Alien Woman: The Making of Lt. Ellen Ripley

by Ximena Gallardo C., C. Jason Smith

Alien Woman examines the construction of sex and gender in the four science-fiction films comprising the Alien saga (starring Sigourney Weaver). The Alien saga stands alone in presenting an enduring, self-reliant female protagonist, Ripley, who in the first film ends up as the sole survivor of the beleaguered starship Nostromo. Subsequent writers and directors in the 1980s and 1990s, left to grapple with this strong female protagonist, reenvision Ripley for different social, political, and cultural imperatives for women. Alien Woman focuses on how these writers and directors have re-written Ripley and how each revision informs our understanding of women in science fiction. And by examining the films' creation and commodification of the female hero, the books illustrates how changing attitudes toward women and the female body help us understand broader societal beliefs and relationships, and provides a useful lens with which to understand woman's place in the late 20th century and early 21st century.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, Feminism, Horror

272 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2004

Reviews

[Andy Carrington · Rating 2 out of 5]

O.K... if you like that liberal-feminist student-turned-teacher-type-of-writing thing.

Ripley's my hero, but she really needs a better book.

[Isa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very, very weak and superficial analysis, all passages with more analytical depth to them were citations of other authors' works.
I don't know how Ximena Gallardo is a film scholar when she publishes essays as flimsy as if they were written by college freshmen.
I know I sound too critical but I've had to read a lot of articles and books on Alien and this book does not even come close to comparing to even the weakest ones.
I'm bitter I spent money on this!

[mad mags · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Making of Lt. Ellen Ripley”

In ALIEN WOMAN, authors and pop culture critics Ximena Gallardo-C. and C. Jason Smith examine “The Making of Lt. Ellen Ripley” – a process which is both informed by and reflects the differing sociopolitical landscapes present during the creation of the respective installations of the quadrilogy. While the first ALIEN film was a radical (perhaps even feminist) reimagining of the slasher/horror genre, ALIENS represented a return to retro Reagen-era “family” values. ALIENS 3 joined the “hero” and the “monstrous creature,” and allowed Ripley to subvert the patriarchy by destroying both herself and the alien; ALIEN: RESURRECTION went a step further, creating a sisterhood of two non-human females (alien-human hybrid Ripley and second-gen android Call), which represents the future of humanity – humane, if not necessarily human.

Whether you love the ALIEN quadrilogy, yearn for more feminist fare, or simply enjoy watching heroines kick serious ass, ALIEN WOMAN is a must-read for pop culture junkies of all stripes. A background in cultural studies is a plus, but not a prerequisite; though psychoanalytic concepts such as the “monstrous feminine,” the “womb-tomb,” and the “monstrous generative mother” figure heavily into the discussion, the authors gradually unpack their thesis, piece by piece, resulting in an accessible, highly enjoyable volume. ALIEN WOMAN is the rare scholarly work that’s suitable for laypeople and post-grads alike.

As a longtime fan of the ALIEN series, now that I’ve read ALIEN WOMAN, I’m eager to re-experience the films through fresh eyes. I don’t think I’ll view Ripley’s probing of Call’s bullet wound the same way again.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2008/12/01/...

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at the stomach clenching truths of the Alien movie/s. I've only seen the first one but this book picks up on what made it such a horror flick: uncovering the subtle and not so delicate matters of feminine and masculine fears.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very academic and gender-focused examination of the character of Ripley through the four Alien movies she has appeared in to date. It’s not what I was expecting, so I’m not going to mark it down for that even though I found it a bit of a difficult slog at times.
It DOES however, get marked down for just inventing stuff to support its own conclusions. The one that jumped out at me was the author using the scene where Bishop licked milky android blood off his own finger as evidence that synthetics were used as a metaphor for gay men. Only problem - Bishop does not in fact do this. Sigh.

[Jamie Hodges · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as fantastic as I thought it would be...started out promising and had a great essay on how Ripley arugably fit the Reagan era's view of motherhood and the nuclear family. Like Ripley "had" to have Hicks in order to form the nuclear family with Newt...interesting. And possibly I did not like the last half of the book because I am not so much a fan of the last 2 films. But I still think Ripley is the coolest ever.

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting dissection of Lt. Ripley's character. Additionally, offers a take by take analyzation of all four parts of the Alien quadrilogy from a feminist perspective. A breath of fresh air in the overwhelmingly male-dominated field of science fiction.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent analysis and some great insights into Ripley and the Alien series.

[Jay Amari · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cogent and precise explication of the Alien film franchise and its metaphoric values.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm amending my 2008 post here, which read: "I'm a misogynist, but this book won me over. Is he kidding?" The answer is that I was most definitely kidding, but so much is lost in the written word on the internet and 2021 me looks back at my tongue-in-cheek comment in fear of it being misconstrued or taken out of context. While I don't think that this is the message or intent of the book in question, it is an elaborate and insighftul deep-dive into the development of Sigourney Weaver's character over the series of the main films and the impact it had on the film industry, feminism, and culture in writ large. Very much worth a read.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and full of some solid readings. Though at times the authors go too far in their desire to read vaginal symbols in to the text, this is a fantastic exploration of the character across multiple texts. I can think of no better praise for this book than this: their reading of "Alien 3", a film that I had thought of as having no redeeming value, was nuanced, intense and forced me to reevaluate the film completely. HIGHLY recommended if you are a film or science fiction scholar.

[Ash]

I really need to read this before George asks if I've read it again... :P

Signed copy!