According to Weaver, "Aliens" is about confronting trauma to obtain closure. This may be seen as a reflection of Ronald Reagan's United States presidency and a conservatism which believed the hero must return to confront their fears with ethics and morality on their side. Comparing "Alien" with "Aliens", Roger Luckhurst said: "Even if "Alien" was a piece of leftist science fiction, the core of myth could be inflected the other way. [Cameron's "Aliens" would be a defiantly Reaganite version of the story—pumped, militarized, libertarian driven by a staunch defense of the nuclear family." Abbott said "Aliens" adheres to a radical ideology and condemns centrism; similar films were popular because they represented audience dissatisfaction with the social "status quo". The film places power in the individual (Ripley), instead of institutions like the military, corporations or the government.