Aliens

[Henkie36]

So after watching some alien movies recently, it didn't take long for me to notice that all aliens are humanoids. Or at least most of them. I may take this in the broadest way possible, but even if you take a closer look at them, they all look like us. This somewhat bothers me. Yeah, there are movies which do get pretty creative like War of the Worlds, but most of them don't. Is it just me, or does this bother more of you guys?

 

[Wuggy]

Well, that's just a reflection of ourselves. We assume humanoid looking creatures are intelligent when we see them, or that's my guess anyway. In reality, we probably couldn't even realistically imagine alien anatomy, because no one has seen anything like it.

 

[Random berk]

It seems likely that aliens would have relatively large heads, if they are intelligent enough to use technology, and similarly they'd need arms with opposable digits, so in certain ways they'd have look similar to us, but at the same time, there's no reason for them to have the same number of limbs, or be the same size, or anything like that.

 

[Frybird]

It doesn't really bother me as much but it's something that feels very obviously like a lack of creativity.

Also, it seems like Aliens in Movies are most of the time either vicious animal-like predators or very "military-like" (as in using conceptually fairly mundane weapons and faily "human" tactics) Invaders

..Of course, then again, we have a movie with invisible, electric aliens and very certain people have nothing better to do than instantly call the idea cheap and stupid.

 

[Bassik]

If you want crazy aliens, you should read Lovecraft. Cthulhu is among the more normal looking creatures he dreamed up. On TV tropes you can also look up star fish aliens, with a list of aliens that don't look very human at all.

 

[Samurai Silhouette]

It's the same reason why God is "human". People don't have enough imagination.

 

[Alexxerth]

In reality, this concept is very realistic. Genetics only ranges by certain amounts. It is safe to assume they will be similar to SOMETHING on Earth. Second in order for an alien to be able to use complex tools they would need thumbs and hands, which typically come with a biped figure. And with them being a militaristic race, you have to remember, like on Earth, some aliens will be opposed to this war. Though they probably have a reason for attacking. They might not like our government, religion, or any number of things. Technically speaking, Earth is one of the most resource rich planets in the solar system, and likely the galaxy.

 

[Jakub324]

It seems likely that aliens would have relatively large heads, if they are intelligent enough to use technology, and similarly they'd need arms with opposable digits, so in certain ways they'd have look similar to us, but at the same time, there's no reason for them to have the same number of limbs, or be the same size, or anything like that.

Has it occurred to you that they might have developed technology that can be used without opposable digits?

I think they'd need two eyes, though - I can't imagine a civilization getting advanced enough for us to come into contact with them without being able to judge distances.

 

[Thaluikhain]

There's no reason why aliens should look like humans, or other known creatures, it's just hard to imagine alien alien. Depicting an actually alien culture is harder.

Though, as mentioned, sort kind of manipulative organ would be neccesary, but they come in all shapes and sizes.

 

[Ubermetalhed]

It's not a lack of imagination. It's just that things that have similar features to ourselves are more disturbing and so more terrifying.

Besides all monsters/aliens tend to look similar to some form of animal or human.

Also on the Alien front it's meant to be the pinaccle of evolution, and so if we as a species are pretty high on up that front, why wouldn't the Aliens have similarities to ourselves. I'm not saying the species are related however. Possibly we'll see where the xenomorphs come from in the new Ridley Scott movie.

 

[Internet Kraken]

It's the same reason why God is "human". People don't have enough imagination.

No. You think it's hard dreaming up some ridiculous alien with tentacle arms or 70 eyes or whatever other crap? It's easy. Thing is, actually making one of these can be expensive, especially in older movies. It's a lot easier if your aliens are mainly humanoid so you can get away with a guy in a costume or some cheap special effects.

 

[Thaluikhain]

 

[similar.squirrel]

Special effects are expensive. Easier to stick some bloke in a rubber suit with googley eyes. Same applies for CGI, I guess.

 

[Actual]

I think a lot of it is the need for limbs with which you can manipulate the environment.

On humans that's our hands and arms. Without a limb that can do stuff how would a species ever devolop tools/technology.

The easiest way to design an alien then, is to take the basic bipedal shape.

Has it occurred to you that they might have developed technology that can be used without opposable digits?

I think they'd need two eyes, though - I can't imagine a civilization getting advanced enough for us to come into contact with them without being able to judge distances.

Jakub makes a good point, without thumbs we probably still would have developed tech as we're still able to grip with our fingers or without hands we could hold objects between two stumpy arms.

So you could have an alien species which grips with a tail or tentacles, or psychic mind power!

I also agree with the need for depth perception so two front facing eyes would be a good bet. Though I suppose a creature like a bird (with side facing eyes) could evolve to intelligence it'd just have a really hard time of it.

 

[Rabish Bini]

It's the same reason why God is "human". People don't have enough imagination.

The bible says something along the lines of he created us in his image, it's not because we don't have imagination.

 

[Wuvlycuddles]

Didn't TNG claim all that all humanoid life was seeded by some ancient humanoid species?

So there is that I guess...

But in a "real life" sense, convergent evolution is a real thing and I think it could be applied to "aliens". So who is to say the humanoid form isn't something evolution naturally heads toward?

 

[King_1]

So after watching some alien movies recently, it didn't take long for me to notice that all aliens are humanoids. Or at least most of them. I may take this in the broadest way possible, but even if you take a closer look at them, they all look like us. This somewhat bothers me. Yeah, there are movies which do get pretty creative like War of the Worlds, but most of them don't. Is it just me, or does this bother more of you guys?

There are not going to be many choices in what nature decides is the optimal form in the Goldie Lock zone. Which the human form taking millions of years to be created, it's not wrong to guess that any intelligent life will look roughly similar.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Didn't TNG claim all that all humanoid life was seeded by some ancient humanoid species?

So there is that I guess...

There's that yeah, that's the classic way of dealing with it, but it gets tiresome after a while.

But in a "real life" sense, convergent evolution is a real thing and I think it could be applied to "aliens". So who is to say the humanoid form isn't something evolution naturally heads toward?

Dunno about that. You have the classic example of the shark, ichthyosaur and dolphin looking remarkably similar, but then again, then share common ancestry way way back, they all evolved from creatures with a rigid skeleton, one head, one tail and 4 other limbs.

Not saying that it's impossible, of course, though. I would expect humanoid aliens to have different numbers of fingers and toes, though.