Character Appearances

Ellen Ripley in Resurrection

In any Science Fiction film, the women shown in ther text have been appeared portrayed as being a little 'untidy'. Their dress codes can be described as being scruffy, beaten up and worn out, but in 'Ripleys' case she is portrayed as dressing more masculine than other characters male or female. Main female protagonists will almost always be portrayed as being scruffy and untidy as part as their character, unless they were the main antagonist, they would almost always be dressed very smartly and shown as being clean.

Aayla Secura

Characters who do not play a main role in a text and are just in the background will be dressed nicely and used as male gaze such as 'Twi'leks' in 'Star Wars'. Women have almost always been portrayed as being sex object to public through the media, they have been made to look alluring and appealing so as to attract a section of the audience. These are clear representations of women in sexualised way and it is exploitation as a way of aiming the text at a male audience. But when they are the main protagonist, they retain their sex appeal but also have masculine traits or characteristics, such as fiting skills and handling weapons.

Specific Scenes of Chosen Characters

Ripley in the Alien Franchise

Ripley getting undressed in 'Alien'

This scene I would analyse is one of the last in 'Alien'. I have chosen this one because of the fact we can see Ripley in a very voyeuristic view and see her looking more feminine here than in the rest of the whole film. This scene also can be used to show how women can be very resourceful when in trouble and even when in they are in their underwear. The fact remains that Ripley is one of the most iconic women in Science Fiction but also in cinema history. She is seen battling it out against her foes no matter the situation or the timing as we can see here. Here is one of the few scenes where we can see Ripley acting and looking feminine than she usually does, wearing dirty old work clothes. It shows her acting out of the norm than society would see women, usually being portrayed as being clean, full of makeup and looking after their appearance; Ripley goes against that norm on every level. Until we see her underneath and we see that she still just a little bit girly still.

Chiana in the Farscape Franchise

Chiana acting as a lawyer in 'Dream a Little Dream'

One of the Scenes I would analyse for Chiana would be once from ‘Dream a Little Dream’. This is because even though she is one of the side kick characters, this is one of the few episodes which she is given a main role and main protagonist to play. In this episode she doesn’t play in the normal role of her character, being problematic for everyone or flirting with the ‘bad guys’. In the episode she is portrayed as being lawyer and in some cases an older sister looking out for her siblings. Her dress code however still shows that she is acting informally, even when she is in a court room fighting for her friend’s life. This shows her acting in the same norm as people would recognise her to be in but the fact that she is looking out for someone else other than her own shows her acting also out of her norm. Doing this makes us think that Chiana is growing up and not acting like the child she was originally portrayed as being.