Taking a look behind the scenes of Alien and its sequels, this book examines in detail the making of the films, provides details of earlier drafts, explores unproduced adventures (including three completely different versions of Alien 3 and Alien vs Predator), and previews Alien 4.
The 1979 film Alien has left an indelible mark on popular culture. Directed by Ridley Scott, at the time known primarily for making advertisements, and starring then-unknown actor Sigourney Weaver in the lead role, it transcended its humble origins to shock and disturb audiences upon its initial release. Its success has led to three direct sequels, two prequels, one "mashup" franchise, a series of comic books, graphic novels, novelizations, games, and an enormous and devoted fanbase. For forty years, Alien and its progeny have animated debate and discussion among critics and academics from a wide variety of fields and methodological perspectives. This book brings together scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to explore Alien through a contemporary lens. The chapters here demonstrate the extent to which its effects and reception are deeply multifaceted, with the Alien franchise straddling the lines between "high" and "low" culture, playing with generic categories, crossing media boundaries, and animating theoretical, critical, and political debates. Chapters touch on female agency and motherhood, the influence of H.R. Giger, the viscerality of Alien's body horror, the narrative tradition of the Female Gothic, the patriarchal gaze in the Alien video games, and the rise of in-universe online marketing campaigns. In so doing, the volume aims to debate Alien's legacy, consider its current position within visual culture, and establish what the series means--and why it still matters--forty years since its birth.
Aliens: They have taken the form of immigrants, invaders, lovers, heroes, cute creatures that want our candy or monsters that want our flesh. For more than a century, movies and television shows have speculated about the form and motives of alien life forms. Movies first dipped their toe into the genre in the 1940s with Superman cartoons and the big screen's first story of alien invasion (1945's The Purple Monster Strikes). More aliens landed in the 1950s science fiction movie boom, followed by more television appearances (The Invaders, My Favorite Martian) in the 1960s. Extraterrestrials have been on-screen mainstays ever since. This book examines various types of the on-screen alien visitor story, featuring a liberal array of alien types, designs and motives. Each chapter spotlights a specific film or TV series, offering comparative analyses and detailing the tropes, themes and cliches and how they have evolved over time. Highlighted subjects include Eternals, War of the Worlds, The X-Files, John Carpenter's The Thing and Attack of the 50-Foot Woman.
Other books have been written about battles between humans and creatures from outer space. So, what's different about this one? Well, the aliens in this case know a great deal about planet Earth and its human population, but their info is disastrously out of date. It's a war in which tactics make all the difference and the aliens would have found peaceful cooperation a far more useful thing than the battle. As a side issue, these highly intelligent aliens have evolved on a planet where oxygen and water are rare. Impossible? Not at all. The author's thesis on this point is that life can evolve anywhere there is an energy source the life form can use. In each case, the life form evolves so as to use the available energy source and, therefore, is very dependant on it, just as we depend on oxygen and water.
The personal story of a professional physician's work involving one of the greatest breakthroughs of all time -- scientific proof that anomalous bio-electromagnetic implants of extraterrestrial origin have been removed from persons reporting alien abduction experiences. This revised and updated book includes and is supported by new scientific reports and a new photo gallery section. The evidence presented here provides enough evidence to believe that we have cosmic companions and they here with us now.
,The Body and Representation. Feminist Research and Theoretical Perspectives' was conceived as two weeks program within the International Women's University's project area BODY by the Center for Feminist Studies (ZFS) at the University of Bremen and organized in summer 2000. The publication includes results from lectures and seminars and additional contributions adding to main topics. Among the issues raised are concepts, staging, performances and representations of bodies in everyday life, political contexts, art and new media.
The first, comprehensive military history of armed confrontations between humans and extraterrestrials • Includes documentation of incidents from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East • Reveals the U.S. Navy’s defeat in Antarctica by ETs, the shoot-down of “flying saucers” at Roswell, alien sabotage of nuclear weapons, in-flight abductions of USAF and Soviet officers, and photographic evidence of the Battle of Los Angeles • Explains the link between the development of atomic bombs and ballistic missiles and the increase in extraterrestrial intervention in the 20th century Although close encounters with alien space craft are reported as far back as the reign of Pharaoh Thutmosis III in Egypt, it wasn’t until the 20th century that UFO sightings and extraterrestrial encounters were truly documented, due to advances in technology and record-keeping as well as the vast increase in incidents, particularly with military forces. Revealing his extensive research and the verifiable evidence he’s discovered, Frank Joseph presents a comprehensive military history of armed confrontations between humans and extraterrestrials in the 20th and 21st centuries. He explains how, with the development of atomic bombs and ballistic missiles, the frequency of extraterrestrial intervention in human affairs increased dramatically. He documents incidents both famous and little known, including the explosive demolition of U.S. munitions factories in 1916 by unearthly aerial vehicles, the Red Baron’s dogfight with a UFO during World War I, “foo fighter” sightings and battles with Allied and Axis combatants during World War II, and eye-witness reports from encounters during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War in Iraq, and the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East. He examines the evidence for the shoot-down of “flying saucers” at Roswell and Aztec, New Mexico, alien sabotage of nuclear weapons systems, and in-flight abductions of USAF and Soviet officers and airplanes. He explores the photo evidence for the Battle of Los Angeles, which occurred three months after Pearl Harbor, and the details of Operation Highjump, the U.S. Navy’s defeat in Antarctica by ET forces 17 months after the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, while also uncovering evidence of secret Antarctic German bases. The author also examines recent, 21st-century examples of alien interdiction in Earthly affairs, such as the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan and the fiery abort of Elon Musk’s Falcon 9 missile launch, both events accompanied by UFOs. Offering complete disclosure of the multitude of ET events over the past century, Frank Joseph gives us the first true reference book in the field of alien military encounters.
Aliens, UFOs, paranormal abductions, these are all events that have captivated and entertained people for millennia. In recent times, people have turned to science to explain the unexplainable, but does that answer everything? This book examines the history of well-known, unexplained encounters while exploring the science behind fascinating alien events. Full of photographs, eyewitness accounts, hoaxes, and scientific evidence, this book allows readers to engage the age-old question: Are we alone in the universe?
Ellen Ripley of the Alien Quadrilogy has become an iconic female figure in the male dominated genre of science fiction/action/horror since her first appearance in 1979. This collection offers readers varied interpretations of Ripley that are grounded in the social context and theoretical perspectives that were dominant prior to and during the time the films were released. Specifically, the rise of Second Wave Feminism—and the backlash against it—provides a backdrop for this collection. Is Ripley a feminist hero? A patriarchal woman and mother? Does she embody de Beavoir’s “myth of the feminine”? Does she exhibit sexual agency? Does she offer us a glimpse of individual autonomy that moves away from dichotomous gender roles? These are the primary questions explored in this collection. While the focus is clearly on Ripley, the arguments go beyond the confines of the films by examining the relationship between the individual and society in which both are product and producer of the other, and illustrate that social artifacts such as film can provide insights into the lived experiences of our world. The contributors come from a variety of backgrounds including Literature, Cinema Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, Philosophy, Sociology, Theatre History, and reside in Canada and the United States. They represent a range from junior to senior scholars. While science fiction is clearly an interest of all these individuals, it is not the primary area of research for most of them. By bringing voices from multiple disciplines into the discussion about Ripley, this collection offers readers perspectives that deviate from and yet complement the current trend in film criticism and, thus, contributes to opening up discussions about such characters and the genre to a wider audience.
Provides descriptions and color illustrations of a variety of aliens, mutants, and other mysterious creatures, and includes advice and instructions on how to draw them.