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Did Ridley Scott's "Alien" break any sexual cinematic moulds? Yes, the movie provided its audience with a woman who was strong enough to overcome the horrific and xenomorphic obstacle without the help of a man; likewise the titular alien presented a threat more aimed at masculinity femininity. First of all John Hurt's character, Kane, is quite literally raped and impregnated, the resultant birth killing him; then the sole male level-headed crewmember is discovered to be a corporate-planted android.

However, one could also look at the aesthetics of the movie (the alien was designed by H R Giger and resembles a kind of biomechanical phallus) and conclude that the tale is highly misogynistic with themes of manhood chasing womanhood down.

But as we all know it is the woman, Ripley, who comes out on top.

Horror and science fiction have always been rife with misogynistic themes because they have been created by people living in misogynistic times; one only has to glance at the anti-heroes of slasher films to see that Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger and even Jigsaw of the recent Saw movies are all male; meanwhile the majority of their victims are female.

Why?

Because men write these movie scripts and men design them.

Yes, I appreciate that times are changing and (not a moment too soon) we are seeing strong female protagonists but the fact still remains that feminine input has always been at a low in the field of horror and science fiction movies.

Characters such as Ripley (Alien), Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) and Alice (Resident Evil) suggest a shift toward empowered women capable of all the unreasoned aggression and violence that men are so stereotypically capable of.

So here's to the lack of sexual difference that was championed by Ridley Scott in the movie Alien. Here's to a world where women are just as barbaric as the men while still clinging to a sexually unequal illusion of feminine grandeur.

However, Alien is just a film. It's a good movie, a great movie (and one of my favourites) but a movie all the same and one that has about as much reflection on our current sexual-political climate as it does our current racial-political climate (i.e. none). Don't get me wrong; if female science fiction, fantasy and horror fans are spurred on in their endeavour towards true equality by the adventures of fictitious heroic women as opposed to those of fictitious heroic men then so be it.

However, instead of Ellen Ripley and her kind, wouldn't characters (and actual people) such as Emmeline Pankhurst and Ayn Rand be better role models?

Learn more about this author, Richie Caldicott.
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