They Live

This is a documentary masquerading as a sci-fi film.

At one point in your life, you must have heard of "The Terminator", "Back to the Future", "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial", "Star Wars", "RoboCop", "Aliens", either from your parents or simply from the pop culture noises that we are so easily exposed to nowadays. But you may not have heard of "They Live" among the plethora of its contemporary sci-fi films that were just listed from the 1980s. To backtrack at least 30 years to the past and randomly hit the jackpot with this film in an era where sci-fi was at its zenith is incredibly rare unless you are seriously investigative. But if you do, or hear about it from someone/where else (e.g. this blog), then you have discovered a gem of a film.

I was lucky enough to have "They Live" suggested by "The Angry Joe Show" while watching its game review on "Devil May Cry". All tangents aside, it was brought up briefly to draw a parallel between the film and the game about media manipulation and consumerism, a theme that is surely relatable to almost everyone in the modern society. Even in the 1980s, it was a highly relevant idea when commercialization of pop-culture has reached an outrageous stage, especially during the reign of the so-called Reaganomics. Some people were immersed with the intriguing economy, while others expressed distaste with the illusion and sought to break out from it. The director of this film, John Carpenter, happened to be the latter. This is obvious based on the premise of "They Live", which is more or less about aliens posing as the economic ladder's elites and oppressing the humans by using subliminal media and advertisement. It's quite a metaphor, one that social critics such as Noam Chomsky would appreciate.

"They Live" is based on a short story named "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson, and there are no real major differences between the two in terms of story and theme. Both characterize the main character, Nada, as a common bourgeoisie folk under the heel of capitalism, who at an instance, realizes that the society has been conquered by an alien race. Both also depict the guise of consumerism as a subliminal method of oppression, as the bourgeoisie population follows the agenda of the elite: to obey, consume, reproduce and conform. The most notable tweaks in the film are the symbolic inclusion of these mysterious sunglasses that see through reality and two more pivotal characters who Nada encounters in his one-man journey. I personally read the short story after the film. In the end, my overall experience was more appreciation for Ray Nelson's work as opposed to reading it just by itself, and a clearer view on John Carpenter's intention's on gearing the film towards our current situation. It is highly recommended to explore both forms of literature, in whatever order you wish. And it is a very convenient process because the film is only an hour and a half long, and the short story is, as you can guess, short.

You might be surprised to learn that a film starring a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star is actually worth watching. The lead actor, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, may be an echelon below the popularity of Hulk Hogan or John Cena, but he easily wins the WWE Championship for acting in this round. John Nada, the main character, is an extremely likable American badass. While there isn't much to look for in his personality or acting in the first 30 minutes, you start to recognize why Piper became such a famous "cult icon" from this film once the plot thickens. Nada comes off as an ordinary middle-class hardworking American who follows the rules but is curious enough to stick his nose inside anything fishy. And just when you thought otherwise, Piper all of the sudden whips out his Terminator face and waves the freedom flag across the grotesque faces of the aliens. Thus, we are finally feeling the roller coaster ride after a steady climb.

I'm not a fervent fan of wrestling myself, but watching Roddy Piper play the hero in this film is a refreshing feeling because he is more widely (and positively) regarded in the wrestling universe as a villain/heel. It's not that Piper dons a fresh new persona as John Nada. On the contrary, the way that Piper has portrayed the character is very reminiscent of, if not identical to, his usual "Scottish" rage, spontaneity and quick wit as a wrestler in WWE. There is even a 6-minute long fight scene between Nada and his friend, Frank, that clearly uses Piper's wrestling background to the fullest extent. Whether or not "They Live" was written perfectly for Piper or vice versa, the gritty nature of the fictional environment and how Nada reacts to it as a lone wolf is no wonder why so many people have been drawn to the film, so much so that it has a cult following. If anything, Piper really lives up to his reputation as one of the most gifted entertainers on the mic and in the ring, and the WWE universe should be glad that the talent has lent itself in the film industry. RIP Roddy Piper.

Everything that has been said so far is ultimately what makes this "documentary" a memorable sci-fi title that is worth looking into on a Throwback Thursday. Especially in today's time, there aren't many films as profoundly enlightening and socially challenging as "They Live". Having said all of that, there is still a few blatant drawbacks that brought this film down towards mediocrity. The first one is the grave lack of variety in the soundtrack, because more or less, the very same music from the opening credits gets recycled over and over until the end. The second complaint that I have is the pacing. The most exciting moments that generate the identity of this film are surprisingly ephemeral and rare, while the rest of the fillers are either flat or inconsistent in tone. This is a shame because it would be difficult to maintain the audience's interest even in an innovative idea like Carpenter's.

The final detail that is sadly neglected is the overall persona of "They Live". If we think about "Terminator", "Robocop", or "The Matrix", each one of them has its own unique and consistent marker (be it the soundtrack, design, the main character, theme) for people to remember by forever. For "They Live", it lacks the ability to brand itself to a wider group of people because the film is in a muddle between so many inconsistent things and ultimately fails to stick to its game plan from the beginning. Surely Carpenter tried to emulate George Orwell's 1984 to an extent, but he knew he had to (perhaps forcibly) make his film reasonably entertaining, hence the inconsistency. The third point about attaining a reliable persona is my own take on why "They Live" is a forgotten masterpiece in the Hollywood archive, and it may mildly speak to what Carpenter had to say about its initial commercial failure, which is "people who go to the movies in vast numbers these days don't want to be enlightened." This is a disappointing outcome for a film that deserves more attention for its message alone. Besides, the production execution is not as bad as critics (myself included maybe) say. Nevertheless, if I were an educator, "They Live" would be standard viewing for my students. Whether its premise has reasonable grounds or not, it's enough to stimulate their thinking and curiosity about the very world they live in (pun not intended), although I would hasten myself to cover up the nude sights at the end.

Verdict: Admirable 7

Release Date: November 4, 1988

Box Office: $13 million

Rewatchable: Yes

Does it get any more American than this?