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Alien (Scott 1979) and Aliens (Cameron 1986)
In anticipation of Alien Romulus (Alvarez 2024), this episode we revisit the epic films Alien (Scott 1979) and Aliens (Cameron 1986). We discuss how the films hold up after approximately 40 years.
This is a rare episode for us as it is both a sci-fi horror film and a creature film. We have very few episodes of films in these sub-genres.
Marshall first saw this film when he was 10 and offers his perspective as to why Aliens in particular is one of his all time favorite films. In contrast, this might be Laura’s second time viewing the film so she is coming in mostly blind except for the cultural references. Laura watched with her 10 year old son, so he added a perspective as to how this film might be understood by a young person today. And Laura has a hot take as an Alien sympathizer! Listen for the tea.
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SPOILERS IN THIS EPISODE
Alien (Scott 1979)
Aliens (Cameron 1986)
AvP: Alien vs Predator (Andersen 2004)
TOPIC INDEX – Alien (Scott 1979) and Aliens (Cameron 1986) (times are approximate)
0:30 – Introductions
3:45 – Film discussion begins
3:30 – Laura watching Aliens with her son
6:15 – Laura’s history with Alien and Aliens
9:00 – Marshall’s history with Alien and Aliens
11:00 – Alien 3 +
18:00 – SPOILERS section begins
20:00 – gender neutrality
21:00 – focus on Alien
30:30 – focus on Aliens
38:00 – caregiving and gender roles
50:00 – historical context
53:00 – middle management technocrat as villain
59:00 – mothers standoff
1:01:00 – species-centrism vs species relativism?
1:12:30 – earlier musings on Aliens being post-gender
1:23:00 – grading the film using the Collective Nightmares Evolving Rubric of Social Responsibility
Related Episodes
Crawl (Aja 2019)
Related Films
All of the alien franchise films.
Credits
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“Horror films are our collective nightmares.”
Episode 131