ALIEN AND FEMINISM

BY GRACE, KATERIN, MOLLY AND COYLE.

INTRODUCTION

• What is Feminism?
• The Role of Women in Film
• The Role of Ripley
• “Alien” influence on future films
FEMINISM WHAT IS IT?

• Feminism
The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes
Alice Walker: “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any”
Woodrow Wilson: “We shell fight for the things which we have always carried nearest out hearts – for
democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments.”
Maggie Humm and Rebecca Walker: “The history of Feminism can be divided into three waves”
HISTORY OF FEMINISM
• The movement first started in 1848 when the
first convention was held in Seneca Falls new
York. The convention had 68 women and 32
men sign a declaration of Sentiments after 2
days of discussion and debate
• The declaration of Sentiment held a set of 12
resolutions that outlined Grievances and the
agenda of the women’s rights movement. The
declaration called out for equal treatment of
women and men, and the right for women to
vote.
• Maggie Humm and Rebecca Walker, said that
“The history of Feminism can be divided into
three waves”. First wave started in the 19th
and 20th centuries, The second was between
the 1960s and 1970s and the third started in
1990s and to present day.

Fig 1: The Silent Sentinels (1917)

THE THREE WAVES FEMINISM
• First
The first wave focused on the promotion of equal
contract and property rights for women and the
ownership of married women. This changed in
the 19th century and became more about the
right to vote.
• Second
The second wave focused on more of the cultural
and political inequalities. It tried to make woman
focus on their lives and to encouraged them to
understand aspects of it.
• Third
The third wave started as a response to the
second and it’s failures and the backlash that
followed it towards initiatives created by the
second wav.

Fig 2: Women’s rights convention (1848)

DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS

• The Declaration of Sentiments was written by

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and based on the
declaration of independence. Stanton did this in
order to compare the struggles of the founding
fathers to the women’s movement.
• During it’s publication it was met with extrema
hostility from the American people.

Fig 3: Declaration of Sentiments (1848)

ROLES OF WOMEN
 The roles of women have changed drastically throughout film history.
With films such as king Kong (1933) with the women being in Peral and
having to be saved to Jurassic world(2015) with the main character Claire
running in heels and saving the day.
 A film called “it”(1927) was a film that focused on the female attracting
the attention of the male through making him jealous. The film is a good
example of how woman where used for the sole purpose of impressing Fig, 4 Clara bow
men, this was shown by overly sexualising women in the films.
 Audrey Hepburn roles in films was always of the perfect women which is Being a sex symbol is a
shown in my fair lady(1964) where she plays a cockney flower girl who heavy load to carry,
takes speech lessons from a professor, so that she may pass as a lady especially when one is
giving the impression that anything that doesn’t follow the standards of tired, hurt and
bewildered. Clara Bow
being a lady is wrong
 1979 was the year that the role of the woman changed with Ridley
Scott's “Alien” which is considered one of the first films to see a female
character take charge and is not overly sexualised.
MARILYN MONROE AND SIGOURNEY
WEAVER
Fig 5,
 Marilyn Monroe was playboys first “sweetheart of
the month” (1953)
 Throughout her career was most known for playing
the “dumb blond”
 Conforms to the stereotypical idea of a women for
her time
 Marilyn shows that women can be more confident
with themselves and their body's, creating a new
outlook for women on the big screen.
Fig 6,
 Sigourney weaver has been a iconic figure in films for
other 30 years
 She's played many role with different personalities but
stays being a strong character throughout
 Her most noticeable role is of Ripley in alien where she is
seen to be a strong lead
 Has no love interest in the film
 One of the pioneers to stop women being the stereotypes
in films
 “one of the first female movie characters who isn't defined by
the men around her, or by her relationship to them.”
Entertainment Weekly, 2009.
THE ROLE OF RIPLEY

• Ellen Ripley is a fictional character and the protagonist of the

Alien film series played by American actress Sigourney
Weaver.
• Ripley was a breath of fresh air across genres, horror and sci-
fi, that were targeted at men.
• In a world where most female leads were damsels and love
interests, Ripley is a woman. A well rounded, intelligent,
confident, not afraid to be disliked, badass hero woman, and Fig 7: Most of the Nostromo crew [still]
was defined by the men around her. Ripley spectacularly
bucks the trend of the hysterical and helpless female who
requires rescuing by her burly male counterparts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1ExNj56TvU
 “She's not a sidekick, arm candy, or a damsel to be rescued.
Starting with Alien, Ripley was a fully competent member of
a crew or ensemble — not always liked and sometimes
THE ROLE OF RIPLEY disrespected, but doing her job all the same.”
IN THE FILM John Scalzi, 2011.

When we first meet Ripley, she’s just as petty and aggrieved as

the rest of the just-awakened Nostromo crew. Her actions very
nearly save the crew of the spacecraft towards the end of the
film’s first act.
She’s curious and brash and outspoken, unafraid of voicing her
opinion to either Dallas or Ash in the midst of the chaos that has
set the Nostromo alight.
Scott takes his time letting on what the real star of the film is, and
you’d be correct to spend the first hour or so of “Alien” thinking Fig 8: Ripley’s escape scene [still]
that it’s Captain Dallas. But as the rest of the crew is spirited away
by the alien creature, Ripley becomes a leader who is forced into
a heroic position. And through her missed placed maternal
instincts manages to escape.
THE ROLE OF RIPLEY
MARTIN ROBY: THE ORIGINAL RIPLEY

• Ripley’s character was original written as a male lead by screen writer, Dan
O’Bannon, however Fox and director Ridley Scott completed the idea of making
Ripley a woman, which later came about in the final version.
• The character that would become Warrant Officer Ripley was at first known as
Martin Roby. He still had the job of being the ship’s executive officer and was
described in the script as being ‘cautious but intelligent- a survivor’ which shows
no real difference from the Ripley we know and love. Many of his scenes are
carried over to the final movie.
• O’Bannon made Ripley a male lead as he said “Having pretty women as the main
characters was a real cliché of horror movies, and I wanted to stay away from that.
So I made up the character of Ripley”.

Fig 9: Alien script

THE ROLE OF RIPLEY

• The fact that they haven’t changed the script much from its original male
lead, allowed the final Ripley to keep her masculinity and intelligent.
• Diverting from the norms that surrounded the female leads in most films In
the past, it has paved the way for new characteristic for future female leads
to emerge.
• The film not keeps Ripley’s feminine side but it also shows how woman can
be muscular in nature and shows how they play a man’s role in films. Fig 10: Ellen Ripley (Alien 1979)
 Fig.11

“ALIEN” INFLUENCE ON FUTURE FILMS

Ellen Ripley was a female role that re-defined the heroine role for movies to come,
having female actresses to be like Ripley ‘a breath of fresh air in franchises dominated
by men’{fig.2} by being able to defend themselves and survive, doing the same things
that their male protagonists counterparts do. For example, Mad Max’s: Imperator
Furiosa [played by Charlize Theron] or star wars; Rey [played by Daisy Ridley] are only
just a couple of examples of modern day Ripley’s, female leads that are strong within
their films despite genre, shown by way of personality as well as physical strength. fig.12

Fig.13
WHAT MAKES A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER

What makes a strong female lead that we come to known to today is not the physical abilities of the
character but their ability to rise to meet the challenges imposed on by the environment in their own
particular way relying on intuition, intellect and personal values to guided them out of sticky situations;
like Katniss from “The Hunger Games trilogy” and Tris “Divergent series” for example.

Fig.14
Fig.15
WHAT OTHER FEMALE LEADS HAVE IN
COMMON TO RIPLEY
Intellect

instincts Physical ability

Ripley
Misplaced maternal
instincts

Bland Making said character

Clothing seem unimportant
How Rey and Furiosa create a modern
Fipley female lead arc type
After the release of the alien film Ripley gave a new meaning to the female leads
for the film of her particular era, the reason why she stood out was because all
that happened in the movie was required for a male role but was later adapted
slightly for Sigourney Weaver to show that the female lead can have bland
clothing and still posses the characteristics to lead the movie though will qualities
of restraint emotion/intellect/Physical ability/ Misplaced maternal instincts.
Rey and Furiosa are a slightly different story compared to Ripley as they weren’t
giving a simple start and hold a fair few similarities to Ripley but Rey ,for example
is more reserved compared to Furiosa while having a slight anger problem,
“seeking redemption”, for things that she did in the past. While Rey is reserved
trying to find her place in the universe that she knows.
Both leads share a fair few similar qualities towards Ripley but at the sometime
are fundamentally different to her , getting more of an empathetic vote.
CONCLUSION

• Overall, feminism has had a big impact on the world and how women are treated in all aspects of
society.
• Over the course of the film industry woman's roles have changed from been overly feminine to
independent and impowering.
• The role of Ripley showed the 1970s film industry not only that Woman can be more then supporting
roles but that they could also play in more prominent part roles in films.
• Alien was the catalyst for the evaluation of the female lead in the modern era.
 ILLUSTRATION BIBLIOGRAPHY
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