Oh No, John Carpenter’s Gone Woke!

John Carpenter really went ahead and did Fight Club better than Fight Club years before Fight Club was even a thing. He did that for us. Just absolutely iconic, brilliant and forever relevant in its analysis of capitalism as a tool for fascists. Roddy Piper and Keith David are the ultimate Everyman heroes, effortlessly oozing charm and gravitas in this perfectly paced, grounded sci-fi actioner. The visual language employed by Carpenter is so exquisitely subtle but striking, as it often is through his expertly poised lens. The action is energized and brutal, the dialogue memorable and naturalistic. The movie is just FUN on top of being profound.

The fact that Carpenter made such a biting satire of greed and consumerism in 1988 is just mind blowing. The man has always been brilliant, it seems. It really is hilarious to realize that, had this movie come out today, it would be decried by some as "woke." Which, I mean, it's literally about the brainwashed masses waking up from their trance and fighting their oppressors so...technically correct? Either that or it would be championed by people who really don't understand what it's actually saying like Fight Club, American Psycho or even Joker (though Joker wasn't anywhere near the league of They Live or the others mentioned).

In summation, watch They Live and wake up, people! Ignore my pointy, tin foil hat. This movie rocks.