Under the Skin Irony

Under the Skin Irony

Irony of alien’s seduction

The alien protagonist in the movie seduces men using the power of sex to lure them into the trap and have them swallowed by the black liquid. The irony of her seduction lies toward the end of the movie where she intentionally wants to have intercourse with a human man she likes but is unable to because of her anatomy.

Reversal of roles

The feminist connotation is clear in the reversal of roles, where a woman is the predator who sees the man as a literal piece of meat. That is not to say that men can’t be targets in real life, but the usual representation on screen is the opposite of what this movie shows.

The idea of feminism but...

The movie has a clear message of feminism in its portrayal of a woman being in the position of power and taking advantage of men. But this idea is undermined with the presence of a male alien who is in control of the female protagonist. He literally knows her every move, and occasionally checks her for signs of disobedience and straying from her purpose, suggesting that even in the alien world females aren’t the ones in power.

Shedding the skin

When the woman alien drops her guard and starts to desire more for herself, desire to be a part of the human world is when she becomes vulnerable to the dangers of humanity. After being violently attacked, her human disguise comes off, and she shows what is under the skin. The moment she shows her true skin she loses her place in the human world.

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