This. She wasnt a natural leader even on nostromo the crew under her were less than stellar towards her, The events she faced and having to overcome the danger is what shaped her into a good leader. "poor leaders are manufactured, Real leaders are forged in fire"
@@_NutcasE_ by the way she was an 2nd in command on her ship and a certified officer. So it's not a miracle story on how an waitress instantly becomes leader, general, fighter and survivor just because she is a chosen one or wasn't allowed to become one by oppressor
@@RaquelRendon-qf8peRei was never ever seen as vulnerable or frightened. She never grew as a person or had to overcome her inner demons and fears. Which are all the things that make great movie characters inspirational to the common man (or woman) - they're relatable. We can see ourselves in them. Unless you're an AI Bot, nobody can relate to Rei.
Actually Ripley was not offended by the sex talk at the dinner table.. that look on her face was fear because at that point she knows that the Marines are not taking the mission seriously and they think its a big joke.. and she knows shes the only one who is aware they are probably all going to die.
First time heard that conversation, I'd say I agree with your point. She's mostly worried about how these Marines took this as one easy mission. That's all, not about the sexual jokes on the table.
What I like about Ellen Ripley is that she's vulnerable. She shows fear. She's /human/. She knows what this thing can do, they killed her crew. Her wounds from Nostromo are still there and it shows. She's one of the most realistic sci-fi heroes.
She understood her physical limitations. She wasn't taking on guys double her size and used her wits rather than her physicality to reach her goals. She uses the loader to defeat the Alien Queen where the Marines would have just fired at her. She's similar in that regard to Sarah Connor another character which male audiences loved. She also had to overcome get physical limitations by working out a lot and even then she uses a broken broom stick to break the guard's nose to overpower him because she knew that even being much more muscular than in the first movie that he was probably still much stronger than her. Female leads have another obstacle to overcome and that's why it's so satisfying to see her succeed. But today's movies write women like a less imposing Rambo which really makes it hard to suspend your disbelief.
Ripley is one of the best example of a character who finds the strength to face the problems put before her. Like Jesse Ventura's character Blaine's line " I aint got time to bleed" Ripley def doesn't have time to let the trauma of the first film rule her. Remember, Ripley was not only at threat of being killed by the Xenomorph, she survived nearly being asphyxiated by Android Ashe malfunction.
Ripley is admired because we see her go from a traumatized survivor at the beginning of the film to a take-charge leader who does her damndest to save everyone under her command. Most recent films have 'strong women' characters never suffer a weakness or have to deal with trauma so it's hard to empathize with someone who never shows weakness.
I remember sitting in a coaching group in 1997 and one woman was asked who was her role model for a strong woman. She answered: "Ripley". Everybody understood.
@@markmullins5822 Not sure what you're going on about here. But 1) Evolution doesn't exist and 2) Women can be whatever God wants them to be. I think it's a bit sexist of you to suggest otherwise. There's plenty of women in history that did far more than just be a mother and a homemaker - although those are worthy things also.
such a real scene. the courage to go get Newt, the odds you'd face heading into the nest...she steadies herself and finds resolve. A great show of strength.
Ever since I was a kid, I've always thought Vazquez was kind of a War Goddess. And Ripley the kind of woman I wanted to be as an adult. I'm an adult and nowhere near to be like her. I'm still scared of roaches!
Hudson, played by Bill Paxton, is not a coward, or falsely posturing. He is a good soldier that does his job before and even in the thick of a battle. He doesn't panic during first contact with the xenomorphs. He supports his fellow marines, kicks ass, and helps get everyone to safety. In the second battle he is also right there with everyone else holding his ground until he is dragged down into the subfloor, continuing to shoot until he is pulled away from everyone. he doesn't actually crumble after the first mission until they are safely away and licking their wounds. It's known as an adrenaline dump. It's not until he has time to think about what just happened that he feels defeated. Hudson is an awesome character. And I'm tired of everyone missing how important he is, and dragging his name through the mud.
I absolutely love Hudson in this movie - he has a couple scenes where he lets his emotions get the better of him (I mean who wouldn't given the horrors he saw) but then he does his job.
I always thought that Hudson was a leader (perhaps a Cpl/Sergeant) at one point, but was demoted to Pfc. May have had to do with his asking Lt. Gorman: "How do I get out of this chicken-shit outfit?"
Well, if I took movies seriously, the one thing I learned from this series (from Alien to AVP) is to not follow the lead of a woman in such circumstances. The female lead characters always got darn near every man (and woman) they came into contact with killed. I'd prefer to live.
I also feel that Vasquez is underrated from a feminist stand-point. She is very strong, she fights back when someone makes fun of her (see the "ever been mistaken for a man" scene) and she is focused. But at the same time, she doesn't push any kind of agenda and shows emotion when needed. So it's not the movie that's telling us constantly how much of a badass she is, but rather her actions. Despite all the labels thrown against men that don't enjoy modern feminist movies, their criticism can be boiled down to one simple sentence "make a good movie, not a political statement", which is why movies like Aliens, Terminator 2 and Alita have been embraced.
Cancer Söze he means as in Alita was embraced by people because it didn’t force the issue. It came out the same time as Capitan Marvel if you recall. CM forced the issue, going as far as the main actress chastising everyone. The girl who played Alita did a good job and didn’t push any agendas.
Interestingly, in rewatching T2 though, I felt Sarah Connor was less role model, more batshit crazy. Seriously unstable. She is strong, but not on the level.
You’re very stupid. All of those movies you mentioned have political statements. Alien movies have political statements about feminism. Terminator and Akita are anti capitalist movies. You guys have very low IQ
Well done. I happened to mention this ("Aliens" and Ripley in this context) to someone recently. Her character was appreciated LONG before we had to be force fed some female character and told how strong they are (AKA Captain Marvel as a recent example, or female Ghost Busters). She was a well written and portrayed role that everyone could appreciate, overcame her demons and got her hands dirty and did what she had to. She earned respect, never played a gender card, and overcame being an outsider to the other sub-group, the Marines.
Being force fed some female character is all about what you watch, though. And how you interpret what you're watching. I viewed The Sopranos, The Wire, Justified and Breaking Bad for the last two decades and didn't come across any "force fed" narratives about women or anything even remotely upon those lines. So, while I get your point, I don't really see much evidence of it in Hollywood. Ghostbusters remake? Come on, huh...
Aliens literally becomes about a war between mothers in it's final act. "Ripley V's The Queen Alien". Ripley and the Queen's whole arc can be said to be leading up to that point. Ripley is discovered floating in space and brought into a big spaceship, Ripley awakens, to discover her child has grown old and died without her, is sent to the outpost, "adopts" Newt, encounters the Alien Queen, kills both her born and unborn children and destroys her ability to lay more eggs, rescues Newt from Queen, shoots Queen out of a big spaceship and into space.
Ripley is so good because she's a strong and beautiful woman but she is still vulnerable and human and relatable. She's not a totally unbelievable Mary Sue and she does not go out of her way to emasculate and humiliate the men around her.
This is the kind of video that always brings a massive grin to my face. Movies nowadays have forgotten that makes us love and look up to heroes like Ripley
Ripley wasn't offended by the laddish table talk, she was confused and maybe annoyed that her own personal nightmare is seen as just another mission / booty call for the marines.
4:02 Rey from the new Star Wars trilogy is the epitome of the Mary Sue character, perfect in every way without having to ever earn what she has. Just exist in the movie and you're gold. Ripley feels real because we see her reach for and earn everything she achieves.
That and the fact that Ripley comes up with resourceful ways to overcome the odds in any given situation instead of just having the script dumb down every other enemy so the female hero can just beat them up. Nothing takes me out of a scene quicker than having to watch something that is so blatantly ridiculous and unrealistic that it borders on absurd. And yes, Rey just being great from the start was one of the most annoying things about that movie. Ripley is still the gold standard for how to do a female empowerment movie character properly. She wasn't stronger physically then men, she didn't lecture the men, she was smart and resourceful and courageous. She came up with practical solutions that showed ingenuity.
You touched on Hicks briefly, but as I was watching this, I felt that Hicks is also a prime example of true masculinity. Maybe a sequel video on the subject? Love your work, Rob!
@@fredjones554He also has the capacity to be gentle. In the Special Edition, when Ripley first arrives at the station, he notices her hesitation and gently encourages her to come inside. Then, when she’s driving the APC, he gets her to “ease down” when they get clear.
AND Vasquez!!! She was the front line soldier in marines and in control room battle, she was the one securing the evac routine for others confronting aliens by her own sacrificing her life.
When I was a kid, Ellen Ripley was the coolest hero ever. Not female hero...hero, period. Gender has never been a thing for me in terms of movie, comic book or computer game heroes. Now recently it has kind of been thrust upon me with gender being oh so important and I hate that shit.
Well, if I took movies seriously, the one thing I learned from this series (from Alien to AVP) is to not follow the lead of a woman in such circumstances. The female lead characters always got darn near every man (and woman) they came into contact with killed. I'd prefer to live.
Oh yea by faaaaar she was my #1 movie hero! I loves how "normal" and grounded her character was and like Rob said, she has no suoer powers and the like...normal people doing extraordinary things in extrordinary circumstances is always a win!....and really scratching my head over Cameron citting put the scene where she finds out her daughter died at age 66 or something....that was a powerful scene that gave Ripley even more emotional baggage that she overcome as a mother or even just as a human ya know....cutting that scene is still a head scratcher to me. Gotta go search for commentary in why he cut that scene out.
@@damiantirado9616 No, I'm saying the way Rey from the new Starwars is crap! Ellen Ripley is one of my all time favorite protagonists! Not just female protagonist either... simply one of the coolest characters in all of movie history IMHO!
"If you took a handful of average men off the street and put them in charge of corporate boardrooms, you'd get very different results than you do with the kinds of men who seek those positions." Bravo! Yes! And that's why Aliens is also a great movie about social class as well.
The ten points: 1. 1:14 Leads men by positive example 2. 4:02 Believable attributes 3. 6:23 Acknoledges the importance of masculinity 4. 7:10 Doesn't play the victim 5. 8:41 Looks natural 6. 9:33 Dresses practically 7. 9:47 Embraces motherhood 8. 13:44 Appreciates a decent man 9. 15:00 Doesn't lecture endlessly about moral superiority 10. 16:25 Fights corruption and danger, not men
It never had a feminism agenda. It's just an absolutely outstanding action movie which was blind to masculinity or feminism. just a bunch of great characters designed to be survivors, led by a great Director with awesome vision.
Very true. That's what's great about it from a Feminist side-perspective with honourable intentions as opposed to movies these days which tend to go out of their way to push their agenda, often at the expense of the quality of the film.
@@MsLouisVee Nobody is saying is does; in fact, if you actually *_read_* the first 6 words of the original post, it states: *"It never had a feminism agenda.”* The next 2 words in the next comment below state: *”Very true.”*
God I miss what Bill Paxton brought to a movie/tv role. And such he's a huge part of why I love Aliens so much, films rarely get this close to absolute perfection. And I'd choose Ripley over Lara Croft, Wonder Woman or any other 'strong' female character. And now I think I'm going to have to dig it out and watch it again.
I first saw this movie when it came out when I was 12. It taught me that ordinary people thrown into dire situations can come out of them on top if they never give up and be resourceful. A lesson I carried well into adulthood even during my enlisted years. This same lesson always works well even in normal every day situations because as long as you never stop trying, pay attention to and use the resources you have instead of wishing for the ones you don't, you'll win.
I have always hated the forced "strong empowered female" caricature which is shoehorned into so many films, but Ripley has never bothered me at all, in fact she is likeable and believable. This video hits the nail on the head. I studied feminist film theory at University as part of my media course and remember how odd it seems that she isn't more celebrated by Feminist film critics - probably because she isn't always busting men's balls, isn't a lesbian, and never says any corny "girls rule boys drool" catchphrases
She won't be studied as a feminist icon in this movie because she isn't a feminist character. She is a female character who displays a lot of strong, intelligent and resourceful traits.
Not surprised at all, given how recently a writer for the Mary Sue, a Feminist site that critique pop culture, have only recently watched Alien. Which proves these bitches know nothing, have achieve nothing, and will never accomplish anything and so they pretend to be pioneers.
I don't get Femenists some times its like they want to be seen as desperate to even the demograhfic they intend to empower. If the whole point is to show that ladies are as good as dudes and showing the bad things some dudes do to them would'nt showing the main character having vulnrability be better. Surely women can empethize with a character more if they are beaten and vulnrable.
Also would'nt writing an unstoppable female protagonist be like the female equivelent of a male power fantasy that clearly some of these feminists hate.
When I saw this as a 8 year old, the fear and unfamiliarity with the weapons followed the audience with Ripley. Incredibly, you felt pissed off when Newt was taken and felt the "fuck this..." attitude from Ripley. The perfect action movie.
It was just YT's automated detection system, which tends to instantly block these days. Just took a few weeks for them to process and acknowledge my claim of Fair Use.
I wish I could like this video 10 times. You presented a lot of well-thought examples of what makes Ripley the female hero she is. Nothing but respect and admiration to that character and how Sygorney Weaver portrayed her.
Aliens is probably my favourite movie ever, for me the rescue scene was so good and I never thought about the fact that it was a woman being the hero, the only thing I thought was that she was doing the right thing and that was very satisfying, you can't help but to be on her side.
I still get goosebumps when that door rises and she comes out in the powersuit. Then there is the "c'mon!c'mon!" taunt which is just perfect. Never been bettered after all these years.
Believe or not a handful of people have commented on here that the slime the guy touches in the dropship is alien slime and not semen. Lol. For those of limited humour, rest assured my comment about it in the video was a joke. However the name of the guy who touches the slime is Spunkmeyer, which is either a hilarious scripting accident or a deliberate sexual innuendo. There are a handful of other sexual things in the film that are very hard to spot, but very definitely intended, suggesting Cameron didn't completely abandoned the sexual themes of the first movie. I'm saving those other details for another vid though. Thanks :) Additional: for the folks who keep saying it's James not Jim, you're aware my full name is Robert Ager, not Rob. Hahaha these comment sections are crazy at times. The things people focus on.
I always thought the character was a chronic masterbater, but the slime was alien slime and mistaken for semen. Because at that point, no one had encountered alien slime yet, so he assumed semen based in his experience up to that point.
Also James Cameron wrote the original draft for Spiderman ( the one that Rami would make) in that draft Parker wakes up covered in a white substance, it was definitely meant as innuendo
She sold her character in every way, absolute perfection in the art of acting, i'd even argue she got type cast from here on out in "Ripley Type" roles. Happens to great actors all the time, they do an amazing performance then the silly movie industry type casts them
There's nothing social justice about The Last Jedi. NOTHING. The people of color are slapped in place by white people, the women are just there to help men. And feminist want women to be treated as people with flaws, not whatever the hell Rian Johnson was doing. I'm sorry, but The Last Jedi and Lucasfilm really piss me off now; specially with their accusing everyone who hates their crappy racist movies of being "misogynistic"
@MakiPcr - "And they say SJWs are the ones who don't want to listen to different opinions" - Nah, whiny manbabies with a self imposed persecution complex take the cake on that one.
Wholesome, believable characters masterfully placed in a fictional setting. Aliens is such a great movie because it is based or rooted in believability and tugs at our sense of wonder. And it does so with such yin/yang balance.
I think Bishop saying 'not bad for a human' is more about her initial mistrust of Bishop after the Ash incident in 'Alien'. It was more of a witty compliment to her.
That was a great video! Not only Ripley's character, but Vasquez and Ferrell's characters are great examples as well. What I admire about Ferrell, right before she gets her head bitten off, instead of screaming in fear when she sees the alien come through the door, her first instinct is to go for her sidearm... that's hard core Marine training right there. Exemplified in the female body!!! One of the greatest movies ever!
Jim Cameron set me up for failure. I saw Aliens when I was like 6 or so, then T2, then Alien and Terminator, and I thought all the girls on the playground were just as badass and wanted to have play fights against xenomorphs. Come to find out, no girl thought about shooting a flamethrower.
MacCauley Crawford And that is why me and my brother always gave my god-daughter nerf guns, she got plenty of dolls from other people. We had great fun hunting trolls (not on internet, the real kind!). Usually the troll was my brother, which made it extra fun. Doesn't seem like we managed to cultivate another Ripley, but they were good times. :)
That "inspiring bit of military drum beats" is (at least inspired by) Gustav Holst's The Planets: Mars movement. That movement is also used when Ripley commandeered the APC to rescue the Marines from the reactor.
Check out my other vids on the Alien franchise too. There are lots of them ... 10 subliminal tricks in ALIEN ISOLATION (game analysis) czcams.com/video/YVMhZtQCVL0/video.html ALIEN - creature design - a visual analysis czcams.com/video/Y274MAueDdY/video.html ALIEN - symbolism of the space jockey / dead pilot czcams.com/video/dLXfJGYhzq8/video.html ALIEN - the corporate monster czcams.com/video/_7fn-QRVqe4/video.html PROMETHEUS - alien fetus removal / cesarean (scene analysis) czcams.com/video/f9pjji5nwdo/video.html Plus the following are available as downloads on my website ALIEN - Hypnotic by Design (2 hrs) ALIEN - The machinery of existence (90 min) Greatest Screen Villains - Ash in ALIEN (36 min) Chestburster scene analysis (27 min) Greatest screen heroes: The journey of Ellen Ripley in ALIEN & ALIENS (2hrs)
The 80s knew how to do movies right and there will never be another decade like the 80s again.The movies now are nothing more then politically correct SJW crap,And if you grew up in the 80s consider yourself damn lucky.What an awesome time it was.
I was just a little girl in the 1980s(born in December of 1983), but I agree that it was truly the best decade. While the 80s were certainly a great time to be a kid, I really wish I could have been older back then. I can only imagine how incredible it was to be about 18-21 years old in that decade. It also would have been great to have been old enough to chase my many crushes around(all men who just happened to be rock stars or actors at their prime in the 80s... Corporal Hicks and Private Hudson being two of them). I'm an old soul who was never really able to relate to fellow Millennials, hence I married a man 11 years my senior. Either way, I'm just very much grateful to have been able to experience the 1980s at all and have a plethora of rich and happy memories of it. 🥂 a toast to the best decade of all time...
Yeah but at least now, in whatever year this is, they're making movies with strong female leads although men don't accept them, because of the simple fact that they're women. I know my argument is base level but it just pisses me off how everybody acts like there's never been strong women characters before and that the only reason why men aren't accepting the 2016 Ghostbusters is because they're women.
My family loved this movie. Ripley was awesome w/out being sassy, arrogant, in your face, or having an agenda. She was smart, resourceful, brave, strong, got-the-job-done, not overly beautiful (I hate when women have perfect hair in the middle of fighting, etc.) while still being kind. She cared about others. She also risked her life many times. That’s the ultimate heroic act. It’s one thing if you were trained to do this, but her character wasn’t. No past learned skills to give her confidence in her abilities. Wish there were more movies like this today. I love movies with kick@ss women like Ellen Ripley. Much respect to the writers, directors, etc. who created such an amazing lady.
Thank GOD James Cameron didn't go with his original plan from the treatment to have Bishop betray Ripley. The 'twist' that he's indeed a good guy is such a great detail in the film.
I love the Bill Paxton character Hudson, as a complete contrast to Sigourny Weaver's Ripley strong, positive-minded, commanding character. Hudson, who's superficially superior to Ripley as a tough talking space marine, panics and falls apart almost immediately after alien contact. I think he's important because his frightened pessimistic attitude brings a very realistic aspect to the movie's theme that you really never see in action films. Ripley may be the character we most admire, but in reality most of us know that we would end up like Hudson if we faced of wave after wave of terrifying monster hoards that we know will cause us horrific death. Additionally, and ironically, Hudson actually has a more realistic assessment of the overall situation than others and of course announces the futile state in hilarious one liners.
The aliens in Alien and Aliens are most analogous to animals like Bears or Lions - humans have the upperhand in a physical fight as long as they have guns, and have nearly no chance when they lack guns. It was only the cramped and dark setting that gave the Aliens any kind of actual hope against the Marines. So much like a typical hunter of lions equipped with a high-powered rifle, there's no absolute need to be terrified, and no reason to think of Ripley as being the exception and Hudson the rule. Hudson's behavior would have been entirely rational if the Marines lacked access to guns.
Actually the subtext of the movie clearly demonstrates that the Aliens are the Vietcong (I believe Rob covers this topic in one of his previous videos). So the analogy not bears and lions, but a technologically inferior but determined hidden enemy of seemingly innumerable numbers attacking a clearly superior force and defeating it. If you have any doubt, let me quote James Cameron himself, “[The Space Marines] training and technology are inappropriate for the specifics, and that can be seen as analogous to the inability of the superior American firepower to conquer the unseen enemy in Vietnam: a lot of firepower and very little wisdom, and it didn’t work,”
There's more to the situation in the movie. Ripley was the final girl in Alien. In Aliens she starts the film afraid and having nightmares. Motherhood instinct kicks in when she finds Newt, but the moment she stops being a victim is when she takes charge of the APC to save the marines and becomes the badass we all know and love.
Another great thing about this movie is that the marines are both men and women, and this is never questioned or even commented on by anyone in the film.
I swear the scene that gets me the most pumped is when Ripley Gears up and descends into the Alien Hive alone for Newt. The Music,the countdown to detonation,the floor number descending,and finally when Ripley takes a few deep breaths to mentally prepare and calm her fear,before she opens her eyes like a Lioness preparing to defend her cubs.
This was sort of difficult to sit through. I enjoyed the way you broke down the characters and relationships in the film, particularly the reversal of the typical strong maternal bond developed between Riley and Newt, and the implicit trust the team places in Riley's leadership! But all feminists aren't evil, stupid, or quick to jump to baseless conclusions? There's extremists who hyper-react, which I won't dare to deny, but despite the heated topic it's become, feminism is simply the belief women and men are equal human beings, free to live the way best for their individual selves without having important life choices either imposed or taken away from them completely. The gap between genders is a constant problem for both males and females, as it sets up toxic expectations that cause stress and guilt in the parties not behaving the way they "should". It's unhelpful to keep throwing 'feminists' around as a catch-all for a vocal minority of a wide group of people, who live all sorts of different lives. I'm surprised something so unprofessional was such a crutch for this video. I don't think you meant harm. But it feels shallow, especially after all the other video essays of yours I've found very thoughtful and captivating. I'm a fan of your work and I typically can follow your logic, but I think you're taking a multi-layered issue that has been in cinema for decades and simplifying it a touch too much. It's an interesting angle, and I was excited by your introduction, but it's uncomfortably clear this man's opinion on a subject they have secondary knowledge of. I would encourage you to reach out and listen to women's opinions on what makes a female character resonate with them, as there are many, many reasons you just scratched the surface of. Best of luck to you.
12:42 Ripley is so scared for what she is about to face but sucks it up , this scene always stuck with me! This is my favorite movie of all time and you did a great job on this video. I didn't really notice fully how far her and hicks romance goes untill I hot older, when she is leaving to save newt they exchange first names and that was the climax of that subplot. Great point on #9 on how her heroism wasn't praised , it made it just feel more authentic!
I love the movie but don’t consider the gender of the main character being overtly important. The STORY is paramount and to say anything else is just delving into identity politics which is poisonous.
Sky Cinema now includes this trigger warning for Aliens "This film has outdated attitudes, language and cultural depictions which may cause offence today."
That’s why I love Firefly and Aliens. There is practically no such thing as male or female in those stories. We see the characters as people first with struggles and lives and hardships and it endures us to them far more than a power fantasy ever could.
Ripley was the militant mom in Aliens. That’s what made her so awesome. Plus her “nuke the entire site from orbit” was a way of getting to the point. Which men love.
The difference between aliens , terminator (Sarah connor) and other such films is the strong female characters were done brilliantly and not in a way that they were just trying to shove feminism down our throats like a lot of modern day films. Sarah connor in T2 Was an absolute beast just like Ripley by the end of aliens,well written well produced films that didn't feel like they were unnaturally trying to force you to like a female role.
Don't imagine, Feminists disown this movie and its strong women. I know this cause without knowing, in art school at university as a side course for points I took on a Gender Studies course for media (Though they called it something different to trick people like me, it was still gender studies, but it wasn't my major thank god) And since I was doing film and digital media as my major, I focused on strong women in the 80's films, mainly this one and at the end, my feminist lecturer complained and said "Ripley is portrayed as the "Mother" type and not a true independent hero. While Vasquez doesn't count because she was too androgynous and was made to look like a man in order to "Fit" in a man's world. So in the end, I gave up and said well, its clear how full of shit feminists really are, so, I gave up on them from that point on. What an insult to these fine strong action women from the 80's. No respect for them at all. Nor the path they helped create for action lead women of today.
Dt Sh Exactly. Feminists wake up on a daily basis thinking to themselves "What can I be angry and offended at today I wonder?" Nothing is ever good enough and no achievement is ever going to satisfy their needs. There is an endless, bottomless well that will never be filled. And the problem is, its starting to rub off on others who are now (Even myself included) becoming more and more pissed off seeing where shit is going and not even allowed to sneeze any more without someone thinking "It must have a hidden meaning of sexual placement from men."
Dan World Yep, she was. I had a few students come up to me afterwards and told me how much they actually liked my presentation, despite what Miss Gender Studies said.
When Gorman freaks out "Ripley...what the HELL ARE YOU DOING ?!" is absolutely classic. I do the same thing when I'm distracted with doing something and my toddler gets too quiet in another room.
Yes, the screenplay for "Aliens" was written by a man, however, one of the things that tends to get lost in shuffle about James Cameron's work is that everything that he made from "Terminator" up through "The Abyss" was produced by Gale Anne Hurd (she's got an "executive producer" on "Terminator 2", but I never know how much weight to lend to that particular tile). The two of them were even married from 1985 to 1989, and if I'm being honest, I do see a bit of a difference between the films for which she was present and the films that she wasn't. I'm not trying to take anything away from Cameron, (or diminish his subsequent work) but film being a collaborative medium (and the auteur theory being, if not bullshit, then highly suspect) means that his collaboration with Heard played a large roll in making Ripley who she is.
@@imnotatroll6301 No, Ripley in Alien was a generic horror movie final girl. She didn't have any defining characteristics beyond being "the last one to make it" until they wrote the script for Aliens.
Brilliant analysis as always. Ripley (or was it meant to be Ridley), Sarah Connor and Princess Leia from the original Star Wars movies were all great, strong female characters done really well that we all loved in my opinion (even if Princess Leia didn't wear underwear). The subliminal of Burke playing with her underwear is a great pick up that I never noticed.
It's a perfect movie which I watched again for the millionth time last week and as a 42 year old male I can say Ripley is the biggest badass of any movie I have watched. Love it and thank you Sigourney Weaver and James Cameron.
Absolutely agree! I have referenced Aliens many times for the very points you so well made. As a teenager, the first movie Alien, made a big impression on me when the male captain died. I was confused as to who was going to save the girl. Thought all was lost until she saved herself. Utterly shocking but totally believable. Too often today women are portrayed as men and in real life encouraged to be like men, all the while denouncing masculinity and motherhood/family. Cannot we promote career and family? Being truly strong has nothing to do with physical strength and Ripley personifies this forgotten example.
Ripley isn’t a “strong female character” she’s a strong character that happens to be female. That’s what modern movies aren’t doing, they make the fact it’s a female actor a huge part of their character and it just becomes cringeworthy with their referencing it all the time etc rather than just having the character be good and audience support it simply because it’s a well written character. Or they make the character ridiculously better at literally everything than everybody else which ruins a character no matter the gender.
This felt less like a movie critique and more like ranting against the author's views on feminism. I was disappointed, normally I quite enjoy this channel's movie critiques.
Thanks Rob for this very interesting video. ALIENS is a very complex and nuanced movie and it has a TON of meaning buried under trappings of a simple SF action flick (at least to me - and I am neither a cinephile nor have any education in the field). I have always seen it as an ode to middle class working man ethics. See how it portrays officers and corporate suits. Gorman is an educated man but he lacks field experience and it turns out to be a fatal flaw. Burke seems to be extremely cunning, but greed makes him stupid and shortsighted. He is unable to understand the true nature of their situation, even in the presence of overwhelming evidence. He can only think in terms of "dollar value". Burke is beyond redemption, and Gorman only redeems himself by truly embracing Marines' values - courage, teamwork, and ultimately self-sacrifice. ALIENS praises regular, middle class folks and the "common sense". We see Bishop dissecting the facehugger, but there are hints that science did not help the colonists - they tried to understand the enemy, only to be exterminated. Some enemies cannot be understood or negotiated with, you can only nuke them, shoot them to pieces, burn them to ash. In this aspect I believe that the movie is a product of its times, the Reagan Era. The cult of weaponry and firepower - no matter how monstrous the enemy is, how great the evil , you can always defeat them, as long as you have a gun (an example of this is Ripley destroying the nest in the queen scene). I believe that all of this is a very clever idea of Cameron to convey a socio-political message. Again, great video Rob and thank you very much.
As a woman, Ripley is actually my favorite character in any movie! Shes also a character I strive to be like, even though its hard to be just as mentally strong as she is. I love her so much! I'm so glad my fiance showed me this movie. I would watch it over and over, just to see ripley! On any bad day, any day I struggle, I think of her and even if the thing I struggle with don't get resolved, atleast the thought of her gives me comfort.
I love this video. Hits the nails, right at the spot. I grew up with Samus Aran and Ellen Ripley, and it shaped my view of kickass female characters. Just a shame that we can't really discuss things from any direction in modern times because you'll either be called a this or a that, left or right, etc. Modern times are so stupid..
Right on, great points. I grew up watching strong female leads in the 80s, not because they were women, but because they were the right person, right time, right morals, who when responsibility dropped on their shoulders they stood tall and delivered, not once do I see any virtu signalling. Just a well written character. Geez this will never be seen again in films, sad times, sjw rules the movie industry.
An additional Item I'm surprised you didn't mention. In the original script for Alien non of the crew's genders were specified. Rippley wasn't written as a man or a women but simple a person. Her being a women was merely a casting choice. That has a lot to do with why she is such a different and powerful feminist icon. Shame she is largely forgotten today along with other great examples of extremely well done badass feminist protagonists like Sarah Connor.
A responsible person, fix in her objectives, hard to offend, secure, very observative, allways learning, allways improving herself, trusting in her own judgement, doesnt need to scream about it or put down anyone. She has fear, she overcomes it, selfless, trust worthy, doesnt doubt to put her life on the line for others. That´s Ripley, thats a powerful character.
The movie didn't "tell" us Ripley was a born leader. It "showed" us, through her actions, and we never had a reason to question her.
This. She wasnt a natural leader even on nostromo the crew under her were less than stellar towards her, The events she faced and having to overcome the danger is what shaped her into a good leader. "poor leaders are manufactured, Real leaders are forged in fire"
@@_NutcasE_ by the way she was an 2nd in command on her ship and a certified officer. So it's not a miracle story on how an waitress instantly becomes leader, general, fighter and survivor just because she is a chosen one or wasn't allowed to become one by oppressor
The #1 rule of movie making.
Show, don’t tell.
yet when the same thing happened in star wars with a woman people freak out
@@RaquelRendon-qf8peRei was never ever seen as vulnerable or frightened. She never grew as a person or had to overcome her inner demons and fears.
Which are all the things that make great movie characters inspirational to the common man (or woman) - they're relatable. We can see ourselves in them.
Unless you're an AI Bot, nobody can relate to Rei.
Actually Ripley was not offended by the sex talk at the dinner table.. that look on her face was fear because at that point she knows that the Marines are not taking the mission seriously and they think its a big joke.. and she knows shes the only one who is aware they are probably all going to die.
Hmmm, possibly. We'd have to ask her.
That's a rad interpretation. Like it.
That's really the only interpretation that can be taken from that scene? If she's "offended" by anything it's their cavalier attitude.
I agree. Considering what Parker and Brett aboard the Nostromo used to talk about, this was tame.
First time heard that conversation, I'd say I agree with your point. She's mostly worried about how these Marines took this as one easy mission. That's all, not about the sexual jokes on the table.
What I like about Ellen Ripley is that she's vulnerable. She shows fear. She's /human/. She knows what this thing can do, they killed her crew. Her wounds from Nostromo are still there and it shows. She's one of the most realistic sci-fi heroes.
I agree and nice rhyme.
And she is at any moment ready to go out on her shield. She truly has a Heart of Steel.
She understood her physical limitations. She wasn't taking on guys double her size and used her wits rather than her physicality to reach her goals. She uses the loader to defeat the Alien Queen where the Marines would have just fired at her. She's similar in that regard to Sarah Connor another character which male audiences loved. She also had to overcome get physical limitations by working out a lot and even then she uses a broken broom stick to break the guard's nose to overpower him because she knew that even being much more muscular than in the first movie that he was probably still much stronger than her. Female leads have another obstacle to overcome and that's why it's so satisfying to see her succeed. But today's movies write women like a less imposing Rambo which really makes it hard to suspend your disbelief.
Ripley is one of the best example of a character who finds the strength to face the problems put before her. Like Jesse Ventura's character Blaine's line " I aint got time to bleed" Ripley def doesn't have time to let the trauma of the first film rule her. Remember, Ripley was not only at threat of being killed by the Xenomorph, she survived nearly being asphyxiated by Android Ashe malfunction.
Quite true.
Ripley is admired because we see her go from a traumatized survivor at the beginning of the film to a take-charge leader who does her damndest to save everyone under her command. Most recent films have 'strong women' characters never suffer a weakness or have to deal with trauma so it's hard to empathize with someone who never shows weakness.
Or waste time learning anything needed to do the job. But whjat do we pesky men know, right?
I remember sitting in a coaching group in 1997 and one woman was asked who was her role model for a strong woman. She answered: "Ripley". Everybody understood.
That's really awesome, I would have loved to have seen that!
Alexander Meneikis oh yeah!
Women are made to give birth and be homemakers, evolution and science proves this
@@markmullins5822 Not sure what you're going on about here. But 1) Evolution doesn't exist and 2) Women can be whatever God wants them to be. I think it's a bit sexist of you to suggest otherwise. There's plenty of women in history that did far more than just be a mother and a homemaker - although those are worthy things also.
@@whatheheck930 Prime example: Joan of Arc. Or how about Madame Curie?
Holy shit 32 years ago, this can't be happening man, this isn't happening.
Jay F Affirmative.
Jay F "Game over man,game over!"
Timi how do I get out of this chicken shit outfit?
"What is it, Hicks?"
"Hudson, sir...(gestures toward Hicks) he's Hicks!"
I'm afraid it is happening Jay, all of it. After I found out about the video, I figured you'd come here.
12:45 Ripley steeling herself before descending into hell might be the most powerful shot in cinematic history.
thanks for that, you're damn right... shivers!
Goddamn right!!
I love that scene...😔👍
such a real scene. the courage to go get Newt, the odds you'd face heading into the nest...she steadies herself and finds resolve. A great show of strength.
I LOVE that they let that scene breathe❤.
Ever since I was a kid, I've always thought Vazquez was kind of a War Goddess. And Ripley the kind of woman I wanted to be as an adult. I'm an adult and nowhere near to be like her. I'm still scared of roaches!
tbf almost no real person can amount to a Ripley
She's a bad ass in Aliens, and also very attractive (at least to me as a teen dripping with hormones). But she's actually an English actress iirc.
Hudson, played by Bill Paxton, is not a coward, or falsely posturing. He is a good soldier that does his job before and even in the thick of a battle. He doesn't panic during first contact with the xenomorphs. He supports his fellow marines, kicks ass, and helps get everyone to safety. In the second battle he is also right there with everyone else holding his ground until he is dragged down into the subfloor, continuing to shoot until he is pulled away from everyone. he doesn't actually crumble after the first mission until they are safely away and licking their wounds. It's known as an adrenaline dump. It's not until he has time to think about what just happened that he feels defeated.
Hudson is an awesome character. And I'm tired of everyone missing how important he is, and dragging his name through the mud.
TheeGoatPig a great analysis of a brilliant character.
I absolutely love Hudson in this movie - he has a couple scenes where he lets his emotions get the better of him (I mean who wouldn't given the horrors he saw) but then he does his job.
I always thought that Hudson was a leader (perhaps a Cpl/Sergeant) at one point, but was demoted to Pfc. May have had to do with his asking Lt. Gorman: "How do I get out of this chicken-shit outfit?"
I always assumed he was referring to the squad that he's in.
You secure that shit Hudson
This is one of the most balanced (and realistic) approaches to feminism and how it can be successfully incorporated in film I've ever seen.
It's egalitarian and promoting great qualities in *people*, not saying that women are superior species aka feminist.
Well, if I took movies seriously, the one thing I learned from this series (from Alien to AVP) is to not follow the lead of a woman in such circumstances. The female lead characters always got darn near every man (and woman) they came into contact with killed. I'd prefer to live.
You fucking morons have no idea what feminism is do you?
Feminism is NOT a hate movement you ignorant fucking imbecile.
@@philsurtees Wow, you've done a MARVELOUS job of proving that.
"Right to the wall!"
I also feel that Vasquez is underrated from a feminist stand-point.
She is very strong, she fights back when someone makes fun of her (see the "ever been mistaken for a man" scene) and she is focused. But at the same time, she doesn't push any kind of agenda and shows emotion when needed.
So it's not the movie that's telling us constantly how much of a badass she is, but rather her actions.
Despite all the labels thrown against men that don't enjoy modern feminist movies, their criticism can be boiled down to one simple sentence "make a good movie, not a political statement", which is why movies like Aliens, Terminator 2 and Alita have been embraced.
hey i love Bloodborne,but putting alita next to those legendary films is stupid
Cancer Söze he means as in Alita was embraced by people because it didn’t force the issue. It came out the same time as Capitan Marvel if you recall. CM forced the issue, going as far as the main actress chastising everyone. The girl who played Alita did a good job and didn’t push any agendas.
Interestingly, in rewatching T2 though, I felt Sarah Connor was less role model, more batshit crazy. Seriously unstable. She is strong, but not on the level.
You’re very stupid. All of those movies you mentioned have political statements.
Alien movies have political statements about feminism. Terminator and Akita are anti capitalist movies.
You guys have very low IQ
@@j.vinton4039 alita was a flop and captain marvel made a billion dollars. Looks like you’re in the minority.
Also alita is very anti capitalist
Well done. I happened to mention this ("Aliens" and Ripley in this context) to someone recently. Her character was appreciated LONG before we had to be force fed some female character and told how strong they are (AKA Captain Marvel as a recent example, or female Ghost Busters). She was a well written and portrayed role that everyone could appreciate, overcame her demons and got her hands dirty and did what she had to. She earned respect, never played a gender card, and overcame being an outsider to the other sub-group, the Marines.
Being force fed some female character is all about what you watch, though. And how you interpret what you're watching. I viewed The Sopranos, The Wire, Justified and Breaking Bad for the last two decades and didn't come across any "force fed" narratives about women or anything even remotely upon those lines. So, while I get your point, I don't really see much evidence of it in Hollywood. Ghostbusters remake? Come on, huh...
Aliens literally becomes about a war between mothers in it's final act. "Ripley V's The Queen Alien". Ripley and the Queen's whole arc can be said to be leading up to that point. Ripley is discovered floating in space and brought into a big spaceship, Ripley awakens, to discover her child has grown old and died without her, is sent to the outpost, "adopts" Newt, encounters the Alien Queen, kills both her born and unborn children and destroys her ability to lay more eggs, rescues Newt from Queen, shoots Queen out of a big spaceship and into space.
WallKenshiro and don't miss all the chess metaphors: two queens, bishop, the marines (pawns) etc.
pyenapple thank you. Can't believe I didn't notice that before, the film really is a timeless multi layered masterpiece.
Yea verily, thou speak'st the right.
pyenapple - Wow great observation. Never noticed it and I play chess!
Clash of cultures for survival.
"We're on an express elevator to hell, goin down" .RIP Bill Paxton
harnois75 erm no, just a tribute to a great actor in his greatest role
Game over, man. Game over.
@@starwarsroo2448
Greatest role?
You GOTTA see Frailty!
@@markb6295 Frailty is prety good, but his best acting is A Simple Plan for me
@@markb6295 greatest role is Hudson, one of my favourite performances in cinema
Bit of trivia the woman who played Vasquez is the same woman that was John Connors step mother in T2
woahh mind blown!
It is also the mother who is putting her children to sleep on James Cameron's Titanic. Like if you didn't noticed that!
@@ZoeyHuerta I know eh, she's a real been in the background forever actress
Jeanette Goldstein, if I am not mistaken.
AussieBlokeGordo and she played one of the soldiers in the last Matrix movie.
Ripley is so good because she's a strong and beautiful woman but she is still vulnerable and human and relatable. She's not a totally unbelievable Mary Sue and she does not go out of her way to emasculate and humiliate the men around her.
This is the kind of video that always brings a massive grin to my face.
Movies nowadays have forgotten that makes us love and look up to heroes like Ripley
Ripley wasn't offended by the laddish table talk, she was confused and maybe annoyed that her own personal nightmare is seen as just another mission / booty call for the marines.
I second that.
I third that.
4:02 Rey from the new Star Wars trilogy is the epitome of the Mary Sue character, perfect in every way without having to ever earn what she has. Just exist in the movie and you're gold.
Ripley feels real because we see her reach for and earn everything she achieves.
That and the fact that Ripley comes up with resourceful ways to overcome the odds in any given situation instead of just having the script dumb down every other enemy so the female hero can just beat them up. Nothing takes me out of a scene quicker than having to watch something that is so blatantly ridiculous and unrealistic that it borders on absurd. And yes, Rey just being great from the start was one of the most annoying things about that movie. Ripley is still the gold standard for how to do a female empowerment movie character properly. She wasn't stronger physically then men, she didn't lecture the men, she was smart and resourceful and courageous. She came up with practical solutions that showed ingenuity.
You touched on Hicks briefly, but as I was watching this, I felt that Hicks is also a prime example of true masculinity. Maybe a sequel video on the subject? Love your work, Rob!
He also demonstrates good leadership, coolness under fire, no hint of insecurity, happy to follow if a person demonstrates competence.
@@fredjones554He also has the capacity to be gentle. In the Special Edition, when Ripley first arrives at the station, he notices her hesitation and gently encourages her to come inside. Then, when she’s driving the APC, he gets her to “ease down” when they get clear.
AND Vasquez!!! She was the front line soldier in marines and in control room battle, she was the one securing the evac routine for others confronting aliens by her own sacrificing her life.
When I was a kid, Ellen Ripley was the coolest hero ever. Not female hero...hero, period. Gender has never been a thing for me in terms of movie, comic book or computer game heroes. Now recently it has kind of been thrust upon me with gender being oh so important and I hate that shit.
Hell, I duct taped 2 Super Soakers together just because Ripley looked so cool doing it...and I'm a guy.
^This, in a sense.
Samus Aran was my idol and as we all know, she is based on Ellen Ripley.
Super Metroid
Well, if I took movies seriously, the one thing I learned from this series (from Alien to AVP) is to not follow the lead of a woman in such circumstances. The female lead characters always got darn near every man (and woman) they came into contact with killed. I'd prefer to live.
Oh yea by faaaaar she was my #1 movie hero! I loves how "normal" and grounded her character was and like Rob said, she has no suoer powers and the like...normal people doing extraordinary things in extrordinary circumstances is always a win!....and really scratching my head over Cameron citting put the scene where she finds out her daughter died at age 66 or something....that was a powerful scene that gave Ripley even more emotional baggage that she overcome as a mother or even just as a human ya know....cutting that scene is still a head scratcher to me. Gotta go search for commentary in why he cut that scene out.
Burke: Ripley, I thought you'd be smarter than this.
Ripley: I'm happy to dissapoint you.
Incorruptible!
Burke is on my list of “worst cinematic villains.” Paul Reiser did a helluva job playing against type in that role.
"Most female leads are unbelievable"... I was immediately thinking the new starwars... what pieces of crap!
So it’s unbelievable that a woman can beat a man but magical force powers that can levitate things is believable?
@@damiantirado9616 No, I'm saying the way Rey from the new Starwars is crap! Ellen Ripley is one of my all time favorite protagonists! Not just female protagonist either... simply one of the coolest characters in all of movie history IMHO!
Could just as easily say Aliens is the greatest movie of all time and it'd be a fair argument
It's a contender
Collative Learning defo top 5. Funny I can't find a poo film on your analysis list tbh, maybe a few that ain't my faves but mostly the classics
Didn't he do an in-depth analysis of "The Story of Shit"?
The Roo Only if you have low standards.
It's tied with Terminator 2 in my mind and heart. Both by Cameron, both with what could be the most iconic female/feminist heroes ever.
"If you took a handful of average men off the street and put them in charge of corporate boardrooms, you'd get very different results than you do with the kinds of men who seek those positions." Bravo! Yes! And that's why Aliens is also a great movie about social class as well.
The ten points:
1. 1:14 Leads men by positive example
2. 4:02 Believable attributes
3. 6:23 Acknoledges the importance of masculinity
4. 7:10 Doesn't play the victim
5. 8:41 Looks natural
6. 9:33 Dresses practically
7. 9:47 Embraces motherhood
8. 13:44 Appreciates a decent man
9. 15:00 Doesn't lecture endlessly about moral superiority
10. 16:25 Fights corruption and danger, not men
It never had a feminism agenda. It's just an absolutely outstanding action movie which was blind to masculinity or feminism. just a bunch of great characters designed to be survivors, led by a great Director with awesome vision.
Very true. That's what's great about it from a Feminist side-perspective with honourable intentions as opposed to movies these days which tend to go out of their way to push their agenda, often at the expense of the quality of the film.
It never had a Feminist agenda. it was just an exciting action movie. Stop 🛑 trying To make it some thing it wasn’t sometimes a cigar is just a cigar
@@MsLouisVee
Nobody is saying is does; in fact, if you actually *_read_* the first 6 words of the original post, it states: *"It never had a feminism agenda.”*
The next 2 words in the next comment below state: *”Very true.”*
God I miss what Bill Paxton brought to a movie/tv role. And such he's a huge part of why I love Aliens so much, films rarely get this close to absolute perfection. And I'd choose Ripley over Lara Croft, Wonder Woman or any other 'strong' female character. And now I think I'm going to have to dig it out and watch it again.
I watched Big Love just because it had Bill Paxton in it. He finally got a bit more screen time. Along with Harry Dean Stanton from Alien!
“You’re dogmeat, pal!”😁
Gal Gadot is alright as Wonder Woman.. Well until the second movie..
Captan Marvel on the other hand is vomit.
This was just his second movie after Weird Science
I first saw this movie when it came out when I was 12. It taught me that ordinary people thrown into dire situations can come out of them on top if they never give up and be resourceful. A lesson I carried well into adulthood even during my enlisted years. This same lesson always works well even in normal every day situations because as long as you never stop trying, pay attention to and use the resources you have instead of wishing for the ones you don't, you'll win.
I have always hated the forced "strong empowered female" caricature which is shoehorned into so many films, but Ripley has never bothered me at all, in fact she is likeable and believable. This video hits the nail on the head. I studied feminist film theory at University as part of my media course and remember how odd it seems that she isn't more celebrated by Feminist film critics - probably because she isn't always busting men's balls, isn't a lesbian, and never says any corny "girls rule boys drool" catchphrases
She won't be studied as a feminist icon in this movie because she isn't a feminist character. She is a female character who displays a lot of strong, intelligent and resourceful traits.
Not surprised at all, given how recently a writer for the Mary Sue, a Feminist site that critique pop culture, have only recently watched Alien. Which proves these bitches know nothing, have achieve nothing, and will never accomplish anything and so they pretend to be pioneers.
I don't get Femenists some times its like they want to be seen as desperate to even the demograhfic they intend to empower.
If the whole point is to show that ladies are as good as dudes and showing the bad things some dudes do to them would'nt showing the main character having vulnrability be better.
Surely women can empethize with a character more if they are beaten and vulnrable.
Also would'nt writing an unstoppable female protagonist be like the female equivelent of a male power fantasy that clearly some of these feminists hate.
Movie critic: "Oh Rambo is bad because he is a generic action man but Rey is clearly the superiorly written character."
When I saw this as a 8 year old, the fear and unfamiliarity with the weapons followed the audience with Ripley.
Incredibly, you felt pissed off when Newt was taken and felt the "fuck this..." attitude from Ripley.
The perfect action movie.
Unblocked at last :)
Collative Learning what was their reason?.
Why on earth did they block you?
Movicol, works every time👉💩👏👏👏
Congrats :)
It was just YT's automated detection system, which tends to instantly block these days. Just took a few weeks for them to process and acknowledge my claim of Fair Use.
We still love you, and we miss you, Bill Paxton!
Amen
Bit of a ledge, lets be fair
@Bell I think so, not certain.
I wish I could like this video 10 times. You presented a lot of well-thought examples of what makes Ripley the female hero she is. Nothing but respect and admiration to that character and how Sygorney Weaver portrayed her.
Aliens is probably my favourite movie ever, for me the rescue scene was so good and I never thought about the fact that it was a woman being the hero, the only thing I thought was that she was doing the right thing and that was very satisfying, you can't help but to be on her side.
Definitely by far my favorite Sci-fi action horror film
It definetly took inspiration from Them.
Greatest feminism movie of all time.....mostly
Game over woman, game over!
Only at night, mostly...
The Roo 😂😂😂😂😂
This little youtuber survived with no weapons, and no training...
davidsirmons ahahaha
I mostly comment at night .. Mostly.
Awesome video, really enjoyed it.
I mostly eat pizza at night ... mostly.
@AvidGamer
😂😂🤣
Top three feminist movies: Aliens, Terminator II, and of course, Silence of the Lambs.
I'm a gen xer who learnt female equity from this series.
She's feminine, vulnerable and genuine. A true survivor.
Great video, I agree.
I still get goosebumps when that door rises and she comes out in the powersuit. Then there is the "c'mon!c'mon!" taunt which is just perfect. Never been bettered after all these years.
Believe or not a handful of people have commented on here that the slime the guy touches in the dropship is alien slime and not semen. Lol. For those of limited humour, rest assured my comment about it in the video was a joke. However the name of the guy who touches the slime is Spunkmeyer, which is either a hilarious scripting accident or a deliberate sexual innuendo. There are a handful of other sexual things in the film that are very hard to spot, but very definitely intended, suggesting Cameron didn't completely abandoned the sexual themes of the first movie. I'm saving those other details for another vid though. Thanks :)
Additional: for the folks who keep saying it's James not Jim, you're aware my full name is Robert Ager, not Rob. Hahaha these comment sections are crazy at times. The things people focus on.
I dunno that the yanks are acquainted with the word spunk for semen too much, but yeah it's amusing
I always thought the character was a chronic masterbater, but the slime was alien slime and mistaken for semen. Because at that point, no one had encountered alien slime yet, so he assumed semen based in his experience up to that point.
I'll watch it!
Also James Cameron wrote the original draft for Spiderman ( the one that Rami would make) in that draft Parker wakes up covered in a white substance, it was definitely meant as innuendo
I’ve been to Linda Hamilton’s house. She lives in my neighborhood in New Orleans. She calls him Jim. It’s fine. Lol.
2:21 Hudson had a moment of happiness when she suggests nuking the whole place, lol.
"F*cking A!"
She sold her character in every way, absolute perfection in the art of acting, i'd even argue she got type cast from here on out in "Ripley Type" roles.
Happens to great actors all the time, they do an amazing performance then the silly movie industry type casts them
Maybe cause Ripley and Vasquez were both REAL bad ass people no matter the gender and not badly written Mary Sue like Rey from Social justice Wars
There's nothing social justice about The Last Jedi. NOTHING. The people of color are slapped in place by white people, the women are just there to help men. And feminist want women to be treated as people with flaws, not whatever the hell Rian Johnson was doing.
I'm sorry, but The Last Jedi and Lucasfilm really piss me off now; specially with their accusing everyone who hates their crappy racist movies of being "misogynistic"
And they say SJWs are the ones who don't want to listen to different opinions
@MakiPcr - "And they say SJWs are the ones who don't want to listen to different opinions" - Nah, whiny manbabies with a self imposed persecution complex take the cake on that one.
LOL @ social justice wars, well said.
yes, because Luke and Anakin Skywalker were such rich characters by comparison
Wholesome, believable characters masterfully placed in a fictional setting. Aliens is such a great movie because it is based or rooted in believability and tugs at our sense of wonder. And it does so with such yin/yang balance.
I think Bishop saying 'not bad for a human' is more about her initial mistrust of Bishop after the Ash incident in 'Alien'. It was more of a witty compliment to her.
When newt says Mommy and grabs Ripley. Always gets me chocked up
That was a great video! Not only Ripley's character, but Vasquez and Ferrell's characters are great examples as well. What I admire about Ferrell, right before she gets her head bitten off, instead of screaming in fear when she sees the alien come through the door, her first instinct is to go for her sidearm... that's hard core Marine training right there. Exemplified in the female body!!! One of the greatest movies ever!
Jim Cameron set me up for failure. I saw Aliens when I was like 6 or so, then T2, then Alien and Terminator, and I thought all the girls on the playground were just as badass and wanted to have play fights against xenomorphs. Come to find out, no girl thought about shooting a flamethrower.
MacCauley Crawford I dunno plenty of them have pointed weapons at me over the years, flamethrowers included on multiple occasions XD
MacCauley Crawford And that is why me and my brother always gave my god-daughter nerf guns, she got plenty of dolls from other people. We had great fun hunting trolls (not on internet, the real kind!). Usually the troll was my brother, which made it extra fun.
Doesn't seem like we managed to cultivate another Ripley, but they were good times. :)
MacCauley Crawford
Are we twins who were separated at birth?
LOL, I'm a girl I legit played marines vs xenomorphs as a kid! xD
I've seen my fair share of M41A Pulse Rifles as well bruh.
That "inspiring bit of military drum beats" is (at least inspired by) Gustav Holst's The Planets: Mars movement.
That movement is also used when Ripley commandeered the APC to rescue the Marines from the reactor.
Check out my other vids on the Alien franchise too. There are lots of them ...
10 subliminal tricks in ALIEN ISOLATION (game analysis) czcams.com/video/YVMhZtQCVL0/video.html
ALIEN - creature design - a visual analysis czcams.com/video/Y274MAueDdY/video.html
ALIEN - symbolism of the space jockey / dead pilot czcams.com/video/dLXfJGYhzq8/video.html
ALIEN - the corporate monster czcams.com/video/_7fn-QRVqe4/video.html
PROMETHEUS - alien fetus removal / cesarean (scene analysis) czcams.com/video/f9pjji5nwdo/video.html
Plus the following are available as downloads on my website
ALIEN - Hypnotic by Design (2 hrs)
ALIEN - The machinery of existence (90 min)
Greatest Screen Villains - Ash in ALIEN (36 min)
Chestburster scene analysis (27 min)
Greatest screen heroes: The journey of Ellen Ripley in ALIEN & ALIENS (2hrs)
The 80s knew how to do movies right and there will never be another decade like the 80s again.The movies now are nothing more then politically correct SJW crap,And if you grew up in the 80s consider yourself damn lucky.What an awesome time it was.
I was just a little girl in the 1980s(born in December of 1983), but I agree that it was truly the best decade. While the 80s were certainly a great time to be a kid, I really wish I could have been older back then. I can only imagine how incredible it was to be about 18-21 years old in that decade. It also would have been great to have been old enough to chase my many crushes around(all men who just happened to be rock stars or actors at their prime in the 80s... Corporal Hicks and Private Hudson being two of them). I'm an old soul who was never really able to relate to fellow Millennials, hence I married a man 11 years my senior. Either way, I'm just very much grateful to have been able to experience the 1980s at all and have a plethora of rich and happy memories of it. 🥂 a toast to the best decade of all time...
Couldn't agree more. Aliens is in my top five films, along with Bladerunner, both setting benchmarks for future releases. Amazing decade.
No greater truth brother - my decade.
Yeah but at least now, in whatever year this is, they're making movies with strong female leads although men don't accept them, because of the simple fact that they're women. I know my argument is base level but it just pisses me off how everybody acts like there's never been strong women characters before and that the only reason why men aren't accepting the 2016 Ghostbusters is because they're women.
I agree. Late 70's to early 90's was the best time of cinema.
My family loved this movie. Ripley was awesome w/out being sassy, arrogant, in your face, or having an agenda. She was smart, resourceful, brave, strong, got-the-job-done, not overly beautiful (I hate when women have perfect hair in the middle of fighting, etc.) while still being kind. She cared about others. She also risked her life many times. That’s the ultimate heroic act. It’s one thing if you were trained to do this, but her character wasn’t. No past learned skills to give her confidence in her abilities.
Wish there were more movies like this today. I love movies with kick@ss women like Ellen Ripley. Much respect to the writers, directors, etc. who created such an amazing lady.
Thank GOD James Cameron didn't go with his original plan from the treatment to have Bishop betray Ripley. The 'twist' that he's indeed a good guy is such a great detail in the film.
What a brilliant review. I have always loved Aliens and Ripley's character.
Very glad to have watched.
Thank you.
"... but he let her play with his piece."
Please insert a groan from the audience.
Then she let him slot his meat.
Yeah, the sprinkled sexism throughout the video didn't exactly help his counterpoints did they.
Ritter von Trost I thought that was well placed. Good change of pace. He nailed it. 😂
@@aschilds SEXISM? OK BUD
I love the Bill Paxton character Hudson, as a complete contrast to Sigourny Weaver's Ripley strong, positive-minded, commanding character. Hudson, who's superficially superior to Ripley as a tough talking space marine, panics and falls apart almost immediately after alien contact. I think he's important because his frightened pessimistic attitude brings a very realistic aspect to the movie's theme that you really never see in action films. Ripley may be the character we most admire, but in reality most of us know that we would end up like Hudson if we faced of wave after wave of terrifying monster hoards that we know will cause us horrific death. Additionally, and ironically, Hudson actually has a more realistic assessment of the overall situation than others and of course announces the futile state in hilarious one liners.
The aliens in Alien and Aliens are most analogous to animals like Bears or Lions - humans have the upperhand in a physical fight as long as they have guns, and have nearly no chance when they lack guns. It was only the cramped and dark setting that gave the Aliens any kind of actual hope against the Marines. So much like a typical hunter of lions equipped with a high-powered rifle, there's no absolute need to be terrified, and no reason to think of Ripley as being the exception and Hudson the rule. Hudson's behavior would have been entirely rational if the Marines lacked access to guns.
Actually the subtext of the movie clearly demonstrates that the Aliens are the Vietcong (I believe Rob covers this topic in one of his previous videos). So the analogy not bears and lions, but a technologically inferior but determined hidden enemy of seemingly innumerable numbers attacking a clearly superior force and defeating it. If you have any doubt, let me quote James Cameron himself, “[The Space Marines] training and technology are inappropriate for the specifics, and that can be seen as analogous to the inability of the superior American firepower to conquer the unseen enemy in Vietnam: a lot of firepower and very little wisdom, and it didn’t work,”
"Hey, maybe you haven’t been keeping up with current events, but we just got our asses kicked, pal!"
Exactly!
I love the fact that Corporal Hicks was basically Ripley's male equivalent. If only they met under better circumstances...
There's more to the situation in the movie. Ripley was the final girl in Alien. In Aliens she starts the film afraid and having nightmares. Motherhood instinct kicks in when she finds Newt, but the moment she stops being a victim is when she takes charge of the APC to save the marines and becomes the badass we all know and love.
That’s why the Special Edition is so good as it explains what happened to Ripleys daughter
Another great thing about this movie is that the marines are both men and women, and this is never questioned or even commented on by anyone in the film.
All good points Rob. Not once did Ripley have to bash men or assert her feminine identity. Her actions said it all.
I swear the scene that gets me the most pumped is when Ripley Gears up and descends into the Alien Hive alone for Newt. The Music,the countdown to detonation,the floor number descending,and finally when Ripley takes a few deep breaths to mentally prepare and calm her fear,before she opens her eyes like a Lioness preparing to defend her cubs.
Courage, honor, and intelligence are not limited to one sex. And anyone who displays such characteristics is likely to be looked at as a leader.
This was sort of difficult to sit through.
I enjoyed the way you broke down the characters and relationships in the film, particularly the reversal of the typical strong maternal bond developed between Riley and Newt, and the implicit trust the team places in Riley's leadership!
But all feminists aren't evil, stupid, or quick to jump to baseless conclusions?
There's extremists who hyper-react, which I won't dare to deny, but despite the heated topic it's become, feminism is simply the belief women and men are equal human beings, free to live the way best for their individual selves without having important life choices either imposed or taken away from them completely. The gap between genders is a constant problem for both males and females, as it sets up toxic expectations that cause stress and guilt in the parties not behaving the way they "should".
It's unhelpful to keep throwing 'feminists' around as a catch-all for a vocal minority of a wide group of people, who live all sorts of different lives. I'm surprised something so unprofessional was such a crutch for this video.
I don't think you meant harm. But it feels shallow, especially after all the other video essays of yours I've found very thoughtful and captivating.
I'm a fan of your work and I typically can follow your logic, but I think you're taking a multi-layered issue that has been in cinema for decades and simplifying it a touch too much. It's an interesting angle, and I was excited by your introduction, but it's uncomfortably clear this man's opinion on a subject they have secondary knowledge of. I would encourage you to reach out and listen to women's opinions on what makes a female character resonate with them, as there are many, many reasons you just scratched the surface of.
Best of luck to you.
Thank you this comment! You summed up my thoughts during my viewing of this.
12:42 Ripley is so scared for what she is about to face but sucks it up , this scene always stuck with me! This is my favorite movie of all time and you did a great job on this video. I didn't really notice fully how far her and hicks romance goes untill I hot older, when she is leaving to save newt they exchange first names and that was the climax of that subplot. Great point on #9 on how her heroism wasn't praised , it made it just feel more authentic!
I love the movie but don’t consider the gender of the main character being overtly important. The STORY is paramount and to say anything else is just delving into identity politics which is poisonous.
So pitch us the story of Arnold Ripley, please.
This is a stellar analysis on the film. Thank you Collative Learning.
Sky Cinema now includes this trigger warning for Aliens "This film has outdated attitudes, language and cultural depictions which may cause offence today."
I usually enjoy all your analyses, but I really think that this one was superb. Thanks for sharing!
This is one of the greatest movies of all time. Right up there with the Matrix, and Blade Runner.
Funny you say that ... Aliens and The Matrix could be my top favorite movies.
That’s why I love Firefly and Aliens. There is practically no such thing as male or female in those stories. We see the characters as people first with struggles and lives and hardships and it endures us to them far more than a power fantasy ever could.
Ripley was the militant mom in Aliens. That’s what made her so awesome. Plus her “nuke the entire site from orbit” was a way of getting to the point. Which men love.
The difference between aliens , terminator (Sarah connor) and other such films is the strong female characters were done brilliantly and not in a way that they were just trying to shove feminism down our throats like a lot of modern day films. Sarah connor in T2 Was an absolute beast just like Ripley by the end of aliens,well written well produced films that didn't feel like they were unnaturally trying to force you to like a female role.
Don't imagine, Feminists disown this movie and its strong women. I know this cause without knowing, in art school at university as a side course for points I took on a Gender Studies course for media (Though they called it something different to trick people like me, it was still gender studies, but it wasn't my major thank god) And since I was doing film and digital media as my major, I focused on strong women in the 80's films, mainly this one and at the end, my feminist lecturer complained and said "Ripley is portrayed as the "Mother" type and not a true independent hero. While Vasquez doesn't count because she was too androgynous and was made to look like a man in order to "Fit" in a man's world. So in the end, I gave up and said well, its clear how full of shit feminists really are, so, I gave up on them from that point on. What an insult to these fine strong action women from the 80's. No respect for them at all. Nor the path they helped create for action lead women of today.
Dt Sh
Exactly. Feminists wake up on a daily basis thinking to themselves "What can I be angry and offended at today I wonder?" Nothing is ever good enough and no achievement is ever going to satisfy their needs. There is an endless, bottomless well that will never be filled. And the problem is, its starting to rub off on others who are now (Even myself included) becoming more and more pissed off seeing where shit is going and not even allowed to sneeze any more without someone thinking "It must have a hidden meaning of sexual placement from men."
your lecturer is a moron
Dan World
Yep, she was. I had a few students come up to me afterwards and told me how much they actually liked my presentation, despite what Miss Gender Studies said.
guzt1981 - every strong woman in film/literature will have an element of 'motherness' about them, but there's more to it than that of course
+gutz1981 Sorry mate but your story sounds like bullshit.
When Gorman freaks out "Ripley...what the HELL ARE YOU DOING ?!" is absolutely classic. I do the same thing when I'm distracted with doing something and my toddler gets too quiet in another room.
Yes, the screenplay for "Aliens" was written by a man, however, one of the things that tends to get lost in shuffle about James Cameron's work is that everything that he made from "Terminator" up through "The Abyss" was produced by Gale Anne Hurd (she's got an "executive producer" on "Terminator 2", but I never know how much weight to lend to that particular tile). The two of them were even married from 1985 to 1989, and if I'm being honest, I do see a bit of a difference between the films for which she was present and the films that she wasn't. I'm not trying to take anything away from Cameron, (or diminish his subsequent work) but film being a collaborative medium (and the auteur theory being, if not bullshit, then highly suspect) means that his collaboration with Heard played a large roll in making Ripley who she is.
@@imnotatroll6301 No, Ripley in Alien was a generic horror movie final girl. She didn't have any defining characteristics beyond being "the last one to make it" until they wrote the script for Aliens.
@@imnotatroll6301 Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ....
Brilliant video, with perfect timing in these crazy days.
Brilliant analysis as always. Ripley (or was it meant to be Ridley), Sarah Connor and Princess Leia from the original Star Wars movies were all great, strong female characters done really well that we all loved in my opinion (even if Princess Leia didn't wear underwear). The subliminal of Burke playing with her underwear is a great pick up that I never noticed.
"Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?"
"No, have you?"
That's the kind of sarcasm I hope to perfect one day :D
It's a perfect movie which I watched again for the millionth time last week and as a 42 year old male I can say Ripley is the biggest badass of any movie I have watched.
Love it and thank you Sigourney Weaver and James Cameron.
Vasquez had the actionable characteristics severe valor.
Gale Ann Hurd producer.
.....and cracking tits.
Brian Coley Vasquez!!
steveetienne i think she was a F or G cup in the movie.....as of recent she's been an entrepreneur of selling specialized bras
Vamos!
Mate I think you’ve got a bit of a hang-up about traditional gender roles and expectations
Absolutely agree! I have referenced Aliens many times for the very points you so well made. As a teenager, the first movie Alien, made a big impression on me when the male captain died. I was confused as to who was going to save the girl. Thought all was lost until she saved herself. Utterly shocking but totally believable. Too often today women are portrayed as men and in real life encouraged to be like men, all the while denouncing masculinity and motherhood/family. Cannot we promote career and family? Being truly strong has nothing to do with physical strength and Ripley personifies this forgotten example.
Ripley isn’t a “strong female character” she’s a strong character that happens to be female. That’s what modern movies aren’t doing, they make the fact it’s a female actor a huge part of their character and it just becomes cringeworthy with their referencing it all the time etc rather than just having the character be good and audience support it simply because it’s a well written character.
Or they make the character ridiculously better at literally everything than everybody else which ruins a character no matter the gender.
This felt less like a movie critique and more like ranting against the author's views on feminism. I was disappointed, normally I quite enjoy this channel's movie critiques.
I feel the same way about Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill.
It’s not about feminism. It’s about leadership. The example is Ripley. Soldiers will follow a good leader no matter who it is.
My dad took me to the movies, in secret as my mum didn't want me to go. Well, that was one of the best experiences of my life. I was 10.
This is one of the best feminist critiques of a film I have ever read! Fantastic, really thought-provoking content!
Thanks Rob for this very interesting video. ALIENS is a very complex and nuanced movie and it has a TON of meaning buried under trappings of a simple SF action flick (at least to me - and I am neither a cinephile nor have any education in the field). I have always seen it as an ode to middle class working man ethics. See how it portrays officers and corporate suits. Gorman is an educated man but he lacks field experience and it turns out to be a fatal flaw. Burke seems to be extremely cunning, but greed makes him stupid and shortsighted. He is unable to understand the true nature of their situation, even in the presence of overwhelming evidence. He can only think in terms of "dollar value". Burke is beyond redemption, and Gorman only redeems himself by truly embracing Marines' values - courage, teamwork, and ultimately self-sacrifice.
ALIENS praises regular, middle class folks and the "common sense". We see Bishop dissecting the facehugger, but there are hints that science did not help the colonists - they tried to understand the enemy, only to be exterminated. Some enemies cannot be understood or negotiated with, you can only nuke them, shoot them to pieces, burn them to ash. In this aspect I believe that the movie is a product of its times, the Reagan Era. The cult of weaponry and firepower - no matter how monstrous the enemy is, how great the evil , you can always defeat them, as long as you have a gun (an example of this is Ripley destroying the nest in the queen scene). I believe that all of this is a very clever idea of Cameron to convey a socio-political message.
Again, great video Rob and thank you very much.
As a woman, Ripley is actually my favorite character in any movie! Shes also a character I strive to be like, even though its hard to be just as mentally strong as she is. I love her so much!
I'm so glad my fiance showed me this movie. I would watch it over and over, just to see ripley! On any bad day, any day I struggle, I think of her and even if the thing I struggle with don't get resolved, atleast the thought of her gives me comfort.
Others have cited "Get busy Living or Get Busy Dying" as another "I'm Gitting it done" phrase
Poster says “there are some places you don’t go alone”...and they didn’t...
I love this video. Hits the nails, right at the spot.
I grew up with Samus Aran and Ellen Ripley, and it shaped my view of kickass female characters.
Just a shame that we can't really discuss things from any direction in modern times because you'll either be called a this or a that, left or right, etc.
Modern times are so stupid..
Right on, great points. I grew up watching strong female leads in the 80s, not because they were women, but because they were the right person, right time, right morals, who when responsibility dropped on their shoulders they stood tall and delivered, not once do I see any virtu signalling. Just a well written character. Geez this will never be seen again in films, sad times, sjw rules the movie industry.
An additional Item I'm surprised you didn't mention. In the original script for Alien non of the crew's genders were specified. Rippley wasn't written as a man or a women but simple a person. Her being a women was merely a casting choice. That has a lot to do with why she is such a different and powerful feminist icon. Shame she is largely forgotten today along with other great examples of extremely well done badass feminist protagonists like Sarah Connor.
this is exactly right and a lesson for so called writers and directors today.
Very Good analysis. Thank you.
A protagonist who looks like she is strong, but is wrak, but stronger than most men, is compelling.
A responsible person, fix in her objectives, hard to offend, secure, very observative, allways learning, allways improving herself, trusting in her own judgement, doesnt need to scream about it or put down anyone. She has fear, she overcomes it, selfless, trust worthy, doesnt doubt to put her life on the line for others. That´s Ripley, thats a powerful character.
Thank you for this...most enjoyable.