In the 1980s, the United States.
Nada is a blue-collar worker who just lost his job during the economic crisis and wanders around with his luggage.
He came to Los Angeles, got a job on a construction site, and became friends with Frank, a black man, and lived in a slum together.
Although life is poor, it is practical. In Nada's words: I believe in the United States and I will work hard.
But in a peaceful life, undercurrents are actually surging.
There are often helicopter patrols over the slums; televisions are often plugged in to promote reactionary remarks.
The strangest thing is that there are always people sneaking in and out of the church next to it.
It wasn't until one day that the police were fully armed, levelled the slums and arrested the people in the church, that Nada realized that it was the place where the rebels secretly assembled.
After the police left, Nada sneaked into the church and found a lot of mysterious cardboard boxes. After opening it, they were full of sunglasses.
In this way, the most hanging alien movie of the 80s began: "Extreme Space"
Nada put on sunglasses and found that the whole world became black and white.
The billboards on the roadside, the newspapers and magazines in the bookstore, and the goods in the supermarket are all devoid of color patterns and only printed in big characters: obey, sleep, get married, have children, buy and buy.
What is even more frightening is that some upper-class people in suits and leather shoes, one by one with the fleshy faces, are more frightening than the mother's rabbit head at the gate of the community.
It turns out that these guys are all aliens, and the earth has long been ruled by them.
They use extraterrestrial technology to create illusions, confuse our brains, use the media to promote consumption and corrupt our thoughts, while they occupy a high position, enslaving and exploiting our people on earth.
And this pair of sunglasses is just a "demon mirror" to help you see the truth.
Nada didn't want to give in to the illusion. He ridiculed these ugly aliens, but he was questioned and pursued by the police.
In desperation, he acted with the police, became a wanted criminal, and began to flee.
In the process, he kidnapped the blonde Holly and hid in her home, thinking that Holly had a Stockholm-style love for himself.
But what matters right now is not chasing the girl, but overthrowing the alien's rule.
So he left Holly's house, found Frank, went to the new stronghold of the rebels together, and put on the new contact lenses.
At the new base, Nada met Holly again.
When I was about to talk to her, there was a loud noise, and the armed forces broke into the door. This time the policy of action was: to kill them all without leaving a living.
While fleeing, Nada and Frank strayed into an underground base, where the aliens control the earth's nerve center.
There is a teleportation station that can send them back to the home planet at any time.
There is a signal launch center, which connects to satellites through the launch tower on the roof, and sends brainwashing signals to the world.
In a secret celebration, the leader of the alien said: Our goal is not the United States, but the entire planet.
In this way, the two decided to seize the opportunity to destroy the launch tower and completely overthrow the rule of aliens.
Under the attack of the army, Nada and Frank rushed to the roof and saved Holly who was lost in the middle.
But when they were about to destroy the launch tower, Holly behind her shot suddenly...
"Extreme Space" was released in 1988, directed by John Carpenter, the "king of B movies" .
His films are cheap, with rough special effects, but full of wild imagination and punk spirit.
He successively produced classic B-level films such as "Moonlight and Panic", "Weird Shape", "The Great Escape of New York", "Demons Raid in Chinatown", "Terrorist Black Hole", "Blood Splatter No. 13 Police Station" and other classic B-level films, which were extremely popular in the 70s and 80s. Temporarily.
And "Strange Form" is even more a masterpiece that can be compared with "Alien".
In addition, Carpenter is also a composer, and the film is composed of his own music. The theme song of "Moonlight Panic" is often used in domestic law programs, and you must have heard it.
The scenes, special effects, and creativity of "Extreme Space" are shabby, but it is called "one of the most popular movies in the 1980s" and "forgotten classics".
In the film, overalls, dystopias, ugly aliens, incomprehensible straight male protagonists, and even the protagonist's posture holding a toothpick, are outdated but pure.
The action scenes are also quite interesting.
For example, in the corridor to the launch tower, Nada and Frank march forward with guns, both offensive and defensive, and a large number of over-the-shoulder shots, which are as exciting as a shooting game.
In another event, Frank didn't believe in aliens. Nada played with him for 6 minutes in order to force him to wear sunglasses.
Because the protagonist Roddy Piper is a wrestler, the scene is extremely fierce, like a drunkard fight in a back alley.
Rotten Tomatoes once selected "20 best fighting scenes in movie history", and "Extreme Space" ranked seventh, ahead of Bruce Lee's "Game of Death".
And its coolest and most enduring is its uncompromising spirit of ideology.
In the 1980s, in order to get out of the economic depression, US President Reagan formulated a series of policies to stimulate domestic demand and promote business prosperity.
But at the same time, the gap between the rich and the poor has gradually widened, and consumerism has prevailed.
John Carpenter said: I feel that everything in front of me is selling things to me, and the only thing they want to do is take my money.
At that time, television, as the most popular media, was simply the best brainwashing tool.
It was such an environment that gave birth to "Extreme Space" -this wild, weird, and full of punk spirit.
And it affected the later "The Matrix", the same huge lie, the same sunglasses.
Perhaps today's perspective, "They Live" naive and in two, hatred and conspiracy theories also appeared to be very low, but it is undeniable, it is a fun way to promote the "Look beyond" that remain constant Philosophical thinking.
And since watching these two films, in my mind, sunglasses are no longer a simple eye protection and cool tool, but to sweep away the hues in the colorful world and return the heart to a symbol of tranquility.
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