Date of Award

1-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College/School

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department/Program

English

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Jennifer Fleeger

Committee Member

Wendy Nielsen

Committee Member

Laura Nicosia

Abstract

This thesis examines the objectively threatening structure of artificial intelligence (AI) in the narrative plot of Alien and how it exerts control over the humans. Using a structuralist approach with Louis Althusser's Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs), I will examine the character relationships and how an android, Ash, enforces a patriarchal, hierarchical system. Drawing on Mark Coeckelbergh’s AI Ethics and Jacques Ellul’s The Technological Society, I will outline broader fears that technology will surpass human intellect and serve a destructive function within an oppressive system. Analyzing two examples of AI characters, the film showcases capitalist ambitions through technological identities and their employment. Rather than examining the Xenomorph as the perceived antagonist, this thesis argues that artificially intelligent beings create a more sinister situation for the protagonist, Ellen Ripley. The manipulation of privileged information in a technologically dominant setting reveals the main adversary, further challenging humanity's authority. The system in Alien and the consequences of innovation ultimately question the extent of technological power within the capitalist pursuit of progress.

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