They Live
There’s a conspiracy theory that posits that reptilians from another planet have taken control of Earth, and are the reason life is so difficult. Did it come from the short story by Ray Nelson that John Carpenter is adapting in “They Live?” Almost four decades after its release, Carpenter’s film has become known more for memes than its actual narrative, but it’s worth revisiting- or watching for the first time, as I am- now as we are seeing leaders try to pull the wool over our eyes in the United States. No, I don’t think they’re aliens, but they are worth fighting against.
Carpenter’s gifts as a filmmaker are in how he turns a straightforward narrative into something compelling, and sometimes, a bit deeper than we anticipate. Working under the name Frank Armitage here, he starts off with a drifter (Roddy Piper’s character) who is coming into town, looking for work. He manages to get a job in construction, and hits it off with a man named Frank (Keith David), who leads him to a tent city where he can get food and rest until he has enough money to get his own place. Piper’s character, Nada (though no one ever calls him that), is an optimist about the American Dream, whereas Frank is a pessimist. While watching TV, we see someone cut in to a broadcast with some alarming messaging. Nada investigates a local church, which gets raided. He sees a box of sunglasses. He puts one on, and finds that the world as he knew it is not what it is. Some people do not look like people, and billboards and magazines are code for people to “trust authority,” “obey,” and “no independent thought.”
One thing Carpenter is a fan of as a filmmaker and storyteller is the slow burn. We get it in “Halloween.” We get it in “The Thing.” We get it here. It’s half an hour into this 94-minute film before Nada learns the truth of reality, and it feels like a really long time. I was engaged the entire time, but I can understand if others aren’t. Carpenter has a straightforward approach to his filmmaking that is not dependent on stylish shots or lighting techniques. He approaches film almost as a mirror to reality, just with darker stories being told. The score for “They Live” he composes with Alan Howarth is as subtle and effective as others of his. He also has an extended fight between Nada and Frank later in the film that goes on for a while, as well. The structure of “They Live” feels really strange, but I was entertained by it throughout.
I mentioned that “They Live” feels more remembered for memes than the substance of the story. Admittedly, there isn’t a lot of depth to the story here, but as I said earlier, it’s worth considering in this day and time. The way the powerful enlist others to their cause. The way that propaganda is used to not only stoke hate and fear, but complacency. And the way that sometimes, the people we want to trust the most are the ones we can’t trust at all. At the tail end of Reagan’s America, Carpenter knew the tricks of the elites to get those below them to listen, and suppress those who don’t. Maybe we should have paid more attention.
