The Running Man: Dystopian America vs. Reality
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The Running Man is Already Hear
Table of Contents
A reflection on how reality increasingly mirrors the dystopian satire of Stephen King and the film adaptation, raising questions about entertainment, exploitation, and the blurring lines of reality.
Dystopia Now
The 1987 film The Running Man, based on Stephen kings 1982 novella The Long Walk, depicted a brutal, televised game show where convicted criminals fought for their freedom – and their lives. The current american landscape,as observed by many,increasingly resembles this dystopian vision,drawing as much from the original film and King’s source novel as it does from present-day reality.
A modern-day America overseen by a game show president, where ICE squads team up with Dr. Phil McGraw to turn deportation raids into reality television, would seem ripe for a Running man remake. But that’s the problem. satire relies on caricature. And the new version is barely exaggerative.
The Blurring of Reality and Entertainment
Does the very idea of a lethal game show seem that far off, in a world where the success of Netflix’s South Korean thriller series Squid Game (itself a variation on the The running Man format) spawned an actual, licensed Squid Game-style competitive reality TV show? Netflix announced a reality competition show based on Squid Game in June 2023, with 456 players competing for $4.56 million, though it notably lacked the fatal consequences of the fictional series (Netflix,2023).
Or when a grinning zillennial YouTuber named ”MrBeast” baits contestants with ten grand to sit in a bathtub full of snakes? MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has built a massive following by offering increasingly large sums of money for outlandish challenges, blurring the lines between entertainment and spectacle.
Spectacle and Schadenfreude
The normalization of public suffering extends beyond organized competitions.A few weeks ago I watched live as rookie New York Giants’ running back Cam Skattebo’s ankle twisted 45-degrees, as if cranked by some invisible wrench, while a bar-full of rival fans cheered. This incident highlights a disturbing trend of finding entertainment in the misfortune of others, a phenomenon often referred to as Schadenfreude.
This isn’t simply about enjoying a game; its about the spectacle of pain and the vicarious thrill of witnessing another’s suffering. The ease with which such moments are shared and consumed online amplifies this effect, desensitizing audiences to the human cost of competition and entertainment.