31 Days of October, Day 17

Today is normally Feminist Monday. However, this morning...after certain events over the weekend and the week before and the week before...well...I'm feeling tired. I need a short break. So, I'm going to take it. At the same time, I'm honoring the spirit of Feminist Monday and I'm going to recommend a few Horror films that are Feminist. The first is Alien. 

Just about everyone has seen it, but if you're one of the few who haven't, DO. Keep in mind that my opening image is from Aliens, the sequel. One of the things I adore about the two films (for me, the others don't exist) is that while they're very much related to one another and set in the same world, they're two different genres. The first film is obviously Horror. Its tag line will tell you that: In space no one can hear you scream. The second film is an Action movie. Its tag line indicates this as well: This time, it's war. Both are great films, but I'm only going to talk about the first today. Alien employs the Final Girl Trope™ but the thing it does differently is that Ripley (The Final Girl) isn't your stereotypical Final Girl. While we don't witness her having sex, she isn't a virgin. She's also--after the captain can no longer serve--the leader of the survivors. She's competent. She's also vulnerable enough to maintain her humanity but not so much as to interfere with her bravery. In fact, her need to keep at least Jones (the cat) alive gives her both what my husband calls a character flaw and some nobility. It makes her complicated and sympathetic. I love this movie. It scared the crap out of me. It also gave me someone to look up to.

That's why I wrote an homage to Alien. It's a Flash Fiction piece that appears in Jeff Vandermeer's Last Drink Bird Head--a gorgeous anthology for a good cause.

Next, in our alien theme, I give you Attack the Block. I <3 it quite a lot. :)