Ripley is often held up as an example of a great hero but she was a terrified woman desperately reacting in fear to escape certain doom....AND THEN SHE WENT BACK FOR THE CAT.
THAT was the moment she became the hero we love and respect.
I loved how they handled the concept of a feminine hero in the sequel.
Ripley is the hero, but there's also Vasquez - the badass marine. Vasquez is what so many people tried to do to make women heroic in action films.
She's just an action hero that happens to be a woman. And she's great. But her character isn't classically "feminine."
Meanwhile Ripley is all woman. Her iconic badass moment ("Get away from her you bitch!") is the action climax of the film, and its also when she's being her most feminine. Her heroism didn't carry an asterisk saying she's a badass despite her sex.
She's not sexy, not vulnerable, not emulating a stereotypical man's role in combat. She's all-woman and all-badass.
All I know is if my house were to ever catch fire, the first thing I'd be doing is busting a window and tossing my cats out of the house. Then maybe my stereo... time permitting.
I grabbed one cat while my partner tried to get the other. I left the doors open as I ran out so the dog could follow. Got those 2 in the truck, and ran back for my partner and final pet. We didn't have shirts, but we had our babies