The Running Man

The Running Man is a 1987 dystopian action film directed by Paul Michael Glaser. The film tells the story of Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) a falsely convicted policeman that has a chance of freedom when he forcibly participates in a game show where conflicts known as runners at a chance to gain their freedom. On the surface this can seem as another Arnold Schwarzenegger action film however The Running Man is a commentary upon the power of systems of control and how they used mass media and entertainment as a distraction and punishment in order to desensitise and control the masses through the medium of television and use that very same media to condition them to a artificial version of the supposed truth.

The very beginning of The Running Man we are given the back story to the world. “by 2017 the world economy has collapsed. Food, national resources, and oil are in short supply. A police state, divided into parliament zones, rules with an iron hand. Television is controlled by the state and a sadistic game show called “the running man” has become the most popular program in history. All art, music and communications are censored. No dissent is tolerated and yet a small resistance movement has managed to survive underground. When high-tech gladiators are not enough to suppress the peoples yearning for freedom more direct methods become necessary.” And it is in this dystopian future that we meet our protagonist helicopter pilot Ben Richards who go against the system by not eliminating the rioters trying to gather food and for his crime gets punished through hard labour showcasing the power and dominance of the state upon society and that even individuals who comply with the ideals are ultimately powerless to oppose it.

Ben and his fellow prisoners creating a fight between them shows that they rebelled against the system of oppression as the prisoners make a run for it with the deadline still up only to make his head explode via the collar showcasing the power of the state within the film. This idea of a gap between the rich and the poor is further showcased by the shanty town within the film, with the TV show itself acting as an opium for the masses. The people within the society distrust Richards since he is in ex-cop before they decide to help one another. As we see society dependent on reality television as shown by the host Damon Kilian and his celebrity persona contrasted with his real-life persona, we are showing Richards during his attempts to escape from the system of oppression as a arrives at his brother’s old apartment an apartment where he captures Amber and ties her up, taking her hostage with her travel card so they can escape the country.

As this is going on, we are shown the people that work at The Running Man rewriting people’s criminal records. Anybody who goes against the system is deemed a criminal way therefore eligible for the game show. This allows people to feed their carnal desires for violence to subdue the classes from rising. This in turn allows the rich get richer and the poor to work at the service of the system with the gameshow acting as a treatment to sedate the masses through the media. This is further showcased by Ben Richards being a prison escapee and how in the eyes of the media an undesirable person such as this would make for good entertainment. Like with many dystopian films the idea of Richards kidnapping a woman showcases the idea of trying to outrun the system of oppression but with the state police catching it showcases how this dream is ultimately impossible.

Damon Kilian the presenter of the running TV show talks to Ben and ultimately sees him as a valuable commodity. The Running Man uses the lower classes like cattle in order to entertain the masses both showcasing that anyone who goes against the state will be punished, as well as acting as a form of entertainment teaching the population what is right and wrong real and fiction. This allows the population to be controlled through a synthetic form of violence and how they can manipulate the individuals do their bidding is showcased with Richard’s friends being forced to do The Running Man if he refuses. As this is going on Amber realises that the version of the truth that the broadcasted by the media is fake. This puts into question how our own idea of the truth and therefore goes against the state symbolically trying to destroy the gap between the rich and the poor. For their crime, they are captured, put on display, and punished for a sadistic game show called The Running Man. This acts as both a opiate for the masses as well as a form of entertainment for the elite. The masses are excited for The Running Man as through their brainwashed minds they see it as punishing criminals and individuals who go against state rule.

The masses are engrossed by The Running Man. This further showcases the idea of individuals who go against the state in some way are punished allowing the rich to get richer. These individuals are vilified via the artificial construct of the media. The idea of their lives being expendable is a sentiment fed back to the masses to sedate and nullify them minimising any chance of rebellion in creating a sharp divide between the rich and the poor. The upper echelons of society are there to see the lower-class criminals fighting a gladiatorial like spectacle. This is fed back to the public to demonstrate as if society is doing the right thing by punishing the supposed criminals. However, they are nullifying any form of rebellion or revolution through using society’s need for entertainment as a method of control. This is further showcased through a fake version of what happened during the riots in order to manipulate the masses through the media to an artificial construct of the truth, further showcased by the winners of the TV show as an artificial construct of reality through the media in order to keep the masses dated.

This idea of punishing any insubordination against the state is shown with Weiss and Loftman the two convicts that helped Richards escape also being sent into The Running Man. They are being used as tools to punish people who go against the system as well acting as a perverse form of comedy entertainment for the spectacle that is the show. Through the betting system we are shown that even people in the lower echelons of society find a way to exploit the poor through the system. Audience participation is key within The Running Man as glamorised by The Stalkers as the killers the film demonstrates the idea of the masses being manipulated and controlled by the media. Due to their perception of reality through television the poor are merely seen this cannon fodder as the film showcases the artificiality of the show juxtaposed with the real-life experience. These cartoon villains further showcase the artificiality of the show presented to the audience juxtaposed the real-life idea of punishing people who go against the police state. Acts such as trying to help the poor is shown through the lens of the media are subverted therefore creating disposable contestants for people to act as entertainment in order to control the masses as well as acting as a warning. This idea being chased and potentially killed for entertainment via glamorised villains for a TV show, links into the idea of the poor masses being punished by going against the system of oppression and in response their life becomes cannon fodder in order for people to gorge on their love of violence through entertainment.

When Richards kills Subzero and the three of them escape it shows the power of the individual against the dystopian society. Instead of conforming to the rules he is rebelling against it to bring down the system of oppression against the poor and destroying this fictionalised sadistic method of media used to manipulate and control the masses. On stage Kilian shows sadness with his audience over Subzero’s death, but he is more worried about the sponsorships. Again, this showcases how through this form of entertainment any rebellion against the state is not tolerated as evidence by Richards revolting against it causing Kilian to try and save face. By Kilian putting Amber into the running man it further shows the system of oppression within this dystopian society. Any interference against the state is punished through entertainment feeding the masses a sustenance to dull them into submission creating a false sense of reality through their control of the population. Within the film there plan is to bring down the satellite and jam the network stopping the power and rule of oppression a which is a common theme throughout dystopian films, which is further highlighted when Richards and Amber are reunited and work together to bring down the dystopian rule.

As they fight against the stalker Buzzsaw, the film shows how the state through the product television punishes people who do not conform to society and how this is fed to the public in the form of entertainment. This is for them to strive to be an outstanding role citizen taking out their carnal desires through the state sanctioned active television but the government controls. When they meet up with the resistance within the film they find out that they have been trying to jam the network for five years as Weiss and Amber go to the broadcasting tower in order to shut it down. This showcases a common theme throughout dystopian films that being rebelling against the system of oppression that controls society and ultimately helping the common man. As Richards kills Buzzsaw after he kills Loftman, Weiss and Amber get the code to jam the satellite favour showing the coming man fighting back against the system of oppression.

As dynamo kills West it further shows how the system of oppression wants to control and destroy the common man. They use the lower-class people who go against the state as a source of sadistic entertainment for the masses so that people will be subservient to the media. People love to watch death as an outlet for their own inner rage keeping the poor down at the hands of a totalitarian regime. Richards then defeats dynamo showcasing the power of the common man to revolt against the oppressive regime and destroy it. However, in sparing his life Richards shows he rejects the way that society is controlled through violent media in punishing people who do not conform to this oppressive dystopian rule. Kilian tries to make a deal with Richards for him to become a stalker which results in him ripping out a security camera and talking directly into it before slashing it on the ground. By doing this Richards is symbolically rejecting the control that the media and entertainment industry has on society. He is going against the idea of using violence to sustain people’s appetites to nullify the masses. He refuses controlled by the state instead wishes to bring down the regime.

With Mrs. McCardle a Running Man audience member stating that Richard will win it showcases how society is slowly rejecting this dystopian system of oppression and going against the censorship crazed totalitarian regime that tramples over the poor. With Richards and Amber being chased by the stalker Fireball it further shows how sadistic forms of entertainment are used to keep society down. This makes the lower classes to obey everything at the hands of the rich and is full for the masses through the form of entertainment to keep them docile. The fight with Fireball Amber uncovers the truth about The Running Man. She finds the corpses of the supposed winners and that the game is merely a way to dispose of people who retaliate against the dystopian regime and is broadcasted as a warning. Richards kills Fireball by ripping the gaslight out of him before throwing a flare causing him to explode. The Running Man is about rejecting the system of oppression and waking up to how the media controls and manipulates the population to keep the masses at bay. The film shows fighting back against falsified information and how this is used to keep the masses down.

With a fake body double used in a fight between Captain Freedom, Amber and Richards using digital mapping the scene shows how media and entertainment can be used to show the masses in artificial construct of the truth. With Captain Freedom Killing Richards and Amber in the universe of the TV show, it shows the power of the state as well as the manipulation of the media that it can make society believe anything it wants and turn any potential revolution into just another form of entertainment to control the masses through their primal desires. Like a lot of dystopian films, The Running Man showcases the idea of creating a revolution to destroy the oppressive media regime, in destroying the artificial construct of reality and revolting against this dystopian society.

Within the Running Man they ultimately fight the media with the media. As they play a television broadcast showing what really went on during The Bakersfield Massacre. This showcases the manipulation of society through the media and that any resistance against the dystopian regime is met with severe punishment be it people wanting food or person refusing to shoot at unarmed civilians. As Richards and the rebels come in to stop Kilian Linda kills Dynamo by shooting the sprinkler thereby electrocuting him and fighting back against the system of oppression. Within the climax of The Running Man between Richards and Killian, Kilian makes a speech on how Americans love television as it teaches them how to be, they raise their children on it, they love violent entertainment. This statement made by Kilian rings true even today with society being easily manipulated by the media especially at a young impressionable age and how violence is constantly shown throughout news outlets and entertainment. With sending Kilian down the shooting the cart and into the billboard of himself where he explodes, Richards is both literally and symbolically destroying the symbol and system of oppression that have changed our society. As we are shown the collapse of the system of repression with people cheering Richards and Melina kiss which is shown on the TV screen. The once iron fisted rule of media is now used to demonstrate the destruction of dystopian society and a better world.

The Running Man is a film about humanity’s love of depravity through media and entertainment and how the powers that be can use this form as a method of control and suppression to manipulate and dominate society.