The Name

It shouldn't come as any surprise that Alien is one of my favourite movies of all time. I mean, look at the banner picture up there. And my profile pic. Oh, and my screen name on just about everything is Xenomorphs, named after Giger's terrifyingly beautiful nightmare monsters. The title of this blog is also named after Alien, and that is what I wanted to talk about today.

Films and books have to stand on their own merits, but their titles can have more far-reaching effects on our perception of these merits than we realize. I know it's a cliché to say that you can't judge a book by its cover, but in some ways you can judge it by its name. Or, at the very least, I think it's fair to say that your perceptions of a piece of fiction (either written or on film) are affected in some way by its title.

First off, a title can act as a signifier of the kind of film or book you're looking at. If, let's say, it's got a serious sounding title like Doomsday Book, or The Left Hand of Darkness, you know right away that you've got something with a certain amount of dramatic gravitas. On the other hand, you know that Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is going to be more irreverent and comedic. Additionally, titles can help you avoid reading or watching something that you know you're not going to like, usually by situating the movie or book within a series or genre that you can't stand. When I see a movie called Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, or a book called Boomerang Bride, I immediately know to steer clear of them and find something else.

Titles also impart some thematic, poetic, or atmospheric qualities to their respective films or books. Dune conjures up images of sandy wastelands and searing emptiness, while Forbidden Planet just oozes mystery and potential danger. It is in this regard that Alien is such wonderful example of how important a title can be.

Dan O'Bannon, Alien's writer and creator, had originally called his screenplay Star Beast. That's alright, if you're making a cheesy B movie with ridiculous fake costumes and a thin, yet fun, storyline. For a film as dark and tense as Alien, though, Star Beast is way to campy. Can you picture the glistening, smooth-lined, bio-mechanical Xenomorph being referred to by moviegoers as the Star Beast? Something about that just doesn't sit right with me, probably because I think the name sounds somewhat silly and childish, not fitting for a parasitic death-machine. Alien, on the other hand, is minimalistic perfection.

Much of the terror inherent in Alien comes from not seeing the Xenomorph. Neither the characters nor the viewers know what it is, or where it is, until it's too late. With the alien constantly out of sight, viewers are forced to fill in the blanks with their own fears, a process that is always far more terrifying than just being shown a monster. Alien's title works in exactly the same way. It reveals nothing about the Xenomorph or the plot, allowing viewers to fill in the details. What it does do is equally as important. Simply using the word alien, and nothing else, allowed Ridley Scott to reveal nothing about the plot or characters to viewers, except for the fact that some kind of alien was involved. The word also suggests the idea of something foreign and dangerous that absolutely does not belong. The change in title from campy Star Beast to minimalistic Alien helps project the sense of unease and vaguely directionless fear that the characters feel for the first half of the film. It also amplifies the horror of the Xenomorph's presence in the second half of the film. In all, I think it's genius. However, the film does have another title, and I think it's even better.

Many of the non-English versions of Alien are actually titled The Eighth Passenger (in reference to the fact that there are seven crewmembers on the Nostromo until the Xenomorph hitches a ride inside one of them). Hopefully you recognize that name by now (where have we seen it?!). For me, this title does even more to reflect the film's atmosphere of uncertainty and claustrophobia than does Alien. Not only does The Eighth Passenger leave much unsaid about who or what the passenger is (allowing you to fill it in with something frightening), it also points out that there is no escape for the other seven people. A ship, or a plane, or whatever you're a passenger on, is a closed environment, somewhere with no escape. This title thus emphasizes the fact that the rest of the crew is trapped with this undescribed but obviously dangerous eighth passenger, and that is exactly how much of the film's horror is generated. This title, then, helps to both create and add to the film's overall theme and tone. Rather than being just a silly tag that distinguishes this movie from others, it actually plays an integral part in generating some of the fear that viewers are meant to feel. Pretty good for something as trivial as a title, eh?

 
Ok, this was far less intellectual than previous posts, but it was what I was thinking about today. I hope you come back again soon. Maybe I'll be more interesting. Or maybe not.