That being said, I don't think such was the case in Alien. We were never given the opportunity to really see the monster in full until it is hanging from the shuttle at the very end of the film. The "big reveal" is fairly anti-climactic in my opinion. In this particular film, I think it can be said that we are meant to fear what is unknown. As the monster continues to grow and change, adapting to its new environment, we are never given a clear image of our other.
The alien is presented to us in bits and pieces as it travels about the ship in search of its next meal. The film takes us, shot by shot, throughout the ship, making it seem as though we too are in danger of being eaten at every turn. But we are only told, never shown, how frightening the monster truly is, as the camera closes up on the terrified face of whoever is encountering the beast.
So if the glimpses we receive do not successfully effect suspense, why do we watch the film? How does it scare us?
My answer to this question is that it is the lack of wholeness itself that induces fright. We watch and flail about seeking some sense of unity in our other. We want something to look at in order to gain an understanding of that which we fear, but we are never allowed this by the film. As the creature develops it never "extends from a fragmented body-image to a form of its totality," as the human does according to Jacques Lacan's Mirror Stage. Thus we are left to stare at the images mirroring our own world, destined to forever lack a sense of self-identification for we cannot see the monster is the same, nor how it differs from us. Our fear then lies in being trapped in a primitive state of fragmentation.
No comments:
Post a Comment