In Honour of My Dad

Obey. Submit. Consume. Watch TV.

Do not question authority. Money is your God.

No independent thought. No imagination.

They live. We sleep.

 

It came. Last night when we got back from the comedy club it was here waiting for us. Spiderman, knowing I was feeling a bit down about my dad, surprised me with a DVD of John Carpenter’s They Live. It is the *perfect* film to watch and think of my dad as we watched it several times together. He debated about getting C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers) which tried to be serious or its sequel  C.H.U.D. II (Bud the CHUD) which did not try in any way, shape or form to be serious, but he finally settled on They Live.

 

Perfect choice.

 

Do you know this film? The blurb on the back of the DVD reads:

 

Professional WWF wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper plays John Nada, a homeless, unemployed, construction worker who discovers a pair of sunglasses that when worn reveal a world run by upwardly mobile, capitalist yuppie aliens intent on keeping the human race sedate and brainwashed with subliminal messages fed through advertising and the media. Luckily for us, all John Nada wants to do now is chew gum and kick ass, and he’s all out of  gum. 

 

They Live is one of John Carpenter’s most accomplished films. An action packed, satirical, sci-fi adventure and socio-cultural critique on the decline of spiritual values and the rise of consumerism within modern society. It also included one of the longest fist fights in cinema history.

 

You see what I mean?

 

Perfect.

 

We’ll watch it every year from now on in honour of my Dad.

 

Thanks Spiderman.

actually a picture of George W Bush--I always suspected he was an alien

 

Edited to add: the plot for They Live is actually based on a (very) short story called Eight O’clock In The Morning by Ray Nelson and you can read it here:  http://www.whale.to/b/eight_o.html