Representation in Science Fiction Films

Mimic (Del Toro, 1997)

• Hero = the female scientist• She defeats the plague (representing fear of

contagious diseases, like AIDS)and then the strange mutated insect creatures caused by the vaccine

• She is stereotypically attractive and young; there is one point where she’s in peril, screams and is rescued

• BUT… she single-handedly defeats the king insect – so here we have female defeating male.

Dr Susan Tyler – scientist, killer of the chief male mutated insect or stereotypical young, attractive female victim, represented as prey for the male insect in this deserted, threatening mise-en-scene

Alien (Scott, 1979)• Hybrid – Sci-Fi/Horror• Ripley (Sigourney Weaver)• Alien picks everyone off – until only Ripley and the

cat• Final scene, she strips down to her skimpy

underwear and is filmed from a low angle to accentuate her figure, but…

• She single-handedly defeats the alien, which has been portrayed previously portrayed as phallic-like (i.e. male) – so, yet again, gender representation is not straightforward.

The Thing From Another World (Nyby, 1951)

• A Cold War science fiction film where the alien represents the Russians and the scientist who would rather save the alien and examine it dresses in a stereotypically Russian fur hat and has a Lenin beard.

• The film promotes American Cold War attitudes in that the military men are seen to be right.

• The journalist at the end tells everybody to “Watch the skies!” Although he’s talking about aliens, this is also is a reference to contemporary American fear of a Russian attack.

The Thing From Another World (Nyby, 1951)

• The men – especially the military men – are depicted as the heroes

• At the end of the film, after the men have defeated the alien, Nikki comes in with a pot of coffee as if conforming to a traditional gender role of being servile to the men

• Elsewhere, she is portrayed as ‘one of the guys’ bantering with the men. Although she doesn’t go on the mission to see the alien craft and she IS with them when they face down and destroy the alien.

• In one scene, she has tied up her lover, Captain Hendry, and feeds him alcohol – thereby being represented as the dominant one in their relationship.

Independence Day (Emmerich, 1996)

• Represents American ideology – the president’s speech notes that on this 4 July, it’s independence day for the whole world. President sounds like a Westerner, as if in reference to the cowboy heroes of westerns; later, he even flies with the pilots against the aliens.

• “And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”

• While he’s speaking, the camera pans around the people listening and we can see they are of different ethnicities and from different social classes, as if to underline the fact that America is a democracy where, in theory, everyone is equal.

• Note the prominent role given to the black actor Will Smith as the fighter pilot, Hiller – his first role as a science fiction action star (Wild, Wild West, I Am Legend, Men in Black I, II and III, I Robot, After Earth).

• The pilots are represented as bantering, slightly gung-ho, eager to fight and whip the aliens.

• Russel Casse: All right, you alien assholes! In the words of my generation: Up... YOURS!

• IT’s noticeable that we are shown the destruction of iconographic American landmarks like the White House and the Empire State Building and when we see the attack on the aliens, we see American pilots (even though we’re told this is happening around the world).

• To give the idea that the aliens are defeated by all American society is underscored when the man who ultimately sacrifices himself to blow up the alien ship is an alcoholic, working class Vietnam veteran who is single father.

• It’s not just American force and tactics that save the day, it’s also American science a computer virus is implanted inside the alien ship by Hiller and the scientist, Levinson.

• During the scene in which Hiller and Levinson enter the alien ship, the mise-en-scene is a silvery-blue pallet often associated with science fiction films. The tone is almost reverential as the camera moves slowly and the shots are quite long. The music sounds pseudo-classical and also reverential as if we are being invited to see the scale of the task because Hiller and Levinson’s craft is tiny compared to the vast alien craft.

• During the fight scene, the editing is faster-paced, the colours are orange/red, the music is faster. There are close-ups of the pilots as they communicate, POV shots and the standard action shots where crafts seem to head towards the camera then divert overhead at the last minute

Jurassic Park (Treverrow, 2015)

• How is the hero represented here?

• Owen Grady. Young, white male. Unshaven to show he doesn’t do things by the book; physically fit; able to compete with the dinosaurs – somebody who understands them; an action hero on his bike. He is against the idea of training dinosaurs for military use

• Key issue – fear of genetic tampering/genetic mutation• The eager kid who pushed his way to the front• Gullible public in search of thrills whatever the cost• Female scientist – harsh features accentuated by the haircut and the

smart white shirt– has created genetic hybrid – but she realises later the error of her ways and it’s during this time that she becomes more feminised, losing her overshirt revealing tight vest top, messing up her hair.

• Male hero – against this – more naturalistic. Doesn’t think that’s a good idea. Denim shirt and black waistcoat – cowboy like – a throwback to the all-American cowboy hero