Fairy Tale Spotlight: They Live (Impossible Things Revisited)

Ever heard of a horror movie called "They Live"? In some ways, I suppose people could see that movie as really corny or perhaps outdated. I actually find the movie to be quite poignant and even relevant to aspects of reality that affect us all. I do consider it a Fairy Tale as well. Fairy Tales can easily be set in modern times without using archaic creatures from stories of old. In fact, we can call them whatever we like.

I'll spare you the entire synopsis. I am only interested in informing you of the premise and a couple of scenes. The premise of "They Live" revolves around a man named John Nada who finds a pair of special sunglasses which allow him to see that some human beings in the world are actually aliens. Additionally, the glasses reveal a number of apparently subliminal messages found throughout the world such as obey, consume, reproduce, and conform.

As shocking as this is to poor John, he still manages to come to terms with it. The world around him was not the boring trap that he thought it was. Instead it was an exciting place, if not somewhat horrific. There seems no point in just going about his business and John decides to investigate and eventually fight the menace infecting his world in whatever way he can.

Now, what John Nada was dealing with in "They Live" was what we call an Impossible Thing. The definition of an Impossible Thing is something that cannot happen. But in the case of John, it clearly did happen. So really the definition should likely be that an Impossible Thing is something that we have been taught to believe could never happen in reality. But that defined version of an Impossible Thing clearly has no bearing on reality itself. If something happens, it happens, regardless if you believe in it or not.

The movie could almost be used to disprove itself. Someone could watch this movie and say, "Oh, but it's just a movie. There are no sunglasses that can reveal aliens inside of people."

The above quote translates, in more general terms, thusly: "Oh, but since things like that are only in movies, nothing like that can happen in real life."

What if you were presented a truly unusual situation? It does not necessarily have to be science fiction in nature, but it must be world shattering in some way. How will you deal with it? Will you simply dismiss it to move on to mentally safer pastures, or will you pursue it further?

In the movie "They Live," John Nada had a friend named Frank Armitage. John wanted Frank to put the sunglasses on so that he could see what was happening around him. Frank refused. In fact, he fought John for nearly ten minutes in an effort to keep those sunglasses from going onto his face. This suggests that, at heart, Frank believed John but simply did not want to deal with the truth.

Life is always simple when you choose not to believe. You allow yourself to get absorbed into the daily rut of life. There is nothing particularly special about living this way, but it feels safe. Meanwhile, people with more gumption and perhaps a lust for control are actively moving ahead of you. They tell you nice things in order to keep you happy. You like being told nice things and so continue your boring line of work in hopes that luck may strike you someday.

Now, what if those people telling you to conform were demons in disguise who were sapping your energies for all they are worth? Can you even believe that? Is it hard to believe in such things? Does it cause pain? No doubt, the easier thing to do is to simply crawl back into a box and ignore everything but what you have ever been told. This is, of course, called indoctrination. We often believe what the masses tell us, and sadly, that also means that we have ceased thinking for ourselves.

I am not saying that alien creatures are controlling us like in "They Lives." I am saying that there were times in ancient past where magic and monsters were a commonality. And these monsters don't just disappear because humans become more advanced. We still deal with all the same things we dealt with for all of history. We simply don't believe in them anymore... because we were advised not to. You were advised not to by your parents. Their parents advised them, and so on and so forth.

Who started it?

Human beings who cannot believe in Impossible Things are destined to be devoured by them without even knowing it's happening. And really, just tell me this: What is so wrong with having a perpetually open mind? The belief in Impossible Things does not mean you have to run out like John Nada looking for something to fight. It simply means that you place yourself at the ready in case something truly "out there" does happen. It opens your eyes to the world around you--the real world. When and if something amazing happens on this world, will you be able to act quickly, or will you be as a deer in the headlights...........and just freeze...........in terror...........as you are devoured whole.

Thank you for reading my blog! If your liked or hated it, please feel free to comment below, or you can email me at tkadeauthor@gmail.com. Thanks!