High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

Critique of Modern Media under Capitalism: 'They Live' (1988)

Critique of Modern Media under Capitalism: 'They Live' (1988)

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Course Code

REL

Course Number

3111

Faculty/Instructor

Dr. Cyrus Zargar

Faculty/Instructor Email

cyrus.zargar@ucf.edu

About the Author

Hello! My name is Jade and I'm a philosophy major in my fourth year at UCF. I am interested in critical theory, especially as it relates to media and technology. In this course, Philosophy and Religion through Film, Dr. Zargar has opened my eyes to new ways of analyzing movies from a philosophical lens. I had so much fun putting this together!

Abstract, Summary, or Creative Statement

This project presents an analysis of the 1988 John Carpenter film 'They Live'. I explain that the film responds to the modern world in an original way by presenting a bold critique of the way new technologies and mass media are controlled by capitalist structures.

The film, I argue, stands as a critique of the neoliberal ideologies that were common at the time and continue today through productivity culture on social media, for example. I trace the ideas found in neoliberalism back to the concept of the "protestant work ethic" presented by Max Weber and use Weber's work to analyze the world depicted in 'They Live'. Additionally, I analyze film through a Marxist lens, particularly how it depicts class consciousness and revolutionary thinking.

Furthermore, I use the work of Jean Baudrillard to analyze the role of media and technology in 'They Live'. The dystopian world is one in which people are surrounded by constant stimulation and media, such that everything has lost its meaning and reality is indistinguishable from simulation. The world depicted in the film is meant to mirror our reality, and this critique only becomes more applicable with the expansion of media and technology.

Finally, I examine 'They Live' as a piece of media, one that is limited by its own production, genre, and problematic source material. Still, the film stands out in its bold message and refusal to dilute its themes for the sake of mass appeal.

Keywords

mass media; critical theory; film analysis; technology; neoliberalism; hyperreality

Critique of Modern Media under Capitalism: 'They Live' (1988)


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