{"id":327,"date":"2011-02-23T00:00:24","date_gmt":"2011-02-23T05:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hypnosisinmedia.com\/blog\/?p=327"},"modified":"2011-02-22T00:46:38","modified_gmt":"2011-02-22T05:46:38","slug":"they-live-an-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hypnosisinmedia.com\/blog\/327\/they-live-an-update\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThey Live\u201d \u2014 An Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even though I men\u00adtioned it in the orig\u00adi\u00adnal post\u00ading, I want\u00aded to add that the web\u00adsite Io9 has a new review of the book, \u201cThey Live\u201d<\/em> by Jonathan Lethem, here<\/a>, a crit\u00adi\u00adcal exam\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion of the 1988 John Car\u00adpen\u00adter movie of the same name that I wrote about here<\/a>. I did\u00adn\u2019t exam\u00adine the book in that post\u00ading, but I\u2019ve learned some things about it that I want to bring to my read\u00aders\u2019 attention.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

[ama\u00adzon book:isbm=159376278X]<\/p>\n

The book has received a num\u00adber of very good reviews:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAppar\u00adent\u00adly, author Lethem was the only oth\u00ader per\u00adson than me to take They Live<\/i> as bril\u00adliant, sting\u00ading social com\u00admen\u00adtary. He explains why in this great book.\u201d \u2014 Sam Stowe, Cal\u00adi\u00adfor\u00adnia Lit\u00ader\u00adary Review<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWho would have thought that one of the clever\u00adest, most acces\u00adsi\u00adbly in-depth film books released this year would be a smart-ass nov\u00adel\u00adist explor\u00ading a cheesy-cheeky \u201880s sci-fi flick where\u00adin a for\u00admer wrestler com\u00adbats an alien occu\u00adpa\u00adtion via mag\u00adic sun\u00adglass\u00ades? \u2026 [Jonathan Lethem] is able to seri\u00adous\u00adly dis\u00adsect the movie\u2019s mes\u00adsage and often high\u00adbrow ref\u00ader\u00adences, while also ful\u00adly acknowl\u00adedg\u00ading its silli\u00adness.\u201d \u2014Hart\u00adford Advocate<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cNov\u00adel\u00adist and occa\u00adsion\u00adal crit\u00adic Jonathan Lethem pulls apart the threads of John Car\u00adpen\u00adter\u2019s 1988 sci\u00adence fic\u00adtion film of the same title, to enter\u00adtain\u00ading and illu\u00admi\u00adnat\u00ading effect \u2026 Carpenter\u2019s film emerges from Lethem\u2019s inspec\u00adtion a more human and mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous work, less coher\u00adent per\u00adhaps but ful\u00adly immersed in the noisy, cease\u00adless traf\u00adfic of cul\u00adtur\u00adal exchange.\u201d \u2014The New York Times Book Review<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cA fun read, packed with ref\u00ader\u00adences to oth\u00ader films, lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture and artists \u2026 one of the few books one would enjoy read\u00ading while watch\u00ading a movie.\u201d \u2014USA Today\u2019s Pop Candy<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ve added it to my Ama\u00adzon wish\u00adlist, which I should have done back when I first posted.<\/p>\n

The fol\u00adlow\u00ading is a sam\u00adple of the writing:<\/p>\n

\n

They\u2019re appalling, that\u2019s what they are. Walk\u00ading dis\u00adas\u00adters. Flayed, scald\u00aded, piebald, gri\u00admac\u00ading, cor\u00adrupt\u00aded, robot\u00adic, evok\u00ading syphilis-vic\u00adtim scare-pho\u00adtos from teenage health-ed night\u00admares, yet some\u00adhow accusato\u00adry, defi\u00adant inside their dis\u00adguis\u00ades, the ghouls present no lim\u00adit of affront to a healthy con\u00adstruc\u00adtion-work\u00ader\u2019s eye. They looked burnt, yet gooey. They\u2019re also \u2013 how to say this? \u2013 affronting\u00adly cheapo (even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly we\u2019ll even notice in their ghoul-hands what looks like the wrin\u00adkling of rub\u00adber dish\u00adwash\u00ading gloves, and so this may be anoth\u00ader rea\u00adson for the black-and-white, bet\u00adter to mask low-bud\u00adget inad\u00ade\u00adqua\u00adcies). This fact frees a cer\u00adtain reliev\u00ading hilar\u00adi\u00adty yet also syn\u00adthe\u00adsizes with our revul\u00adsion: Some\u00adthing this skeezy is rul\u00ading my world? Some\u00adthing this ludi\u00adcrous is freak\u00ading me out? (The vir\u00adtu\u00ados\u00adi\u00adty of Car\u00adpen\u00adter\u2019s mise-en-sc\u00e8ne ensures it is.) The first to turn to the cam\u00adera and say, more or less, \u2018Fuck you lookin\u2019 at? is this sil\u00adver-haired, foxy old\u00ader gen\u00adtle\u00adman of obvi\u00adous priv\u00adi\u00adlege referred to in the cred\u00adits as \u201cWell-Dressed Cus\u00adtomer\u201d; his sus\u00adtained, with\u00ader\u00ading ghoul-glare as he pur\u00adchas\u00ades his mag\u00ada\u00adzine (with dol\u00adlars that con\u00adfess THIS IS YOUR GOD) is one of They Live\u2019s icons, an instant that punch\u00ades a spooky hole in time. Nada has\u00adn\u2019t locat\u00aded his voice yet, so we\u2019re left undis\u00adtract\u00aded, or uncon\u00adsoled, by any cheese-dip-Brazil\u00adian-plas\u00adtic-surgery-per\u00adfume-on-a-pig one-lin\u00aders. What\u2019s bril\u00adliant\u00adly guar\u00adan\u00adteed is how total\u00adly we\u2019d loathe this guy any\u00adway; you may not be going home in your BMW and Rolex to soak in your Jacuzzi, but he cer\u00adtain\u00adly is. So, already brew\u00ading with\u00adin our ter\u00adror is a lav\u00adish con\u00adtempt, one that finds sat\u00adis\u00adfac\u00adtion at the rot\u00adten-corpse vis\u00adage before us. Any rich guy who\u2019s every glow\u00adered at us like we did\u00adn\u2019t belong some\u00adwhere \u2013 an out\u00addoor mag\u00ada\u00adzine rack, for chris\u00adsakes! \u2013 real\u00adly ought to look as sick on the out\u00adside as we\u2019re cer\u00adtain he is in his soul. I\u2019m fuck\u00ading look\u00ading at you, man! Nada\u2019s not quite there, but he\u2019s just a step away.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even though I men\u00adtioned it in the orig\u00adi\u00adnal post\u00ading, I want\u00aded to add that the web\u00adsite Io9 has a new review of the book, \u201cThey Live\u201d by Jonathan Lethem, here,\u2026\u21d2 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading \u201c\u201cThey Live\u201d \u2014 An Update\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[148],"class_list":["post-327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movies","category-nonfiction","tag-alien-mind-control"],"yoast_head":"\n"They Live" - An Update - Hypnosis in Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hypnosisinmedia.com\/blog\/327\/they-live-an-update\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""They Live" - 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