‘They Live’: More Than Just An Alien Invasion Movie
There was nobody more popular or influential in the 1980s than Ronald Reagan. The actor-turned-governor-turned-President had won two landslide elections and ushered in a new era of neoliberalism defined by deregulated markets, high military spending, religiously-oriented family values, and dramatic tax cuts for the wealthy. With that policy agenda came a cultural shift that would embrace America’s rightward trajectory and would almost serve as propaganda for the Reagan Revolution.
Action flicks would champion America’s hawkish foreign policy with studs like Rambo mercilessly mowing down the Reds. Comedies like Ghostbusters would casually mock venerated institutions like the EPA. Even my beloved slashers, like Michael, Freddy, and Jason would, inadvertently perhaps, reinforce Nancy Regan-esque values by butchering any hapless teen that so much as dabbled in sinful behavior involving premarital sex or drugs.
But in that sea of endless Cold War thrillers, family values sitcoms, and anti-sex-and-drugs slashers, there was John Carpenter’s They Live, an audacious cinematic affront on everything that Reagan stood for. While it might first appear as just a B-movie throwback starring Roddy Piper as a guy who can see aliens with the aid of his sunglasses, They Live couldn’t have stood out more from the genre entertainment of the time.
As it were, audiences ate this material right up, showing that the Reagan Revolution hadn’t just taken hold of the government, but of the culture itself. It was a time of excess, of flashiness, a celebration of good times. It was morning again in America, and very few artists, at least ones interested in commercial viability, were going to try raining on that parade with any critique or commentary.
But then, there was John Carpenter. After launching his career with the immortal Halloween, a film that ironically helped cement the “sin-equals-death” stereotypes I alluded to before, Carpenter had been on shaky grounds with audiences after The Thing bombed and halted his momentum. He kept going, of course, producing cult classics like Christine while branching out into other genres with Big Trouble in Little China and Starman.
He was still primarily a horror auteur, continuing the apocalyptic themes of The Thing with Prince of Darkness. His take on horror went from pulp to punishing, painting drab, destitute portraits of society. Calling his films “dark” doesn’t cover it; he looked at the monsters of reality and channeled them into his filmmaking. Escape from New York was famously made in response to the Watergate scandal, which tracks. It’s a film so brimming with nepotism and contempt for authority that it’s actually shocking that it managed to become a hit. But the genius of Carpenter is that he made his films stand on their own. You didn’t have to be a lib or have an opinion about Watergate to appreciate Carpenter’s dystopian neo-Western.
It seems, though, that after playing with subtext throughout his career, Carpenter was ready to make the boldest statement of his career by taking on a villain more nefarious than an alien shapeshifter or masked killer: the Gipper himself.
And so, John Carpenter directed They Live, one of the most politically-charged horror flicks of all time, and depending on who you ask, one of Carpenter’s most respectable efforts. While it bombed because, well, the same populace that elected Ronald Reagan twice wasn’t ready for such contemptuous satire, They Live has joined the ranks of The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China to be one of Carpenter’s films that transcended its box-office poison status to become a bona fide classic.
Twenty-five years after its release, some would easily rank it among Carpenter’s best. It helps that we’re so removed from the ‘80s that we can appreciate They Live on its own terms as an alien-invasion shoot-em-up spectacle. No matter your politics, you’ve gotta admit that the alley fight scene between Roddy Piper and Keith David is one of the most entertaining sparring matches since Rocky.
For those who haven’t seen the flick (which you definitely, definitely should), They Live follows a nameless drifter (whom fans have only referred to as “Nada”) who discovers a pair of sunglasses that allows the wearer to see under the disguises of the aliens that have secretly and quietly conquered the Earth. Better yet, the wearer can see through the subliminal messaging that the aliens have infused into our consumerist culture. A box of Frosted Flakes actually says “Obey.” A billboard for the latest blockbuster actually says “Stay Asleep.” Carpenter even takes a direct shot at Reagan, as the glasses reveal that the American president is secretly one of the alien invaders. Only those who wear the sunglasses can see the world for what it “truly” is. In other words, they become Woke.
It’s quite fascinating to rewatch They Live in today’s outrage culture where everybody from fanboys to red-pillers complains about Hollywood going Woke and tell writers and directors to “stay out of politics.” You know the type. If Ben Shapiro had been around for They Live’s release and box-office failure, he would’ve said, “Go woke, go broke.”
Of course, these people usually also hold up ‘80s movies as the gold standard of popcorn entertainment, as if Red Dawn or Top Gun are politically neutral. Maybe not all of them wear their politics on their sleeve as They Live. But Carpenter isn’t just making a movie; he’s repudiating the status quo at a time when it was badly needed. Ronald Reagan never had his power checked and the American people seemed fine to go along with the coke party that was the entirety of the 1980s.
They Live didn’t take down Reagan or the conservative movement, obviously. But, it provided catharsis for everybody who felt that consumerism had taken over when they weren’t looking, that the American Dream had been watered down into a competition of having the best car, or watch. For many people, it seemed that Americans were no longer beings of free will or expression, but peopled being herded by a political class that waved shiny things in their faces like tax cuts.
What makes They Live such sharp satire is that the alien takeover depicted so sharply parallels the reality of geopolitics from that era. In the same way that the Reagan administration tried to enact a shadow takeover of Nicaragua through their support of the Contras, this unnamed alien race conducted a discreet invasion without raising an eyebrow. One of the funniest, albeit twisted lines in They Live, is when one of the aliens’ servants refers to Earth as the “Third-World of the Galaxy.” That’s not just there to offend your sense of patriotism as an Earthling, but to remind audiences that third-world countries don’t just “happen,” they’re a direct product of both corporate and governmental malfeasance.
Of course, those who see behind the masquerade are punished. Seeing the homeless encampment taken over by SWAT police at the beginning is actually quite chilling because it’s Carpenter foregoing his genre metaphor and actually confronting audiences with the reality of what was happening to dissenters, either behind the scenes or out in the open. It invokes the 1968 Chicago DNC, where activists were beaten mercilessly by police, or how journalist Gary Webb had his entire reputation and personal life destroyed after he uncovered drug-smuggling operations conducted by the FBI.
Now, do any of these political allusions and statements make They Live a better movie? It’s easy to imagine Carpenter just making a retro alien-invasion movie with a clever twist via the sunglasses. It certainly would’ve been entertaining, and that might be all that They Live means to some people. I doubt everyone who owns a copy of this flick cares about all the ways it mirrors the politics of its time. Many of its fans weren’t even around to experience the ‘80s, so it’s hard to say just what kind of role Carpenter’s commentary has played into its longevity.
Even if you don’t see They Live as a condemnation of Reaganism, however, it’s certainly a condemnation of authority. Nobody likes being told what to do, or feel like a sheep being shepherded by our elected officials and corporate overlords. They Live speaks to that better than any film of the decade that I can think of. It has all the elements that add up to a shlock-tastic ‘80s movie: a beef-cake leading man, hilarious one-liners, and over-the-top action. But the soul is different. It’s almost as if John Carpenter made a Commando movie for leftists, or at least, for anyone that was even a little skeptical of the jingoistic nature of entertainment at the time.
The idea of “Go woke, go broke” is dubious at best in today’s environment. Filmmakers like Rian Johnson and Jordan Peele are certainly not suffering from injecting their personal views into their media. If anything, it’s helped distinguish them and has only elevated their sense of auteurism. Just look at Nope or Glass Onion. Audiences are just as interested to see Rian Johnson taking on Elon Musk, corporate media, and corrupt politicians as much as they want to see a Benoit Blanc mystery.
But the thing is, “Go woke, go broke” was the reality for anyone in the entertainment business back in the ‘80s. Audiences didn’t take to the anti-Cold War message of George Romero’s Day of the Dead, or the despairing anti-Western revisionism of Heaven’s Gate. The only exception that comes to mind is the original Robocop, which might have succeeded in large part due to audiences either looking past the anti-Reaganomics messaging or misunderstanding the movie entirely. If some people could, they would probably turn our police force into literal machines.
So let They Live be an inspiration to any filmmaker, in or out of the horror genre, to not be afraid to make statements, even controversial ones. As Carpenter proved here, genre films aren’t just pulp. At least, they don’t have to be. Horror flicks don’t just spook us, they reflect our fears and anxieties. Comedies aren’t just there for gags, they also take much-needed shots at our culture, the things we find absurd or ridiculous. Even action flicks, the most macho of them all, can get to the heart of the conflicts that drive us, that drive the world.
That’s exactly what John Carpenter did with They Live, and it’s an investment that paid off in the long run. The man has many classics to his name, but I personally hope that he takes distinct pride in what he accomplished. Many genre films take on the aesthetics of rebellion, or at least refuse to comply with the mainstream. But it’s something else to take aim against a cultural supported by not just the rich and powerful, but one with overwhelming support from audiences. And not many films managed to so perfectly crystallize a “social” fear. Maybe behind every advertisement and commercial, there’s a subliminal message ordering us to obey. Maybe every public figure, whether they be wealthy elites or subservient bureaucrats, are actually trying to take us over. Worse yet – Maybe they already have.
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