In the final segment of Alien we see Ripley somewhat differently than we have to that point. Most obviously, she undresses in the escape pod, puts on a bulky space suit, than appears at the very end in kind of nightshirt. Ripley continues, of course, to fight resourcefully against the alien and, by extension, The Company and its profit-driven, dehumanizing, militarized vision of the world, so that’s nothing new. But how, if at all, do these costume changes in the final scenes alter your vision of the character?
6 thoughts on “Alien–Group 3”
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Throughout the movie, Ripley seems to act, dress, and talk in a very professional manner. She has her hair tied back, her green space uniform always on, and is definitely not afraid to express how she is feeling. One thing that I noticed throughout the movie is that it seems as if Ripley’s authority in terms of hierarchy often gets challenged by the other men on board. For example, when the crew members arrive back onto the ship with the creature on Cane’s head, Ripley has an argument with Ashe about whether or not it was the right decision to let Cane back on given previous protocol. Ripley says in the 44th minute of the movie, “Ashe, when Dallas and Cane are off the ship, I am the senior officer.” This was referring to Ashe allowing Cane back onto the ship even though their was a creature on his head. Obviously watching the movie now, it was apparent because Ashe was a robot and his main “priority” was to bring back any kind of life form for the company. Another example of Ripley’s authority being challenged on the ship was when Ripley wanted to go into the air vent to confront the creature, however Dallas immediately rejects her request, sending her to the main airlock.
When Ripley finally is allowed to be alone, it seems like she lets go of all the tension and stress of expressing herself as a senior officer on the ship. This is what it looked like to me when she took off her uniform and undressed in the escape pod. This final scene allowed me to see a different side of Ripley and feel relief or sympathy for her in a way as a character. After all that had happened, she was finally able to relax through getting out of the uncomfortable uniform that she was wearing and be “herself.” The director of the movie obviously did not have to include the undressing, however I definitely think their is more meaning to it than trying to “sexualize” her as a female and I do not think that this was the intention of the director. I am actually not completely sure why Ripley goes into the spacesuit at the end when she encounters the creature on the escape pod, however it could have been a way to “separate” her artificially from the creature.
Like my other group members, the undressing scene didn’t exactly alter my perception of Ripley as the hero of the story and the Final Girl but more accurately provided a very clear visual change of pace to slower and more soothing. I found the scene at the beginning of the film where Kane first awakens into a bright room to be a birth (complete with the beautiful symphony score), so the undressing of Ripley felt like closure to that frame – a death (as Jasmine said) – as if the movie were going to end peacefully. Clearly, this was not the case as the alien is found to be on board, which is signaled by a re-entering of Ripley into a spacesuit and the loss of the vulnerability and sense of safety that was accompanied by the loss of uniform (though the vulnerability is once again returned after the alien is sent off into space).
I suppose one could argue that this was a sexualizing moment, but I would say that it seems if that is an element here, it is certainly a lower priority than changing the pace of the film. Throughout the movie, it is made clear that Ripley is equally as – or more – capable than her crewmates, despite various bits of sexism against her. She wears a normal looking uniform, not one that showcases overly sexual features. She makes careful and calculated decisions. All of this is maintained through the undressing scene to the end of the movie. Thus, perhaps it simply was meant to have the person watching pay more attention!
I don’t see the costume changes as altering my perception of Ripley. Ripley throughout the movie is masculine. She navigates the spaces of ship like one of the men. Interestingly, in the fighting off the creature she is always thinking, being rational, a characterization that we have seen time and time again. Despite this consistently being associated with men, here we see these characteristics embodied by a woman. Though this is what makes the costume changes so important as the film comes to a close. Throughout the film we are constantly bombarded with blatant sexism and gender roles being messed with. I still can’t get over that birth scene with Kane. But that part builds up to the ending of the film because it suggests that Ripley is a threat to allowable masculinity because Ripley’s character constantly plays with the idea of inverted gender roles. Her transition form wearing work clothes to putting on a suit to being in underwear and finally being in a night shirt represents an almost gender fluidity, but not entirely because she consistently only embodies masculinity. Despite gender and sexuality being two different entities, they both inform one another and I am suggesting that her masculinized character informs her sexual presentation under the male gaze. If the final girl is always the object of the male gaze ergo the killer, then I call into question whether we can see the alien as a typical killer found in slasher films. Instead, the alien represents societal stakes and each death makes fun of an inverted societal stake except the one that does not occur. So if Ripley avoids the male gaze, then why is the alien chasing after her? The implications may be that inverted gender roles are not tolerated and Ripley killing the creature demonstrates that idea is foolish. What is also interesting is that this takes place in outer space, so another question I ask myself is: Does being in outer space or in an alien’s world indicate a liberation from societal norms or what I’ve been calling stakes?
Given that the movie fits within the slasher/horror genre, I thought Ripely’s undressing was a signal of her death. In many slasher films as soon as a female character strips on camera they are no longer seen as pure and “virginal” by the camera lens thus allowing them to die. As Austin points out by identifying Ripley as the last one. Although I personally did not relax during her escape in the pod since the cat was still alive after running into the alien. The cat seems to signify death, so her stripping added to my sense of suspense as I was waiting for the Alien to appear. I wasn’t sure what to think when she puts on the bulky spacesuit, does it serve to desexualize her in the eyes of the camera? I personally am not convinced that this is the case given that Kane was attacked through the suit. It does make me see Ripley as a resourceful character as she can think quickly on her feet. The ending scene with her in the nightshirt has her covered up more. I could see this as a signal of her being relaxed and at ease, but she is not as comfortable as she was before the encounter with the alien.
Throughout the movie, Ripley is a hero on the ship and proved that she was cunning and resourceful in defeating the Alien and surviving the chaos. She first looked out for her crew mates when she wanted to quarantine the three who were exposed to the alien. However, she was ignored by Ash, even though she was in charge. She also knows that everybody cannot fit in the escape pod and acknowledges they have to get rid of the alien. Likewise, Ripley finds out Ash’s true intentions and cuts his power off. Furthermore, I do not think the final scenes alter my views of Ripley as a character in the film. I think it was included to show the contrast in that she is a mere human that was able to defeat a superior species in the alien. I think this was the first chance she really had a minute to be calm and collected and was able to relax. After a long and bloody battle with the alien, Ripley is finally able to undress and be herself for a minute. After worrying about life and death, undressing is not a big deal at all anymore. On the other hand, I could see how many people could sexualize this scene. One might say that after all she did to prove herself as a hero, the director really needed to make her strip to sexually satisfy male fans? Overall, this scene does not change my perception of Ripley as I think she was simply tired after a long battle with the alien and wanted to be comfortable. Everything she did before the strip scene in the film defines the character.
Starting with the long, lingering shots of Ripley in her nightshirt, the audience is forced to focus on her sexuality and gender for the first time in association with her survival as the ‘final one’. Other instances such as the men not respecting her authority in following protocol or the scene in the tunnel with Parker and Brett letting steam out to avoid conversing invoke gender and sexuality, but up until this point, Ripley’s appearance is not touched upon by the camera in this way in an effort to intentionally desexualize her. Ripley’s refusal to participate in the vulgar behavior of her crew sets her apart as a character of innocence/ purity (also shown by her insistence of following policy), but within the final 15 mins, she is revealed to be like the others when she lets her guard down and frolics around semi-nude. At this point, the audience too is to let their guard down making her final encounter with the Alien even more uncomfortable with the suggested rape threat of her, semi-nude, fighting off a creature who has violated all the other crew members with its phallic like tongue (not sure if that’s the right word to describe said appendage).