Seminar: Alien

In this seminar we explore themes within Alien that illustrate its foundational importance as a horror standard, as well as a game changer for who could be a Final Girl. 

In the film’s creation of a resourceful, female-dominant species, the character of Ripley finds not simply foe but simultaneous conservationist – as both struggle to survive the military-industrial complex. 

About Ingrid Stobbe: 

Ingrid Stobbe is an Associate Professor of Digital Filmmaking at Lesley University's College of Art + Design and a Visual Media Artist whose work includes both narrative and experimental pieces. Ingrid's experimental films have been awarded, screened, and exhibited nationally and internationally. Currently she is in production on The Dog Star, an autobiographical examination of the effects of time and location on adult perceptions of self amidst invisible disability. 

Co-authored with William Pace, her recent book The Filmmaker's Guide to Creatively Embracing Limitations featured among the Best of Literary Boston 2023 (Grubstreet). Her upcoming book, The Camera is You: Medium, Identity, and the Moving Image in Personal Filmmaking investigates the complex record of the moving image by examining historical and contemporary instances in which genres, persons, and systems were pushed forward while others were held back (Bloomsbury Publishing Inc., 2025). She is also an advisor to the board of Women in Film & Video New England and an editorial board member of the Journal of Film & Video. For more information, visit her website, here.