Alien

alien. a metaphor for rape and bodily violation. a film that progressively depicts males as victims, attacked by an antagonist whose autonomy mirrors that of a phallus, with non-consensual penetration and forced pregnancy, a reality for many women, both acting as horror elements. ripley becomes the final survivor - the perfect female lead who is constantly overlooked by the male crew. the quarantine procedure she advocates for mirrors the cautions women must take to stay safe. by the men rejecting that, the danger was let in, killing all but ripley, who used intellect and strength to overcome the enemy, whilst still embracing feminine emotions without weakening her character, such as her love for her pet and her moments of crying of course ripley was not completely safe from sexualisation. her wearing underwear (that seems to be falling down!) in the final scene is a sign that despite efforts to place women as empowering feminist leads, the concern for the male gaze and efforts to sexualise women had not yet been defeated. weaver and scott even discussed ideas to have a quasi-sex scene in this moment, as the alien was ‘intrigued by the soft pinkness of her’, wanting him to be ‘that intelligent that it kind of turned him on’. however, as the alien is a symbol of rape and violation, this scene would not have been the progressive moment hoped for, but instead would have turned ripley into another exploited victim, or just another a female horror character that cannot exist without being sexualised.