Quote from: SiL on Dec 17, 2021, 09:32:19 PM
Trying to emulate Aliens without learning why any of the movie actually works as well as it does. *
SM knows why.
But since he's not here to speak up, this guy also follows the same
monomyth interpretation:
https://medium.com/@simonlundlarsen/after-the-events-in-alien-james-cameron-made-it-clear-that-ellen-ripley-refused-to-be-part-of-10f6bb0bd8eSo many
Aliens imitators have clogged up our screens without realising that you need the characters and arcs (IOW, in this interpretation, the
monomyth) for the story to earn its success as not just sci-fi space soldiering, but first and foremost, as basic human drama. These basics feature in good stories from Homer to Hemingway to Heinlein.
But the monomyth isn't the only way to successfully structure a story: case in point -
Alien '79. Rather than shoe-horn
Alien into the monomyth paradigm, I think of it simply as the "Ten Little Indians" structure. Far less character-based, but very powerful in the way it pulls you through the narrative.
I like to summarise it like this:
Aliens is what you study in film school;
Alien is what you study as a fan. Trying to learn why
Alien shouldn't work (and yet does) will get you nowhere as a filmmaker. Learning about why
Aliens DOES work, is like taking a masterclass in filmmaking.
TC