Space Sisters: Teknowomen at GFT

Explorations across time and space, the otherworldly, and the intergalactic all convene as part of Days of Fear and Wonder, a wide-reaching sci-fi season from the British Film Institute running throughout the UK until the end of the year. Screenings abound, with one of its highlights being Glasgow Film Theatre's Teknowomen, a strand focusing specifically on the depiction of women in sci-fi. The programme features outings for Fritz Lang’s Woman in the Moon (which was produced with wife Thea von Harbou), Tilda Swinton in Teknolust, and cult fem film Born in Flames. In collaboration with Glasgow Women’s Library, the programme will also include a screening and panel discussion on seminal sci-fi film Alien. Famously featuring Sigourney Weaver in the lead role that was originally written as male, Weaver’s portrayal of Ellen Ripley sent ripples across the cosmos, reaching audiences and filmmakers alike. In deepest darkest space, where no-one can hear you scream, it was whispered that it was OK for a film to feature a woman saving the day.

Author Kirsty Logan will appear on the Alien discussion panel, alongside critic Hannah McGill and professor of feminist media studies Karen Boyle, to discuss Ripley’s feminist credentials. “No matter how many times I watch Alien, I never get tired of Ripley,” Logan confesses. “She's an onion. She's got layers. It's not impossible to think of a tough, attractive, sensitive, nuanced woman in film before Ripley, but she crosses gender boundaries in such a fascinating way.” 

With a ship computer system named ‘Mother’ and an iconic entrance by the eponymous Xenomorph via an unconventional birth, Alien's concern with women-centric themes reaches far beyond its female protagonist. “Without a doubt, Alien is a film about women's issues – fears of pregnancy and maternity, physical invasion, the changing body – but people of any gender can identify with Ripley's struggle and eventual triumph. She's universal.”

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“No matter how many times I watch Alien, I never get tired of Ripley. She's an onion. She's got layers” – Kirsty Logan

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While traditional hero-led films demoted women to relatively powerless roles, the reversal in Alien proved a landmark moment. The degree to which it may have been a turning point, however, remains up for debate. Was Ripley’s ingenuity and bravery not ultimately undermined by parading around in her pants? Not necessarily. Logan suggests that we would be “…hard-pressed to find an entirely positive role model of any gender in popular culture.” She goes on to note that “…in real life, a woman can be strong and also sexual, or caring and also aggressive, or intelligent and also emotional. So too with fictional characters.”

The debates will continue, as the season will also include a discussion on female comic heroes. Following the screening of Wonder Woman! The Untold Story of American Superheroines, author Zoe Strachan and comic artist Gill Hatcher will take to the floor to dissect the evolution of the female superhero. With the news that a Wonder Woman movie is due in 2017, there is a suggestion that a confluence of progressive attitudes and demand is bringing about a further shift in the landscape. The subversion of The Avengers’ poster, for example, which saw the male heroes (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor et al) posed as the lone female Avenger (Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow) was on the original poster, with their lycra-clad buttocks on full display, is a prime example of the vocal (and visual) disdain for such outdated concepts.

However, in a world where the previous female-led superhero movie was released almost ten years ago (Elektra in 2005), and with no announced plans for any others, it brings about the question of how much progress is being reflected. Even with a film like Wonder Woman, how the superheroine will be portrayed leaves room for concern. “I think [the portrayal of women in sci-fi and comic book movies] will always be problematic to some extent,” Logan suggests. “There's no perfect 'end point' at which women's portrayal in the media will be completely problem free. The problem comes when we passively consume. I just want people to keep thinking – keep watching films, keep having opinions, and keep discussing those opinions.”