Alien Resurrection Essay Example For Students

Alien Resurrection Essay Films which are considered science fiction are arguably structured differently and in a more complex fashion. The spectrum and expectations are so broad for character, action, setting, period, whether it be past, present or future, that it is no wonder that the genre has been sectioned off into hybrid or sub genres over the years, such as sci fi Horror, Alien (1979) sci fi Action adventure, Escape from New York (1981) sci fi Western, Outland (1981) and sci fi Family Entertainment, E.T (1982). It does seem that it has become increasingly more difficult to clearly pin down a science fiction text, as the popular genre constantly reinvents itself and at times displays, an archetypal generic framework that on the surface might look like it belongs to another genre, such as Frankenstein (1931) which many people would feel comfortable regarding as Horror. Even though the science and technology that Dr Frankenstein invents to create his monster is clearly fictional. It has often been noted, it is sometimes very difficult to distinguish between Horror and Science Fiction. Films like Frankenstein (1931), The Thing (1982) and The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) in their own ways testify to the propensity for multiplicity and overlap among and between these genres in Hollywood. It is there fore hardly surprising that water tight definitions of science fiction and horror are hard to come by. (Cook Bernink , 1999, p 191). To effectively question Kuhns statement, with reference to the science fiction genre we must at least try to establish key conventions which can be applied across the board to this category of films, taking into account both conventional or classic texts and hybrid films. Richard Hodgens suggests that What makes Science Fiction involves extrapolated or fictions use of scientific possibilities, or it may be simply fiction that takes place in future or introduces some radical assumptions about the present or past. (Cook Bennink, 1999, p 191). This seems a fair enough interpretation of science fiction, although again if taken word for word it could also apply to texts which belong to other genres, for example James Bond films often involve fictitious use of scientific possibilities in regards to his gadgets. Also the villains layer which is more times than not situated in a realistically speaking impossible geographical location, in a hollowed out volcano, which doubles as a space rocket launch centre. Does that mean that the James Bond franchise could be classed as science fiction? Even if the films do borrow certain elements from this genre to label them as science fiction would be reading against the grain. The films lend themselves firstly to the spy, espionage genre and now, more recently to the action adventure genre more than anything else, another example of how a genre evolves. They arguably fit into a genre of Bond Films all by themselves, fulfilling a whole unique set of audience expectations in terms of iconography, the introduction or use of a new technologically advanced Bond Gadgets being one. It may be the case that when trying to categorise certain texts we may have to rely on common sense rather than take Hodgenss definition as gospel. Annette Kuhns, recognises the problem of demarcation between genres herself One of the problems here must be the very difficulty of arriving at a critical definition of science fiction cinema as a genre, even if it is readily recognizable in practise (Kuhns, 1996, p 1) she goes on suggest that more importantly than what film genre is, is the question of what in cultural terms, it does-Its cultural Instrumentality. (Kuhns, 1996, p 1). Science fiction stories were born from adventure stories and tales of science and of the future, these stories were associated with the likes of Jules Verne in a literary sense and dominated the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, fuelled by a second industrial revolution and a new machine age. The stories became increasingly popular and coincided with the invention of film, itself a great technological invention. It therefore seemed an obvious medium in which to present these futurist narratives. The pioneering science fiction film Le Voyage Dans La Lune ( A Trip To the Moon) (1902), utilised many of the science fiction motifs and cinematic language we are still used to today, including the projectile shaped space rocket. The 14-minute film used very inventive film techniques, trick photography and superimposed images, fantastic special effects for the time and set the stage for what audiences still expect from this genre. Fritz Langs Metropolis (1927) was made after the First World War and showed the social condition of Europe. The attributes to create a good film EssayTo a certain extent it acts as a moral warning and does ask the audience whether our not we have the right to play God and experiment with Mother Nature at all. In terms of Kuhns statement this future text powerfully and obviously mirrors our present, although other examples which on the surface may deal with similar themes do not seem to be as culturally relevant, if at all. Alien Resurrection (1997) another modern popular science fiction text, includes the practise of human cloning within the narrative. Unfortunately the problem with Genre Theory is that it caters not only for audiences needs but is also a marketing tool used by the film industry. This film was part of a very successful franchise and although the previous Alien films especially the original, which is now, considered the renaissance of the science fiction genre, offered audiences intellectual food for thought, It seems the case that this film was very much a product to capitalise on an already established fan based audience, the subject of cloning only bought about as a plot line to reintroduce the central character back into the story. The film catered for the audiences needs and met their expectations, with the character of Ripley, actress Sigourney weaver being present, however it would be a challenging task to even build a convincing argument that Kuhns theory readily applies, even though Alien Resurrection is in fact a popular Science fiction generic text, utilising all the conventions, style, iconography and cinematic language we might expect. It might refract some of our present social trends and attitudes but it certainly doesnt clearly reflect any. Tom Ryalls triangle model, offers a give and take relationship between the audience, artist and text. The industry works in collaboration with audience needs to produce generic texts. The model or theory is meant to be unbiased, not giving preference to any one party, although possibly the triangular relationship is not so rigid, but sometimes floats closer to one of the circles, the industry in this case. Robert Warshow suggests of genre films that any representation to the real facts of whatever the situation it presents to describe is only of secondary importance and does not determine the aesthetic force'( Warshow, 1970) The fact that Alien Resurrection was a sequel to an already established framework, within a genre framework makes Warshows theory even more applicable. He goes on to say It is only in an ultimate sense that the type appeals to its audiences experience of reality, much more immediately, it appeals to previous experience of the type itself: It creates its own field of reference. In this particular case the field of reference being the other Alien instalments. It seems to be the case that Alien Resurrection was made not because there was necessarily a social need for the film but because a niche in the market guaranteed financial success. This seems to be the case with many sci fi sequels, the studios feel a need to capitalize on the success of the originals and the original social themes become less important and give way to what is perceived as audiences overly high expectations. Predator 2 (1990) , Terminator 3 (2003) and Escape from L. A (1996) are some more examples where any form of social representation plays second best to the industries need to cash in, but unable to introduce any new significant themes, which havent already been address in the originals. The economic organisation of the film Industry along the lines of commodity productions is cited as the reason for the existence of genres themselves. As the market for entertainment is notoriously difficult to predict and control, profit is dependant on the successful identification and capture of a particular audience (Cook Bernink, 1999, p 141) The above statement seems even more relevant when taking into account sequels or franchise texts. Perhaps as Warshow suggests that only in an ultimate sense can genre appeal to our reality. To explore this we need to look at not only a collection of similar generic texts, but a collection that were all made in a similar period of history.