Classic Movie - They Live

If it weren’t for this, Obey Giant and South Park’s cripple fight wouldn’t even exist!

I was flipping thru the list of On Demand movies this morning and I saw this:

They Live - Roddy Piper, Keith David (1988)

“A drifter discovers a pair of sunglasses that reveal the true nature of the world…”

Sweet!!! I totally remembered watching this back in the day, so I pressed play. (It’s in the HD On Demand > Free Movies > Movieplex section for me if you want to try finding it).

Yes, that is THE Rowdy Roddy Piper. They Live is actually quite similar to the movie I mentioned last month, Repo Man. I consider the latter to be far superior, but I’m featuring the former because it’s had a major impact on society today. Here are 4 wonderful examples…

1. OBEY GIANT

I actually posted some of my favorite Obey Giant pieces from Shepard Fairey’s recent show not too long ago. Little did I know that the “Obey” part came directly from this movie!

See, Fairey and his homies created their “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” sticker in 1986, but he didn’t add the “OBEY” command until after he saw it in They Live.

And for those of you who laughed when I said “major impact on society,” consider that Shepherd Fairey recently got a thank you letter from Barack Obama for his poster designs and support.

Roddy Piper tries on the Magic Glasses - OBEY!

The person who uploaded that clip describes They Live as a “50% brain-dead action movie and 50% insightful commentary on the media and our society.” That’s a pretty accurate assessment. Trey Parker and Matt Stone also agree, saying that it “could have been a really great movie” in their commentary for the “Cripple Fight” episode.

2. South Park - Cripple Fight!!!

Say whaaat? Yeah, South Park’s Jimmy vs. Timmy “Cripple Fight” is nearly an exact replica of the epic back alley fight scene in They Live. See for yourself!

Fight scene from They Live spliced w/ Cripple Fight

3. Duke Nukem 3D - Bubble Gum

This movie also features a line that’s so funny it was featured in the groundbreaking first-person shooter game, Duke Nukem 3D.

I Have Come Here to Chew Bubble Gum and Kick Ass

4. Hip-Hop Independence vs. Selling Out

I got Binary Star’s Masters of the Universe album back in 2001. Here’s some more information on them:

“One.Be.Lo was imprisoned in 1994 (shortly after his 18th birthday) on a drug charge. While in prison, he met Senim Silla and the two formed Binary Star. One.Be.Lo took the time to gather extensive amounts of knowledge pertaining to the music industry, such as copyrights, publishing, and how to successfully start a record company. In his own words, he “learned how to hustle legally”. Their debut effort, Waterworld, was released in 1999 and produced on a $500 budget. An extensive tour of Michigan followed, as both members of the duo were on parole and were not permitted to leave the state. Binary Star then switched to Subterraneous Records and released Masters of the Universe, named for a track on the album. This album was essentially just a remixed version of Waterworld, but garnered far more attention, as the album sold 20,000 copies. However, the pair were not getting along particularly well, and, citing creative differences, Binary Star was discontinued. Binary Star’s legacy, while minor, is still apparent, as Masters of the Universe and its earlier counterpart Waterworld are still highly regarded by many fans of underground hip hop.”

Binary Star (One.Be.Lo in particular) is badass, so if you like hip-hop and want to hear more from them, just let me know. Right now I’ll just give you one track called “Indy 500.” This song actually features Decompoze, who isn’t an official Binary Star member. It’s still a sweet song, and for the past seven years I was wondering where the intro sample came from…until now.

I’d say this post sums up the non-basketball side of my site fairly well: movies, art, television, video games, underground hip-hop, music downloads, independent thinking, satire, kicking ass, counterculture, and comedy all blended together in hopes of possible enlightenment. Are you ready for more?