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This dystopian classic was more prophetic than we realized! Join us as we examine how a 1987 film based on Stephen King's novel eerily predicted our present reality. From smart homes to deepfakes, surveillance to reality TV, this action thriller's vision of the future has proven remarkably accurate in ways both fascinating and disturbing.
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00:00We didn't want to break up a winning team, Ben!
00:02Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at predictions from the 1987 Running Man film,
00:07as well as Stephen King's source material, that were eerily accurate.
00:11They need a leader, they need someone with experience.
00:15The Timing
00:16King's 1982 novel and the 1987 film adaptation take place in different years.
00:22The book sets itself in 2025, while the film's opening text states that it's 2017.
00:30It's funny to think that this futuristic sci-fi film is now technically a period picture.
00:41It's not as humorous, though, once you consider how well the film's dystopian version of 2017 lined up with the real 2017.
00:53It's worth noting that after the first scene, the film jumps ahead 18 months.
00:57So, really, the film takes place closer to 2018 or possibly 2019, i.e., when COVID-19 first surfaced and things really started going downhill.
01:08Now that we're living through 2025, can we honestly say it's that different than King's book or either film adaptation?
01:18Pollution and Climate Change
01:20The 1987 film's opening crawl mentions that, quote,
01:24the world economy has collapsed, and, quote,
01:26food, natural resources, and oil are in short supply.
01:30Food riot in progress.
01:32Approximately 1,500 civilians.
01:35No weapons evident.
01:37While the global economy hasn't collapsed,
01:39it has come alarmingly close over the years.
01:41And essential resources are not as accessible to the masses as one would hope.
01:45The Running Man also signified how humanity's neglect of the environment
01:50would slowly but surely make this planet almost uninhabitable.
01:53Now, where should we go?
01:55Maybe someplace warm.
01:57I need to work on my tan anyway.
01:58Although phrases like climate change and global warming don't come up in King's book,
02:03pollution does.
02:04It's noted in the novel that the network is knowingly killing millions every year with air pollution.
02:09There are nose filters, but only the rich can afford them,
02:13while the poor are largely unaware of how toxic their world is becoming.
02:17Nothing worth losing your head over, though, hey?
02:23I got it.
02:25Smart Homes
02:25In the 1987 movie, Ben Richards breaks into Amber's apartment.
02:30While her home isn't without some dated technology like cassette tapes,
02:34Amber lives in a smart house.
02:36Security code. Accept.
02:37To get through the front door, you have to use a numeric keypad.
02:43That might have seemed like a luxury back then,
02:45although it feels in line with modern home security systems.
02:49The lights, kitchen appliances, and television are all voice activated.
02:53Lights!
02:58Kitchen!
03:00Toast and coffee!
03:02YCS, channel one!
03:03Richards also swipes her travel pass to log into her account and book a flight to Honolulu.
03:10It's essentially online booking,
03:12except Richards does it on a television instead of a laptop or phone.
03:15While the film's small, bulky home TVs are retro now,
03:19the film did predict giant flat screens becoming more prominent in urban areas.
03:23Anyone with hostile and zone card after midnight will be permanently detained.
03:30Although the economy has collapsed in The Running Man,
03:33not everyone lives in poverty.
03:35The rich keep getting richer,
03:36while the poor attempt to scrape by with what little is accessible to them.
03:40You can still join us if you want.
03:42No, thank you.
03:42My brother is going to get me out of the city.
03:44Plus, I'm not into politics.
03:46I'm into survival.
03:47Nowadays, Fritz is the same thing.
03:49A key plot point from the novel that the 1987 film omitted
03:52was Richards' motivations for joining The Running Man.
03:55In the book, Richards has a family,
03:58most notably a young daughter who has fallen gravely ill.
04:01Richards can't afford the medicine needed to treat her,
04:03thus seeking funds through reality TV.
04:06Edgar Wright's version restored this plot point,
04:08which reflects the United States' current healthcare system,
04:11where even basic over-the-counter medications
04:13can ironically cost someone an arm and a leg.
04:16People on these games never come back.
04:17We have no choice.
04:19We need money for a doctor now.
04:20The cramped housing and limited job opportunities
04:23also echo today's world.
04:25I'm just trying to give back to my family.
04:28Desensitized to violence.
04:30The audience for The Running Man cheers on the bloodshed,
04:33viewing a person's death as entertainment.
04:40Now more than ever,
04:44reality shows rely on somebody suffering to keep audiences engaged.
04:47Granted, you could argue that none are nearly as fatal as The Running Man.
04:52Who do you think will make the next kill?
04:54Oh boy, that's a tough one.
04:57Come on, give it a try.
04:58You can do it.
04:59Who do you think?
05:00Fair enough, but the film and book reflect
05:02how desensitized people have become to violence in media.
05:06Whether it's a fictional story like Squid Game
05:08or a true crime story like Monster,
05:10Carnage is commonplace in some of our most popular shows.
05:13In real life, we don't want to see other people get hurt.
05:16Yet when we hear about another mass killing
05:18or natural disaster on the news,
05:20most of us go about our days,
05:22basically accepting violence as routine.
05:29Constant surveillance.
05:31To film a show like The Running Man,
05:33the network has cameras everywhere,
05:35some better hidden than others.
05:36This not only reflects the lack of privacy in reality TV,
05:46but our day-to-day lives with the rise of Big Brother.
05:49Mass surveillance has been taken to the next level
05:51with the advancement of drone technology.
05:53Sometimes such surveillance is used for entertainment,
05:56other times it's used for control,
05:58and in various cases, it's a combination of both.
06:01The capture of renegade police officer
06:04and mass murderer Ben Richards
06:05was filmed yesterday by runway security cameras.
06:09To an extent, you could also argue
06:11that the story's commentary on surveillance
06:12mirrors the rise of social media,
06:15with more people willingly broadcasting their lives
06:17for the world to see.
06:19Whether you like it or not,
06:20it seems like there's always a camera in your face now.
06:23Stop filming me!
06:25Arnold Schwarzenegger.
06:27Action star turned political leader.
06:29This prediction is specific to the 1987 movie
06:32in which Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Richards.
06:35It takes an action star to survive The Running Man.
06:38And fortunately,
06:39there wasn't a bigger one in the 80s than Arnold.
06:42I'll be back.
06:45Although Richards says he isn't interested in politics,
06:48he ultimately brings power back to the people.
06:51Richards doesn't just enthrall viewers
06:53with his death-defying escapades.
06:55He emerges as a symbol of rebellion.
06:57Good luck.
06:59You too.
07:01To a degree,
07:02this is reminiscent of Schwarzenegger's real-life journey
07:05from action hero to politician.
07:07Okay, it's not a perfect comparison,
07:09but Schwarzenegger did become
07:10an unexpected political figure like Richards.
07:13The young and old, rich and poor,
07:15people of all religions, all colors,
07:17and all nationalities.
07:19I want to be the governor for the people.
07:22It's also something of a coincidence
07:24that Captain Freedom,
07:25another politicized idol in the film,
07:27was played by Jesse Ventura,
07:29who became a governor as well.
07:31I was killing guys like this 10 years ago
07:34with my bare hands.
07:35I'm not going for any of these tricks.
07:37This is a sport of death and honor.
07:40Go to the gladiators.
07:42Deep fakes.
07:42The film opens with Richards
07:44trying to save a crowd of innocent people,
07:46but his fellow officers turn against him.
07:49Despite his noble efforts,
07:50the footage is altered
07:51to make it look like Richards went rogue
07:53on the unarmed individuals,
07:55being labeled as the butcher of Bakersfield in the press.
07:58He's Ben Richards,
08:00the brutal slayer of 60 men, women, and children
08:03in the Bakersfield massacre.
08:05Aside from tapping into the increase
08:07of fake news stories that many accept as fact,
08:09the huntingly realistic footage predicted deep fakes.
08:13But that's not true.
08:14They were taken to Cadre Memorial Hospital.
08:16While the genesis of deep fakes
08:18can be traced back to the 90s,
08:20the technology has reached unprecedented levels
08:22of sophistication today,
08:24especially with generative AI available
08:26to people at a fingertip.
08:28Users can have digital versions of people
08:30do and say whatever they want,
08:32making it harder than ever to determine the truth.
08:34We can jam the network
08:35once we find the uplink to the satellite.
08:38Then we'll broadcast the truth.
08:39The truth hasn't been very popular lately.
08:43The rise of reality TV.
08:45While the idea of reality TV
08:47wasn't non-existent in the 80s,
08:49it had yet to take over airwaves or the world.
08:52You could argue that the source material
08:54was inspired more by game shows.
08:56Well, first, I've got a little surprise for you.
09:00Even then, the idea of an entire network
09:03dedicated to game shows
09:04seemed like a stretch until we eventually got one.
09:07The Stalkers in the 1987 film
09:09resembled the costumed athletes
09:10in American Gladiators,
09:12which wouldn't premiere until two years later.
09:15And quickly, Gemini gets rid of John Chomsky.
09:17My question to you, Joe, was it legal?
09:20What's more,
09:21The Running Man foreshadowed
09:22how reality TV could turn average people
09:24into celebrities, albeit at a price.
09:27Watching Richard Dawson as Damon Killian,
09:30it's also hard not to think about
09:31another reality TV show host
09:33who used his platform to weaponize audiences
09:35and rise to power.
09:37Go!
09:42Before we continue,
09:44be sure to subscribe to our channel
09:45and ring the bell to get notified
09:47about our latest videos.
09:49You have the option to be notified
09:50for occasional videos or all of them.
09:52If you're on your phone,
09:53make sure you go into your settings
09:55and switch on notifications.
09:59September 11th,
10:00Richards gets his revenge on Killian
10:02in every version of The Running Man,
10:04although the book differs from the movies
10:06in a major way.
10:07You bastard!
10:09Drop dead!
10:11I don't do requests.
10:19No!
10:22Upon finding out his family is dead,
10:25Richards hijacks a plane
10:26and flies it into the Games Network building.
10:28Richards takes his life along with Killian's
10:30as the tower is destroyed.
10:32The book's final line reads,
10:34The 1987 movie went in another direction,
10:44which was wise in ways
10:45that the filmmakers never could have predicted.
10:51After September 11th, 2001,
10:53even King viewed the ending
10:55of his novel differently.
10:56As such,
10:57he had no qualms
10:58about Edgar Wright changing it
10:59for his film.
11:00Have you ever wondered
11:01that this game is rigged?
11:03Guess we'll find out.
11:05Can you think of any other ways
11:07The Running Man predicted the future?
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