Predator

It’s 1987, a typical CIA clean-up led by Major Dutch Schaefer ends in the greatest group of commandos fighting for survival against an elite extraterrestrial warrior. What if there was something out there so much bigger than us, something so much stronger than us, it made us obsolete? Something so much superior to us even at its most genetically infantile it puts the pinnacle of masculinity to shame? Many would see this as an impossible odd, but what if I told you there was a silver lining? A quality man holds which triumphs any amount of testosterone. A muscle of limits far exceeding any bicep or abdomen. What if I told you each & every one of us had this quality, this weapon of mass destruction inside us since we were born regardless of our race, ethnicity, nationality; religion, sex, gender identity or sexuality? It’s true & it’s right there inside our heads. It’s the mind, yes, the mind which holds dominance over all muscle & matter which is why it’s optimal for our survival. All of which is showcased in the John McTiernan Sci-Fi Horror classic Predator. The title in itself — Predator — perfectly simple, hugely effective; something or someone who preys on &/or exploits others. Dillon is the first Predator we meet, like all government officials he’s a man of many secrets willing to sell out anyone to get the job done, including long time friends like Dutch. This whole mission was set up based on a lie so a few soldiers could do the government's dirty work they are too incompetent to do themselves. An exploitation of people by the higher, more knowledgeable power, making it so CIA operative, portrayed excellently by ex-football star Carl Weathers can be considered the predator until he’s preyed on later by the Yautja. In this sequence he screams in terror like a woman typically would in a horror film, his finger locked on the trigger even as he died; it’s a brilliant sequence for two reasons: firstly, Dillon is as black buck as they come thanks largely to Carl Weathers physique; his character is tall, muscular, hot-tempered, has no qualms with violence, & likes to ethnically challenge his more morally correct white counterpart. Hell, he even has a macho-mustache that just screams how much of a man he is. So, to see him acting terrified in that way sort of betrays every conventional value argued to be a result of such conventional masculinity in that way. It’s brilliant in setting up terror, especially when in the presence of an invisible force, as it allows you to ask: “what could break a man like that?” On the second hand, I think there was a reason for the visual emphasis on the gun falling to the ground with his severed arm attached still shooting. Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that’s meant to be a call back to the scene where they air out a bunch of trees or at the very least meant to put emphasis on the themes skewering sensationalized 80’s masculinity. Namely, how we as men can be strong, but will ultimately never overpower nature no matter how big our muscles get, or how much the military complex expands, & all of the conventional values of masculinity fall short against an enemy smarter than us. Dillon usually would be looked at as the perfect black man, but still fell short of this creature due to the fact he simply was outsmarted; he could shoot that gun endlessly, but if he doesn’t see the threat coming those muscles don’t really help much. I always see people give the film a lot of shit for the jungle shootout scene, but I honestly think it’s a pretty great display of this very point. I also believe that the hate for this sequence comes from the weird belief on the internet that characters acting stupidly innately is bad writing, as if all of us don’t act stupid constantly. With that said, yes it is very stupid it’s hard not to see the tongue-n-cheek nature of it due to how it’s an absurdly perfect display of who these guys are & in line with the rest of the film thematically. These guys are walking guns, that shoot the second they get the chance then ask questions; they don’t fucking think, & the first time one of them (Dutch) learns how to do that, is how he makes it home. You could easily go on a tangent about how gloriously 80’s the cinematography is down to the sitcom credits, the superb pacing, creature designs, choreography, music — but that’s the real brilliance of Predator. The mind. The Yautja is foreign payback for their blind subservience to their government, completing a largely unethical mission without questioning it until it’s too late. Many would point the finger to them & ask why didn’t they notice sooner? But I think that’s obvious, they’re a bunch of meat heads who live for the thrill of the kill. What? Did you not read my last paragraph with the Dillon example? Is that extremely ethnically questionable? Just as questionable as Hawkins jokes. But it’s worth directing more scrutiny towards the government itself? Why lie to send these meatheads on a mission to do your dirty work if you were the big bad military you hype yourselves up to be, or at the very least had nothing to hide? There’s no ethical reason for their actions. Just like there was no ethical reasons for the CIA to destabilize the numerous nations they have worldwide thus far. Predator just exists as a warning for the inevitability of nature striking back, whether it be through the form of more powerful foreign superpower, just Mother Nature or an alien with far too many ethnic features for it to be a coincidence the U.S. government will face penance at some point & that macho act will only take them so far.