ellen ripley from ridley scott's alien sigourney weaver in grey jumpsuit and rifle

Alien’s Ellen Ripley and the Female Action-Hero Archetype

The 1970s saw the birth of a different kind of action hero than one familiar to movie audiences: women. Before that, male action heroes such as Zorro, James Bond, and Dirty Harry dominated large and small screens. Female characters largely occupied the roles of either damsel in distress or the femme fatale. In the last…

Mad Max’s Road Through A World of Fire and Blood

Mad Max’s Road Through A World of Fire and Blood

Oil, the world’s most precious resource, is running out. Wars are waged between countries, between governments and their citizens, between cities and civilizations, and between desperate, devastated people. The once vibrant earth is now a wasteland, poisoned by radiation, deprivation, and violence. The fabric of humanity is stretched tight. The narrow line between chaos and…