Are people actually denying that the Alien gestation cycle is a sexual rape metaphor? For fuck’s sake, they even call the facehugger an “ambulatory penis” in the original (1988) Aliens vs. Predator comic series. It’s not in any way a new idea, and Giger’s designs are unambiguous in their sexual imagery even in pre-production.
It really is quite overt.
With the author’s intent already stated and quoted, obviously not. What’s under debate is whether the metaphor was clearly communicated.
First, at the risk of squicking the thread, male rape is almost always portrayed as anal penetration. Forced oral penetration is much less powerful imagery, probably on account of the fact that things go into our mouths all the time (“choo choo!”). Anuses, less so. Furthermore, the oral intrusion isn’t actually shown in the films, just clinically described, almost in passing. So the intended horror of rape is buried under the far more primal horror of smothering, with the facehugger wrapped inextricably around the victim’s face.
Overall, the subtext of the Alien life cycle is overshadowed by the text. It doesn’t need the subtext to be horrifying. I’m not grossed out by the chestburster because “OMG pragnent”, I’m grossed out because “OMG blood spraying bones shattering sharp little teeth”. It’s more body horror than rape horror.
This thread = biggest WTF moment ever.
What is all this about getting raped in the mouth and then having a penis explode out your chest, that is the most ridiculous thing I ever
I finally finished this over the weekend, although it was rough going towards the end. The underwater swimming stuff is atrocious, and a lot of the boss fights feel like a mess. I’m glad I got to see what this looked like, but I’m also glad I’m done.
Rather than give a long dissection of all the game’s wonky components, I’ll say this: Duke Nukem Forever should be used in game design schools as both a problem solving tool and a prime example of how important playtesting and polishing is to the development process. The overall layout of the game could have worked, but it would have required some small tweaks here and an overhaul or two there (ie the combat). Not being snarky at all, I think you’d get a lot of mileage out of DNF by putting it in front of budding designers and asking them “what’s wrong with x/y/z and how would you fix it?”
I’m dying to know what the asterisk is for.
Nevermind you ninja editor!
That was a weird iPhone typo.
There should be an unofficial internet rule that all forum posts get a 5 minute grace period on typos. :)
Best part of DNF: it turns Singularity from a meh wanna-be Bioshock shooty clone to something pretty damn good. After grinding to a halt near the end of the dam in DNF, restarting Singularity was like, “OH! This is what a good, modern, linear rail-shooter is like. Thanks, Raven.”
Edit: as far as Duke3D goes, eDuke is the lowest common denominator that you must have to really replay the game in a modern setting. The rest of the renderers and the HRP are nice, but be aware that a LOT of superb OEM maps don’t like either, but play in generic software-mode eDuke just fine.
You’re correct in terms of plain old “depiction of male rape,” of course, as seen prominently in films like Deliverance and Pulp Fiction. However, I submit that Alien used the face because a) It’s easier to access given the nature of the Alien egg, and b) An alien raping a spaceman up the ass is more absurd than horrific. Besides, the standards of the time weren’t quite as liberated as we might imagine. They’d already had to tone down the adult Alien’s head’s resemblance to a penis.
Furthermore, the oral intrusion isn’t actually shown in the films, just clinically described, almost in passing. So the intended horror of rape is buried under the far more primal horror of smothering, with the facehugger wrapped inextricably around the victim’s face.
The smothering aspect is certainly present, but I would argue that the facehugger also represents the loss of self and identity that can be an effect of rape. By obscuring or removing the face, the facehugger dehumanizes the victim.
Overall, the subtext of the Alien life cycle is overshadowed by the text. It doesn’t need the subtext to be horrifying. I’m not grossed out by the chestburster because “OMG pragnent”, I’m grossed out because “OMG blood spraying bones shattering sharp little teeth”. It’s more body horror than rape horror.
The body horror of Alien is inextricably tied to the sense of violation the facehugger represents. There’s a reason the Alien’s life cycle is what it is, and they didn’t just find a fully-grown vicious monster that started killing them all.
This is Jason McMaster:
I want to interrupt the rape comments for 5 seconds and say this is the hardest game in the world for me to play right now. I got it late and I’m reviewing it, so I’m not finished, but it hurts to play. It makes me hurt. IT HURTS MY HEART.
God, before I turn on the xbox I get that feeling right before you go to the dentist.
Aren’t you legally obliged to start every post with “This is Jason McMaster”? Precedent has been established on Jumping The Shark!
Fixed!
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