Alien essay: Watch the movie Alien (1979) and submit an essay.
Alien Critique
The movie Alien (1979) was one of the most inventive and horrifying science fiction movies ever made. The creature in Alien is unusually well-thought for a
movie. Watch the movie. Observe the behavior and different life stages of the alien. Then write a 1000+ word essay describing the real-world examples of
animals that are similar to or that inspired this creature. Pay particular attention to:
The egg cases
The life stages (metamorphosis) of the creature
Occupying a host as part of the life cycle
The acid blood
See if you can find an example of the cool jaw structure of the alien
How does the Alien fit our criteria for monsters/scary things discussed in the introduction to this class?
I want you to focus on the science of the Alien (you might pretend you are a xenobiologist on the Nostromo and you are writing a report on the Alien). I am
not looking for a psychological analysis of the movie except as it pertains to the last bullet point. I suggest you research arthropods, and insects in particular,
for the first four bullet points. Be specific in your essay; cite names and details of the organisms that you refer to in your comparisons. Just saying that the
Alien life stages “resemble insects” is not good enough. You might also want to draw on information presented in the sequel Aliens (1986) but this is not
required.
