Carson Plourde's Film Analysis

I think it’s interesting how this product starts out as something that brings pleasure and happiness to people, and then it transitions to something dark when the murdered uses it to record himself killing girls. This definitely shows the difference between the different perspectives in relation to voyeurism. 

I agree, and I really like how this film depicts Mace as more than just a female damsel in distress who needs a man to save her. She adds so much to this film, and is so strong physically and mentally. I like how she has a love interest, but is still able to maintain her strong character.  I love how you mention that she takes off her heels, especially since movies that show women running in heels are extremely unrealistic. The fact that she takes hers off yet again speaks to how strong and independent her character is. 

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I agree with your analysis completely, especially your interpretation of the scenes involving conversations between Alike and her parents. Her mom clearly wants her to be someone she is not, and I felt that this idea was very real for a lot of LGBTQ teens who do not feel accepted by their parents.

I agree, and I think that her mom cares so much about the way that Alike dresses because she cares so much about what other people will think. She tries to make Alike someone she’s not, and she thinks that by forcing Alike to change what she is wearing to something more feminine she will snap out of her “phase”.  

At the beginning of the film, I was surprised to see that Alike’s father was more accepting of his daughter than her mother was. Everyone in the family seemed to know Alike was gay, even though it’s not explicitly announced until the end of the film. The weight of this silence distances herself from her parents, especially her mom. Though they all knew, her father was more willing to accept it for who she is than her mother was. 

I think its interesting that her father is more accepting of who she is than her mother is. In many ways, her mother just does not like the way she dresses and how she acts, she cares about her self image and about what her friends will think of her daughter who dresses like a tomboy. 

Although Ripley breaks the stereotype of a women needing to be saved. I think she still fits the stereotypical image of a woman in film. She is an attractive women and there are multiple scenes where she is sexualized. The male gaze is still very prevalent in this film eventhough she kills the alien on her own.

Ripley is a good example for a strong female protagonist. She is the only one to realize what is going on and take the initiative on trying to solve the problem. It is unfortunate that she could only defeat the alien with the help of a weapon with phallic properties. 

Even in the scenes where Ripley is shown as a strong character such as in the final sequence, sexualization is part of the character. Ripley confronts the Alien while almost fully naked. It is interesting to see how some stereotypes are broken in the film while others are kept. 

I think it is interesting how Ripley does not play the damsel in distress, yet she is still sexualized throughout the entire film. She is still a typical women, and this is made clear, but she also is able to take care of her self without a man. 

It is interesting to see how Ripley evolves as William argues in the essay. Towards the end of the film, we see how Ripley becomes a strong female character that appears to gain phallic powers by killing the alien in the final scene. 

Yeah for sure, Ripley is not only a strong female character, but just a strong character in general. The entire film’s plot could have been avoided if the crew had listen to her initial instructions of not letting in the being. Even her plans later in the film all were the correct course of action. This is the reason why she is the lone survivor. If people had headed to her more perhaps more of the crew could have survived and they could have returned to earth safely.

I like how this scene is the perfect example of how a female character can not only grow throughout a film, but also not represent the common damsel in distress that females usually play in action films. From the very beginning, she was the only one who did not want to let them back inside the ship with the fear something infecting the ship. She turns out to be right, and the only one who ends up being able to kill the alien in the end. 

You made a very interesting point in your post. In many classic western films, the hero restores order in the town by chasing out the bad guys. The film adds new meaning to heroism and essentially humanizes it. Rather than showing an egotistical and shallow portrayal of heroism, the film embraces the flaws of human nature and what it means to humbly rise to an occasion and fight for something you believe in. 

This is a good point, and definitely adds realism to the film. Instead of celebrating with the town over killing the men, he leaves with his new wife, and was not after the fame of saving the town. Despite the film being a western, elements such as this leave a less traditional western movie. 

Unlike most westerns, a woman does help finish the battle at the end of this movie when she shoots a bandit for her husband. There are many times when the movie breaks the mold of more stereotypical westerns rather then playing by the same exact guidelines.

I agree with your analysis and actually thought the same thing about the female character when I watched the film. I noticed that she seemingly held more power than is depicted in other films involving women, and this was the first western movie that I have seen.

I completely agree with your analysis. I would like to add that we do not only see Amy’s strong and determine character when she shots at the bandit but also at the beginning of the film. Amy is not subjugated to what Kane says. She takes her own decisions like leaving town or returning to help Kane. 

I agree, and I actually did my analysis on the same thing. This is definitely one of the few western movies where the women does not end up needing to be rescued. She stands up against her new husband at the beginning, and in the end she ends up killing a man, which probably saves her husband from being killed. She is there from beginning to end, and never plays a insignificant damsel in distress roll.