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Happy Mother's Day?

5/10/2015

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Aliens is the ultimate Mother's Day movie, and Ripley is the best mother. 

In fact, the Alien franchise is, essentially, about motherhood and what it means to be female. Throughout the films, Ripley is constantly reminded of  her role in this world, and how she will likely never be able to alter it. She is a vessel--a womb--an object. For Christ's sake, she's almost choked to death with a porn magazine in Alien! Equality (or lack thereof) aside, Aliens is the perfect example of motherhood at its core. Protection at all costs. 

Ripley has returned to Earth after 57 years lost in space, in a cryogenic sleep, to find that her daughter has died. As her daughter aged at the normal human rate, unlike her mother, she was in her sixties. Ripley is tormented by the fact that she promised her daughter she'd be back from space in time for her 11th birthday, but she never fulfilled that promise. 

Throughout the film, we see Ripley risk her life to protect Newt, a young girl whose family was killed by aliens. Newt is around the same age that her daughter was when she left for space in the first film. Although there are moments where it seems like Ripley has failed to keep Newt safe, in the end, she comes through and gets her daughter back. 

For me, the best example of a kickass mother is the final battle between Ripley and the alien queen. We see the queen laying eggs--she is a factory--a baby-maker--a female. She's being protected by the male aliens, which harkens back to when Hudson (Bill Paxton) tells Ripley not to worry because they will protect her. This scene is remarkable. Mother versus mother. There are moments of recognition and appreciation between the two, but ultimately Ripley knows that she needs to destroy this female and her babies for the survival of her own species, and the alien queen must do the same. 

Two kickass mothers being pinned against each other, all the while trying to protect their young. It's sad. That scene where the alien is ejected from the ship makes me tear up. It's extremely powerful, and also reminiscent of the first film. What we have here is two of the best mothers on screen, fighting to the death. Awesome.

As it's Mother's Day, I'm sure that many of you (myself included) will be spending time with mom. But not all of us are so lucky to have mothers like Ripley or the alien queen. Some mothers suck! It's true. Not every mother is a good one. I feel for those of you who had to endure this type. Also, I feel for the mothers whose Ripley instinct never kicked in. We are not natural mothers--baby-makers--wombs. We are all different. For those of you with loving mothers, I hope you have a nice time with them today, if you are able to. For those with bad mothers, I hope you are able to appreciate some alone time, and do something nice for yourself. 
4 Comments
Michael Allen link
5/11/2015 03:49:13 pm

There are other birthing motifs. I remember, even from my teens, when the Marines descend into a furnace area. As the tension mounts, an alien bursts from the chest, of a lone female survivor, who screams "kill me." She gives birth to the most monstrous, alien baby ever put to screen. A true birthing nightmare, that no epidural could help.

That scene still haunts me.

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Kenna Rae
5/13/2015 06:07:43 am

Yes, Michael, there certainly are many other birthing motifs. Even the alien being ejected from the ship mimics delivery--the emotions, the strength involved, the difficulty of finally pushing it out. Sorry, that's kind of gross.

That scene with the alien bursting out of that woman's chest is absolutely haunting. Probably one of the most grim scenes from the entire franchise, actually.

Thanks for your comment!

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Michael Allen link
5/14/2015 10:45:43 am

I see that final scene a little differently.

It is more of an abortion. Ripley uses the loader, with its giant grip, to violently push the alien into the airlock. The pincer like grips look like giant forceps. They also grip the head and neck of the Alien Queen, much like these surgical tools do, during an operation. Also, the Queen is expunged from the airlock as something unwanted. Finally, its ultimate fate is death as something (life, alien) cannot survive in nothingness (space, death).

Just my .02. Great content by the way.

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Kenna Rae
5/16/2015 03:27:03 pm

Thanks!

I can definitely appreciate you interpretation. It's obviously something Ripley doesn't want, and your perception of the grips as forceps is pretty gnarly and awesome.

Maybe I'm not particularly maternal, but I tend to see birthing as a "get the hell out of me" kind of experience. You literally have an alien (foreign object/creature) growing inside of you, stealing your nutrients and, ultimately, trying to kill you for its own survival. Creepy. I read an article recently about how that is actually what a fetus is doing while growing inside its mother. How touching.

I don't know the particulars about the abortion procedure, but it might be interesting to directly compare it to that scene. I'm not about to look it up now, though. Can't stomach it.

Thanks for the lively discussion, Michael!

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