Madenah: Historical Texts:

Aliens (1979)

Short Synopsis:

On what should have been a trip back to Earth, the Nostromo, a mining freighter, is automatically re-routed to a desolate planet after receiving an SOS coming from it. After the crew is awakened, they investigate the source of the SOS, and discover a derelict alien ship on the planet. One of the crew members is put into a coma by an alien creature while investigating the ship. But the alien parasite dies and the crew think all is well. But the small ordeal was only a prelude for greater things to come...

Analysis:

This was one of the first films which had a female protagonist as the "action hero". In this film the main female character, Ripley, is portrayed as strong and independent. The female characters are presented as intelligent and Ripley is given the role of an officer in the film where she seems to be quite dominant and in power. We can apply Clovers Final girl theory to the film as Ripley is the only survivor at the end of the film.

On the other hand it can be argued that even though the protagonist of the film is female, it is still male dominated. For example at the beginning of the film there are no females and we are presented with all the male characters. Similarly throughout the film there are only two female character whereas there are about 6 male characters suggesting that men are still more dominant.

This is similar to the film that i am studying in many ways, e.g. they both fall under the same genre category (action). Both films have female protagonists and both of the protagonists are the only survivors at the end of the films.The film shows that the society we are living in now has changed in the sense that women are now taken more seriously and are given more power then they had before.

Godfather

Short synopsis:

The story begins as "Don" Vito Corleone, the head of a New York Mafia "family", oversees his daughter's wedding. His son Michael has just come home from the war, but doesn't intend to become part of his father's business. The business of the family is just like the head of the family, kind and benevolent to those who give respect, but given to ruthless violence whenever anything stands against the good of the family. Don Vito lives his life in the way of the old country, but times are changing and some don't want to follow the old ways and look out for community and "family". An up and coming rival of the Corleone family wants to start selling drugs in New York, and needs the Don's influence to further his plan. The clash of the Don's fading old world values and the new ways will demand a terrible price, especially from Michael, all for the sake of the family

Analysis:

Die Hard (1990)

Short Synopsis:

After the terrifying events in LA, John McClane (Willis) is about to go through it all again. A team of terrorists, led by Col. Stuart (Sadler) is holding the entire airport hostage. The terrorists are planning to rescue a drug lord from justice. In order to do so, they have seized control of all electrical equipment affecting all planes. With no runway lights available, all aircraft have to remain in the air, with fuel running low, McClane will need to be fast.

Analysis:

The film conforms to the generic conventions through the violence and fighting, and use of props e.g. guns etc. The main character of the film is male which is typical in this genre (action). The female character in the film is presented as useless, mainly because she is just on a plane throughout the whole film, however she is presented as intelligent. The male character, on the other hand, is presented as powerful, strong and dominant who fights all the villains on his own, and saves the day.

The film is linked to the text that i am studying because they are both of the same genre (action). However the film is different in the sense that the protagonist is male and in resident evil the protagonist is female.

Other Films Related To My Text Include:

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