Thursday, January 07, 2021

21st Century "Running Man"

 Does anyone remember The Running Man? From Wikipedia: 

The Running Man is a 1987 American dystopian action film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Richard Dawson, Yaphet Kotto, and Jesse Ventura. It is very loosely based on the 1982 novel of the same title written by Stephen King and published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The film's story, set in a dystopian United States between 2017 and 2019, is about a television show called The Running Man, where convicted criminal "runners" must escape death at the hands of professional killers. The Running Man was a moderate box office success in the United States, grossing $38 million on its $27 million budget, but opened to mixed reviews from critics.

Has anyone considered that this film is a nearly perfect, wonderfully prescient, description of this year's events? 

Think about it. Over the last year, The Running Man has essentially been the plot-line of the year. It has been our newest Reality TV show, "Politics in the USA." I'm interested in seeing the next episode.

So far, all the episodes this past year have just been endlessly entertaining. There's nothing like watching multiple, live-action, real-life episodes in this snuff film series, followed by posturing on both sides, to make me realize what a skilled set of rulers we have in our oligarchs. We may just be peasants, but it's wonderful the way both sides are willing to set us up for violence and death, so long as they maintain hold on their wealth and power.

They have provided us with one hell of a Hollywood-curated show. I'm just amazed so many people are willing to volunteer to be contestants. 

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