Aliens | Ripley is the Perfect Female Protagonist

The part that annoys me the most in many modern films is you end up having a characters who don’t have much of an actual personality. I mean it’s a complex mixture of the various strengths, weaknesses, and fears that makes a character, male or female, what they are. Making someone strong in every way ends up making a non character. Thank you.

57 years

Great video as always! Though I have to ask, did you by any chance check out The Batman? I would like to hear your thoughts on it!

That was an amazing video

WOW, what a dynamite review!!!!! Currently editing my first first film, a female protagonist. Going to have another think about this....

I agree that James Cameron and his obsession with Avatar is crazy but when it comes to James Cameron the golden rule is "never doubt James Cameron."

Anyways, excellent video!

One of Ripley's most badass traits is her ability for adaptation and survival. She has no military training like the Colonial Marines, but she has amazing skills with improvisation and evasion. She was able to combine two weapons, infiltrate a Xenomorph hive, rescue Newt, destroy most of the eggs and soldiers, get to safety and completely bitchslap the Queen in close combat before flushing her out into space.

'Avatar' shit? What?!?!

Such a shame that nobody talks about modern female movies like A Shape of Water, Gravity, A Quiet Place, Joy, Hidden Figures. Some tv shows like Queen's Gambit, Killing Eve should also get a mention.

Always shitting on the same 5 movies from one dimensional franchise flicks is not impressive. Why doesn't anyone talk about A League of Their Own or Sister Act? Why just Alien?!

50 years not 80years

You completely forgot the Alien the first film.

James Cameron was married to Gale Ann Hurd during Aliens. Gale Ann Hurd is also not a woman to be f'd with... at all.
EDIT: She wasn't asleep for 80 years, it was 57.

Perfect analysis of Ripley.

You hit the nail right on the head. Ripley earns everything she gets in the film, she earns her payoffs, they're satisfying. You're rooting for her because she's not some unrealistic know at all. When drives the APC into the nest to save the marines she has to be talked down by Hicks to stop it because she's having a PTSD adrenaline dump. She gets gun training from Hicks that pays off at the end of the film. On killing her first alien with the pulse rifle she cries out under the strain. She needs to be rescued by the marines in the hospital battling the face-hugger. It's really not about being a man or a woman, she's an ordinary person put in extraordinary circumstances.

Ripley in Aliens is how you write a really good female Lead with purpose commitment and toughness

I never saw the slightest hint that Burke was a potential love interest for Ripley. I doubt that even he had considered the possibility.

Where did you get it from?

It was establ8shed in the 1st film that she was a competant crew member. I believe a 3rd class officer. So it makes sense that she was not just a run of the mill yes man. She was a critical thinker, knew how to solve problems, and improvise when needed. It was important to have her as a high ranking officer to make this character work. Very cool. It shows to me, when they're trapped and reading the motion sensors distances allowed...6 meters...that can't be that's inside the room! And she'd know that maneuvering a large freighter, how critical distance perception would be. Love it.

Great video, Ripley's character also shows fear in many scenes helping the audience to buy into the situation being real.

Shes not a feminist,shes not caring about equal rights in aliens she simply being realistic!

Can you just imagine what they would do if they remade Aliens today? It’s a terrifying thought.

These modern movies make me (a woman) cringe

Her character tbh was originally written for a male role.... but the director changed it almost last minute.same name same role everything.... but will say to all those woke libtard fucks a female protagonist is not something new even tho there dumbass with say it's not.... hell even the protagonist in hunger games (hate those movies) said it was never done before......I can make a list of movies that have even before hunger games were even a thought.... but okay

“shit like Avatar and his stupid documentaries” 🙄 yeah, he should probably just follow your example and make video essays for beer money

The two characters I find in film on how a good female protagonist is written, I look back to Sarah Connor from Terminator 1 & 2, and Alien 1-3, Ellen Ripley. You have no idea how many times I had my patience tested when it came to characters like Rey from the Sequel Trilogy, trying to explain to people why she was so badly written. Don't get me wrong, Rey could've been interesting if she had the same care of character building and quality as Connor and Ripley. I do not vehemently hate Rey, I just dislike her. There's nothing about Rey that is likable or to look up to. She is essentially a Mary Sue, an example of how to not write a character. I've had arguments with people trying to defend Rey, and I had to step back, cause no one wants to hear my argument, when I try to talk things in a civil manner.
Ripley is how you write a female character. The same with Sarah Connor. The pivitol scene with Sarah in T2, she comes off as the biggest badass in the asylum escape. That all falls apart the moment she sees the T800, unaware he's trying to protect them, while Mr. T-1000 is trying to murder them. It's like Ripley as she practically grinds the APC after saving the Marines, Hicks had to talk her down to ground her mind. Both women still retained and have PTSD.
This is just a simple go over. When it comes to female protagonists, my Top 2 in film are Ripley and Sarah Connor.

I love ripley ❤❤❤❤

I think about Ripley as a character, too. She's a great female protagonist, for the many reasons you've mentioned, and the whole issue of her femininity being explored in Aliens is a great highlight of why Alien and Aliens were so good together.

Just wanted to explain why her story speaks to me as a man:

I think I'm in a part of my life where the whole "empowered, unfettered badass" trope doesn't speak to me anymore, which is why having watched Alien and Aliens recently, I really appreciated her character. In the first film especially, there were so many times she grappled with stress. She even broke down. That's relatable. And she continues to suffer from the same even in the second film, although she has a better handle on it there.

I want to see characters grapple with stress and try to still do what they were meant to do. That's far more relatable to me as a 20-something employee.

Video deserves more views, well said

The time span between alien and aliens was 57 years.

You lost me when you said the hurt locker was fantastic lol. The most unrealistic and poorly scripted military movie in an era where we have more unfriendly on the military then we ever have. They still got sooooooooo much wrong in it lol. Overall great video though and I pretty much agree with all of your points

Ripley being a woman isn't important. That's what this whole movie is teaching us. Don't you soy betas get it??

Really great video and analysis. You’ve covered a lot about how I feel about modern cinema. This level of storytelling just doesn’t seem to exist anymore, and that is really tragic. Motherhood is (in my opinion) the key archetype of ALIENS. It’s a powerful archetype that is as ancient as civilization itself. I’ll never get tired of seeing ancient wisdom portrayed on the big screen. Hopefully Hollywood will find itself again, and tell powerful stories like these.

ok, so here's the deal. I'm a gay guy, but I'm telling you if Sigourney Weaver wanted me, she could have me. God Damn, this is one of the most boner inducing scenes in a film ever! Mamma Ripley is going to kick fucking ass and chew bubble bum, and oh no she's all out of bubble gum. This scene, and the one where she fights the egg laying Alien, while she's in the Mechanical loader. WOW! This is the textbook definition of female power. James Cameron, and Weaver just nailed this scene. Power, intensity, prowess, and unmitigated gall. Music mix is perfect. Acting is impeccable, cinematography is seamless, it just feels like power and sex all in one scene. I know this will probably make some commenters upset, but holy shit, how can anyone not be attracted to this display of power?

I never thought about the confrontation between mothers in the scene between Ellen Ripley and the Queen.

This is a very good point. 👍

The most moving scene to me is when, after Ellen Ripley flushes out the Xenomorph Queen, Newt reaches out to Ellen for an embrace and cries out "Mommy!". Moved me to tears it did.

I agree that there are exclusively female characters who are good, but I found it curious that you chose Ripley as an example when, in the original 1979 film, the script was specifically written so that the characters were gender-indifferent to who played them. The studio chose a woman to be Ripley just because they wanted to test Sigourney Weaver, a woman who is 6 feet tall, particularly tall for the 1979 female standard.

They used this as a debut for this large and strong actress in a role where the performer’s gender was meant to be indifferent. In the sequel, Ripley being a woman matters, but in the first film, the character’s role was written to be played by either a man or a woman, no matter who.

Sigourney Weaver masterpiece!

Well put. Ellen Ripley is always the example I offer up on how to do a strong female character justice. The shit we're getting today is just that. Shit.

If saying that you prefer books is considered feeling "superior", than maybe go check the fragility of your ego. Just my two cents.

Too bad she has to be a female hero instead of, you know, just a hero.

Ripley has more guts than most of those Marines !!! She definitely had more experience than LT. Gorman who knew absolutely nothing !!! If it were not for Ripley all of them Marines would be either Host for the zenomorphs or killed out right !!!

If I were there I would have been listening to Ripley more than that idiot who thought he was in charge !!!!

As far as burke is concerned, I would have used burke as bait to draw out those zenomorphs.

But instead of trying to catch a specimen,I would use burke and have him tied up to drive the zenomorphs in a complete different direction away from the rest of us and hopefully to gain us some time.

ok so Im not done with the video, but I understand whats being said here. When writing a story, focus on the story itself. The characters gender is not important, but their journey. But, its also ok to have a story that requires a male or female role, much like aliens, kill bill, etc. The writting should be tailored to be inclusive of the characters gender, like how a man does masculine things to attract the women hes interested in or a woman acting motherly to a young child and that child is the driving force which makes the woman take action. Btw, the role can be reversed, like with Will Smith did in a movie whose name I dont remember at this moment.
But a major writiing sin, is to write for a gender only role and that the story revolves around the character instead of the journey itself, much like the woke agenda driven era we are currently suffering from. I mentioned it too but an agenda driven story is also a sin, because they are trying to brain wash us into accepting what we dont like. Telling us what to do or think or even accept things we know are wrong. It has nothing to do with us and for a minority have more importance compared to a majority.
I am pretty sure I didnt type that clearly, but I think I described my thoughts. but I have a feeling I left out some things, so please lets be civil and talk this out so we can be better writters.

What did you think of alien Romulus?

I feel the key part to Ellen Ripley was that Alien and Aliens had a plot first and foremost. Also I noticed other details in Aliens when I watched it again. Ripley never said her shortcomings because she was a woman, but rather it was about a bunch of people who should be saved. Partially due to her failed relationship to her own daughter, and partially survivor’s guilt due to because of being unable to save the crew in Alien.

Your video essay is a perfect summation. Thank you for sharing it.

One of the best protagonists in cinematic history