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Wow I can't quite believe this, but it looks like this really long posting I wrote earlier did not make it onto the forum. That's disappointing.

Well here is a summary of what I said:

1. Birth imagery and metaphor: There is a lot of birth imagery in this movie (and the next two). When the Nostromo lands on the planet, and the crew enters the abandoned ship, it is striking how organic the inside looks. It's rounded and the surface glistens (like its wet), which is contrast to the cold, steely, rigid structure of the Nostromo. They drop Cain through a passage into a compartment containing lots of eggs. I don't think I need to explain that one. Also, I'm sure everyone caught the gender role reversal with Cain, a man, giving birth to the Alien baby. I imagine that it is no mistake that the "father" of the parasite was named such -- the evil twin giving birth to, as Ash put it, a lifeform that has no morals. There is also a lot of moving through passages and emerging through, well, holes throughout the movie (like when Dallas moves through the air ducts). And everything is wet *all of the time*. Very... womby.

2. Mothers: In addition to the ship being a mother who/that offers instruction, Ripley is a mother character throughout the films. She is constantly uttering the phrase: "I'm right here" in order to assure her fellow crew members. She is obviously unsuccessful in protecting them, but she does save a cat, a very maternal move. In future films, she saves a child, and then the world.

3. Evoltuion & Competition: The Alien is a parasite that requires a human/similar lifeform host to advance from the larval to adult life stage. Parasites are often described as being "perfect" because they have adapted to such a narrow niche, and they are very tough to kill. It is interesting that in this movie the "perfect" creature is incapable of feeling, incapable of moral judgement. Unadultered evil. Also, the Alien's outershell, Ash mentions, is made of a protein compound and SILICA, which is also the substance used in creating robots. It is said that it is just as likely that a lifeform on our own earth could have been silica based rather than carbon based, had chemical events happend a little differently. Perhaps Ash "empathizes" or relates to the creature because he is also made of this substance?

3. Gender & Science: Ripley is constantly questioning Ash, interrogating him about his motives and his methods. He tried to deflect questioning by using explanations that contain very technical terms. When she doesn't understand, she asks him to explain himself further. She refuses to let up on him even though he is the designated scientist and "expert." She refuses to trust him just because the "company" has imbued him with that power. She fights for her own agency in this story. She also acts like a scientist in trying to follow the proper protocol for quarantine (she tries to be objective in some way... trying to look out for the whole crew), and Ash takes her agency away from her in this regard, by ignoring her command.