Naturally, Sigourney Weaver is way up on the list of fantastic sci-fi actors! She especially excels as Gwen DeMarco.
The great scene, of course, is when she keeps repeating the computer's instructions as she did as Tawny Madison on the show Galaxy Quest (which has now become "real" due to the adorable aliens led by the adorable Enrico Colantoni).
Perceptive feminist analysts have pointed out that this is a quintessential feminist moment, and they are right. And it captures an important point that neo-Victorians (who are convinced that ours is the only worthwhile time and must reflect our theories) utterly miss.
Women of the past didn't compare themselves against us--or even against a version of us. Even when they were pushing for more rights and more recognition, they were still, always, comparing themselves against what they were in the now.
The idea that people function as abstract labels or qualities is something only people who live in a world where biological realities have been translated into lockdowns and "I'm whatever I claim about myself--right up until I go to the doctor" can believe. In real reality--which good fiction honors--people take the options in front of them and make them work (work well or work badly--they still make them work).
