Problems with depictions of aliens on film and TV

[smengie]

I've been thinking about this a bit lately, and there seem to be certain assumtions that most sci-fi writers/directors make about possible alien civilizations that don't really strike me as plausible:

such as:

1.alien civilizations, even those spread across multiple planetetary systems, are all a part of a single nation state, governed centrally. Isn't it just as likely that these civilizations might contain multiple competing nation states, like us?

2.alien civilizations with one strict philisophical code or orthodoxy(i.e. the Klingon code of honor). Again wouldn't the existence of multiple competing religions, cultures and orthodoxies be more realistic?

3.equitable wars/conflicts between differing aliens species are probably unlikely, since even relatively moderate diffeerences in technology would make the fight look like Redcoats going up against an Abrams tank battalion.

thoughts, anyone?

[Brother Ragnarok]

The single nation state thing I see your point on.  The religion thing, we don't know that the aliens don't have more than one, and the one that happens to show up pretends it's the only one that's right and just ignores or hates all the other ones, kinda like us.
My gripe with depictions of so many aliens is, they're f**king boring.  I hate "the greys," and the creative team that makes up Star Trek's "various wrinkly facial features = alien" coda should all be fired.

Brother R

[dean]

I agree with Bro, the whole idea of all aliens looking the same is kinda annoying, and the whole big head and big black eyes thing is also a tad frustrating.

Though one may assume that a highly developed culture and society wouldn't need different religions or states and have evolved higher than that.

[Evan3]

Many people say a highly technical society will lead to the loss of an individual as well as competition since products will be made accessible to all beings. Isnt that the fundamental argument of Communism. Perhaps the aliens, always more high tech than us humans, have attained a big communal stage in which individuality is shunned for the community... How about it?

[JohnL]

>the creative team that makes up Star Trek's "various wrinkly facial features =
>alien" coda should all be fired.

I've read that that was because of one of the execs insisting that the actor's faces shows through any makeup they might wear.

Another thing I've noticed is that all the members of a particular race, almost always wear similar clothes. By that, I mean similar colors, similar designs etc. Look at humans and you'll see a wide variety of syles and colors, but look at an alien race and it looks like every piece of clothing came from the same designer working with the same choice of material.

[smengie]

Doesn't make much sense to me.

The whole basis for community is the need to band together for survival. Once everyone has there basic neccessities taken care of, then that crutch is removed, and they're more free to explore their individual desires.

Competition at any rate, has to do with reproduction as it pertains to natural selection. It just so happens that in human societies material comfort is linked to that.

Once the problem of scarcity of resources is largely solved, the battle over reproductive fitness will not suddenly end, it will just shift to some other trait.

[trekgeezer]

Actually, Gene Roddenberry had a dictate that all the aliens would have recognizably humanoid appearance (eyes, and facial expressions).

They did explain this in TNG episode called  The Chase, where 4 billion years ago an alien raced seeded primordial worlds with their DNA , hence the similarity in appearance.  This idea has also appeared in several Star Trek novels.

I' ve always had a problem with the one world, one culture thing.  Seems like every world has their own version of  Africans, Asians, and Europeans too.

One of the reasons I liked Farscape was their use of puppets as aliens.  Even if Rigel was basically a muppet, you soon forgot that because of the characterization.

[George]

Here is one to chew on:  

Let's remove the age lengthening and health and mortality technology that we have and ask the question "who would survive if it were survival of the fitest?"

Does intelligence or sheer strength win?  Does real wisdom come so muchlater in life and that it loses out to the bullies of youth?  Will a smart kid survive a tough one?

I assume any alien culture that exists demonstrates that brains survives brawn.

My head hurts....now I must sleep.

[daveblackeye15]

John L:< Another thing I've noticed is that all the members of a particular race, almost always wear similar clothes. By that, I mean similar colors, similar designs etc. Look at humans and you'll see a wide variety of syles and colors, but look at an alien race and it looks like every piece of clothing came from the same designer working with the same choice of material.>

I've noticed that to, but the aliens we meet are they civilian or military. Because if an alien was discovered by the army or navy then they would proabably take note on how all the people seem to wear the same camoflauged thing some uniforms would vary because of rank but more or less they're the same.

[JohnL]

>I've noticed that to, but the aliens we meet are they civilian or military.

Even when the aliens are civilians, they all seem to dress similarly.



Post Edited (04-29-04 18:15)

[Flangepart]

True. Even Klingon Civilians!
If power is all a civilisation cares about, look out neiboring star systems. That has to do with its ethical develoupment.  How many realy diffenent ethical systems have we seen? There was the Laxwana Troi one, where the aliens killed all people who reached age 60. Weither they were ready to die or not.
Still think that planet has its head up its fundiment...

As per Non huminoid aliens...one word. Money.
Its easier to do huminoid aliens, and the audience can relate to those with two eyes, and a roughly human design.
Look at  Rigel. Even he fits that basic design, Muppet or no. Ya gotta remember who is watching this stuff.
You could make an insect race understandable...but it would take a lot of work...Zorak nonwithstanding....

[AndyC]

I agree, it's mostly about time and money. That goes all the way back to the original Star Trek. Make an excuse for all the planets to be Earth-like, and your show becomes more affordable. A lot of the alien societies are meant to be sort of metaphorical anyway - representing some real philosophy or belief system, or at least designed to make a point.

Still, the old Star Trek had it's share of non-humanoid aliens, even with its limited resources. There were swirling clouds, flashing lights, pulsing colours, talking orbs, talking rocks, brains under glass, a lizard with insect eyes, and one guy who had to be kept in a box because he was too weird to even look at (how Lovecraftian). Even the early TNG episodes had a talking tar pit and Mick Fleetwood as a giant smelt.

In that light, I don't know that humanoid aliens are necessarily the rule with Star Trek, at least not originally. It's something that came about with TNG and later shows.

[trekgeezer]

Hey, how about Stargate SG-1? They have encountered 3 or 4 alien species over their 7 years,  but everyone else is human because the goa'uld  kidnapped  their ancestors from Earth for slaves.  The one thing they do show is how the humans that were abandoned by the goa'uld have developed differently than the ones on Earth.  Some are still  pretty primitive while others are way ahead of us.