Bloodchild - Questions

1.     What is your reaction to the text you just read?

·      My first reaction while reading Bloodchild was confusion, as there wasn’t much explanation to what T’Gatoi was. Eventually it became somewhat clear further into the story that she is this alien creature that reproduces through parasitic-like birth through male Terrans. I found this story very creepy and gross, but despite that, the concept is interesting. I personally have a horrible phobia of parasites, so reading this was not very pleasant. I understand Butler wrote this story to play with the concept of male impregnation, but the idea of it being done through these bloodworms that eat people from the inside out is messed up.

2.     What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect.

·      The first thing I thought of while reading this was the movie Alien. I have not seen all the movies, but I do know that the aliens in these films reproduce by infecting humans with parasites in various ways. However, the way the young are birthed is a bit more violent and forceful, as they just burst out of the host’s abdomen, instantly killing them. Bloodchild takes the concept and sort of romanticizes it. The way T’Gatoi impregnates Gan is more consensual and lovingly, but the process is till grotesque in the same way it is in the Alien movies. The worms in this story are able to kill the host and eat them from the inside out, but it seems to be preventable, unlike in Alien.

3.     What medium would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?

·      If I were to adapt Bloodchild, I would probably do it in a comic format, as the gore from this story produced in a film adaptation would be insufferable for me to experience, compared to just an illustration on a page. The main change I would probably make is making it clearer of what T’Gatoi’s species is; of course, it would be easier to portray with visuals. I would also probably flesh out what the eggs that T’Gatoi provides for the family are. It really only explains that they’re these eggs that people eat that give them life, but I want to know more about them, like why T’Gatoi’s species is able to make them and how they make people look younger.