Day 13 : Alien

"What could be more "foreign" than the concept of the alien, and its representation of humanity's deepest fears? Elaine Scarratt, author of a forthcoming book on the Alien quadriology, considers the symbolic and psychological meanings and cultural impact of the aliens of Scott, Cameron, Fincher and Junet, and how they are constructed for audiences." Reading an article about the concept of aliens and the sci fi/Horror hybrid Alien, made me learn a lot about how I could subvert my characters in my trailer, but also the history of the word alien.

Here's a wordle of words which are synonyms to alien.

What stood out the most in the"Fear and Fascination" article by Elaine Scarratt: 

• "Otherness" relates to aliens as in social sciences it's defined as those within society who are excluded, as they do not fit in to mainstream culture. This relates to the research of Edward Said, as he found in Orientalism (1978) western societies "othered" people in the east to maintain control over them. Naturally humans exclude those who're different, however what can they do when they can't control what's new and different.

• Sci-fi/Alien Horror films often are set in a place which is isolated or somewhere which is unexplored. This is extremely similar to other hybrids of Horror like slasher as they're often set in isolated places too. Sci fi differs only because the main protagonists would venture to somewhere dark, new outerspace which then is inhabited with creatures.

• Ripley the second female on board of the spaceship subverts the victimized female character you see in Horror, however she fulfills another stereotype. Ripley is masculine, 6 foot tall and androgynous. From a feminist perspective I've noticed that in movies, when a woman is intelligent and has heroic traits she has to be manly or masculine. She could not be extremely feminine and still be intelligent, which is why as a feminist I don't see the point of subverting if you're going to create another stereotype which limits women. 

• One of the most shocking aspects of Alien is the rape and impregnation of Kane. Kane is violated by a face hugger for its mission to produce and persevere its species. Conventionally men aren't associated with rape, which is why it has a larger impact and is more shocking to the audience.

Previously I hadn't watched Sci-fi Horror films which is why I thought it would be important to gain a perspective of what conventions they follow.