A dark personal review of a darkly horrifying science fiction film.
"They influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. THEY LIVE."
—
It's ostensibly about aliens taking over the world, using political, commercial and media power to rule the lives of the humans, kept in the dark as to their very existence, let alone motives.
If you've never seen the film, now is the time to at least do an image search to catch up to the rest of us. If you're brave enough, go and watch the bugger. Sans the fear it may generate, it's a bloody good watch. Cheesy, even a little campy, but fun nonetheless.
I can't recall when I first saw this film, but I can remember the moment when it became clear what the meaning was. The protagonist finds sunglasses which reveal the world as it really is. The alien faces, the hidden messages on everything from billboards (Obey, Conform. Reproduce. Watch Television, Stay Asleep.)¹ to dollar bills (This is your God)² That moment was on the drive from the airport in Fan Francisco back to Davis, the trip when i came over following Christine's cancer diagnosis. The way back was billboards bloody everywhere, and not just flat, passive things, but flashy and distracting electronic billboards that demanded attention.
We stopped for a snack in an odd little diner in the Bay Area, odd to me because there was a TV for every line of sight, TVs showing everything from presumed soaps to news/sports channels. It seemed that every time one of them caught my attention they were transitioning to an advert. For someone brought up on a diet of BBC TV (which carries no advertising, ever), having the television serve me up a seemingly continuous stream of advertising for everything from breakfast cereals, snacks and drinks to medical drugs and cars, was horrifying. HOw, I wondered, did Americans ever manage to stay focused on a plot or new story whilst begin advertised at continually? The answer seems to be that they don't. And of course, it just gets worse. A good number of the ads are not advertising a product, they're designed to make one desire a lifestyle. A lifestyle of fast cars, trucks that can tear up the countryside while the occupants are "enjoying the great outdoors", destrying the very things they've gone to experience. On the one hand, making people desire sweet and unhealthy food choices, then showing them the drugs that will relieve them of the health burdens thereof. Drugs for diabetes, stress, heart disease, risk of stroke. Bombarded by the messages to consume, chase this or that lifestyle, I could not enjoy my food. We left our tepid tea and ashy food remains, tipped the staff and left. Welcome to America, Land of the Free, Home of the Brand. Coke Wars are a thing, I discovered. Schools pitted against one another based on brand loyalty. CONSUME, OBEY is the message, and nowadays they don't even bother to hide it. The only reason people still buy into it is their conditioning to trust the media that are force-feeding them this tripe.
iPhone vs. Android phones. The Cult of Cupertino vs Everyone Else. Brand loyalty, cult of personality. This is the world we've allowed to be created, a world of disillusioned people seeking an American dream become real-life nightmare. Protest if you will, downvote me if you must, but you know it's true. Having to have the latest and greatest thing, be it blockchain, NFTs and now, AI. The new trend must be accepted, absorbed into your next purchase, or you run the risk of being left behind in the great race to participta ein your own manipulation]. Perpetual unhappiness amid this bombardment, no wonder depression and stress levels are so high. Normalising mass shootings, what's next? No wonder that a good portion of the US is clamouring for the eradication of the other part, no wonder that a sitting president can call for the Liberals to be ostracised, disenfranchised and possibly eliminated. It's caused such fear and hatred, but even that is normal now. We will soon have US troops despatched to 'train' in US cities allegedly in need of subduing.
They Live is the story of what happens to one person who becomes aware, woke if you will. ANd that's how I feel. Surrounded by people who'd have me believe the earth is flat, that because I don't worship the Christian God, believe that trans people should be hidden away, I am not only wrong, but worthy of becoming a non-person, I have two choices. Go out to chew bubblegum and kick ass, or attempt to become a Grey Man? Neither is acceptable to me. I will not bow down, I cannot, will not fight. Do I arm myself as others are in the hope that, when they come for me, I will be able to defend myself? That means descending to their level, and I can't do that either. For the first time in my life, I am terrified, not just for me, but for everyone who believes that the world show allow for difference, that doesn't punish non-compliance, but pursues peace, understanding, respect for the individual. Right now the United States is anything but, and the disease is spreading faster and further than I would like. It's not even subliminal any more, they are coming right out and saying it. All that is left is awareness, "wokeness" and personal resistance.
is there any other way of seeing this film? How can anyone watching this come to any other conclusion than that we are being manipulated? And what comes after? Soylent Green? It's a real fear. Processing plants next to detention centres? Maybe this is why i'm so picky about my food, shopping mainly in the farmers' market. I'm already suspicious of "superfood" nutrition bars. Paranoid? No, healthy situational awareness. I was taught to drive with that in mind, to ask myself "what's the craziest thing another driver could do right now?". Driving like that has kept me safe for many years. Now I have to live my whole life like it, being prepared for the most absurd thing any other person could do. It's exhausting, and I wish it were otherwise.
Despite a clear political message in the film, director john Carpenter declined to be drawn into political criicism of Reagan despite many calls from people to comment on him and his policies.
if you've never seen the film, change that, and if you disagree with me, or find something positive in the film, do tell me because I'm tired of it all. Has anybody seen my rose tinted spectacles? Because I miss them.
For In the Absence of Light, Darkness Prevails: The 2025 Halloween Horrorquest``
¹ billboard film still
² Exposing the truth - movie clip
$ xclip -o | wc -w
1076