Alien TV Series From Noah Hawley and Ridley Scott CONFIRMED

[Huggs]

I think the reason people are having such a visceral reaction to this, is because we are in living in an age where everything has become politicized, and everything that was semi-political before has become bloated with it now.

There is nowhere to go anymore. No escape. It's like the old man's eye, it's everywhere in everything. And while there are some sprinkles of social issues in the films, the overall experience is basically Humans vs Monster.

I personally think it was bad form to focus on politics in his statement. If he was aware the franchise was already mentioning certain issues, he should've just carried on, and it would've been fine. Most likely he was just trying to score justice points, because making money is still part of the overall goal in business.

But the fact remains that alot of people are fed up with being preached at, especially when nearly all of the preaching is coming from one side in particular. And it bums them out when something that's special to them seems at risk of going overboard with everything else. But they should also remember that watching anything is a voluntary experience. Nobody is forcing them to do anything.

At the end of the day, the show will either be good, or it'll suck. For several reasons other than politics, I think it'll probably suck. The earth setting in particular. But, it's gonna be what it's gonna be. They're going to make it how they want to, and that's all there is to it. The healthiest thing to do is accept the situation and move on.

[Schrödinger]

Hm. Political Commentary in a show is hard to pull off. And as Huggs said, those issues were already in the universe and where handled with nuance so why mention it?

As far as politics in shows go... Doing it the way Battlestar Galactica, or Stargate SG-1 did is fine and fits. It's a balance. BSG/SG1 hit right within their respective universes. But the worry here is, in modern times, when a writer focuses any part of their interview about politics then it's a red flag, a warning sign like going on a date and the guy/woman yaps about how all his/her exes are the problem while shifting his/her tone without reason (You can prolly guess he or she has a temper and isn't faithful.)

But I'm worried what is meant to be "Aliens: Earth War 2.0" will end up being "Humans bad, Men bad, white bad, Democracy is evil if it doesn't let us starve families like Stalin did, more Mary Sue's like Wesley Crusher and Rey Skywaler! reeee" and other weapons grade Twitter shoutouts just to spark more flames of hatred in society (Thankfully, those types of people are a small minority of media tryhards and not a majority.)  I wouldn't be surprised if he turned the Colonial Marines into psychopaths that all have a combat jack after gunning down civilians or go over the top with anti-everything steryotypes.

In short, I don't trust him to have nuances, individuality, and growth with characters; instead I'm worried it'll be copy paste "Goons" and one dimensional characters just written in to make political statements.



*Inb4 someone gets mad at me: I'm not trying to start a fight, I'm an egalitarian, and despise racism/sexism. But those topics don't need to be shoehorned into a movie or show, because doing so kills the fun, horror, sense of reward, etc of the movie/show as you watch beloved characters grow from zeros to heros.*

[Nightmare Asylum]

I think the reason people are having such a visceral reaction to this, is because we are in living in an age where everything has become politicized, and everything that was semi-political before has become bloated with it now.

There is nowhere to go anymore. No escape. It's like the old man's eye, it's everywhere in everything. And while there are some sprinkles of social issues in the films, the overall experience is basically Humans vs Monster.

I personally think it was bad form to focus on politics in his statement. If he was aware the franchise was already mentioning certain issues, he should've just carried on, and it would've been fine. Most likely he was just trying to score justice points, because making money is still part of the overall goal in business.

But the fact remains that alot of people are fed up with being preached at, especially when nearly all of the preaching is coming from one side in particular. And it bums them out when something that's special to them seems at risk of going overboard with everything else. But they should also remember that watching anything is a voluntary experience. Nobody is forcing them to do anything.

At the end of the day, the show will either be good, or it'll suck. For several reasons other than politics, I think it'll probably suck. The earth setting in particular. But, it's gonna be what it's gonna be. They're going to make it how they want to, and that's all there is to it. The healthiest thing to do is accept the situation and move on.

But from the way he's talking about the show, the politics are engrained in the show's core themes and narrative – so why is it "bad form" to talk about the angle? Should a filmmaker have to shy away from talking about their intent and aspirations on their projects? Is it equally taboo when Ridley Scott or James Cameron talk about the political aspirations of their own films?

I'm struggling to remember any era of film – hell, of art in general, dating back thousands of years – that divorced itself completely from the socio-political issues of its time. Art has always reflected life, and life art.

If people are going to have a "visceral reaction" to that then honestly, that's on them.

[Kimarhi]

To me it is fine as long as they can tell a sensible story without political commentary overriding the ability to do that.  If I wanted to be preached too I"d turn on FOX or CNN. 

I also don't like that politics can be so misinterpreted.  There is definitely an anti capitalists bite to the Alien series with its runaway corporations, BUT I've also read that Cameron's film was about captalism vs communism.  Whereas the Marines and Ripley represent America, and the Aliens representing communism.  The queen is the main political ideaology, the facehuggers represent the spreading of the idealogy to other capatilist societies and the slow death of those societies, and the Aliens themselves representing communist missiles meant to take out the USA.

So which is it?  Capatilsm good or bad?  Communism good or bad?  Depends on who you ask.

I also get tired of Hollywood in general talking about people having it hard but then they are living like kings.  Kind of seems phony.  Let me preach to all you underlings about the dangers of this current form of government, while personally enjoying this style of government and reaping the awards of capitalism!

So in short, it is fine if it isn't blatant.  It is fine if it is blatant if it is a game like Detroit Become Human where political struggle is the point.  But if we are getting an alien series about political struggle with no Aliens, then this is going to be like having a prequel movie in the Alien series without Aliens.  f**kING STOOPID.   

[[cancerblack]]

Nothing at all that Hawley has said so far regarding the political slant of this series feels out of line with the previous films at all;

I'm pretty sure none of the previous films were about "spread the wealth".

Ah yes, because any kind of regulations or safety nets introduced to keep money circulating and the economy functioning as intended leads immediately to Red Terror, I forgot.

[Nightmare Asylum]

Nothing at all that Hawley has said so far regarding the political slant of this series feels out of line with the previous films at all;

I'm pretty sure none of the previous films were about "spread the wealth".

Ah yes, because any kind of regulations or safety nets introduced to keep money circulating and the economy functioning as intended leads immediately to Red Terror, I forgot.

[Baron Von Marlon]

Because you are the one that kicked this back and forth off when you said "If you got a good movie, with a proper cast, a good script with well written dialogue, no one cares about a political analogy" which simply isn't true.

That's you because you're so politically obsessed you view everything through a political lense.

[TomT]

Ah yes, because any kind of regulations or safety nets introduced to keep money circulating and the economy functioning as intended leads immediately to Red Terror, I forgot.

I mean in the context of that quote he definitely meant socialist/marxist stuff, not money circulating or economy functioning as intended.

[RidgeTop]

Nothing at all that Hawley has said so far regarding the political slant of this series feels out of line with the previous films at all;

I'm pretty sure none of the previous films were about "spread the wealth".

Ah yes, because any kind of regulations or safety nets introduced to keep money circulating and the economy functioning as intended leads immediately to Red Terror, I forgot.

^ This.

Hawley said he'd be exploring themes of economic inequality, which DOESN'T mean he'll be promoting communism/socialism. Economics are not black and white. Countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland are a thing; all highest on the World Happiness Index. They have hybrid systems that still encourage free enterprise but also have strong social support programs. Too much unrestrained capitalism has its issues just as too much socialism or communism would.

Definitely have to agree with Nightmare Asylum and Sil here, these themes were always very blatant in my view, and for a long time directors have stated their influences and themes. More than one giant evil corporation exists in the Alien Universe.

I mean in the context of that quote he definitely meant socialist/marxist stuff, not money circulating or economy functioning as intended.

I missed the bit where he said his goal in the show is to promote socialist/marxist stuff? Again, I must stress, a lot of the people concerned about economic inequality e.g.: company store, tech giants swallowing everything up, billionaires rigging the system; are literally trying to save capitalism from itself. 

[TomT]

I also get tired of Hollywood in general talking about people having it hard but then they are living like kings.  Kind of seems phony.  Let me preach to all you underlings about the dangers of this current form of government, while personally enjoying this style of government and reaping the awards of capitalism!

True, I never understood this preaching from people who've never had a hard time, it's not relatable to them, even if they try to convince themselves it is. The brightest example of that is Bong bitching about capitalism in every Parasite interview while living a luxury life and pushing his movie about inequality/rich vs poor really hard for golden statuettes without missing a single expensive PR dinner with big celebrities. Looks very disingenuous to me. I would have more respect for those people if they actually followed their preaching with actual actions.

[[cancerblack]]

I also get tired of Hollywood in general talking about people having it hard but then they are living like kings.  Kind of seems phony.  Let me preach to all you underlings about the dangers of this current form of government, while personally enjoying this style of government and reaping the awards of capitalism!

True, I never understood this preaching from people who've never had a hard time, it's not relatable to them, even if they try to convince themselves it is. The brightest example of that is Bong bitching about capitalism in every Parasite interview while living a luxury life and pushing his movie about inequality/rich vs poor really hard for golden statuettes without missing a single expensive PR dinner with big celebrities. Looks very disingenuous to me. I would have more respect for those people if they actually followed their preaching with actual actions.

So your gripe is that poor people aren't the ones publicly shitting on the system they're at the bottom of (thus meaning they don't get the platform, opportunities, distribution for any content they do try to make), while fantastically wealthy people are the ones who do get the opportunity to talk some shit very publicly, which is entirely because the system is so badly broken (at the present point), and that Hawley addressing these ideas in a franchise famous for addressing them is a sure sign of incoming marxist propaganda?

[TomT]

I missed the bit where he said his goal in the show is to promote socialist/marxist stuff?

"So you will see what happens when the inequality we're struggling with now isn't resolved. If we as a society can't figure out how to prop each other up and spread the wealth, then what's going to happen to us?"
Sounds pretty socialist to me. And "spread the wealth" is a pretty popular phrase among actual marxists.

Again, I must stress, a lot of the people concerned about economic inequality i.e.: company store, tech giants swallowing everything up, billionaires rigging the system; are literally trying to save capitalism from itself.

Or pretend to be concerned 

[Voodoo Magic]

Okay, we are starting to go off the rails here.

If you gents want to continue this, please do so in out Politics thread. Thanks! 

[TomT]

So your gripe is that poor people aren't the ones publicly shitting on the system they're at the bottom of (thus meaning they don't get the platform, opportunities, distribution for any content they do try to make), while fantastically wealthy people are the ones who do get the opportunity to talk some shit very publicly, which is entirely because the system is so badly broken (at the present point),

No, it's just disingenuous when rich people talk shit about capitalism while actually not believing in that because they do absolutely nothing to support their words with actions, in fact they do the exact opposite. That's kind of it. And poor people can publicly shit on the system, we live in 2021 after all, even poor people have some device with internet connection.

and that Hawley addressing these ideas in a franchise famous for addressing them is a sure sign of incoming marxist propaganda?

No, more like using popular marxist phrase "spread the wealth" in the context of socialism is the sign of concern. But the actual concern is quality. Mank is kind of socialist propaganda, but it's a very well made film by a great director, so who cares.

Okay, we are starting to go off the rails here.

If you gents want to continue this, please do so in out Politics thread. Thanks! 

Ok.

[Kimarhi]

Don't let them silence you TomT.  Freedom of speech!  USA USA!