MovieChat Forums > Alien (1979) Discussion > Self destruct?

Self destruct?

posted 2 years ago by DrRed (521)
12 replies | jump to latest

Why would the company build in a self destruct system? The space ship has a substantial dollar value attached to it and i don't think its up to you or I to just blow it up.

[–] robocat893 (13495) 2 years ago

https://moviechat.org/tt0078748/Alien/5a6e4f6405d639001436e204/Why-does-the-Nostromo-have-a-self-destruct-device

[–] DrRed (521) 2 years ago

There's a lot of speculation in there, and after reading through it, I still agree with the OP, having a self destruct "doesn't make sense".

[–] Karl Aksel (1453) 2 years ago

In that thread, some people point out that it isn't actually a self-destruct sequence. But any vessel is, of course, capable of being sabotaged to the point that it will be effectively scuttled. In the case of a space-ship, scuttling would have to mean self-destruction. And I think this should adequately answer the OP's question.

[–] Obifuntoknowme (1099) 2 years ago

‘They can bill me’.

[–] bobbydallas (8085) 2 years ago

yeah it's a very odd choice for the plot
it made for an awesome ending sequence.. but why dafuq would a transport ship include this is just movie magic i guess

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

I can see how they would be able to blow up the ship by causing the engines to overheat or something, but yeah, having a built in self destruct sequence in a transport ship was kind of hard to believe.

Still love teh movie, though.

[–] aavfreak (2879) 2 years ago

It would be like a cargo ship today with a self destruct. I don't know of any ocean freighter that has a self destruct mechanism. You're right, it doesn't make much sense.

[–] TrentnQuarantino (8556) 2 years ago

Seems like if there is a threat detected, either from a sickness, or organism, or even a takeover by an alien craft, a self-destruct would be needed to protect Earth.

[–] DoubleRD77 (77) 2 years ago

What if the ship was taken over by someone crazy or a terrorist. Then a self destruct would prevent them from crashing it into Earth. If they had a huge amount of dangerous cargo, that would be important to prevent.

[–] Karl Aksel (1453) 2 years ago

On the other hand, if the goal is merely the destruction of the ship (a far more likely motive), a handy self-destruct sequence would ensure that a terrorist wouldn't have to bring his own gear to destroy the vessel.

[–] MovieElephant (331) 2 years ago

Or worse yet, if workers tried to unionize

[–] clashwho (746) 2 years ago

Maybe something catastrophic happened in the past that necessitated all spacecraft like the Nostromo having a means of self-destructing. Could be terrorism related or some sort of environmental disaster.