They Live

This study is an evaluation of the science fiction horror film They Live (1988), directed by John Carpenter. Due to the nature of the period in which it was shot, the film focuses on the effect of television on individuals, advertisements aiming to turn everyone into mere consumers, and the consumption practices of the masses, while also criticizing the system. It is clear that television as a powerful mass media tool, which is one of the key concepts of the study, has a significant place in the film They Live. The film was shot in the years when television was most influential on a societal level, and individuals were passive viewers. Today, people are not only passively watching the content; instead, they actively interact with and monitor each other on social media platforms, often wanting to be watched by others, too. On the contrary, this activity has led them to become physically passive. This situation brings to mind the concept of “screen zombies”, one of the key concepts of the study, which actually resembles the act of watching television presented in the film. The film deals with how this passiveness is used in controlling and directing society. In They Live, television is not merely a leisure time tool, it is the hypnosis tool of the society where it is desired to consist of obedient, consumerist individuals. In addition to that, the film covers the rules of advertisement, stating that it is necessary to broadcast advertisements both on television and in outdoor environments where individuals will inevitably see them, in order to encourage society to continuously consume. They Live tells about a society in which the actual messages behind television screens, billboards, or magazines leading people to consume and obey cannot be seen; while invisible surveillance devices ensure the continuation of order and control. There is only a small number of people aware of extraterrestrial creatures that lead society to consume and obey. While the masses who cannot see the truth ensure the functioning of capitalism through television broadcasts and advertisements, those who see the truth are taken under control by military power, and the world (and nature) is transformed in the way the aliens desire. This transformation embodies a surreal environment with attractive television advertisements and outdoor advertisements on the facades of architectural structures.

Keywords: Advertisement, consumption society, consumer, capitalism, homeless, industrialism, john Carpenter, mass media, military government, outdoor advertisements, obey, panopticon, popular culture, post-truth, ray Nelson, scifi/ horror film, screen zombies, surveillance/peeping, synopticon, street art, television, they Live.