They Live

They Live is a 1988 action horror sci-fi film directed by John Carpenter. The film follows a homeless drifter that after accidentally finding a pair of sunglasses discovers that aliens have taken over the earth and enslaved humanity into a perpetual state of obedience.

They Live is ultimately a satirical social and political critique at 80’s era capitalism in America during the Ronald Reagan era, incorporating a left-wing ideology with its anti-capitalist, anti-Reagan stance. The protagonists of the film John Nada and his friend Frank are jobless and homeless. This links into Reagan era 80s America where homelessness was on the rise. Mental health patients were taken out of hospitals and put on the streets and help for them was stopped meaning that people with serious health conditions could no longer find professional help. Federal funding for homelessness was also cut during the Reagan era. This is all reflected within the film both through the home is protagonists as well as the shantytown-like areas they are residing in reflecting this problem within the film.

Although nameless in the film the credits name the protagonist as John Nada. Nada is a Spanish word meaning nothing which is reflective of the state in which the protagonist and many of the poor people in society of this era. Nada is also a reference to the film source material. They Live is based on the 1963 short story 8 O’Clock in the Morning by Ray Bradbury. In the story the protagonist George wakes up from hypnosis to find out that the world is run by alien reptilian creatures hiding in human skin. In a comic adaptation of the book the story was called Nada which was how John Carpenter was first exposed to the story is how the protagonist gets his name.

When Nada puts the sunglasses on, he discovers the truth, the realisation that the American dream is merely a lie, a wall of propaganda created by capitalism in order to perpetuate the poorer echelons of society into a perpetual state of obedience. They Live is ultimately a socio-political warning against the dangers of unchecked and unrestrained capitalism and the effect it has on society within Reagan era America but also within the societal culture of today. We are shown how humanity can be lulled into submission through receiving a forced reality through subliminal messaging. This makes society subservience and unable to better itself or question the truth of our reality.

In the scenes showing the sunglasses vision, we see signs saying Watch TV and Stay Asleep. This shows how right-wing government’s use media in order to perpetuate their propaganda to the masses. Through the filter of capitalism, the aliens (reaganites) use propaganda in order to keep humanity (the lower classes) subservience as their showing a perception of reality believing that their world and by extension their suffering is normal but, they are being sedated and controlled. However, the film also shows that it is not only the aliens that are fault within the film. The allure of capitalism affects people in the film as they see them collaborating with aliens as a way of achieving money, power, status etc. During the ending of the film an old homeless man seen at the beginning of the film is now dressed in a suit collaborating with the aliens. We are to blame humans as much as the aliens as we sell off humanity which is reflective of right-wing Reagan era politics, such as how regen sold arms to the Nicaraguan government funding their terrorism.

Again, They Live is ultimately a critique of capitalism under the Reagan administration. When the protagonist puts on the glasses in the film, he sees the subliminal messaging used to keep the population under control words like “obey” are used to fuel humanity’s subservience. We see the world for how it really is. We are shown how the poor are kept in a perpetual state of obedience allowing the rich to thrive. The masses are controlled by the government and outlets such as the media and advertising allowing the lower classes to be subservience to the government. People of a higher class within the film shown to be collaborating with the aliens, showing how people use positions in power in order to gain a higher status. They Live is ultimately showing how capitalism only upholds the needs of the few within society and how this ultimately creates uniformity. Capitalism homogenises media so that everything effectively becomes the same so that people don’t have any individualistic thoughts or free will. They Live critics the ideology of capitalism. Showcasing the idea that the system gives power to the few and exploits the majority as evident in the collaborators with the aliens juxtaposed with the poor.

They Live dismantles the idea of voodoo economics that idea of wealth trickling down to reach the poor. Instead They Live is an attack on greed in America.

The sunglasses in They Live allow us to see the true ideology behind capitalism. They expose Reagan and the politics that maintains the country not granting power to the poor so that they cannot oppose the system. Within the film John Nada is effectively the audience. As we can see behind societies lies both within the film and within our life’s to see the real message behind the propaganda. In one scene Nada looks at a poster that says, “holiday of a lifetime” however with the glasses on it says, “Mary and reproduce”. Capitalism uses the idea of democracy by luring them into a full sense of freedom. When Nada sees money with the glasses on, we are shown paper that reads “this is your God”. The monetary system of capitalism allows us to be enslaved. When the glasses are on you are shown the ideology’s that creates society and how it is used to control us. The glasses in They Live are effectively a critique on the right-wing capitalist ideological systems that are present within society.

However, humanity enjoys this ideology. The famous six-minute fight scene in the film is a metaphor for how seeing the truth in ideology is a painful experience that you must force upon yourself to witness. Freedom and the truth hurt people as you must shatter your notions of reality in order to truly be free.

At the ending of They Live Nada exposes the aliens by shooting a satellite dish before being shot himself, as we are shown people finding out that aliens are all around them. However, the ending of a live proposes the question will scene the truth be enough. On one hand you could read the ending is optimistic as showing that greed can be destroyed through sacrifice and is the mission of the Everyman. However, ultimately, I see the ending as a pessimistic one. Humanity loves greed. After the mass panic people will continue their reign of capitalism and the rich will continue to dominate the poor people that have ascended to wealth will not shy away from their positions despite knowing the truth. They Live shows a need to wake up from the truths behind capitalism but the ultimately capitalism will win as the ideology will live on forever.

They Live is ultimately a social political warring on the dangers of unregulated capitalism and how if left unchecked our reality might be closer to this 1980’s b-movie than we want to believe.