One of the fun things about having a column (my new column Present Tense at Film Comment) is writing down a list of all of the random things I’ve always wanted to write, but never got around to here, for whatever reason. Here’s a piece which has, honestly, been banging around in my head for years.
I wrote about the powerful relationship between Ripley and Corporal Hicks in Aliens. (The first essay launched was about Frank O’Hara’s poetry about the movies. Swinging from O’Hara to Aliens is a good example of what I’m about. I wanted to establish that right away!)
I love the title to the Ripley/Hicks essay suggested by editor Michael Koresky:
I was hoping inspiration would strike and I’d be able to write a thoughtful comment on this incredible article. That hasn’t happened, so: as a queer person who counts Aliens among her favorite movies, I can’t even tell you how giddy I got reading this article about the intimate, unromantic relationship between the two and the chosen family aspect of their bond with one another and with Newt. Your writing is always excellent, but this article, in addition to being gorgeously written, hit all my soft spots.
Thanks for your blog and all your wonderful work.
Casey – thank you so much! Thank you for reading and for your beautiful comment. I knew people had strong feelings about Ripley/Hicks – but that was really driven home for me in the reaction on social media and elsewhere. It was so great to see all the love poured out for this onscreen relationship – someone said something like “other directors have tried to replicate this dynamic in their films and they’ve failed” – which I think says a lot.
It was so fun to dig into it – something which touches me on a real HEART level (beyond analysis, in other words) – and try to put into words WHY. (Besides just writing slash-fic, I mean. lol)
I am very glad you liked! Thank you!