Space: the final frontier. With the vastness of space so unexplored and beyond our reach, when it comes to creating stories about space, it is largely inspired by our imagination. Throughout history, humanity has pondered the possibility of life beyond our planet, and those thoughts have translated through to the different depictions of extraterrestrials onscreen.

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Some alien depictions are comedic - Galaxy Quest, Paul, Men in Black - while others imagine the true horrors of an alien invasion - The Tomorrow War, The 5th Wave, Edge of Tomorrow. Outside easy laughs and cheap thrills, there are alien movies with greater meaning beyond the surface that are capable of alluding to alien imagery to tell deeply human stories.

‘Nope’ (2022)

Man on horseback looking up at the sky

OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) are ranch owners who handle horses for film productions. However, life on the secluded ranch is interrupted by a cloud that hasn’t moved for six months, strange electronic disturbances, and debris falling from the sky - all events that OJ and Emerald believe to be caused by an unidentified flying object.

With a tale that builds tension by enticing curiosity, Jordan Peele’s Nope is an alien film that knows how to keep you watching. At its core, it’s a film about spectacle and humanity’s gawking fascination with it - as well as the dangers it poses. Nope’s self-reflexive meditations on spectacle is a titillating and cautionary tale of obsession and spectacle that has been engrained throughout the history of cinema.

‘Starship Troopers’ (1997)

soldier running from alien bug

During an interstellar war between humankind and an arachnoid alien species known as “the Bugs,” Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) is a soldier serving in the military under the Earth world government, the United Citizen Federation.

Known for his films about social satire, Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers was ahead of its time in 1997 satirizing themes of patriotism, authoritarianism, militarianism, colonialism, and xenophobia. With propaganda ads interspersed throughout the film, Verhoeven critiques the notion of nationalistic fascism by emphasizing its inherent absurdity and the dangers it poses to society.

‘Alien’ (1979)

three people looking at something scary

After answering a distress call from a distant planet during their return to Earth, the crew of the Nostromo spaceship inadvertently discover a planet filled with thousands of alien eggs. When one of the creatures from the eggs attacks a crew member, the rest of the crew are unaware of the danger they have just brought aboard their ship.

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Ridley Scott’s Alien combines both science fiction and horror into a chilling body hijacking film.With the parasitic alien’s ability to infiltrate the fleshy barrier of the human body, it’s a film about the abject - the notion of the breakdown of conventional borders, that confronts humanity’s inherent fragility.

‘Under the Skin’ (2013)

a woman driving a truck

The Female (Scarlett Johansson) is an alien prowling the streets of Glasgow in search of prey, capable of seducing unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.

Directed by Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin is an arthouse science fiction film released by A24 that with its haunting aesthetic and imagery demands multiple viewings to truly understand what it is trying to say. It can be best categorized as an intimately human story told from the perspective of an alien. With heavier themes like contemporary feminism, objectification of women, and rape culture - it offers a unique insight into the human experience from an outsider’s perspective.

‘Arrival’ (2016)

scientist in hazmat suit holding whiteboard that says human

After 12 alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or pose a threat to humanity.

While films about alien invasions are often met with the military finding ways to destroy the perceived threat, Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival is a more nuanced exploration of communication with extraterrestrial intelligence. As the aliens offer their language as a “tool” for humanity, Arrival explores the ways in which the arrival of alien intelligence shouldn’t be something to be met with fear, but instead with curiosity.

‘Contact’ (1997)

scientist sitting in field with large antennas

Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) works for the SETI program searching for alien life by listening to radio emissions from space. One night, Arroway detects a signal from the Vega star system which after many months she decodes into schematics for a teleportation machine.

Based on the novel by Carl Sagan and directed by Robert Zemeckis, Contact explores the conflict between science and religion that has plagued humanity with the increasing evolution of technology. The notion of existence and believing without proof, are all recontextualized through a scientific lens as Arroway’s own beliefs are called into question, emphasizing the value of faith in the human experience.

‘They Live’ (1988)

man takes sunglasses off

John Nada (Roddy Piper) discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of revealing the lies embedded in society. Throughout the streets of Los Angeles, Nada is confronted by the revelation of subliminal meanings hidden in media and government messages that keep the population subdued, and soon discovers that behind the social elite who are controlling society are skull-faced aliens bent on world domination.

John Carpenter’s cult film They Live is a political commentary that emerged from the era of US President Ronald Reagan. Focusing on the notion of hidden messages ingrained in society, They Live reveals the inherent controlling ideologies within every aspect of society and forces you to question who is responsible for shaping these ideologies.

‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ (1951)

a robot exiting their spaceship

When a spacecraft lands in Washington D.C. the world is spellbound by its mystery and out emerges a humanoid alien named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and a robot named Gort, who have arrived to deliver his message of peace and goodwill. However, due to tensions during the Cold War era, Klaatu is told he is unable to deliver his message to all the world leaders. After being fatally wounded Klaatu and Gort depart the Earth but not before imparting their final message to humanity; “Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer.”

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While many science-fiction films portray the threat of alien invaders, Robert Wise’s The Day the Earth Stood Still offers a more nuanced take on the trope by revealing that sometimes the true threat to humanity is itself.

‘The Iron Giant’ (1999)

a giant robot looks down at a young boy

In 1957, in the small town of Rockwell, Maine, a giant alien metal machine known as the Iron Giant (Vin Diesel) befriends a nine-year-old boy named Hogarth (Eli Marienthal). During his time on Earth, the Iron Giant saves the townspeople from danger, as well as from their own fears and prejudices.

Brad Bird’s animated film The Iron Giant explicitly uses its Cold War setting to critique the xenophobic anxieties of the time. Centered around the idea of belonging and identity, The Iron Giant poses the question of “what if a gun had a soul, and didn’t want to be a gun?”

‘District 9’ (2009)

law enforcement on alien's doorstep

Aliens have arrived on Earth, not to conquer or provide aid, but to find refuge from their dying planet. On Earth, they are separated from humans in a contained area called District 9 where they are held as prisoners, interrogated for their motives and probed for their advanced technology.

Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 is largely inspired by historical events during the apartheid era that saw institutionalized racial segregation in Cape Town during 1966. By using an alien species seeking refuge to tell this story, themes of racism and xenophobia play out against a science fiction backdrop made all the more realistic with found footage sequences throughout the film such as fictional interviews, news reels, and surveillance camera footage.

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