MovieChat Forums > They Live (1988) Discussion > Too many things do not make sense

Too many things do not make sense


So this 'alien race' want to dominate a planet, and have absolutely amazing, high-level technology to 'layer' surfaces, people's faces and so on, invisible drones that are yet visible if you wear sunglasses..

..yet they don't have ANY better weaponry than regular Earth stuff?

Why is their plan so sneaky and underhanded, secretive, etc., if they consider Earth 'their third world'? Look at what actual slavers did historically on this planet, they didn't bother training their people to 'blend in' with the 'inferior people' (as these 'alien masters' consider Earth people in this movie), they just grabbed them and sold them as slaves. That's it.

Why make it so convoluted, so complicated, so easy for people to rebel against if one tiny satellite gets shot by a ridiculously small gun? Why? It makes no sense. The old TV show 'V' did it much better.

Why would their people EVER take 'menial jobs' on a planet that's 'third world' from their view, and do the everyday things amidst the people they intend to enslave? What kind of sense does it make?

Also, wouldn't they be SUBJECT to all this brainwashing, having to look at these 'obey' messages all the time? Why would they subject themselves to that?

When you look at ALL those 'alien' people doing the 'normal day jobs', it makes no sense. They even elevate bums to a very wealthy status if they simply help them in some way, so why would their own people work as a lowly cop or a soldier that just gets gunned down by these rebels? Was it worth it? No WAY would any 'master race' people do the 'slave race' menial jobs.

I know it was hinted that the 'aliens' get promotions, but come on, even that makes no sense. What is a 'promotion' in some crappy corporate ladder or career wage slave job, if you are a 'master race from another planet' that considers this planet 'third world'?

Again, look at what slavers did in this planet's actual history, they would never try to 'blend in', they were always obviously 'masters', and just did whatever they wanted.

Watching SO many 'aliens' get gunned down so easily just begs the question, WHAT kind of sense would it make for them to be in that lowly position? A CEO doesn't do a guard duty to blend in with the corporation. They will remain a CEO and the guard is the one that has to face danger and boredom protecting the premises, while the CEO goes to party in some orgy in Hawaii with their private helicopter doing tours around Mauna Kea and Diamond Head to do some cocaine-induced stargazing where light pollution can't reach.

What the F are these 'master race' people thinking, doing the jobs of ordinary guards or military people, cops, etc.? Sure, a 'cop' can be a position of power you can infiltrate, but these are 'lower people' from their perspective, why would they bother with all this subterfuge and mind games, when they could just overtly take over everything?

Then there are the practical matters, like this woman in the end is in bed with an 'alien', just before the movie ends, but you can't tell me they can somehow fake 'feeling', too? I mean, when they're kissing, she's not gonna notice how it doesn't feel like LIPS, but just teeth and whatever? Eww.

It's also suspicious that cops 'do their bidding', without being explained as to why. Wouldn't ordinary cops wonder why they are ordered to beat up blind men and clear up a site where homeless people live?

Also, wouldn't they have a bit more powerful hypnosis methods that require less convoluted and ridiculous plan than that? Anyone that knows how hypnosis works, knows that marketing already uses very powerful suggestive technologies and methods, so this black word on white background that.. NO ONE CAN SEE ... is not going to do anything.

They could use all kinds of chemicals in the water supply, introduce gases that render people more suggestible, then use ACTUAL hypnosis from every possible source, and the result would be way more powerful, yet the methods would also be simpler, more direct, NO NEED FOR SOME RIDICULOUS SATELLITE RAY and all these 'layers no one can see beyond but yet somehow affect them anyway'.

It would make more sense if people could SEE those words (which wouldn't still do anything, because they're just words, and just because you see the word 'obey' doesn't mean you are going to 'obey', especially since they don't even specify WHOM you are supposed to 'obey', it could backfire, making you obey your own rebellious thoughts, for example), for them to even affect them.

Why do the words affect people, if they can't even see them?

What kind of ENORMOUS trouble are these 'aliens' going through to painstakingly paint every single dollar bill with the words, then add layers so no ne can see those words, it's just NOT worth the trouble, especially since people (in general) don't seem that different from regular people in this movie anyway.

It's a sort of 'fun' movie and such, but SO many things make no sense.



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I think some of this can be addressed by that monologue Robert DuVall shares with a hot tempered young cop played by Sean Penn in the LA gangland movie Colors…

An old bull and a young bull are looking down into a valley full of cows and the young bull
says, ‘Hey, old timer, let’s rush down there and fuck one of them cows!’

The old bull looks at the young bull and says, ‘Nah, let’s just walk in there and fuck everyone of them son.’

Great lines, great strategy.


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Yes.

They were infiltrating and exploring ways to exploit the planet Earth.

An edgy and very good motion picture.

John Carpenter wanted Roddy Piper for the role of Nada from the beginning. That proved to be a good decision. He was right for the part.

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I loved Piper, my all time my favorite wrestler.
That alleyway fight scene was better than The Rumble In The Jungle👍

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I still would've liked to see Kurt Russell in Piper's role. He would've added some wit that Roddy lacked. That aside, Piper was very good.

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Fair enough, Russell was really terrific in everything but Piper really nailed this roll.

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