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  | They Live
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 Amusing | ||||||
| This is one odd movie Carpenter has given us here. Ridiculously blunt social commentary piled on top of the most deliberately 'B' movie you're likely to have seen in a damn long time. It's tough for me to say exactly how we're supposed to take this as some of the weirdness approaches parody. I can't say for certain, but I'm presuming this is intentional, seeing as how I find it tough to imagine that the director of movies like 'The Thing' 'Halloween' and 'In the Mouth of Madness' could make a movie this silly on accident. But, intentional or unintentional, this is a very amusing film.
Rowdy Roddy Piper plays the massive Nada, (oh you are a clever one John!) a drifter come to wherever this movie takes place (LA, maybe, I dunno) in search of work. He ends up in Justiceville, a modern day Hooverville, and becomes acquainted with the equally massive Frank. Times are hard all around, apparently, and it turns out that bad aliens and yuppies and conspiracies are the reason why,which eventually discover Frank and Nada and join the fight for good. This movie is more about concepts and scenes then it is about plot, so there really isn't a whole helluva lot more to the plot then what I just said. Thus, the film seems to have a sorta long build-up to a very trunucated climax. But, the buildup it plenty fun. Obviously, this is a highly political/social film, as it is highly critical of the upper classes and big business. Frankly, these politicals aren't much in line with mine, but it's vague enough that you can take it however you want. Maybe Carpenter is a commie, who wants to break down the capitalist system and have us live in a happy commune, or maybe he's just disgusted with the squanderous tendencies of much of the elite, and those who place value of money above people. Take it either way you want. I'll go with the latter. Carpenter is mostly associated with horror films, but `They Live' doesn't fit into any single category that clearly. Mostly it's a drama, though it's got a fair bit of action towards the end, a decent amount of humor, plenty of satire and a bit of mystery too. Obviously, it's got aliens but I don't think the sci-fi tag really applies, as the sci-fi elements are just used for satirical purposes. But, whatever, it's just definitely a pretty weird melange of styles. This movie has got some cool ideas. The black and white world of subliminal advertising that is revealed when Nada wears the sunglasses is really quite intriguing, and the basic premise of aliens invading via subterfuge and economic manipulation is fairly nice too, though it probably isn't all that original to this. I've always enjoyed the whole paranoiac, everyone is in on it mode, and I think it works pretty well here, despite the strangeness and B-movie trappings. Though many seem to like him, I think Piper is pretty terrible in the lead. He's kinda awkward and goofy, with a rather silly voice. Too bad Carpenter didn't have Kurt Russel be the lead again. He'd a worked. Keith David is better, and more likable as Frank. Nobody else has all that big of a role, so they don't matter that much, other than Meg Foster as the potential love interest, who is most noteworthy for having scary, inhuman eyes. Yeah, the aliens do look pretty silly, but I think they were meant to, and they're kinda cool and fun too. The action scenes are generally pretty decent, with the exception of the big fist fight and wrestling showdown between Frank and Nada towards the middle of the film, which is flatly awesome. It's about the most ridiculous thing ever, and just goes on and on and on, and doesn't have a damn thing to do with anything. Very amusing. Carpenter shot this in widescreen, as per usual, and he doesn't use it all that effectively, but it gives the whole film a nice, classy feel, contrasting with the weirdness of the whole project. It's also got a bluesy, slow going score, which fits the general tone pretty well, I think. Well, I don't think I've said much of consequence so far, so I'll just cut myself off. It's certainly not Carpenter's best film, but it's definitely fun and watchable, and not without some interesting ideas. Check it out. | ||||||
 Carpenter's Semiotic Masterpiece | ||||||
| With inventive storytelling and style, John Carpenter's They Live addresses the issue of media manipulation and semiotic deception. In his film, Carpenter allegorically depicts the power elite as a hostile alien race quartered among us. To these invaders, Earth is analogous to a developing country, another third-world. Humans are cattle, capital goods of flesh and blood. Through the subliminal seduction of electronic media, these aliens control the herd. In fact, their mind control apparatus is so effective that it veils their true appearance. They look just like you and I.
Donning a special pair of sunglasses called the "Hoffman Lens," the film's protagonist pierces the semiotic mirage and glimpses reality. Through the "Hoffman Lens," our hero discerns the brutally honest world of connotative meaning. The super models on billboards, the cigarette ads in magazines, the politicians spewing rhetoric on TV... all are but indexical signs referencing the paradigms of the elite. For instance, the restaurant advertisements, replete with their images of families enjoying high-cholesterol food, reference a single mandate of the ruling class ethos: "CONSUME." Likewise, when observed through the Hoffman Lens, the Great Seal of the dollar bill is replaced by the statement: "THIS IS YOUR GOD." What is most elucidating, however, is the appearance of the elite when viewed through the Hoffman Lens. They are walking cadavers, the proverbial "whitewashed sepulchers" mentioned by Jesus in the Gospels. Beneath the cosmetically altered exterior is death. That the chief means of deception is technological in nature is intentional. The word "technology" is derived from the Greek word techne, which means "craft." Moreover, the term "craft" is also associated with witchcraft or Wicca. From the term Wicca, one derives the word wicker. Examining this word a little closer, researcher Michael Hoffman (author of Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare) explains: "The word wicker has many denotations and connotations, one of which is `to bend,' as in the `bending' of reality." This is especially interesting when considering the words of Mark Pesce, co-inventor of Virtual Reality Modeling Language. Pesce writes: "The enduring archetype of techne within the pre-Modern era is magic, of an environment that conforms entirely to the will of being." Through technology, the media creates an environment that conforms entirely to the will of its masters. The Druid magicians of antiquity used to carry wands, which were made out of "holly wood." Sound familiar? The famous Hollywood sign is but an enormous semiotic marker for an industry that specializes in illusion. Through the alchemical sorcery of electronic media, individual consciousness is immersed within a psychocognitive hive. They Live exemplifies the underlying theme of broadcast criticism. In one scene, the main character discovers some graffiti that reads: "THEY LIVE, WE SLEEP." Indeed, those who do not engage active critical analysis while viewing electronic media are asleep. Meanwhile, a parasitic elite lives. | ||||||
| Body Snatchers Relived! | ||||||
| Wanna watch a great old fashioned science fiction
thriller? I have just the flick for you. John Carpenter's "They Live" is so reminiscent of the "Outer Limits" and "Twilight Zone" black and white television classics. It's in color (of course) and has an "R" rating for violence and some mild profanity, but this one is a sure-fire hit for sci-fi buffs. In the same mold as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "Night of the Living Dead", this flick is the story of a strange aura that shrouds L.A. Starring Roddy Piper and Meg Foster, the secrets of the unknown are revealed when Roddy discovers (and wears) a pair of revealing sun glasses. I'll tell you know more. This chiller unfolds just like the old TV classics. On a sci-fi scale of 1-5 (5 being the highest), Carpenter's "They Live" gets a "5". It is not a nail-biter, nor do you need to prepare for a horror-fest. This one is just classic science fiction at its best. | ||||||
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