woman such as Ripley slay several aliens is groundbreaking. The alien being such a dangerous threat makes her that much braver and stronger, not just to herself but to the viewer as well. Her actions in the second film only fuel the idea that Ripley is a true hero and not someone to be taken lightly. There are two instances that stand out the most in the second film. The first is the whole sequence of losing Newt and Ripley ultimately saving her. Her reaction to losing Newt again displays her motherly tendencies but shows her true hero. Fighting all the way through hell and back to save Newt, Ripley again is able to take out several aliens making her have an ultimate hero’s presence. The second scene is discussed by Taubin in her article and I do not agree with the statements that she makes about said scene.” However thrilling the entrance of Ripley in the power loader (she’s transformed into a cyborg), the image is immediately tarnished by the obviousness of her line, ‘Get away from her, you bitch’, addressed to the alien who’s about to do something terrible to the cowering Newt.”(Taubin 95) I believe that her saying the line fits the story and her character perfectly. It has already been established that she already views Newt as her daughter now and her saying that line furthers that notion. She is a female hero with all the traits of being tough and brave, but her being a woman lends to her being motherly even in the direst of situations. Her character needed a line like this and I do not see how anything was tarnished.

Ripley is a perfect concoction for a female hero; her ability to face the odds head on, too her strong motherly nature, she is what a female hero should be. Sigourney Weaver portrayed a strong female character that didn’t let her gender decide her placement in the movies.

Word Count: 1669

Works Cited:

Taubin, Amy. “The Alien Trilogy: From Feminism to AIDS.” Women and Film: A Sight and Sound Reader. Edited by Pam Cook and Philip Dodd, Temple University Press, 1993, 93-100. (e-reserve) 18 Feb. 2017.

Gibson, Pamela C. “‘You’ve Been in My Life So Long I Can’t Remember Anything Else’: Into the Labyrinth with Ripley and the Alien.” Keyframes: Popular Cinema and Cultural Studies. Edited by Matthew Tinkcom and Amy Villarejo, Routledge, 2001, 35-51 (e-reserve). 18 Feb. 2017.

Brooks, Xan “ The first action heroine” https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/oct/13/ridley-scott-alien-ripley, 2009, October 12