The movie Alien, a science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O’Bannon, revolves around the concept of putting humanity first and views everything from a human viewpoint, which is, in retrospect, a wrong mindset. However, the issue of alien life should be reviewed from a more academic perspective. In order to contradict the initial opinion on xenomorphs, one must be overly critical of all analysis’ aspects of the series. Moreover, one must question everything, including the views that humanity is initially regarded as apparent truth. This essay will present an alternative perspective on the stoic opinion that the xenomorphs presented in the movie Alien are all evil.
It is vital to emphasize an essential aspect: this essay will not be proving that the monsters presented in the movie are not violent because they are. They have no issues when deciding whether or not to tear Samuel Brett apart, or kill the rest of the crew, as they do in the movie (Ridley, 1979). However, the question arises whether they did anything to deserve a vile death from the cruel monster. Although alien’s violence is always excessive, one can observe that it does not occur unprovoked. Moreover, their brutalizing acts happen as self-defense, whether they are protecting themselves from harm or their natural habitat from colonizing. Furthermore, they act in the presented manner to uphold justice because their definition of what is just differs from the similar one within humans.
Additionally, within the prequels of the series, it was revealed that humans were the ones to blame for generating the first xenomorphs. In retrospect, humanity created androids in the process of designing synthetic life for the betterment of humankind. Unrestricted and innovative robotics created the first aliens, which tied the destiny of the two species together (Ridley, 2017). Moreover, the android responsible for creating a new life form designed them to reproduce via an organic host. Subsequently, by performing the vile acts of mass murder, aliens uphold their core instincts and desire to survive as a species. Therefore, if humans never visited the planet of xenomorphs, their kind would never exist. Thus, the human colonization process played a vital role in the alien’s violence against humankind.
In the movie, which is a part of a series, Alien Covenant, the episode of the neomorph’s birth followed gun violence at the hands of the human being. The neomorph that killed Rosenthal, ‘Rosie’, attacked her in self-defense and only when she reached for a gun (Ridley, 2017). Moreover, the same neomorph was shot by the captain when they did not showcase any signs of hostility in that episode (Ridley, 2017). As referenced in the documentary, xenomorphs can inherit the memory genetically, which is why by showcasing a threat towards the first of the kind, the rest reacted similarly, which also includes newborn aliens (Philippe, 2019).
Therefore, humans presented themselves as a direct threat to the neomorphs. Hence, it is natural that the first xenomorph reacted toward people with violence. It must have registered the newcomers as a danger, felt scared, and proceeded to protect itself and its offspring from the crew.
To conclude, the movie viewer will always consider aliens a vile threat unless spectators review the relationship between humans and xenomorphs from an academic perspective. People created the androids, and it was synthetics that gave birth to the first neomorphs. The monsters presented by Ridley Scott were not different from creatures protecting themselves and surviving through any means necessary. The initial human brutality towards the aliens can explain their cruelty towards any person they can find. Since the first neomorph appeared, humans did not wish to use their words, instead, they chose gun violence. Therefore, by presenting humanity as a direct threat to aliens’ safety and as a material that aids in reproduction, they created a natural enemy to the people.
Works Cited
Alien. Directed by Ridley Scott, performance by Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Bolaji Badejo, Yaphet Kotto, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Brandywine Productions, 1979.
Alien: Covenant. Directed by Ridley Scott, performance by Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Twentieth Century Fox, 2017.
Philippe, Alexandre, director. Memory: The Origins of Alien. Screen Media Films, 2019.