No Hope November - Day 19 - "They Live"

Another film by John Carpenter for today's No Hope November. From 1988, it's the cult classic "They Live." Written and Directed by carpenter and starring famed wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper. Roddy plays a drifter that blows into town looking for work. He gets a job as a construction worker and befriends Keith David (from The Thing). He starts hanging out at a soup kitchen with homeless people and eventually Roddy starts noticing some odd things happening around him. He comes across a box that contains sunglasses and when he puts the glasses on everything is in black and white. He also sees a lot more weird things, such as subliminal messages on every billboard and sign. Messages stating "obey, conform, consume," and similar mind control propaganda. The biggest surprise is that most of the authority figures, politicians, and cops, are actually skull faced aliens in disguise. Roddy begins a quest to figure out how to stop the alien race that is controlling the world, and trying to get other people to believe him. Mind control, propaganda, and commercialism are a large theme in this flick. Plus, a one of a kind fight scene between Roddy and Keith David that is an absolute classic and lasts for over 5 minutes. Rowdy Roddy Piper is aces in this role just going around talking smack and smacking aliens left and right. Campy, corny, and silly, is there truth hidden in "They Live?" Maybe more than we would care to know. Everyone should she this film at least once in their life. Take this quote from They Live with you wherever you may travel, "I came here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum." It doesn't get any better.