It's sometimes easy to look into the aspects of something too deeply. Alien was a horror movie, with the 'creature/psycho killer' being in this case from another planet, the 'confined space' being a spaceship and the vulnerable victims its crew rather than hapless teenagers. Cue lots of dark recesses and gruesome deaths. Ash and W-Y are the devices used to create a twist before the ending.
Aliens is a war movie, heavily influenced by the Vietnam war. Cue heavily armoured and weaponed, over-confident troops being sent into a war zone for which they are unprepared. Cue lots of bulging muscles, huge guns (their ship itself is even gun-shaped) and bullets flying, with their oppnents 'coming out of the walls' and outflanking them. Bishop is the device used here to create the double twist.
Exactly. What made both movies remarkable is that the protagonists were space truckers and grunts, with several middle aged. They dressed regularly and even looked like that, and I think audiences, who had similar backgrounds, saw themselves in them while at the same time were reminded of how large corporations were taking advantage of them via low pay, the top brass getting away with it, high costs when the bills arrive, and so on. Even the aspirations of the protagonists reflected that, e.g., bonuses for delivering the ore early, getting full shares for any finds monetized, a last mission before one finishes one's tour and receive a steady pension while looking for more lucrative gigs in the private sector, and so on. That reminds me of one scene from an audio drama where the Jordens talked about striking it rich if what they find is some lucrative site for minerals, such that they could get a handsome share of the profits and not only get off the rock and head back home but even retire early. Maybe even Parker and Brett were dreaming of the same.
But I think things began to change after the 1980s, as producers realized that tent-poles were now beginning to target audiences that were younger (i.e., not much concerns about being caught in a dead-end job or paying bills, at least not yet) and with more disposable income from parents who showered them with more expensive toys like all sorts of gadgets, and who had bright views of a future as they worked and played hard to get cars, their own place, etc., which is why eventually movies began to feature younger protagonists, and in many cases not only hapless but also cute teenagers.
Finally, the reference to the Vietnam war is remarkable. In his audio commentary, Cameron made it very clear that he wanted to depict Weyland-Yutani as an evil corporation and operating in collusion with the military; meanwhile, he wanted to depict the military as arrogant, like those who fought in the war. This explains why together with Vietnam he also mentioned the U.S. defense industry, the East India Company which took advantage of India as it was being colonized, and the Bhopal disaster, which took place while he was drafting the screenplay.
I'm not sure if that political theme can still appear in future films and TV shows, although I'm told that the new TV show will focus on that plus avoid the set design employed in the prequels.
