Sun Tzu and Entertainment: Aliens
By: Andrew Nickerson
Many names are synonymous with brilliance, yet just as many subsequently faded because of factors like changing attitudes or evolving society norms. However, there’s one notable exception: Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, history’s most consistently lauded tactics/strategy manual. For 2,000+ years, this commonsense guide to victory has stood the test of time, it’s ingenious principles so effective it’s been used by everyone from athletes to businessmen to politicians. It’s also been subsequently used by analysts to dissect these walks of life, allowing even beginners to understand what worked/didn’t work regardless of the subject matter.
Then again, there’s one medium this analytical form hasn’t touched on before now: entertainment plotlines. If this knowledge is all-inconclusive, why not here, too? To prove this, we’re going to analyze one of the greatest sci-fi/horror gems: Aliens. More specifically, we’re looking at it through its most prevalent Sun Tzu principles: morality, leadership, terrain, preparation, improv, foreknowledge, recklessness, cowardice, and underestimation. Note: many of these events only occur in the film’s Special Edition, which is what I’m reviewing.
After surviving a nightmarish encounter with a parasitic lifeform (alien from now on), picked up when investigating a crashed vessel on planet LV-426, only survivors Ellen Ripley (Ripley from now on) and cat Jonesy drift through space in their ship’s lifeboat. They’re found by a salvage team and brought to a floating station outside Earth, where they’re met by Carter Burke (Burke from now on), an employee of Weyland-Yutani (the Company from now on), Ripley’s employers. He drops two major bombs: the pair have been floating through space for 57 years, and Ripley’s family, namely her daughter Amanda, is long gone. Worse, a Company committee, upon reviewing Ripley’s report doesn’t believe her, holds her accountable, and fires her.
Part of the smug rationale for not believing Ripley is that a terraforming colony has existed on LV-426 for over 20 years and they’ve never complained about anything hostile. It’s a flagrant violation of two of Sun Tzu’s Five Fatal Failings of Leadership, recklessness and delicacy of honor (DOH from now on)[i], and they pay for it when the scene shifts to said colony, which receives a Company order to check out the coordinates for the crashed ship Ripley mentioned, yet never warns them of its contents. As a result, a family survey team finds the ship, whereupon the parents in turn violate recklessness by going inside without calling it in. The dad is subsequently infected by an alien face-hugger (FH from now on), a parasite that hatches from eggs to infect hosts with embryos …and contact with the colony is lost.
Meanwhile, Ripley has been running a loader in the station’s docks, only to have Burke and Lt. Gorman of the Colonial Marine Corps approach her and mention both the lost contact and that the latter are going to investigate. What’s more, the Company wants her to go as a liaison, even offering to reinstate her, but Ripley refuses. However, due to recurrent nightmares, she calls Burke to confirm the mission is one of extermination, a nice use of one of Sun Tzu’s Five Essential Victory Factors, leadership[ii], namely its caveat being sure of allied intent[iii]; upon confirmation, she joins up, leaving Jonesy behind. She then boards the Colonial Marine ship Sulaco with Burke (representing the Company), Gorman, and the following marines: Apone, Hicks, Pilots Ferro and Spunkmeyer, Vasquez, Drake, Hudson, Dietrich, Frost, Crowe, Wierzbowski, and android Bishop. There, Ripley tries to brief everyone on the aliens, a great use of the principle, “What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men is foreknowledge.”[iv] Sadly, the marines brush her off, violating both DOH and the principle never underestimate a foe[v] in their cockiness. In turn, she shuts down their smirks by using leadership, namely its caveat, enforcing discipline[vi] by lighting into them for their attitudes. Soon, everyone climbs into an armored personnel carrier (APC from now on), loads onto one of the Sulaco’s two dropships, and they descend to the surface. On the way down, Hudson continues violating DOH with his cocky attitude; worse, Gorman reveals this is only his 2nd combat drop, a stunning failure of both leadership, namely its caveat, “It is only one who is thoroughly acquitted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.”[vii]
When approaching, they find the colony is in two sections: the Atmosphere Processor (AP from now on), and the Main Colony Complex (MCC from now on), the latter featuring the colonists’ living quarters and operational HQ. Heading for the MCC, nothing’s visible at first, so the marines enter, where they find plenty of structural damage, including several melted areas, an indication of the aliens’ presence since their blood is molecular acid, affirmed via Ripley in a nice use of foreknowledge. However, the marines and their motion trackers (MT from now on) find nothing else (verified by cameras on their helmets/headsets), so Gorman, Bishop, Burke, and Ripley enter too. On the way in, the latter hesitates, and Hicks displays another victory Factor, morality[viii], when he asks if she’s okay; it’s enough to get her inside. Upon doing so, they learn the colonists tried to protect themselves by employing three Sun Tzu principles: “Be flexible; according as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one’s plans,”[ix] (improv from now on), and two victory Factors, terrain and preparation[x]. They did so by sealing off the MCC at both ends, welding the doors and blocking stairs with heavy equipment. Unfortunately, they violated underestimation since the barricade didn’t hold. Worse, when they get to the medical bay they find several samples of FHs, all but two of which are dead. It’s a clear attempt to understand the enemy, another good use of improv, prep, and the leadership caveat “If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of 100 battles.”[xi]
Just then, another twist occurs when Frost’s MT picks up something, which turns out to be the colony’s lone survivor: Rebecca Jorden (Newt from on), a little girl who brilliantly used terrain, foreknowledge, and improv to survive by hiding in the air ducts. It takes a bit of effort to get her when she tries to flee, but she’s found to be okay, and Ripley’s shows great morality via her maternal instincts by trying to get Newt to open up; unfortunately, the latter’s unable to do more than explain that everyone’s dead and the marines “won’t make any difference.” Meanwhile, Hudson’s been using foreknowledge provided by Burke to scan for the colonists via surgically implanted transmitters, ultimately locating what looks like all of them at the AP. Everyone promptly boards the APC and heads over, the marines heading down into the sub-basement where the signals were detected, only to encounter a mysterious structure made of secreted resin. As they head deeper, Ripley makes incredible use of terrain and foreknowledge when she notices the marines are under the AP’s coolant system, meaning they can’t fire their weapons without risking a rupture; Burke concurs, saying it’d cause a thermonuclear explosion. It forces Gorman to make a difficult call via improv and leadership: he orders all marines armed with pulse rifles (PR from now on) to unload them and only use flamethrowers or pistols/shotguns. Everyone reluctantly complies, although Vasquez and Drake, armed with different weaponry, merely hand over the batteries powering them[xii]; however, Vasquez then uses improv by secretly rearming herself and Drake with spare batteries.
Further in, MTs still show nothing, but the marines encounter what’s left of the colonists, all trapped in cocoons and dead from embryos that’d burst from their chests; Ripley quickly uses morality and improv here by having Newt move away so she won’t see it. Just then, a live colonist is found, but then their embryo suddenly bursts out, which Apone quickly kills with his flamethrower…waking all nearby aliens. Hudson’s MT registers, but they can’t see anything, not even on infrared. It’s a huge failure of terrain and underestimation, since the creatures’ abnormal bodies blend in easily, plus the leadership caveat “know when not to fight”[xiii], since Gorman doesn’t pull the marines out. Those failures cost everyone when an alien grabs Dietrich, causing her to accidentally blast Frost with her flamethrower; the former gets dragged away while the latter falls to his death. Worse, Frost was carrying the collected ammo in his bag, which is now burning. In a bold use of leadership, Hicks tries to pull his teammates away, but the bag explodes, killing Crowe and throwing Wierzbowski off to the side, where he’s then killed.
However, the aliens have violated underestimation themselves, and quickly pay when Vasquez and Drake open fire. Gorman’s lack of experience affects him as another Fatal Failing, cowardice[xiv], causes him to start losing his cool while ordering Apone to pull back. But then an alien grabs Apone, the shock paralyzing Gorman. Here, Hicks displays remarkable leadership by having everyone left fall back after killing an alien with a shotgun. In turn, Ripley uses both leadership and improv when she takes over the APC and drives it down toward the marines, ignoring Gorman’s attempts to stop her; she then adds in terrain by ramming through the wall to reach the marines. Meanwhile, Drake and Vasquez heroically use morality by covering everyone, but the former violates recklessness by spraying ammo too wildly, causing him to run out. He quickly uses improv by switching to his flamethrower, but fails underestimation when an alien flanks him. Vasquez then violates recklessness by violently killing the creature, causing its blood to spray/kill Drake, and then does it again by trying to go after him, although Hicks uses enforcing discipline by stopping her. Another alien tries to enter the APC, but Hicks uses improv by killing it with his shotgun, allowing them to break free. On the way up, a final alien uses terrain to jump on the APC, but badly fails underestimation when Ripley hits the brakes, throwing it off, and then runs it over before ramming her way clear.
Outside, Hicks uses foreknowledge and morality to get Ripley to gradually halt since the alien’s blood has melted the APC’s axle, which is when all try and assess the damage. Gorman’s been KO’d by a falling box, and Hicks uses enforcing discipline again to stop Vasquez from killing him. But then Hudson notices Apone and Dietrich are both alive and Vasquez violates recklessness by wanting to go back for them, yet Ripley uses foreknowledge and leadership by telling everyone the two can’t be saved, causing Hudson to badly fail cowardice by shutting down. Everyone now ends up using prep and leadership to discuss possible options. Vasquez shows good improv by wanting to use nerve gas on the aliens, but Hicks counters via leadership by pointing out they don’t know if the gas will work. At that point, Ripley showcases dynamite leadership by saying they should take off and nuke the colony from orbit to ensure they kill every alien. Sadly, Burke flagrantly violates morality, recklessness, and DOH by saying the aliens are an important species and he can’t authorize such a move—a clear sign of his true colors. However, Ripley counters with foreknowledge and morality by pointing out Hicks is actually in charge because the mission is under military jurisdiction, causing Burke to violate the same principles again by scoffing. But he’s failed underestimation too, for Hicks calls Ferro for evacuation, having fully agreed with Ripley’s plan. Tragically, Spunkmeyer and Ferro have violated underestimation as well, starting when the former notices something on the dropship’s interior before it takes off. Sadly, an alien has snuck onboard, killing both him and Ferro in midair. Noticing the dropship’s suddenly poor flight pattern, Ripley uses leadership by telling everyone to run as the craft crashes and explodes, destroying the APC too.
The turn of events leaves Hudson violating cowardice all over again, although Hicks quickly uses enforcing discipline to get him under control while he and the others use prep and improv to salvage what they can. When they return to the MCC, their meager haul is as follows: four PRs with around 50 rounds each; fifteen grenades; one half-full flamethrower; and four sentry turrets. Worse news arrives via foreknowledge from Hicks, who says it’ll take seventeen days after they’re declared overdue before they’re rescued, which only causes Hudson to fail cowardice again. However, Ripley shuts down Hudson and orders him to find blueprints on the MCC, a wonderful use of morality/leadership for two reasons: it gives him a task to calm him, and it’ll help plan their next move. They ultimately discover the aliens are using a service tunnel to get between the AP and the MCC, which arms everyone with foreknowledge for their defense. First, there’s a pressure door at their end, so they’ll plant two turrets in the tunnel and then weld that entrance. Second, they’ll repair two barricades and weld plate steel over three ducts, limiting the aliens’ approach to two corridors, the junction of which is where they’ll plant the other turrets. It’s an ingenious use of terrain, prep, and improv, one they get to work implementing, although Hicks then uses morality when he gives Ripley a locator as a precaution. While everyone monitors the guns, Ripley employs morality herself by having Newt take a nap in a side room, the bond between them deepening to that of parent-child when she gives the girl the locator.
Ripley rejoins the others, who begin speculating about what laid the eggs in the nest they found, Hudson ultimately suggesting a hive mentality and that they’re led by a massive queen. Unfortunately, things go bad when Ripley tells Bishop to destroy the FHs when he’s done, only to learn Burke has violated morality and DOH by wanting them kept alive for the Company labs. Ripley immediately confronts Burke, who says the FHs are worth a fortune as bioweapons and they could be set up for life, a shocking failure of morality, recklessness, and underestimation. He pays for it when Ripley counters by explaining she’ll inform the authorities about the FHs’ dangerous nature, and that she’s just learned via a nice use of foreknowledge that he sent the Company request to check out the crashed ship. It causes Burke to go into a spiel about percentages and how it was just a bad call, all of which is a brazen violation of morality, DOH, and underestimation, which causes Ripley to snap and yell how she’ll nail him for it.
Immediately afterward, more bad news arrives when a perimeter alert sounds, meaning the aliens are coming in the tunnel. The two turrets posted fire everything they have, taking a hefty toll, but the party have badly violated underestimation as the latter simply power through and begin pounding on the pressure door. Worse news then comes from Bishop, who wields some nasty foreknowledge: the AP’s emergency venting is active, meaning the reactor is going critical, and they’ve got four hours before it blows with the force of 40 megatons (40 million tons of TNT); moreover, they can’t shut it down because the dropship explosion caused too much damage. Ripley immediately uses both leadership and improv by realizing they need to get the Sulaco’s other dropship via remote, but Hudson uses foreknowledge by reveal the transmitter to do so directly was on the APC but is long gone before violating cowardice again by going back into panic mode. Thankfully, Hicks shuts down Hudson via enforcing discipline, then uses improv and foreknowledge by suggesting using the colony transmitters, only to have Bishop wield more foreknowledge by revealing the hardware between their position and said location was damaged, making it impossible to align the dish. Thus, Ripley again uses improv and terrain to reach the answer: someone must physically go to the transmitter and patch in manually. In a bold use of morality, Bishop volunteers since he’s the only qualified to remote pilot the dropship, and then, in an equally great use of terrain and foreknowledge, the party cut a hole into a conduit which runs directly out to the transmitter, allowing him to crawl there much quicker.
Shortly thereafter, the aliens break through the pressure door, but the marines’/Ripley’s earlier use of terrain/prep pays off when the former are badly shot up and forced to retreat, a great example of the leadership principle, “In war, numbers alone confer no advantage; do not advance relying on sheer military power.”[xv] Tragically, the guns are now empty, meaning the next round will be rougher. Hicks promptly displays great improv and the leadership caveat know how to use all forces[xvi] by having Vasquez and Hudson patrol with MTs. The former then recommends Ripley get some sleep herself, and shows remarkable morality and prep by saying he won’t let her get infected, even if it means killing himself/her, and then shows her how to use a PR. She promptly heads to Newt’s room, getting an apology from the newly awakened Gorman en route (another nice morality use), finds the latter sleeping under the bed, and falls asleep next to her.
Tragically, Ripley wakes up to find she’s violated underestimation again: Burke has released the live FHs in the room with her and Newt. Worse, he’s locked and sealed them inside and shut down the room’s camera to prevent them from being seen, a stunning violation of recklessness, DOH, and morality. Ripley quickly wakes Newt, but then an FH attacks, only to have the former use improv by overturning the bed, forcing it back. The two try pounding the glass, and Ripley tries to break it with a chair, but find they’ve violated underestimation since it’s soundproof and reinforced. Therefore, the latter brilliantly uses by improv by using her cigarette lighter to trigger the fire alarm. However, the two FHs suddenly attack, with one leaping at Ripley and wrapping its tail around her neck, only just being held back by her hands. In turn, Newt uses both terrain and improv by trapping the other by pinning its tail with a cart. Thankfully, the others arrive, and Hicks uses improv by having Hudson shoot out the glass, whereupon the former leaps through to help Ripley. Hudson, spotting Newt’s plight, quickly uses more improv by pressing the cart with his boot to keep the FH pinned while killing it. Hicks then uses improv and leadership by unwrapping the other FH and, coordinating with Vasquez, throws it over by the wall, where the latter kills it.
Everyone angrily confronts Burke, only to find him still violating morality and DOH by arrogantly calling them paranoid. He’s only saved from death by the aliens suddenly cutting the power, an ingenious use of improv by the latter. Hicks immediately uses leadership by sending Vasquez and Hudson out with MTs while having Gorman watch Burke. Hudson soon picks up a massive signal, causing him to violate cowardice again, while Hicks uses leadership again by ordering his comrades back, followed by improv and terrain when he and Vasquez weld the room’s door shut. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to stop the aliens from closing, so Hicks uses leadership, foreknowledge, and prep by prompting everyone to only fire in short bursts to conserve ammo. Suddenly Ripley realizes the truth: their foe, in a stunning use of improv, terrain, and foreknowledge, is bypassing the corridor via the ceiling. Hicks boldly checks/confirms such, and a massive firefight breaks out, with Burke now violating morality and cowardice by fleeing, bolting the door behind him, and then doing the same in the next room. Yet, he’s violated underestimation for the last time, for an alien gets him from behind.
Back with the marines, Ripley, asserting leadership and terrain, ordering all to get to the medical bay, then kills an alien before witnessing the first door incident; Gorman soon joins her, but has violated underestimation because he doesn’t have a welder and can’t cut the lock. Worse, Hudson’s been gripped by a combat high and fatally violates recklessness and underestimation by not falling back, a mistake he pays for when aliens emerging from the floor drag him away. Hicks then runs over and uses improv by cutting the lock while Vasquez unloads her PR’s grenade launcher into the aliens, buying enough time to break out; Hicks then uses leadership and improv by ordering her to seal the door. Unfortunately, they can’t open the other door Burke locked, but Newt uses incredible terrain and improv by having everyone go into the vents. As they move in, Ripley asks Newt for directions to the landing field, a nice use of the terrain caveat, “Make use of local guides,”[xvii] all while Hicks uses leadership by confirming via Bishop the dropship’s approach. The party gradually moves along, Vasquez covering them, but then Newt makes a critical blunder: violating recklessness, she runs too far ahead, breaking the party up. It costs them when Vasquez falls behind as her PR runs dry, and she ends up wrestling an alien, the latter violating underestimation when the former pins it to the wall with her foot and empties her pistol into it. Sadly, it’s also a fatal violation of recklessness and foreknowledge, costing her when acid splashes her leg, crippling her. Gorman uses leadership by sending Hicks ahead while he returns for her, but violates underestimation himself when he’s cut off and he runs out of ammo. Sadly, he uses a final act of morality by setting off a grenade to spare himself and Vasquez.
Ahead, Ripley and Hicks catch up with Newt, who uses foreknowledge and terrain by pointing out a shortcut, only to have the grenade’s blast knock the latter down a nearby chute. Thankfully, Newt still has her locator, so Hicks and Ripley use foreknowledge themselves to track her to a nearby corridor, where they then use improv to cut open the floor. Unfortunately, they’ve violated underestimation again, starting when an alien uses terrain to ambush/grab Newt. Hicks ends up using enforcing discipline to stop Ripley from chasing them since more are coming, and they manage to reach an elevator, but the former violates underestimation again when an alien tries to get in. Hicks kills it, but its acid blood splashes his armor; he and Ripley use improv to pry it off, but he’s badly burned, forcing her to help him outside to meet Bishop as the dropship lands…and the latter wields more improv by declaring “We’re not leaving.”
Bishop now flies the dropship to the AP’s center while Hicks treats his wounds. In a grand use of morality, Ripley plans to find Newt, and promptly lays out her plans. She uses improv, prep, and foreknowledge by grabbing/taping together a PR and flamethrower, the former because of the aliens’ numbers and the latter because she knows from the first incident her foes are afraid of fire; she then grabs grenades, marking flares, and the receiver for Newt’s locator. After using more prep by getting a final countdown alert (t-minus nineteen minutes), she then uses leadership to ensure the dropship stays, and both she and Hicks use morality by exchanging first names, his being Dwayne. Ripley then grabs an elevator, using the ride for further prep/improv by loading the PR with grenades, clicking the rest onto a harness, and pocketing the flares. The moment she leaves the car, Ripley moves quickly, using improv and foreknowledge to clear possible hiding places via small flame burst, all while using prep by dropping flares to mark her path back. Unfortunately, when she nears Newt’s position, she only finds the locator, causing her to fear the worst. Thankfully, the cocooned Newt awakens, watches a nearby egg hatch, and screams. Ripley quickly uses improv to find her, kill the emerging FH and a group of drones, then frees Newt.
Sadly, both have violated underestimation, for the overloading reactor causes an explosion which blocks the path back, forcing Ripley to use improv to return via another direction…only to inadvertently stumble into a massive egg nest. She spots a massive sac laying eggs and follows it to Hudson’s predicted Queen (Queen from now on), a giant beast that promptly summons drones to handle them. However, Ripley earlier prep/foreknowledge pays off when she fires a flame burst into the air and aims her rig at an egg. The Queen takes the hint and orders her drones back, and all look’s well…until an egg hatches. Whether it’s a natural reflex to a potential host or the Queen subtly attempting to kill Ripley isn’t clear, but the latter’s subsequent violation of morality, recklessness, and underestimation is: she unleashes her flamethrower on the eggs before gunning down the drones. She then turns the PR on the eggs before unloading the weapon’s grenade launcher into the egg sac, sadly enhancing said violations by not killing the Queen. Worse, she violates recklessness and underestimation again by throwing the last of her grenades into the inferno, setting off a series of explosions that bring the Queen to the ground. Enraged, the latter uses improv to pulls free of the sac and takes off after the pair.
The latter manage to reach the elevator, Ripley’s prior use of prep via the flares paying off nicely, but they must wait for the car to arrive. Sadly, Ripley violates recklessness again when she taps both elevator call buttons…and then her prior underestimation failure comes back to haunt her when the Queen appears. Thankfully, a car arrives, the former using improv and foreknowledge to hold the latter off by using the last of her flamethrower’s fuel until the car ascends. But they’ve violated underestimation again, as Ripley’s prior recklessness with the buttons costs her when the Queen uses improv to chase them in the other car. Worse, when they get to the platform, the dropship is missing, plus Ripley’s weapons are now empty—and the Queen emerges from the elevator. Fortunately, the ship reappears and lowers its ramp, allowing Ripley and Newt to climb aboard just as an explosion knocks them into a debris pile. However, Ripley quickly uses leadership by prompting Bishop, and they take off just before the reactor explodes, leveling the colony and presumably the crashed ship full of eggs. They head to the Sulaco, where Bishop apologizes for his absence, saying the platform had become too unstable, a good use of terrain and improv.
Unfortunately, the ordeal’s not over, as Ripley further pays for her mistakes in the nest when the Queen reappears and skewers Bishop. She then lifts him up and tears him in half, leaving Ripley and Newt helpless since Hicks is sedated. Ripley, using more leadership and morality, has Newt hide while drawing the Queen toward a bulkhead, which she promptly lowers. The Queen then chases Newt, who uses terrain and improv by hiding under the floor, but violates underestimation in turn when the former begins pulling up the grates. However, Ripley raises the bulkhead, revealing she’s mounted a loader, an exceptional use of improv and prep. The Queen charges, violating recklessness and underestimation as the former knocks her around, but then the Queen employs improv herself by swinging her tail, forcing Ripley back. It creates a brief lull, but the latter now uses prep, foreknowledge, improv, and terrain by using the loader’s service panel to open a nearby airlock. The Queen moves in, but violates underestimation again when the latter uses the loader’s welder to sear the former’s tongue, stunning it enough to swing it over the lock. However, the Queen uses improv by grabbing/pulling the loader down with her, only to violate recklessness again because she’s now pinned. Ripley frees herself and begins climbing a nearby ladder, only to violate underestimation yet again when the latter grabs her foot. Thus, the former quickly employs improv and foreknowledge to open the lock via a nearby panel, exposing the vacuum of space. The Queen tries to tear Ripley away, but fails underestimation for the last time, for the latter’s shoe comes off and the former tumbles into space; Ripley then climbs out and closes the lock via another panel.
This was a hard-fought battle, but Sun Tzu was there all the way, his wisdom ultimately helping stop a parasitic species from spreading further, as well as a greedy man’s ambitions. It also saved a little girl, gave a shattered woman a family, and showcased some incredible leadership. Truly, this film is a dynamite example of how victory happens by following Sun Tzu…and failure strikes when we don’t.
[i] Lionel Giles, The Art of War (New York, NY; Fall River Press, 2011), 28
[ii] Giles, The Art of War, 3
[iii] Giles, The Art of War, 24
[iv] Giles, The Art of War, 50
[v] Giles, The Art of War, 33
[vi] Giles, The Art of War, 4
[vii] Giles, The Art of War, 7
[viii] Giles, The Art of War, 3
[ix] Giles, The Art of War, 4
[x] Giles, The Art of War, 3
[xi] Giles, The Art of War, 11
[xii] Lee Brimmicombe-Wood, Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual (New York, NY; HarperPrism, 1995), 18
[xiii] Giles, The Art of War, 11
[xiv] Giles, The Art of War, 28
[xv] Art of War, dir. David Padrush (2009)
[xvi] Giles, The Art of War, 11
[xvii] Giles, The Art of War, 24
Bibliography
Cameron, James, director. Aliens. 1986; 20th Century Fox, 2014, 157 min. Blu-ray.
Lee Brimmicombe-Wood. Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual. New York: HarperPrism, 1996.
Padrush, David W., director. The Art of War. 2009; A&E Television Networks, 2009. 94 min. DVD.
Sun Tzu. The Art of War. Translated by Lionel Giles. New York: Fall River Press, 2011.
Andrew’s originally from Massachusetts, and is a lifelong reader. He has a BA in History (English minor) from UMASS Lowell and JD from Mass. School of Law. He can be found on Twitter (@AndrewNickers19) daily, analyzing characters via Sun Tzu.
