Synopsis:
Ben Richards is fed up with this shit. He quit his job at General Atomics because his wife wanted to have a baby, and you cannot have a baby microwaving your testicles all day long. So, being blackballed (no pun intended) from any job in respectable society, he decides to make money the only way anyone from the Co-op City can: He applies for the Games. The Games are government run, reality tv shows on Free-Vee, a government sponsored cable news entity. Little did he know, that with the right mix of derision and attitude, he could make it all the way to the top: The Running Man. He gets a head start of twelve hours, then the Hunters get sent after him. If they find him, they will kill him. If he makes it a month, he wins a billion New Dollars. Let the Games begin.
Governmental Control:
Two methods of control here. One, the most obvious, is the Free Vee. The government (called "The Network") gives free television to all the masses. On it, it runs new reports and shows and the Games. Each Game is a chance for the poor to make a bit of money, like Treadmill to Bucks, where people with heart disease or lung infections earn money by the amount of time they can spend on a treadmill. Yeah, real cool stuff. But, the other way, the less obvious but more scathingly written, is dope. "Rich folks smoke dokes." "Smooth Blokes Blow Dokes." And it is no secret that King really detests it when he brings up the subject matter.
Personal notes on this book (may contain spoilers!):
This is how a dystopian book is supposed to end. I won't spoil, but damn, was this a good book.
And also, some people would think this blasphemy, but this story would make a much better movie than that craptastic Arnold Schwarzenegger film. Seriously, read it and decide for yourself.
Important lesson of this book:
TV rots the brain, and is a control mechanism for whoever has the ability to put crap on it.
From there to here:
This is not hard to imagine. With the public's fascination with these mind-numbing reality shows (looking at you Survivor and American Idol), it is not hard to imagine that this will become the method by which the government dispenses justices and keeps its sheep in line in the future. That sickens me.
Overall:
96/100
I just reread The Running Man after all these years and made the stupid mistake of watching the Schwarzenegger movie (I actually rented it like a fool! Fortunately, someone's making another movie that will hopefully be closer to the original text).
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, the book is an excellent dystopian tale; in fact, one of the best I've ever read.
One thing I disagree with, though: I think King is definitely NOT anti-cannabis in real life. But his negative spin on dope in the book is to point out that the government appeases the masses (particularly the rich, who are probably the only ones who can afford it), so they are anesthetized against the horrific world they live in.
How funny that all the way after 2010 (when you wrote this--now, it's 2022) that several states have legalized cannabis for recreational use and more will likely follow until the federal law(s) prohibiting it are rescinded.
Michael