Women have always had inherent value owing to their ability to birth children. By contrast, men have always had to accrue value unto themselves by their works and deeds. I think this fundamental reality is reflected in our media depictions of male versus female protagonists.
The hero’s journey is essentially the coming-of-age story of boys becoming men via trials and suffering. We become worthy of our stations in life, and our women and our families, through accomplishment and overcoming challenges. Or we fail, and we die, literally or spiritually. Either way, it’s interesting.
Women don’t experience the same climb. They begin the game with tremendous, society-sustaining value. It literally cannot be overstated. It is, however, automatic and requires no effort. There’s no progression or arch or triumph. The only potential for drama is the tragedy that results when a woman squanders her greatest value.
Injecting women into traditionally masculine “hero’s journey” stories is a recipe for boredom. Because women begin the story with all of the value they require to be accepted and promoted by the tribe. Whatever motivations are concocted for these female protagonists are inevitably shallow and pointless. Their arcs are flat and uninspiring. The most they can muster is obnoxious and entitled subversion; they rebel against the “unfair restrictions” placed upon them by nature - as if men are so privileged in their mandatory pain and labor.
I think this theory maps pretty well onto modern girl boss characters. I’m sure it has been explored. Just connecting my own personal dots on this one.
I wouldn't call that a hero's journey, necessarily.
She survives while those around her perish but doesn't really grow at all. In the end she does the hard thing and saves the child (not counting Aliens 3, cause it's dumb).
That's the "woman's journey": to keep yourself alive, push through a situation that, while dangerous and painful, is within your existing abilities, and bring forth new life.
She was never timid, though, even in the first film. Everyone on that crew was resourceful -- she just got the luck of the of the draw that she was never in the same place with the xeno as the other crewmates, otherwise she would have died.
But Weedle's point is more-so that she didn't have to overcome some inherent flaw to recognise her worth. She essentially had to muster courage to fulfill her maternal role (in Aliens 2) to save Newt (her surrogate daughter).
As many people have pointed out, the movies (at least the first two) are stringently about maternity, fear, and acceptance. Ripley fears the xenomorph at the beginning, but eventually comes to understand it, and even accept its role (notice how at the end she flames the queen's eggs but doesn't kill the queen -- she recognises and respects the queen's role as a mother, but also defends herself and Newt from the eggs looking to use them as hosts).
Ripley as a flamethrowing "bad ass" is just a consequence of utility, rather than a purpose of intent (Ripley doesn't seek out xenos to kill them in Aliens 2, she equips the weapons to defend herself to find Newt).
I know this all seems pointless and wordy, but the point we're trying to make is that Ripley didn't have to overcome a bunch of flaws, pitfalls, setbacks, and hurdles to grow and become a badass like Luke, or Rocky, the Karate Kid, or Frank Dux in Bloodsport. She just had to fulfill her maternal instincts for survival and the survival of her surrogate daughter (which fits in nicely with what Weedle said near the top of the thread about the importance in differences between men and women and how men have to work to earn their value, and women simply need to work to retain their value).
I’d draw a similar parallel to Sarah Connor in T2. She toughened up and went all female Rambo not because she was trying to out man the men but because she devoted her life to a singular purpose: Keeping her son safe and preparing him for the future.
Alien [1] Ripley wasn't written with a man or woman in mind and as others point out it's more dumb luck not being in the room with the space gribbly that led to survival. That's why the motherly themes don't show until Aliens [2].
Heroine's cycle
The first one was a horror movie though, Hero's journey's involve, well a journey and.or adventure not run for your life to survive. The sequel was closer to it, in that she was in a comfortable(ish) place and willingly (ish) chose to chase danger. It was a good movie because every character was their own person and not merely a punching bag/comic relief. Aside from the company guy of course.