They Live

[FireShadow]

Sometimes I am more sympathetic to animals than to humans...mostly because I perceive that animals have a lot less choice than do humans. Does this make me an OP?

I also have much sympathy for children and women for the same reason. I guess that it is the level of oppression that regulates how much sympathy I feel...

Perhaps it is "sympathy for animals" in combination with an absence of "sympathy to humans" that makes the difference. Or, perhaps it is the motivation behind the sympathies.

Perhaps this is why the C's warned that it can take long and careful observation to determine an OP.

 

[seek10]

Perhaps this post by Laura might also clear some things up:

http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=30.msg402#msg402

That suggests that an OP has at least a rudimentary conscience. And conscience is related to the ability to love. So we might think that an OP can love in a certain way, possibly like a dog: as the C's said, Dogs feel "need" as love.

[...]

Now, there are a few people I have interacted with over long periods that I give a high probability to being OPs. What did I notice about them? The two main things I have noticed is that yes, they do seem to have a sort of "empathy" that is strictly physical based. Quite often, they are people who are fixated on "saving stray animals," or "hugging trees" etc. What is strikingly different about these people is they are unable to feel empathy for un-seeable psychic or psychological pain. They simply have no ability to conceptualize the suffering of another if it is not right out in front of them. They will cringe and weep and cry over the death or suffering of a body, but will not think twice about saying or doing something that is totally psychologically crushing to another human being.

The other thing is their total inability to learn something and transfer that learning to another situation, similar or otherwise. They learn by rote, by specific situation, and then with the context changes even slightly, they make the same dynamical errors as though there was no similarity between the one situation and the other. Unless the situations are identical, they don't seem to be able to draw comparisons.


So, just some observations.

I have seen some people in my life behave like this . they think forgetting the birthday, forgetting the child's doctor appointment,thus failure to accompany her to the doctor / forgetting a item or activity they ask me to do/ failure to do what they ask me to do or even being different from her , is sufficient to curse others as Inhuman and qualified enough to treat others badly. This type of behaviour can also be due to childhood treatment of 'example of love is example of abuse', but if this happens on many events of life , the only explanation is of being OP. She can cry for days , can get upset, feel miserable for days and convince any body that is she is a saint and other person is the worst guy in the universe.

 

[Ruth]

Sometimes I am more sympathetic to animals than to humans...mostly because I perceive that animals have a lot less choice than do humans. Does this make me an OP?

Shouldn't this give you more sympathy for OPs - as they are less developed (centers wise) and don't exactly have a choice about the world (managed into oblivion by 3 and 4 D STS) that they belong to. An entity (any entity, regardless of type) that is less developed, less powerful, enslaved, manipulated and victimised deserves our sympathy or perhaps empathy. That does not make a person an OP.

Perhaps this is why the C's warned that it can take long and careful observation to determine an OP.

Of course, it helps to determine WHAT an OP is, first. Then a person might know what they (think) they are observing. Perhaps. This is when, I suppose, the long and careful observation comes into play. But, lets face it, most things deserve long and careful observation when you think about it, most especially if they are 3D or 4D species (Probably unlikely if 4D - and lets face it, I'm not sure you'd WANT to observe 4D STS anyway and you probably wouldn't even SEE a 4D STO if they jumped up and down in front of your face anyway :)).

I certainly see two types of "empathy" or what I would call the ability to "put yourself in another's shoes" within the human population. One is a mental process, the other is an emotional process (feeling what they feel). Which do you think belongs to whom?

 

[Vulcan59]

Couldn't find this movie in any of the rentals here and so I finally bought it from Ebay. No regrets. Even the kids enjoyed it!! They now go around saying things like "obey", "don't think", "consume", etc

What a gem of a movie and just noticed on Imdb that there is a remake schedule out sometime in 2011.

 

[durabone]

Hey Vulcan, thanks for that lead. One site says that the remake is being done by the same person that did "Children of Men."
Will it be a big star cast? Apparently the film has touched many others with its note. I found this cute little site that sells
$50 T-shirts for a 70's film?!? (_http://theyliveandwesleep.com/).

In discussing this film with a friend, he told me that John Carpenter is making a sequel to "The Thing" where they aliens
have assimiliated many and are hidden in a manner similar to "They Live." I have been unable to confirm this lead at all.

 

[knowledge_of_self]

What a gem of a movie and just noticed on Imdb that there is a remake schedule out sometime in 2011.

ooooOooooo That's exciting news! Thanks for sharing ;D

 

[Smallwood]

There was once info on Carpenter's IMDB-page that he was working on a project called "Psychopath". It could have been a working title for the remake of this movie, taking it all into consideration.

From watching his movies, I'd say that he has been conscious of how psychopaths control political life in our world for quite some time already and has been trying to communicate this with movies like "The Thing" and "They Live". I wonder if he has ever read "Political Ponerology"?

 

[Mona]

I remember this movie. I was into all kinds of UFO stuff back then, I guess I never grew out of it even today. But I must say I would love to get hold of one of those special glasses that would help me identify the psychopaths and OP's with ease. That way, I would know whom to stay away from instead of being led hypnotically into their web like traps like a tarantula lures its unsuspecting victim. I think that life would become a little more enjoyable and fair as well. Instead of considering everyone I meet as a potential OP or a failed OP (the psychopath), I could use the glasses to identify those not so friendly tarantulas. Living in a world where everyone is out there to get everyone is getting a little uncomfortable.

I know it has been said many times that it is almost impossible to identify the OP's until it is too late, but would not it be great if there actually was a way to identify them before their damage is done onto others?. I kind of got tired of tasting their bitter venom.

 

[melatonin]

Just re-watched this movie. Seems to be more accurate by the year.

 

[Deleted member 8431]

Just saw it for the first time today.

Very good in a sense (except perhaps for the bad acting etc). If we consider that these "aliens" are psychopaths, then it fits quite well with our reality, osit.

The fight scene is quite important to my eyes. That is why it lasted so long. The fight between truth and beleifs, objectivity and subjectivity, facts and lies etc. Plus the desire to stay in your comfort zone and stay away from "negativity" versus the desire to tell the truth, no matter how bad it is, just for the sake of humanity.

They also mentionned that the aliens feed on us and that we are merely cattle which I think is a very good point.

Indeed another great movie, so to speak!

 

[lewis_86]

Truly magnificant film. Great fight scene as well, so drawn out! Symbolic of trying to wake someone who is heavily programmed. I even own a t-shirt of this film.

Not sure if it was been mentioned in this thread, but "They Live" was loosly based on the story "Eight O'Clock In The Morning", by Ray Nelson

http://s6.zetaboards.com/Free_Thinkers/topic/8608796/1/

Interesting to note as well, that when the film was released it received a review in the Washington Post; "it's just John Carpenter as usual, trying to dig deep with a toy shovel. The plot for "They Live" is full of black holes, the acting is wretched, the effects are second-rate. In fact, the whole thing is so preposterous it makes V look like Masterpiece Theatre".

Which is even more reason to watch this great flick!

 

[lewis_86]

Also, here's a nice little ditty talking about They Live:

http://vigilantcitizen.com/moviesandtv/they-live-the-weird-movie-with-a-powerful-message/

 

[Deleted member 8431]

Interesting to note as well, that when the film was released it received a review in the Washington Post; "it's just John Carpenter as usual, trying to dig deep with a toy shovel. The plot for "They Live" is full of black holes, the acting is wretched, the effects are second-rate. In fact, the whole thing is so preposterous it makes V look like Masterpiece Theatre".

Which is even more reason to watch this great flick!

Interesting indeed.

I mean, what kind of a critic is that?

I wonder what's really preposterous here.

In all seriousness, I agree that this kind of criticism makes me want to watch it even more. If they are so against it, maybe it is because it contains truth material. Who knows? ;)

 

[Nook]

I saw it a few years back and I really enjoyed it, every time I watch a movie that - in a way - actually gets close to the truth,
I'm glad for filmmakers out there who have the opportunity and the knowledge to do movies like this.

Also checked the imdb page for the film and there are some other interesting quotes from it than I didn't remember, like:

Street Preacher: Outside the limit of our sight, feeding off us, perched on top of us, from birth to death, are our owners! Our owners! They have us. They control us! They are our masters! Wake up! They're all about you! All around you!

Bearded Man: We could be pets, we could be food, but all we really are is livestock.

This one I did remember but I think it's worth sharing:
'[Dollar Note with subliminal message]: THIS IS YOUR GOD '

In all seriousness, I agree that this kind of criticism makes me want to watch it even more. If they are so against it, maybe it is because it contains truth material. Who knows? ;)

Usually, yes, indeed :D

Couldn't find this movie in any of the rentals here and so I finally bought it from Ebay. No regrets. Even the kids enjoyed it!! They now go around saying things like "obey", "don't think", "consume", etc

What a gem of a movie and just noticed on Imdb that there is a remake schedule out sometime in 2011.

This made me LOL, that after watching the kids went around saying things like: Obey, don't think, consume :D

And about the remake, I think they're still set out to do it with a smaller production company making it but Universal is supposed to be the distributor! (this info was on imdbpro though)
Here's the link: _http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334105/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
They're currently working on the script and they don't even have a credited director yet, let alone a cast. We'll when it'll get done, if it'll get done...

 

[Nook]

Not sure if it was been mentioned in this thread, but "They Live" was loosly based on the story "Eight O'Clock In The Morning", by Ray Nelson

http://s6.zetaboards.com/Free_Thinkers/topic/8608796/1/

Just read the original short story...wow...too bad the film version didn't include more of the original...though it's pretty clear why not.
I think it's well worth the read, there were no glasses involved, it wasn't skeletons, it was actual Lizards and they're called the 'Fascinators'.
With snippets like:

He left the theatre, pushing out into the neon night, carefully avoiding any indication that he saw the green, reptilian flesh or the multiple yellow eyes of the rulers of the earth...

{...}

George lived alone in a little sleeping room, and as soon as he got home, the first thing he did was to disconnect the TV set. In other rooms he could hear the TV sets of his neighbors, though. Most of the time the voices were human, but now and then he heard the arrogant, strangely bird-like croaks of the aliens. "Obey the government," said one croak. "We are the government," said another. "We are your friends, you'd do anything for a friend, wouldn't you?"
"Obey!"
"Work!"
Suddenly the phone rang.
George picked it up. It was one of the Fascinators.
"Hello," it squawked. "This is your control, Chief of Police Robinson. You are an old man, George Nada. Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, your heart will stop. Please repeat."

{...}

"I can't possibly escape," thought George. "Why fight them?"
But maybe he could.
What if he could awaken others? That might be worth a try.
He walked twelve blocks to the apartment of his girl friend, Lil, and knocked on her door. She came to the door in her bathrobe.
"I want you to wake up," he said
"I'm awake," she said. "Come on in."
He went in. The TV was playing. He turned it off.
"No," he said. "I mean really wake up." She looked at him without comprehension, so he snapped his fingers and shouted, "Wake up! The masters command that you wake up!"

{...}

"You alone here?" he asked as it closed the door, its back to George.
"Yeah, why?"
He slit its throat from behind, then searched the apartment.
He found human bones and skulls, a half-eaten hand.
He found tanks with huge fat slugs floating in them.

{...}

He went up to the street and went into a bar.
One of the Fascinators was on the TV, saying over and over again, "We are your friends. We are your friends. We are your friends."
The stupid lizard sounded scared. Why? What could one man do against all of them?

Thanks lewis_86 for sharing!

Ray Nelson is 81 years old and has been living in Paris since the 50's according to his imdb page.
I even found his e-mail address :D
Not that I would do anything with it, though I'd be curious to know what motivated him to write this short story in 1963!

Now I'm interested in some of his other works as well which include:
- a collaboration with Philip K. Dick on ' the 1967 alien invasion novel The Ganymede Takeover'
- The Prometheus Man
- Blake's Progress 'in which the poet William Blake is a time traveler'.
This is from his wikipedia page

Anyone read any of his other works?