Have you heard of Roku? It's a receiver box of sorts (plugs in like a Wii) that costs $80-$100 and it allows you to watch many dozens of oddball internet based tv channels on your tv. The more mainstream channels we've been watching on it are Amazon Prime, Netflix (which I'm about to let go), HuluPlus, BBC news in real time (which, as far as depressing news goes, is a fabulous breath of mind expanding fresh air), and Facebook. Caleb, who is now 10, always wants the 'scary' movies. Preferably zombies...LOTS of blood is considered a good movie to him. I hope that's just a boy thing in general? Anyway, yesterday we ended up picking They Live. Based on this cover picture.
Wait--let me back up a minute.
Often over coffee John and I end up talking about how it seems like the collective *we* are basically putting ourselves in a prime position to be 'taken over'. Clearly, all the 'powers that be' just want us to sit mindlessly in front of the tv shoving unhealthy 'food' into our pieholes. And sadly that IS what many Americans do. Not questioning...just too tired or too apathetic to really give a crap anymore. I think I've talked about my thoughts here on my blog in the past but not often 'cause I don't want to sound like some paranoid conspiracy theorist (which I think I probably am).
So we start watching this obvious-out-of-the-gate-B movie made by John Carpenter in 1988 and the story that develops is freakishly pertinent to the way things seem today. Magazine pages have metamessages on them that say CONSUME and WATCH MORE TV and SLEEP MORE and the billboards say things like NO IMAGINATION and INDEPENDENT THOUGHTS ARE BAD.
The dollar bills say I AM YOUR GOD. Here is what the local newscaster looks like
while he is saying "...The feeling is definitely there. It's a new morning in America... fresh, vital. The old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders. We're optimistic as to what becomes of it all. It really boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism. There are no limits."
Now here's the thing: only people who have sought and found the special sunglasses can 'see' these aliens and metamessages for what they really are. Everyone else is oblivious and sees nothing wrong.
Sound familiar? I thought so, too! What's my point in sharing this today? Well, I guess other than a pitiful "I knew it!" (well, not the part about the aliens, just the control part) opportunity that I am claiming based on an almost laughable older movie, I think it would provide a GREAT group discussion on symbolism. MAJOR symbolism throughout (aside from the obvious). Do they even still offer cinema classes in school? Maybe someone reading this today can pass it on and hopefully wake up another mind or two.
ps: it IS R-rated... aside from the adult content, they threw in a skin shot at the very last 5 seconds of the movie...too late to cover Caleb's eyes but I think that horse has already left the barn anyway. And yes; I'm sure most of it was over the boys head, but some things don't sink in right away.
I'd just love to know how you got your Roku to work! We got ours for Hanumas and haven't yet been able to make our tv recognize it or whatever! ARGH!
Posted by: Dew | April 29, 2012 at 08:51 AM