Jones the Cat Is Ridley Scott
That’s right, a cat serves as the onscreen representation for ALIEN’s director.
By MATTHEW PAUL WOOD
Ever since director Neil Blomkamp posted a collection of concept art on his Instagram feed, buzz about a new Alien film has been growing. While little is known about what form the film may take, those who love being scared senseless on spaceships rejoiced when Sigourney Weaver announced she’d be willing to reprise her role as Ripley.
But there’s another survivor of the original Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979) — a character who never achieved Ripley’s iconic status and has been most unfairly forgotten. So as we speculate about the future of the Alien franchise, perhaps it’s also time to look back at the original with a new take on its other survivor…
Jones or “Jonesy,” as he’s also affectionately known, is the only surviving crew member besides Ripley and an onscreen representation of the film’s director, Ridley Scott. Wait, what? Why? Well because they both have ginger-white whiskers of course.
What’s that, you’re not convinced by that irrefutable proof? Well then, allow me to elaborate.
JONES TRAVELS FREELY
All of the characters in Alien find themselves constrained by both the limitations of the set as well as the physical barriers of their ship, the Nostromo. They’re constantly unlocking and re-locking swooshing sci-fi doors, separating air-duct sections, and securing each other in rooms or airlocks.
But not our Jonesy. In fact, he seems to move around the ship and, therefore, the set without any such trouble, popping up wherever his input is needed.
JONES SEES THE ENTIRE PLOT ARC
A favourite Alien pub-trivia question has always been Which crew member other than Ripley survives the Nostromo? But perhaps the question should be Is Jones a member of the ship’s crew or the film’s crew?
In Alien, Jones sees the whole picture, both literally and figuratively, and as we’ve already seen, he freely navigates the ship. Keeping this in mind, almost every scene allows for the idea that Jones is “present” even if not onscreen.
Even the sequence on the planetoid is shown as being viewed remotely on the ship. Here, Jones could easily be in the room. This isn’t true of Ripley, however, who is absent for several sequences.
Logically then, this means that, as the audience, we’re seeing seeing Jones’ version of events and not Ripley’s. After all, who has a better sense of the big picture than its star? The director. Jones’ version of events is also Ridley Scott’s version.
JONES DIRECTS THE ACTION
If you’re still not swayed that our feline friend is actually a stand-in for the filmmaker himself, try this: Jones is almost singularly responsible for every major event in Alien. He leads many of the characters to the next scene or plot point and shapes much of the audience’s reaction to the film and its characters.
First, despite Ripley’s not being the focus at the start of the film, Jones gives us an early emotional connection to her character. Her soft-spot for the cat promotes empathy in us although her crew mates consider her cold and unfeeling since she adheres so strictly to protocol (even when the life of John Hurt’s character, Kane, hangs in the balance).
Jones also provides several jump-scares for the benefit of audience reaction throughout the film. He manipulates the characters within the plot and the audience’s reaction as they watch.
As well, Jones also leads the crew to their first encounter with and the audience to the reveal of the fully grown Xenomorph. The cat essentially kills off Harry Dean Stanton’s character, Brett, by luring him in as prey for our alien antagonist.
Yet, just as Jones leads crew members to their doom, he saves Ripley. When the Xenomorph massacres Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) and Parker (Yaphet Kotto), Ripley would have been with them if not for Jones’ meowing and impromptu game of hide-and-seek. He distracts her long enough to stop her from going back down to the lower decks and meeting the same grisly fate.
It may seem ruthless to sacrifice the others, but Jones knows Ripley must survive to see out the story and defeat the alien foe. More than that perhaps, he also needs the star as his meal-ticket: no happy ending, no bountiful influx of cat-food/box-office gross.
JONES HAS FINAL CUT
Jones influences events, directs characters, shapes the viewer’s emotions, and ensures Alien reaches a satisfying conclusion. Even more compelling evidence that Jones functions as Ridley Scott’s onscreen presence is that he can remove himself from the laws of the film’s diegesis.
For example, despite Jones’s presence and defensive hissing, the Xenomorph makes no attempt to attack him, instead waiting for Brett to become its next victim.
Why doesn’t it attack Jones? Because the Xenomorph is also a character taking direction, and if you want to be one of the most iconic movie monsters of all time, you don’t try to kill your creator.
Also, there’s the whiskers.
Further Reading
My Day by Jones: The Cat’s-Eye View of Alien, by Anne Billson
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