The Science of a Controversial Alien Franchise Moment
The human/Xenomorph hybrid in Alien Resurrection remains one of the most controversial moments in the history of the franchise. We’re taking a look at what does and doesn’t work about this wild sci-fi movie concept.
Love it or hate it, Alien Resurrection won’t be ignored. The final film in the Ripley saga of the Alien franchise (before it branched off into Predators, prequels, and other distractions…more on that below), Alien Resurrection has always been something of a hot-button issue with fans. Maybe not as much as Prometheus, but still! Any movie that deals with cloning a beloved character (who had been granted a heroic death in the previous film), complete with “genetic memories” is bound to push some buttons, but that’s not even the biggest thing this movie adds to the franchise.
Alien Resurrection heralds the arrival on the scene of a new kind of Xenomorph. Specifically, a human/alien hybrid made via the same shady experiments that helped “bring back” Ripley. As a result, we get a Xenomorph that (among other things) no longer lays eggs and instead can reproduce in a slightly more recognizable/mammalian fashion. And hoo-boy, do Hakeem and Tamara have questions about this one! From the handling of cloning to the hybrid alien itself, this episode of Does it Fly? is for you if the gooier corners of the Alien universe are your cup of acid blood.
Check it out here or on our YouTube page!
SUGGESTED VIEWING
Before we get into the intricacies of the Alien franchise, allow us to also recommend one of Tamara’s favorite movies, Code 46, an underrated 2003 film from director Michael Winterbottom which deals with a few similar themes of ethics within biotechnology as they regard our discussion about Alien Resurrection.
Obviously, concepts from Alien Resurrection are what we focus on in this episode, but if you haven’t seen the movies that precede it, too, then you might be a little lost. Those are…
Alien (1979)
Aliens (1986)
Alien 3 (1992)
Alien Resurrection (1997)
Now, the franchise continues on after that, albeit to mixed (and sometimes controversial) results. Those are…
Alien vs. Predator (2004)
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
Both of the above movies are inessential, and take place BEFORE the events of the first film, or even the other prequels. Speaking of which, for the last decade or so, the Alien franchise has been more concerned with exploring the days before the first film, which brings us to…
Prometheus (2012)
Alien: Covenant (2017)
And now, currently in theaters is Alien: Romulus, which takes place between Alien and Aliens. Get watchin’!
FURTHER READING
Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do!
Central to our discussion about the Xenomorph/human hybrid in Alien Resurrection is the question of cloning. Granted, this is a tough one to read up on, but this fact sheet from the National Human Genome Research institute is a good start. Also, doesn’t the fact that there’s a National Human Genome Research Institute in the first place make it sound like we’re already living in a sci-fi movie?
Genetic Memory
Hakeem (and science in general) state that when you clone an organism, you’re making a twin of it, you aren’t creating an exact duplicate that also contains memories and learned experiences. That, of course, blows a pretty big hole in Alien Resurrection right out of the gate. That being said, there’s some interesting reading to be done on the subject both here and here, although neither really support the movie’s central premise.
Hybridization
“I find it really interesting that when this baby comes out and Ripley is created, both are hybrids of alien and human. So the question is, can you splice together genes like that.” For this one, we couldn’t resist going back to the National Human Genome Research Institute for some hard information.
See also: Retroviruses.
One of the darker chapters of American 20th Century history involved the deliberate infection of African-Americans with syphilis in order to study the disease over a period of time. It’s monstrous that something like this was sanctioned by official government agencies, and we shouldn’t forget that this is part of our recent past so that it never happens again.
WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?
Just a reminder, if you haven’t watched our exploration of Xenomorph biology as it was explored in the first Alien movie (which also happens to be one of our most popular episodes), now’s a good time to get to it!
Check out our episode on the most infamous moment in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which just celebrated its 40th anniversary. The movie, not our episode. Oh, you know what we mean!
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