What filmmaking techniques does They Live use?

CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in They Live (1988): Black-and-White as Moral Urgency, Environmental Satire, Outsider Viewpoint, Prolonged Brawl as Argument and Epistemic Horror.

Who directed They Live?

John Carpenter directed They Live, released in 1988. CineCode also covers Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Christine (1983), Big Trouble in Little China (1986).

What films are similar to They Live?

Films that share techniques with They Live include Schindler's List (1993), Memento (2000), WALL-E (2008), Network (1976).

Science Fiction · Action · Horror

They Live

John Carpenter, 1988

A homeless construction worker named Nada finds a pair of sunglasses that show the world as it really is. Billboards and magazines say OBEY and CONSUME, and many rich people turn out to be aliens. Worth watching for how Carpenter turns a cheap B-movie into a loud, funny attack on greed.

1 Cinematography 3 Narrative 1 Psychology

At a glance

They Live is a 1988 science fiction, action and horror film directed by John Carpenter. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (1 cinematography, 3 narrative and 1 psychology), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Schindler's List uses several of the same techniques.

Cinematography

Black-and-White as Moral Urgency

Choosing to shoot in black and white to take away the comfort and pleasure of color. The film feels more serious, and you watch as a witness.

How this film uses it

Through the sunglasses, the world turns black and white and the hidden messages appear. The missing color strips away the glossy look of ads and the comfort of everyday life. You see the same street as stark orders, which feels like someone pulled off a mask.

Where to see it

The first look: Nada puts on the sunglasses and sees the world as a monochrome place full of subliminal messages telling people to consume and conform. He also sees that many people are ghoulish aliens.

Narrative

Environmental Satire

Mocking a specific world, such as an industry, an institution or consumer culture, by exaggerating what is already there. A sci-fi future built from present trends can do this with no direct argument.

How this film uses it

The film exaggerates the consumer culture already around it. Ads become blunt commands and the rich become literal aliens who feed on everyone else. The target is a society that rewards getting and spending, and the film makes that look ridiculous.

Where to see it

The bank: Nada enters a bank and sees that multiple employees and customers are aliens. He kills several and escapes with a hostage.

Narrative

Outsider Viewpoint

Telling the story through someone at the margin, such as a lowly servant, an animal or a drifter, so the world looks different from their position.

How this film uses it

Nada is a drifter with nothing, so he sees what comfortable people overlook. He sleeps in a shantytown, takes any job and has no reason to trust the system. His position at the margin lets him spot the lie first.

Where to see it

The arrival: Nada comes to Los Angeles looking for work. He finds a job at a construction site and a place in a shantytown.

Narrative

Prolonged Brawl as Argument

Staging a fistfight as a long, clumsy struggle over a simple demand, so the length itself becomes the point of the scene. The violence is awkward, stubborn and a little absurd.

How this film uses it

Nada wants his friend to put on a pair of glasses, and Frank refuses. The fight lasts so long that it becomes funny and then painful. It shows how hard it is to make someone see what they do not want to know.

Where to see it

The alley fight: Nada tries to make Frank put on the glasses, and they come to blows. After a long and painful fight, Nada subdues Frank and puts them on his face.

Psychology

Epistemic Horror

Making the fear come from being unable to know what is real. The character can't trust their own records, memories or senses, and that is scarier than any physical threat.

How this film uses it

Aliens look like ordinary people until you look through the glasses. You cannot trust your own eyes, or anyone's face, which makes every crowd scene feel unsafe. The fear is about what you cannot see.

Where to see it

The supermarket: Nada sees aliens in a supermarket, and 2 alien police officers confront him. He kills them and takes their guns.

Questions

They Live: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does They Live use?: CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in They Live (1988): Black-and-White as Moral Urgency, Environmental Satire, Outsider Viewpoint, Prolonged Brawl as Argument and Epistemic Horror.
Who directed They Live?: John Carpenter directed They Live, released in 1988. CineCode also covers Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Christine (1983), Big Trouble in Little China (1986).
What films are similar to They Live?: Films that share techniques with They Live include Schindler's List (1993), Memento (2000), WALL-E (2008), Network (1976).

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