Sex and Reproduction as a Symbol

• • Sexual symbolism and reproduction are present throughout the film.
• • Kane's attack by the facehugger and later giving birth to its offspring, the Alien, is an obvious example.
  • The facehugger penetrates and inseminates Kane, symbolic of human reproduction.
• • Ridley Scott was explicitly interested in using sexual imagery in Alien, he claimed it was meant to represent the idea of fearing one's offspring, and the horrific side of reproduction.
  • When the Alien dies, it's only an adolescent or young adult, the 'nightmare offspring', a literalized representation of the fear that a child will grow into something horrible.
• • The entrance to the alien spaceship can also be interpreted as a vaginal opening, with its interior being womb-like and filled with eggs. In this respect the alien spaceship is representative of a womb, of the basis of life.
  • The main computer is also called 'Mother' which is a symbol for maternal care. It's programmed to take care of the Alien, symbolizing the archetypal mother protecting her offspring.
• • Another example of sexual imagery is when Ash tries to kill Ripley.
  • Ash shoves a rolled-up magazine that appears to be pornographic in Ripley's throat in an attempt to suffocate her.
  • The magazine becomes a very phallic object, and the forcing of it down her throat comes across as a forced act of sexual violence.
• • The Alien's method of reproduction through implanting the embryo in a host leads to a violent birth, it blurs the lines between creation vs destruction and life vs death.
  • The chest burster scene confronts the audience with the fears associated with bodily invasion and loss of bodily integrity (self-ownership of your body).
• • The design of the Alien itself is particularly phallic, with its elongated head shape, and subtly hints notions of sexual threat and violence.
• • The Alien's method of reproduction (the facehugger) is violent. Its attack is invasive and personal- the way it forcibly implants an embryo into its hose could be seen as a metaphor for sexual assault.
• • In the final scenes of the film, Ripley is sexualised both vulnerably and empoweringly.
  • She is in her 'space underwear' which shows her vulnerability, yet her character remains strong and capable subverting typical gender roles.
• • Some have linked the face-hugger's attack on Kane as a form of male rape, again showing the inversion of traditional gender roles in horror scenes.
  • The facehugger forcefully implants an embryo into a male host, this presents an incredibly disturbing image of violation and impregnation, traditionally associated with femininity.
• • O'Bannon, the film's screenwriter, said that one of his intentions was to represent male fears of penetration and impregnation.
  • Usually female characters are the victims of sexualised violence- 'Alien' inverts this, showing male characters can also be vulnerable to these forms of violation.
• • The Alien's life cycle represents non-consensual reproduction.
  • The first stage, the facehugger, represents forced impregnation, and the last stage, the chest-burster scene, represents forced birth. The facehugger initiates a process that's invasive and violative.
• • The chest-burster scene reimagines birth as a violent and destructive act.
  • It subverts the natural association of birth with creation and joy, instead presenting it as a moment of death and horror.