‘ALIENS’ IDEOLOGY
Enough with the feminist dung already (“How ‘Aliens’ Mirrors Feminine Fears,” by Nancy Webber, Aug. 24)!
“Aliens” has nothing to do with glorifying single moms or the complete independence of women. If anything, it deals more with the rediscovering of one’s humanity in a soul-less high-tech environment and the interdependence of men and women in a traditional nuclear family configuration.
When the chips are down, when the aliens have grabbed Newt and Ripley is on the verge of freaking out, sticking around and being gobbled up, it’s Hicks who keeps his head, snaps her out of it and gets them out of there.
She needs him. And he needs her. Together they escape and go after Newt until one can go no further, at which point Ripley, as the hero-who-happens-to-be-a-woman, must go on alone in the tradition of all great action heroes.
Because, above all, that’s what “Aliens” is: a brilliant textbook example of action-adventure film making. Please appreciate it as such and leave the ideological baggage at home.
JAY MARKS
Los Angeles
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