From Alien To The Matrix: Reading Science Fiction Film by Roz Kaveney (book review).
I picked up a small pile of books about SF a couple years ago and am slowly working my way through them. In many respects, Roz Kaveney’s book, ‘From Alien To The Matrix: Reading Science Fiction Film’ shows how many years ago a lot of these films came out.
She examines the first film, ‘Starship Troopers’, and draws comparisons with Heinlein’s original novel, highlighting the significant changes made by director Paul Verhoeven. Although, due to my age at the time, I didn’t fully comprehend Heinlein’s right-wing stance when I read the original novel, I did understand that a society constantly at war with a dangerous alien bug species would need to adopt some form of totalitarianism to compel its citizens to go to war. Any writer doing this is going to look right-wing.
I’m not going to cover all the films Kaveney covers. I’m still puzzled by ‘Galaxy Quest,’ which she raves over. I understood the parody element, but I didn’t find it particularly humorous. In ‘Mars Attacks,’ she alludes to the transplantation of a woman’s head onto a chihuahua’s body, oblivious to the fact that this is a direct allusion to the second ‘Invasion of the Bodysnatchers’ movie, in which a hobo’s body merged with his after a pod sustained damage.
Some of these books default to providing a synopsis, particularly at the time of publication, to remind readers of the plot rather than discussing its implications, which may not fully fill the chapter. Take ‘Strange Days’, released to tie in with the dawn of the millennium, albeit in an SF manner, to somewhat date it. Unlike seasonal films that consistently receive repeats, many set-date films receive less attention, particularly if the film does not include the date.
As Kaveney compares George Lucas to Jim Cameron, I’m going to go into reaction mode here. Lucas wanted to emulate the likes of the ‘Flash Gordon’ serials from his youth without breeching copyright, although he borrowed from many sources into the mix. As Kaveney points out, there are numerous inconsistencies, necessitating the assistance of experienced SF writer Leigh Brackett to resolve the final two parts of the original trilogy. Cameron, despite his lack of interest in science fiction, possesses a well-organized, logical mind that seamlessly connects all the pieces. Alas, in his later years, regular three-hour plus films do tend to make me think he’s overindulging rather than thinking of his viewers’ bladders.
‘The Matrix’ trilogy is given only a few pages, considering its presence in the book title.
The first four ‘Alien’ films are each given their own chapters, and anyone familiar with them is going to spot little mistakes that could have been corrected had she gone over the films or let someone with a little more knowledge do an informed proofread. Let’s discuss a few examples to ensure you understand my point of view. With ‘Alien’, she states Dallas was a ‘company man’. Surely, if he was a “company man,” he would be collaborating with Ash rather than selflessly venturing into the airducts. He simply followed Ash’s directive, acknowledging that in matters of science, Ash held the final say. Ripley didn’t take Dallas’ key to access MU/TH/UR, but she took her own from the storage locker outside the computer room. The captain’s shuttle isn’t really built for a crew of three, considering there is only one hibernating pod, although you do have to wonder about its purpose if it can’t save the entire crew.
I find Kaveney’s treatment of Vasquez as a role model in the ‘Aliens’ chapter particularly puzzling, given that she never spent any time with any of the female marines. She also refers to Newt’s family name Newton, not Jorden. That might be a Freudian slip, as we never know how she got her nickname. She also places Bishop with the marines when they go to the cooling tower while he is in the lab. To call the Sulaco’s dropship a shuttle doesn’t look right considering what it does. To be fair, she does explain a lot more about the connections between the names Nostromo and Sulaco, as both come from Joseph Conrad’s novels.
Interestingly, she doesn’t include a bibliography of the books she looked up, but she did mention David Tomson’s “The Alien Quartet,” which I need to review for errors.
Kaveney’s thoughts and knowledge of ‘Alien3’ and ‘Alien: Resurrection’ do mirror my own problems with the films and studio interference. Back in the day, though, SF films outside of ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Star Trek’ rarely had sequels, let alone seen as cash cows. Look at how long there was between the first two ‘Predator’ films. In ‘Alien3’, she asserts that there were no survivors, but she still longs for the captured Morse. With ‘Alien: Resurrection’, Kaveney points out the androids’ names are built out of successive alphabetical initials, although, oddly, not recognising ‘Call’ is actually a command code in computer language.
I really wish Kaveney had a concluding chapter that brought all thoughts together. As it stands, this book reads more like a summary analysis with a touch of behind-the-scenes history. For reading this book, would I have understood any of the 41 films she mentions better? Probably not, but I am well-versed in most of them.
GF Willmetts
June 2024
(pub: I/B.Tauris, 2005. 208 page indexed medium softcover. Price: varies. ISBN: 1-85043-806-4)
check out website: www.ibtauris.com
