The movie is about low-lifes and there’s a strong (overwhelming?) anti-consumerism theme, but it’s really an alien invasion movie and the only high-tech comes from the aliens. Otherwise, it’s a “modern day” scifi.
So what do you think? Do you consider They Live to be cyberpunk?
Here’s a clip if you haven’t seen the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z9hMartaFc
As far as I can tell, it’s only streaming on Starz right now.
I’ve watched the movie some time ago, but I think it’s not really cyberpunk as it is mostly about contemporary society. If it would be cyberpunk it would have been about how modern technology is affecting us
I wouldn’t call They Live cyberpunk because it doesn’t really deal with humanity’s relationship with technology as part of the plot.
The sunglasses are a magic technology along with whatever the aliens have. You have a stratified society maintained by technology, but it could effectively be magic.
It doesn’t exactly have the cyber part of cyberpunk. I wouldn’t say that alien tech, especially that of an invading species humanity doesn’t even know about, would count.
They Live has a cool concept that could be labeled Sci-Fi, but it is an action movie where Rowdy Roddy Piper can run around kicking ass and making quips. It is no different than any Arnold or Stallone movie. And I should point out I like They Live. It just isn’t Cyberpunk.
They Live is cyberpunk
They Live is anticapitalistBut for real no I don’t. Lacks both the cyber part and the punk part.
I’d argue that the social critique is pretty punk.
IDK don’t you think the bar has to be a little higher than that alone? Is Robocop punk? Alien? Metropolis?
Is Robocop punk?
RoboCop is really punk. A corporate dystopia where the cops are a part of the same sales division as military hardware and entertainment is driven down to the lowest class mindless sludge? I’ll buy that for a dollar.
Alien?
Not as much, but you are still dealing with themes of giant conglomerates sacrificing their workers for money.
Metropolis?
No, that movie is fascist.
I don’t know, calling RoboCop punk is like calling Bananarama punk.
Did you watch the movie or just the toy advertisements?
The movie is a critique of corporate America trying to take over a city outright, including its police force. Corporate fascists are conquering municipal government.
All media is shown to be bland inoffensive shit that hypes violence and sex but is otherwise empty of anything of anything of substance. I expect to hear “TV Party” in the background.
And in the end, the military robot is impotent and acts as a wounded animal but it doesn’t matter. The only reason why the bad guy dies is because he is fired, severing his link to the company along with his life. Good guys lose, bad guys win, and corporate profits go up.
What more do you want?
Once you see the metaphor Aliens = Corporate Eschalon Hegemony, then yes it works.
JWZ had an interesting analysis of they live “the best documentary about the Reagan Administration you’re likely to see”
I agree there are some minor changes they could make that would tip it into the “cyberpunk” category for me. For example, if the aliens were all members of a single corporation (as opposed to integrating with society) then it’d have a stronger “corporations with too much control” theme and might be considered cyberpunk. Or, if you take out aliens entirely and this is other humans doing the exact same thing, I’d consider it cyberpunk.
On a “feel” basis I could count it I suppose, but I dont think it’s really in the genre
