"A
construct and a projection, the monster exists only to be read: the monstrum is etymologically ‘that which reveals,’
‘that which warns’…”
-Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Monster Culture (Seven Theses)
Understanding
that monsters are meant to reveal something inherently human whilst inhabiting
an inhuman form makes Ridley Scott’s Alien
(1979) a particularly disturbing film.
Monsters are no exception to the IA Richard’s manifesto: the alien
demands to be utilized as a machine to think and demands to be extended beyond
the screen. Consider Thesis VI of
monster theory:
“Thesis VI: Fear of the Monster is
Really a Kind of Desire:
The
monster is continually linked to forbidden practices, in order to normalize and
to enforce. The monster also
attracts. The same creatures who terrify
and interdict can evoke potent escapist fantasies; the linking of monstrosity
with the forbidden makes the monster all the more appealing as a temporary
egress from constraint…we distrust and loathe the monster at the same time we
envy its freedom, and perhaps its sublime despair.”
This reading is
simultaneously terrifying and satisfying considering the overtones of
eroticism. Reading the film in the
context of the social-cultural atmosphere of its release, there is something to
be said about the time’s fear of sexuality and STDs. Perhaps more so than that, Alien reflects our desires as our
culture to push the frontiers of science.
Consider the “dying” words of the mission’s android and science officer Ash,
who represents the ideologies of an entire corporation from afar. In describing the alien aboard the ship, he
admires the alien while the others are utterly horrified, professing eerily:
“You
don’t understand what you’re dealing with, do you? Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by
its hostility…I admire its purity. A
survivor, unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.”
Ash, through the
directives of Mother, wishes to aspire to the unrestricted scientific exploration
that the alien embodies. The
implantation of Special Order 937 by Ash via Mother’s orders states that the
number one priority is containing the alien, and that everything else is
secondary. In particular, it explicitly
expresses that the “crew is expendable.”
This idea horrifies the human passengers of the Nostromo, but it
encapsulates a mindset that perhaps could have saved their lives. Rippley in particular is clouded by these
delusions of morality: immediately after Ash shares his sentiments, she strays
from her primary objective of preparing to blow up the ship and attempts to save
Jones, the cat.
Similarly,
modern science is encumbered by ethical standards. Both human and animal participants are
handled with delicacy in experiments, and often must sign lengthy legal
contracts in order to take part (interesting how the crew is forced into
exploring the transmission due to a contractual obligation). These ethical standards, however, don’t
translate to alien life. Ridley Scott
constructs an alien that is an erotic parasite that aligns with a science
fiction trope: when alien life comes in contact with human life, they
themselves dissect and probe human beings to learn of their “alien” nature as
human begins would dissect and probe them in the name of science. In Alien,
it was the humans that were first strangers on an alien ship, and it is the
ship’s prime directive to contain the alien in order to further the human race
through science. The alien invades the
human body as a medium for asexual reproduction to further its own race.
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| Alien blending into the Narcissus |
The idea of the
alien blending with the crux of scientific exploration can be readily
understood through the alien’s ability to maneuver throughout the ship by blending
in with the Nostromo’s environment. In
all of its intermediate and mature forms, the organism hides in vents, nooks,
and crannies throughout the Nostromo and even hides aboard the escape shuttle,
the Narcissus. The organism’s ability to
camouflage with the ship not only strengthens his representation of the
aspirations of Mother and Ash, but underline the key difference between the
humans and the alien: humans change their environment to suit their needs,
while the alien adapts to the environment to suit its needs.
Another strong
indication of the desire of science to detach from delusions of morality is
Rippley’s escape. She destroys the
Nostromo, which is Italian meaning “shipmate,” and escapes aboard the Narcissus,
which alludes to the Greek mythological character and the origins of narcissism:
the pursuit of gratification via vanity.
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