The Running Man (1987)
It is the year 2019. "The Running Man" is a deadly game no one has ever survived. But Schwarzenegger has yet to play.
By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.
The Running Man keeps every mind human — it fights its subject at zero distance. The story fights on E12 of the E0–E14 reality ladder.
Same rung, same subject
Films fighting at the same level of reality, about the same things.
Same subject, different rung
The same preoccupations examined at another scale — one mind versus a nation.
Insurgent (2015)E8/E9/E10 · Action, Science Fiction
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)E8/E13 · Action, Science Fiction
Looper (2012)E8/E11 · Action, Science Fiction
Armageddon (1998)E8/E14 · Action, Science Fiction
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)E8/E13 · Action, Science Fiction
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)E8/E9/E11 · Action, Science FictionAlso bends a rule of reality
Other films that change a standing rule of their world — ranked first by those bending it at the same rung.
The Truman Show (1998)alters at E10 · same rung · rigorous
The Hunger Games (2012)alters at E10 · same rung · rigorous
WALL·E (2008)alters at E10 · same rung · rigorous
The Incredibles (2004)alters at E10 · same rung · rigorous
In Time (2011)alters at E10 · same rung · loose
The Purge (2013)alters at E10 · same rung · loose
