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They Live By John Carpenter Essay

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In the 1988 science-fiction film They Live, filmmaker John Carpenter addresses and criticizes homelessness among other issues of the times in the United States. Through the movie, John Carpenter immerses his audience into his vision of what the 1980’s American culture is. Political views portrayed mainly come from the disdain Carpenter feels towards Reagan’s policies. He portrays the American people as a naïve people who are consistently deceived by a corrupt social and economic environment. Their abusers are portrayed as aliens who have control over them. Carpenter shows that average American citizens are under governmental control and are taught through subliminal messages such as ‘conform’, ‘obey’, ‘watch television’, ‘marry and reproduce’, …show more content…

His plan of action called for a market that was free and deregulated, rather than government assisted. The budget for pubic housing was cut in half Reagan’s first year in office, and throughout his presidency, he attempted to put a stop to housing assistance entirely. By 1985, there were only 5.6 million low-cost housing units available, while there were nearly 9 million people who needed access to these households. This lead to the homeless legacy of Reagan; the late 1980’s saw a great increase in the number of homeless individuals, many of which were veterans and laid- off workers. (2) On a talk show in 1984, President Reagan tried to defend himself stating, “People who are sleeping on the grates…the homeless…are homeless, you might say, by choice.” This offensive statement of blaming the poor for economic problems only made those who were against him, more outspoken in their ridicule. Economic prosperity was credited to Reagan. However, the growth that occurred mostly benefited those who were already in favorable circumstances. The income gap grew between the classes and poverty rates increased. Cities with rent control, on average, have two and a half times more homeless people as cities without them. This is an example of how governmental control has a negative and severe impact on the people. When rent control is imposed, homelessness increases by 250 percent. Even during a time of 7

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