Divine or Devilish: Power behind “Mother” in the Sci-fi Horror Alien

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국영화학회
· 수록지 정보 : 영화연구 / 91호 / 97 ~ 131페이지
· 저자명 : ZHU JING

초록

The current study re-examines the science-fiction horror Alien (1979) by locating and analyzing the power hidden behind the computer mainframe named “Mother”. In the movie, six human crew were dispatched to outer space on an installer cruise Nostromo with the computer “Mother” and the cyborg Ash. It was not until the moment when they were slaughtered one after another by an apparently omnipotent alien creature that the remaining human group realized that the ultimate purpose of the space trip was to search for the unknown species.
Traditionally, the creepy-looking xenomorph is viewed as a demon, whereas the chamber of “Mother” is regarded as a place with temporary peace and divine.
However, the study claims that the seemingly sacred mission of the company Weyland Yutani is no less devilish in nature than the destructive behavior of the alien species. The first stage will provide some background information of the film and study. In the second stage, I will analyze the design and operational system of the spacecraft. The third stage will discuss the value of the computer “Mother” and the cyborg Ash. In the fourth stage, I attempt to expose the intrinsic quality of the corporation by linking the construction of the spaceship and the arrangement of “Mother” and Ash to the disgraceful action and ideology of the capitalistic firm. And finally, the paper will conclude that the self-flattered divine enterprise capitalizes human staff in feminist and fetishist concepts. This study presents various clues to reinterpret the combination of religious and technological elements in sci-fi horrors. It could also serve as a practice to identify and elucidate the inhuman aspect of capitalism in the contemporary world.

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