Content Warning: Horror, Gore, Sensitive Topics
Alien: Romulus couldn’t be further from exploring themes of femininity and masculinity. It’s a sci-fi, horror, thriller movie that follows a group of friends trying to escape their planet. The group of friends end up getting trapped in spaceships that have parasitic aliens attempting to take their bodies as hosts. However, the horror in this movie touches upon the biggest modern issues in feminism, bodily autonomy.
The aliens in this movie are parasitic and seeking hosts in order or multiple species. The hosts, in this case, are the humans, regardless of gender. The alien forcefully impregnates the group of friends and forces the bodies to give birth to aliens. As the friend group attempts to kill and escape the predatory aliens, one of the women in the group is already pregnant. She ends up remaining the last friend alive, but is later still a victim of the parasite. The alien pathogen she injected, combined with her already human baby, created a monstrosity. A mix between an alien who aims to continue their species growth, but who can pass as a human.
The movie reflects a horror that is often expected in women’s lives. Many women face situations in which they are forced to carry a pregnancy to term, either due to abuse or due to lack of medical access. Whether or not the creator of the movie intended his movies to have feminist themes, the movie still truly captures the horror of your body being used against you. This is not to mention the very symbolic images in the movie. The final horror of this movie was the last creation. A mix of the alien and a human. This can reflect a horrific outcome that happens in real life. When children are a product of rape or an unwanted pregnancy, they can suffer unintended consequences in life. Whether from their family or society, they can face judgment.
The scenes in the movie were really unsettling, especially because they reflected the fear and trauma many people feel to this day. It makes you think about your bodily autonomy and how horrifying it is to have that stripped from you. Once again, reflecting the current political climate that is threatening to take place.
My name is Dua Shahid! I’m currently a junior that’s double majoring in Criminology and Psychology! My hobbies include reading and playing story-based video games! I aim to attend law school and aspire to practice criminal law.
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