Quote from: Immortan Jonesy on Nov 17, 2023, 03:10:23 PMQuote from: ralfy on Nov 17, 2023, 02:11:01 AMIf the term refers to what Lovecraft had in mind (that the universe is neutral and meaningless), then it's implied in part only at the end of the third movie (which was negated by the production of the fourth) and the prequels, which refer to cosmological origins, etc.
What if Robert Morse was an alien spy?
https://i.ibb.co/c6sdXvg/1494230724-alien-covenant-engineers-1.jpg
There's a more detailed definition here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovecraftian_horrorQuoteLovecraftian horror, sometimes used interchangeably with "cosmic horror",[2] is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible[3] more than gore or other elements of shock.[4] It is named after American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). His work emphasizes themes of cosmic dread, forbidden and dangerous knowledge, madness, non-human influences on humanity, religion and superstition, fate and inevitability, and the risks associated with scientific discoveries,[5] which are now associated with Lovecraftian horror as a subgenre.[6] The cosmic themes of Lovecraftian horror can also be found in other media, notably horror films, horror games, and comics.
In light of that is cosmicism, which is also defined in the same entry:
QuoteThe hallmark of Lovecraft's work is cosmicism, the sense that ordinary life is a thin shell over a reality that is so alien and abstract in comparison that merely contemplating it would damage the sanity of the ordinary person,[12] insignificance and powerlessness at the cosmic scale,[14] and uncompromising negativity.[15] Author China Miéville notes that "Lovecraft's horror is not one of intrusion but of realization. The world has always been implacably bleak; the horror lies in our acknowledging that fact."[16] Lovecraft's work is also steeped in the insular feel of rural New England,[17][18] and much of the genre continues to maintain this sense that "that which man was not meant to know" might be closer to the surface of ordinary life outside of the crowded cities of modern civilization.[citation needed]
But there are more details here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CosmicismQuoteCosmicism and human centric views of the universe are incompatible.[2][9] Cosmicism shares many characteristics with nihilism, though one important difference is that cosmicism tends to emphasize the insignificance of humanity and its doings, rather than summarily rejecting the possible existence of some higher purpose (or purposes); e.g., in Lovecraft's Cthulhu stories. It is not the absence of meaning that causes terror for the protagonists, as it is their discovery that they have absolutely no power to change anything in the vast, indifferent universe that surrounds them. In Lovecraft's stories, whatever meaning or purpose may be invested in the actions of the cosmic beings is completely inaccessible to the human characters.[10]
Lovecraft's cosmicism was a result of his feeling of humanity's existential helplessness in the face of what he called the "infinite spaces" opened up by scientific thought, and his belief that humanity was fundamentally at the mercy of the vastness and emptiness of the cosmos.[11] In his fictional works, these ideas are often explored humorously ("Herbert West–Reanimator," 1922), through fantastic dream-like narratives (The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, 1927), or through his well-known Cthulhu Mythos ("The Call of Cthulhu," 1928, and others). Common themes related to cosmicism in Lovecraft's fiction are the insignificance of humanity in the universe[12] and the search for knowledge ending in disaster.[13]
The difference between this and nihilism is that the latter sees the universe as materialistic. Lovecraft was a materialist but created the Cthulhu Mythos to show that the gods are uncaring and that all protagonists are helpless before them:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._LovecraftQuoteA non-literary inspiration came from then-contemporary scientific advances in biology, astronomy, geology, and physics.[174] Lovecraft's study of science contributed to his view of the human race as insignificant, powerless, and doomed in a materialistic and mechanistic universe.[175] Lovecraft was a keen amateur astronomer from his youth, often visiting the Ladd Observatory in Providence, and penning numerous astronomical articles for his personal journal and local newspapers.[176] Lovecraft's materialist views led him to espouse his philosophical views through his fiction; these philosophical views came to be called cosmicism. Cosmicism took on a more pessimistic tone with his creation of what is now known as the Cthulhu Mythos, a fictional universe that contains alien deities and horrors. The term "Cthulhu Mythos" was likely coined by later writers after Lovecraft's death.[1] In his letters, Lovecraft jokingly called his fictional mythology "Yog-Sothothery".[177]
The implication, then, is that he wrote these tales to entertain readers with gore, fantasy, and fear, but his real intention was to create the greater fear that all of these are imaginary and that the universe is faceless and meaningless.
I'm not sure if that's seen in the
Alien franchise, although the closest I saw was the end of the third movie. The prequels, in turn, deal with cosmic origins themes, just like in several of Lovecraft's stories, and cosmic horror appears to be implied, e.g., human protagonists facing bewildering forces beyond their control.
