Parasitic subsociety of elites exploiting American working people?

[dumpster_baby]

Interesting movie review for the movie _They_Live_ on imdb ( http://indie.imdb.com/title/tt0096256/combined ). The movie is about how a construction worker finds some sunglasses that allow him to see that the elite of society (the rich, the yuppies, politicians, etc) are really aliens that exploit and control us.
Here is the review itself:
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Elite, parasitic subsociety exploits American working class--reflects real American society?



This movie is not so much about aliens who are hiding among us, but instead it taps into the deeply submerged suspicions of most of us that we are being manipulated and taken advantage of by the elite of American society, by our leaders, by the rich, etc. Also, we sometimes feel that we are manipulated and programmed (in a subtle way) to respect hierarchical authority ( e.g., the "OBEY" subliminal command from the movie).

Some leftist thinkers might say that human societies are in a way being parasitized by the elite of their societies, and that the elite operate as a parasitic sub-society, living off of the lower classes. America might be said to be operated more in such a fashion (i.e., parasitized by the elite) than are the countries of western Europe. Obvious examples of this parasitic behavior are the "golden handshakes" and backscratching exchanged between corporate CEO's and the Boards of Directors of their companies. But it is far more pervasive than just that.

_They_Live_ uses the invisible alien elite as a proxy for our suspicions about how we are all being exploited by the elite of our real-life society, and how these elite are subtly programming us to accept this exploitation.

So, the major theme of the movie is not, as another poster correctly pointed out, about being manipulated to be good little consumers in a crassly commercial world. No, it is far more profound than that. Instead, it is more about how the working class Americans in _They Live_ are being exploited by the elite upper crust, who, in the movie, happen to be aliens.

Unfortunately, this movie only explores this exploitation theme in a somewhat superficial way, and the movie itself has an unintentionally comic air to it sometimes. Still, the exploration of that theme is so rare in pop culture, and that theme is so profound, and reaches so far into what American society is, was, and is becoming, that this movie is a Must-See for anyone with an interest in politics and sociology.

[dumpster_baby]

1. In the movie, the parasitic subsociety is composed by many people

In the movie, the disguised aliens that live among humans are comprised of many people, a significant fraction of society: not only politicians and the rich, but also yuppies, lawyers, doctors, etc., are all among the exploiting, parasitic upper class.

[EdGy]

2. sounds like capitalism!

And that IS a taboo theme in this country! Sounds interesting.

[I thought so.]

3. Here you go.

Here is a great site that will match.

http://www.cpusa.org

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Hmmm.. interesting!

[necso]

5. The "humans" who sell themselves to the aliens for personal gain

is particularly telling.

In society there are always those who would sell out their brothers in order to be raised (even a little higher) above them. This "enemy among us" is crucial to the success of the elites, besides giving tacit approval to the oppression itself.

The overseer is as much an enemy to the slave as the owner... and a much more personal one.

Unfortunately, we are a little short on those particular sunglasses.

One of my favorite "B" movies.

[lucky777]

6. Great Movie -- South Park copied the fight scene from that movie

for the fight between Timmy and Jimmy (the two crippled kids).

A very interesting premise even though the movie starred Rowdy Roddy Piper (the pro wrestler) as the lead. I saw it in the theater at the time (in the 80s). I heard it was based on a book or story, but I never found it....

[Casablanca]

7. Uh-oh, we've got another one that can see!

So many great quotes in that movie.

The "V" movies of the early-80s have a similar subtext to "They Live".

[necso]

8. Great line.

... And pretty much what the Bushies are saying every day now!

[dumpster_baby]

9. a zmag writer comments on _They_Live_

Zmag writer Paul Street's thoughts on _They_Live_:


They Speak

In John Carpenter's campy science-fiction/horror movie "They Live" (once something of a cult film among leftists of my acquaintance), America is ruled by aliens disguised as members of the business and professional elite. The extraterrestrials manipulate the human mass through subtle, subliminal forms of thought control encoded in media content that both advances and hides the colonizers' international (in fact intergalactic) agenda of economic exploitation. They speak in hushed tones to one another through small radios installed in Rolex watches that symbolize their exalted class status while providing a safe conduit for intra-alien communication. In an underground complex whose existence is kept secret from the hated human herd, the colonizers speak openly and idealistically of their real objectives to large audiences of fellow aliens and a minority of co-opted human collaborators. They are resisted by a dedicated human cadre that has discovered how to manufacture special sunglasses that decode the numbing messages of the mass media and reveal the hidden alien identity of the infiltrators. Possessors of these glasses are tracked and gunned down by the alien-dominated forces of order.

The parallels between current U.S. reality and the nightmarish scenario depicted in "They Live" and in numerous other dystopian fantasies are clear to radicals living in the American eye of the world-capitalist hurricane. Happily, however, we are not by any indication subject to a ruling-class of alien or superhuman lineage and we are generally free to manufacture and distribute special de-coder sunglasses-radical social theory and criticism-without fear of elimination by death squads (though our friends in numerous U.S. client states still live with that dread). Of the need to manufacture and distribute more of the radical visors there is no doubt. But we can still, above ground and with our own bare eyes or regular prescription lenses, make out significant parts of the real agenda between the lines, lies, and diversions of the ruling mainstream media, where all-too human elites still feel the occasional need to communicate and even argue with one another with a reasonable measure of candor about how they see the world and what is to be done.


more here:
http://www.zmag.org/ZMag/articles/streetfinal.htm