He Lives!

Like all other activities in life, the less I write in this here interweb box, the less I care and the more daunting starting up again becomes. So, just like everything else, I thought it best to start small and hijack spontaneous thoughts. Tonight I saw a John Carpenter film I have been wanting to see for a long time, ever since I saw one still image from it somewhere: They Live. Really, it could have been terrible, I am just elated to finally have the freedom to see it, not only in a theatre, but for free. As it happens--even though I won't recommend because you would all laugh at the occasionally awkward acting--it was amazing and as Bill Maher said once, "Like any good movie, it made me think." Maher was talking about The Passion of the Chirst, but um...

Carpenter's 1980s movie falls firmly into the category of 80s Low Production Value Sci-Fi Movies That Richard Loves, right along with Terminator, V, and 1984. All of which "They Live" borrows heavily and self-consciously from. It starts slow, with an ex-wrestler playing a down and out working class guy moving to LA and looking for work. A great start, and places the plot in an even more Marxist context than it obviously already is. The American everyman lead gradually uncovers an underground resistance, that uses sunglasses to uncover the global conspiracy and brainwashing by an alien race. When he puts the sunglasses on the satellite signal is uncovered and the real alien faces reveal themselves, and advertisements turn out to be phrases like "OBEY" and "STAY ASLEEP." The resulting image is what made me want to check the movie out in the first place. Then the movie becomes increasingly but entertainingly bizarre, and the famous line "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum" comes out of nowhere, but is still great. Most of the rest of the movie involves kicking ass, which is always great even on low budgets, when it's revolutionaries against police and soldiers. Or at least, that's how I feel, which is exactly what I was thinking about.

It doesn't take any analysis to figure out that most of my favorite movies involve futuristic fascist regimes and rag-tag rebellions against them. Not only the 80s Robocop crowd of movies, but even Star Wars, Blade Runner, and Matrix of course fall squarely into this category. The most important aspect does not actually seem to be any kind of futuristic atmosphere, but a depiction of fascism. As I watched They Live, I realized it started to really get exciting when the riot police showed up in full gear and in huge numbers and razed the poor houses. The exaggerated nature of the scene, as hundreds of white helmets gather around machinery to deal with a few people dressed in rags, was actually really dramatic and engaging. Just like the very first scene in Star Wars is masterful in its use of stormtroopers as a fascist force juxtaposed against human faces taking up the whole screen. It starts to become a disturbing trend when I realize that it isn't a feeling of horror so much as fascination and titillation. I hate using that last word with a straight face, but I think it works.

There is obviously a deep-seated impulse towards fascism in everyone and all that goes along with it, otherwise how would it exist at all? Not just in people who vote for Bush or any other right-wing person, but in every American. With an outside perspective on the U.S. and its post-WWII empire, I can see how strangely unique it is to have been raised in that environment. It's free enough to allow for a strong anti-fascist streak, but not without a deep-seated attraction to fascist tendencies. The big question the rest of the world has been asking for six years is how a Western democracy can be OK with having a president like Bush, and this tendency must have something to do with it.

It really is great fun, though. Especially when the powers that be have skull faces and can only be seen with sunglasses. Clearly, my appetite for movies like this is hardwired and permanent: bring on V for Vendetta!


Oh yeah, apparently there are strikes and protests going on close to me. I may witness some, at some point. The only other thing I have to add about it is that it's inspiring to be around a real spirit of rebellion, after six years of quiet subordination to policies that are ten times worse than relaxing laws about firing people. The biggest difference is that the media and public opinion are almost entirely favorable, if not to the strikers, then to the idea of striking in general. It's pretty exciting to be in the midst of a war between the people and its government, something every government needs every once in awhile to keep it in check. We'll see how it turns out.