„The Running Man“ beschwört eine dystopische Vision von Amerika herauf, die immer noch nicht so schlimm ist wie die Realität

Released in 1987, “The Running Man” is one of about a thousand [sci-fi](https://www.wired.com/tag/sci-fi/) action movies of its decade to open with an ominous title crawl that reads something like this:

THE YEAR IS 2012. PETROLEUM WARS HAVE DECIMATED THE ECONOMY. THE GOVERNMENT CONTROLS ALL KNOWLEDGE. BEING IN LOVE OR PETTING A DOG IS ILLEGAL. RATIONING LAWS MEAN THE PUBLIC IS ONLY ALLOWED TO FEEL TWO FEELINGS A DAY. UNTIL NOW …

The film takes place in a recognizable not-so-distant future dystopia, where the rabble are placated with bread-and-circus television programming. The top-rated show on the planet is “The Running Man,” a hyper-violent, live-broadcast game show in which “runners” (typically convicted criminals) attempt to escape a colorful cadre of professional assassins called “stalkers.” By navigating a series of themed arenas (there’s a fire one, a chain saw one, an ice hockey one, etc.), and taking out the stalkers in turn, the runners can (allegedly) win their freedom.

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, “The Running Man” is a fairly conventional, often-repetitive romp. Equal parts Wrestlemania and “The Most Dangerous Game,” “The Running Man” established a template for everything from “Battle Royale” to “The Hunger Games.” More than influential, it was notable for its wry, at times ruthless humor.

Thirty-eight years later, “The Running Man” is back on our screens, playing to a world that seems to have caught up with the original’s idiocy. This new one features a considerably less bulky, but no less watchable star in Glen Powell, playing runner Ben Richards. Fired from various jobs for insubordination, and tending to a sick toddler, he’s press-ganged into joining America’s favorite kill-or-be-killed game show, after a producer identifies him as “quantifiably the angriest man to ever audition.”

Read the full story here: [https://www.wired.com/story/the-running-man-conjures-a-dystopian-vision-of-america-thats-still-not-as-bad-as-reality/](https://www.wired.com/story/the-running-man-conjures-a-dystopian-vision-of-america-thats-still-not-as-bad-as-reality/)

The book is great!