Tag: Ellen Ripley

Acting, Women in Film

Happy Birthday To Sigourney Weaver

There is not a single word that can describe Sigourney Weaver. Even if you only focus on her persona, or the part of her that she is willing to bequeath to the rest of the world, you will still find yourself unable to isolate her characteristics. They play off of each other, fanned out in differing shades, to be appreciated for the separateness and their unity all at once. She is enigmatic in the way that one could say Jodie Foster or Tilda Swinton is enigmatic. One cannot help but look past her obvious charms and beauties to that something- that special something which is uniquely palpable and lies beneath the visage that so many display to the public. She is a woman of multitudes; undefinable. Continue reading Happy Birthday To Sigourney Weaver

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Female Characters, Women in Film

#WomenInAction Month: The 10 Action Heroines Who Shaped My Childhood

Being a kid in the ’90s there really wasn’t a lot of female-led action films like there are today. In a lot of ways I’m kind of jealous that girls (and boys) growing up today have the opportunity to watch female-led action films such as “Wonder Woman”, “Captain Marvel”, “Black Widow” and the new Star Wars trilogy. As a kid, the female action characters were very few and far between, which is probably why I favoured watching action films that weren’t aimed at children such as “The Terminator” and “Alien”. To see characters like Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley not only be the main characters but also kick-ass and drive the action and narrative forward just blew my mind. Continue reading #WomenInAction Month: The 10 Action Heroines Who Shaped My Childhood

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Female Characters, Feminism, Personal Essays, Retrospect Reviews, Women in Film

#WOMENINACTION RETROSPECTIVE: ELLEN RIPLEY, AN “ALIEN” QUEEN AND PERENNIAL FAVORITE

When Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) tied with Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) in our August poll of readers’ favorite female action heroes, I wasn’t surprised. How could I be? Continue reading #WOMENINACTION RETROSPECTIVE: ELLEN RIPLEY, AN “ALIEN” QUEEN AND PERENNIAL FAVORITE

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31 Days of Horror, Female Characters, Halloween

Monstrous Motherhood in the “Alien” Franchise

Released in 1979, “Alien” has continued to captivate and terrify audiences for forty years, the infamous ‘chestburster’ scene is still one of the most shocking moments in cinema. The combination of horror and sci-fi, the incredible practical effects, the wonderful build-up of tension and the gruesome and ruthless Xenomorph is what makes it one of the classics of twentieth-century cinema and why it has morphed into such a large franchise of films.

Part of the horror of the series lies in its monstrous and abject depiction of reproduction and the female body. Abjection, according to philosopher Julia Kristeva “disturbs identity, system, and order” and “does not respect borders, positions or rules” and can be applied to the maternal monstrous-feminine in the horror film. Continue reading Monstrous Motherhood in the “Alien” Franchise

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