Tim Blackmore on the Film "Alien"

Re-Creative Spotlight: Tim BlackmoreIn this episode of Re-Creative, Mark A. Rayner and I are joined by Tim Blackmore, an author and professor at Western University’s Faculty of Information and Media Studies, to talk about the 1979 classic movie Alien.Tim knows a lot about the concept of “design” and a lot about this movie, which allows to take a deep dive into the design elements of Alien, which has inspired Tim in his own work and research on propaganda and war.“It’s the stuff that you don’t see coming that you have to watch out for,” Tim tells us, referring to the propaganda that you don’t necessarily realize is propaganda. “Any time you see Grogu, watch your wallet!”After discussing the context of what was happening in the field of science fiction at the time the movie came out, along with SF cinema and culture in general, Tim gets into just exactly how the visual presentation of Alien came about. Turns out it was the combined genius of a whole team of designers, including Roy Cobb, Chris Foss, H.R. Giger, and the screenwriter, Dan O’Bannon.Tim also tells us how the movie was conceived and brought to life, how Ridley Scott became its director, and its influence on so much cinema that came afterwards.Support Our GuestTim Blackmore is a professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University in London, Ontario (Canada). In addition to extensive articles and book chapters, Blackmore has published two major academic works: War X: Human Extension in Battlespace, and, Gorgeous War: The Branding War Between the Third Reich and the United States.In Tim’s own words: “I work on all kinds of projects, and I love that. I read, see and write about popular culture, particularly science fiction (in prose, film, animation, jello…it doesn’t matter to me what the medium is), but also comics and comic strips, science fiction film design (I know that sounds specific, but it’s a huge field). I also focus a great deal on what Leo Marx called The Machine in the Garden, and the persistence of the pastoral in this weird age of post-everything and all-transparency. We need to stay grounded.”You can subscribe to six month’s worth of this podcast completely for free. Paid subscriptions support Donovan Street Press Inc. and the creation of new books and podcasts.Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.Contact us at: [e-mail] If you don’t wish to receive the podcast (or you’re receiving too many emails from this newsletter), it is possible to manage your Substack subscription to receive only the sections you want (e.g., the Donovan Street Press newsletter, the Captain’s Away serial, the Re-Creative podcast) via your account settings. You can do so by clicking on your avatar and selecting “Manage subscription” or by directly navigating to your account page.Follow Joe Mahoney and Donovan Street Press Inc. on: Goodreads, Bluesky, Threads, Mastadon, Facebook, and Instagram Get full access to Donovan Street Press Inc. at mahoneyj.substack.com/subscribe