Warning spoilers! This article contains the main elements of “Alien: Romulus”.
The movies in the Alien franchise are always filled with references, and Alien: Romulus is no exception. We can certainly find a small object that has a habit of subtly appearing in many production projects, a tradition in the franchise: the drinking bird.
In one of the first scenesAlien: Romulus – Set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) – miner Ryan Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) and his android brother Andy (David Jonsson) dine at the Weyland-Yutani company cafeteria. Then they put a bird on the table.
A rocking toy sometimes found on desks, the drinking bird was patented in 1945 by American scientist Miles W. Sullivan. This is a glass bird, usually wearing a small cap, that uses thermodynamics to repeatedly stick its beak into the glass.
The drinking bird appears in several alien movies, comics, and video games – including Alien³, Alien vs. Predator and Alien: Covenant, like the game Alien: Isolation – but the object is mostly a homage to the first shot. AlienRidley Scott’s 1979, in which the camera pans full speed inside the ship Nostromo and then we see two drinking birds on the device’s dining table, in the process of drinking.
In Alien: RomulusBy Fede Álvarez, the drinking bird, however, takes on a meaning of its own beyond the obvious fan service as a symbol of the overworked miners of the Weyland-Yutani colony. Unable to break the regulated monotony of their repetitive work, Raine and his friends try to escape and make their fortune elsewhere – but are already doomed. They are drinking birds themselves…
Alien: Romulus is currently playing at a theater near you.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
