Who Has the Power? An Observation and Assesment

RIP NOSTROMO

I watched the Oscar winning film Alien(1979). Alien is a film that captivated the lives of many when it initially debuted in '79. With the jaw dropping special effects for the era it came out in, this film was received positively across the board and still holds up in amongst today's films. It takes place in the future and the plot revolves around a spaceship (the Nostromo) that received a distress beacon from a nearby plant. They go into the planet only to get one of their men infected. The man dies suddenly on board the ship when a being bursts out of his stomach. This being ends up turning into a vicious man eating alien that devours everyone on board the ship except for one, who stowed away in an escape pod. In the film there are several conflicts that arise. One of the biggest conflicts (and why everyone dies) happens when the crew allows an infected man onto the ship even though they knew it was breaking protocol. The acting senior officer, Ripley, specifically tells everyone to not let the infected man in because it could jeopardize the lives of everyone on board. Unfortunately a stubborn science officer, Ash, violates protocol and allows the infected man onboard. Initially Ripley is upset because she felt like no one ever listened to her, even though she was second in command. It might have to do with the fact that she is a woman and men believe they can overrule women. Ripley had the ranking power to boss everyone on the ship but since Ash was below the deck at the doors Ripley couldn't forcefully stop him from opening those doors. She confronted Ash telling him that the death of everyone on board would be on his conscience. Ash believed he had done what was necessary to further expand the horizon in the scientific field. But by doing so he'd risked the lives of every crew member aboard the Nostromo. Another conflict (a more physical one) was fairly evident when Ripley discovered that the mission was all messed up. She had a feeling that something about the whole situation, specifically about Ash, was wrong. The ship was receiving messages from earth which were being intercepted by Ash. Earth prioritized the state of the alien above anything even if it meant the inevitable death of all the crew members. Ripley was shocked and disgusted about how the government had tricked them all and even risked they're lives for the alien. As soon as Ripley discovered this she tried to warn the crew but Ash came at her and tried to kill her via suffocation. Luckily she was saved by two other crew members. That's when they discovered that Ash was actually a robot sent by the government to capture the alien and use it for evil. The main conflict throughout the film was Ash and his cahoots with the government. Ripley's intuition was telling her to not trust Ash and her gut instinct was right on the money. In the end I'm really glad she survived because I felt like she was the only person aboard that ship with even a shred of common sense. Ripley vanquished the monster and blew up the Nostromo! All is well... Until the sequels and prequels.