Aliens: Jenette Goldstein plays Vasquez: Women's empowerment

 

 

 

leading from  

Aliens: Jenette Goldstein plays Vasquez

 

 

 

a) Vasquez as the woman of the future

The fact that Aliens took place in space was irrelevant for her. 

 

It was a war movie, in the most classic sense. 

 

She felt that it was a film about the working class grunts, and she wanted this woman to represent the future. 

 

As would come to be later after the production, women are now in the infantry, and back then the representation proved to be rather groundbreaking.  

1. BirthMoviesDeath:  Don’t tell modern audiences that. They might not show up.
   

   Jenette Goldstein: The fact that Aliens takes place in space is irrelevant. This was a war movie, in the most classic sense. This was a film about the working class grunts, and I wanted this woman to represent the future. As we know, women are now in the infantry, and the representation proved to be rather groundbreaking.    (http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/04/18/alien-day-jenette-goldstein-talks-playing-private-vasquez-and-lv-426)

 

 

 

b) Woman as marines as a normal job

 

However this excitement to be generated about Alien's strong female characters was something thought less by Goldstein.  

 

She thought that what Jim Cameron was doing with female action in Aliens was groundbreaking because it was being treated as perfectly normal, as if there had been twenty movies about tough-girl marines blasting monsters, and so one knew that women had been empowered when it's not worth mentioning anymore.

 

1. Jenette Goldstein: What Jim Cameron did with female action in ALIENS that was really groundbreaking is that he treated it as perfectly normal, as though there had already been 20 movies about tough-girl Marines blasting monsters. You know you've really been empowered when it's not worth mentioning anymore. (http://www.aol.com/article/2010/06/22/jenette-goldstein/19522454/) 
2. Jenette Goldstein: I liked the fact that she just happened to be a woman, And I think that’s…it didn’t matter what gender you were. I certainly thought it was great that — you know, this was the ’80s, where I didn’t have to be (From the Hitflix interview http://thenerdybird.com/james-cameron-told-aliens-vasquez-you-dont-have-to-be-likable/)
   

 

 

 

 

c) Gun-toting only because she was a soldier

 

So Vazquez was only gun-toting because she was a soldier , it was her job, she just happened to be a woman and nothing more. 

 

The idea that it didn't matter what gender you were wass a 1980s point of view coming through.

Jim told her "you don't have to be likeable. I don't want likeability. You just be the person, and who cares if someone likes her, that's not the point"

And there the film was being ground breaking. 

 

 

1. Jenette Goldstein: Vasquez is gun-toting because she's a soldier. That's her job,"(Copied from https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-115 (Viva Vasquez: Starlog Jenette Goldstein Interview 1987))
2. Jenette Goldstein: Jim said, ‘you don’t have to be likable. I don’t want likability…You just be the person, and who cares if someone — that’s not the point, if someone likes [her].’ And I thought that was really groundbreaking that it was a movie and the director was like, ‘You know what, I don’t care. Just be the person.’ (From the Hitflix interview http://thenerdybird.com/james-cameron-told-aliens-vasquez-you-dont-have-to-be-likable/)

 

 

 

 

d) Human spirit rather than the weapons

 

Meanwhile, Ripley was being forced to carry a gun. 

 

It wasn't the weapons but the human spirit, and the weapons would be shown to be ineffective. 

 

The army would be shown to be ill-prepared and how all the bluster in the movie would count for nothing. 

 

 

1. Jenette Goldstein: Ripley is forced to carry a gun. It's not the weapons, but the human spirit. At the end, the weapons are shown to be ineffective. It was showing how ill-prepared the army was, and how all the bluster counted for nothing.  (Copied from https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-115 (Viva Vasquez: Starlog Jenette Goldstein Interview 1987))