Alienation - Collective Inventions (1979)

Films such as “Alien” are not so much cinematic works as they are cultural illustrations, They reveal certain features of the mass psychology of contemporary American society. It is no accident that horror films are in vogue today, and that popular demand - rather than mere Hollywood opportunism - has creoted this trend. As the economic situation continues to deteriorate and public confidence in existing institutions erodes to the point where even Jimmy Certer must talk about it, people seek an unquiet refuge in the cathartic effects of pure terror, "Alien" ond other films of its genre represent a form of cultural shock treatment: having experienced the fear of irrational death and disaster in the safety of the movie house, the audience is numbed into a more rsigned acceptance of the disturbing reolities of the daylight world.

In this perspective, "Alien" sppesrs as a conscious exercise in psychological manipulation, as an example of real cultural terrorism. The director, who not uncoincidentally developed his technique in making commercials, plays upon the audience's emoions to create a claustrophobic atmosphere of primal anxiety. It is a “blood and guts" film, not becouse it is so visually graphic, but because it exploits visceral feelings of feor and revulsion; it is the deliberete build-up of tension, rather thon the atual scenes of gore and dismemberment, which achieves this special effect. All the devices of the film work toward this end: the Fast editing, the heart-beat soundtrack and the purposely inaudible conversations of the crew combine to leave the viewer in a constant state of disorientation and apprehension. This psychological climate is furthermore infused with a latent, menacing sexuality. Like most horror films, "Alien" is basically primitive: the director gives the audience only a limited amount of visual and verbal information, and this enhances the viewer's fear of the unknown and of sudden violence. Its popularity is a measure of the new primitivism which characterizes current culture, Today, only "basic" experiences are valid, and the most elemental of these (e.g. , physical exercise ) can form the basis for an entire lifestyle,

Movies change with the times. In this, they do not simply reflect reality; they often frame it. Escapist films and, in particular, science fiction ones are imbued with ideology and, in tum, they promote definite values. In 1977, “Star Wars" presented an authoritarian vision of spoce as moralist fantasy, an imperial cosmos in which machines are more "alive" than their nominally human masters. In 1979, with "Alien," space is overtly commercialized. In this projection of the capitalist present into the future, it is even divided into classes, as the crew of the spaceship argue over their respective shares of an interstellar contract. Where "Star Wars" and "Alien" converge is in their common, lyrical celebration of technology for its own sake. Following the tradition of "2001," the decor is the show; the set and the technical effects are the real stars. "Alien," however, is more contemporary in its liberal cynicism, its pessimistic viewpoint. Corporate power is denounced for its callous disregard for humon life, and the scientist-robot is the most unsympathetic figure in the film; but the workers who complain about their salary appear as peevish and "materialistic." The audience is led to intuitively side with the professionals, who are the only ones capable of a larger vision of events. In the end, though, the crew stands alone as a group (they are abandoned by their computer, MOTHER) and as individuals - the escape craft is even named “Narcissus I"

Common to most science fiction is an extemalization of conflict in which the threat to an abstract community appears from without. A previously divided humanity is magically united in its battle against an outside enemy. This mythical unification of society against an external menace is mirrored in contemporary politics: Carter's stage-managed campaign to rally Americans in the face of the “energy crisis" is only an attempt to cover up the real source of the problem - the profit requiremants of the oil companies - and to locate the threat outside of society (as material scarcity) or to portray it as emanating from a foreign power (OPEC ). Unfortunately for Carter, any such artificial solidarity is unlikely to be forthcoming. Those who must pay the real costs of the manufactured "gas shortage” are quite able to see who is benefiting from this situation,

The power of modem capitalism is not simply economic or political, and any revolutionary opposition must attack it on the level of cultural domination. It is not a question only of better films, but of better lives: a new basis for society - one in which human creativity can be liberated and fully expressed - must be established. This new starting point implies the abolition, not the reform, of the existing social system; it presupposes on anti-authoritarian revolution, resulting in a directly democratic organization of society in which individuals exercise power over their environment, over technology, over the meaning of their lives.

The true horror show is not "Alien," but the existing world. And it is a show which cannot go on forever without truly horrifying consequences... While the real vampires, who wear business suits ond uniforms, stalk the earth, we intend to sharpen our weapons of criticism, We invite others to discuss with us what is at stake.

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