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Popular Culture Review
elite class of human yuppies? The answer is, not a whole lot, especially when
those aliens have integrated so well that they read our magazines, drink at our
bars, and even enjoy sexual relations with humans. Furthermore, Carpenter’s
answer to the problems of the country, as voiced by an ass-kicking, gum-chewing
John Nada, is sophomoric in its call to arms. Nada blows away aliens left and
right, and eventually destroys the single satellite concealing the entire alien race
from human view. As Jurkiewicz argues, Nada’s methods are little better than the
ideals he is combating (39).
This violent answer to the complicated problems of rehabilitating our
society is made even more ridiculous when contrasted to the strong leftist political
rhetoric that builds tension so well early in the film. Again, Carpenter voices his
opinions on contemporary issues, this time through a pirate television station
(notice the similarity between They Live and Prince o f Darkness in the use of
video to transmit revolutionary thought).
We are living in an artificially induced state of consciousness
that resembles sleep. The poor and the underclass are growing.
Racial justice and human rights are nonexistent. They have
created a repressive society and we are their unwitting
accomplices. Their intention to rule rests with the annihilation
of consciousness. We have been lulled into a trance. They
have made us indifferent to ourselves, to others. We are
focused only on our own gain. Please, understand, they are safe
as long as they are not discovered. That is their primary
method to survive: Keep us asleep. Keep us selfish. Keep us
sedated (Jurkiewicz 36).
The substance of this broadcast, and similar passages throughout the
film, give an impression of a complex and well-thought-out political message to
They Live. Piper’s vigilante answer to the problems raised by these pirate
transmissions and resistance fighters is, unfortunately, intellectually weak, yet
probably necessary to draw the tonnage crowds to the theatre. Granted, it is
difficult to cast Rowdy Roddy Piper without some contractual scenes of good,
old-fashioned, God-Bless-the-USA butt kicking.
Taken as a thematic trilogy, The Thing, Prince o f Darkness, and They
Live can be forgiven their individual faults, mainly due to the quality with which
Carpenter gets his message across. The Thing is the subtlest of the three, with
Prince o f Darkness building in intensity in its accusations of foul play in
American society. It then stands to reason that They Live should build further on
the politics of the previous films, serving as an effective culmination of the
themes of the three films as a whole.