A perfect example can be found in Star Wars with the near-cultish presence of “RayLows,” a rabid subsection of fans who so desperately want to see romantic relationships denied to them by the latest films’ plot become realized that they write their own versions of the story to meet their needs and insist that it then be considered canon by everyone else. This obsession with controlling perception, which can border on mania, is somewhat understandable in the circles of podcasters and fan group admins who have cultivated and monetized communities around these franchises. However, it comes at a great price: they are trapped between the vocal demands of those who insist (sometimes with great hostility) that everything within canon is great, and those who are displeased enough to point out the diminishing quality of the newest installments. The end result? What was once art is now only ephemeral content so nebulous that there is no hope of gaining any shared value from it.
It’s this psychological and economic tension that allows a trend to take root, one we can see beginning with a film like Alien 3. While some may argue that its bleakness was a necessary artistic choice, a lesson that life is tragic and that victory is fleeting, it ultimately failed because it assumed it was telling the audience something they didn’t already understand, agree or disagree. The purpose of a good story is not to state the obvious or impose an attitude, but to elevate and give meaning to it. Alien3 actively steps in and tramples on the catharsis of Aliens. It denies the audience the dignity of Ripley’s journey, beginning by undoing her hard-won victory and robbing her of the very things she fought for. It is a bleak and disjointed narrative that offers no useful lesson beyond “life is unfair,” a profound betrayal of the audience’s trust.
This betrayal, I believe, is born from a dangerous impulse that is at the heart of much of modern filmmaking: the idea that the medium is in service of a pre-determined message. They believe art is a platform to slip in ideology, rather than a place to explore universal truths. The people who make these stories are not artists but propagandists, seeing art only as a tool to justify their own worldviews. They see a scene in Alien: Earth where an aristocrat in a powdered wig is slaughtered and believe it’s a brilliant moment, because it satisfies their own ideological gripes. They are not telling a story of cause and effect; they are simply celebrating a preordained and staged execution. They get to clap for the executioner, all while declaring themselves good people because the stand-in “oppressors” are the ones who die horribly.
“Alien3 actively steps in and tramples on the catharsis of Aliens.”
Perhaps the success of the comics, novels, and video games that were once part of these franchises’ wider universes was precisely because they existed outside of the film medium. They were allowed to expand the world without corrupting the core message of the cinematic experience. The story, told by competent writers, was allowed to continue in different forms, without the risk of sacrificing the integrity of the original films. It seems that the creators of Alien: Earth had no such discipline. They saw an opportunity to impose their version of the story, presuming that their take was more enlightened than the story’s original architects, onto any and all of our beloved franchises. Just so long as enough of the audience, in their profound desire for the stories they once loved, is willing to convince themselves that the result is good, then that’s all bad writers need to keep chipping away not only at our stories, but our culture.
Christopher Moonlight is an animator, special effects artist, and the director of the ‘Award This’ winning movie, The Quantum Terror. His upcoming animated sci-fi adventure, Escape From Planet Omega-12, combines traditional film-making special effects with AI to create something never seen before in independent film. You can follow the behind-the-scenes, including tutorials, tips, and tricks, on his YouTube Channel and Substack.
