The Running Man

Stephen King is a prolific writer whose books feature new ideas as well as unique twists on existing tropes. Several of his ideas have materialized in real life. For instance, his novella Apt Pupil (1982) and novel Rage (1977) showed the potential for mass shootings and the indoctrination of the young by far-right ideologies. His novel The Stand (1978) depicts a world rebuilding itself in the aftermath of a deadly pandemic. The Stand reads differently in the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdowns. The Running Man concludes with an airplane being flown into a skyscraper, which may remind modern readers of the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Violence as entertainment is nothing new, as the ancient Roman gladiator games attest. However, outside of sports such as boxing, televised violence is a modern invention. King uses The Running Man to explore an extreme vision of televised violence. Like the gladiator games, the contest in The Running Man is not for a niche audience. It is the most popular spectacle and is consumed avidly by the public.

Modern-day reality TV has a lot in common with the world of The Running Man. Contemporary reality TV doesn’t lead to death or dismemberment, but some of its premises have grown more extreme with time. Early reality television shows like Big Brother or The Real World had a simple premise—people were filmed constantly and deprived of privacy, and footage was edited to create dramatic narratives. Now, popular shows like Alone show people competing to survive in hostile climates while losing up to a third of their bodyweight as they struggle to find food and stay warm.

Most reality TV shares another element present in The Running Man—the filming of personal, “confessional”-style videos in which cast members address viewers. The Running Man puts a sinister spin on confessional videos, which the Hunters attempt to use to pinpoint Ben’s location.

In The Running Man, the audience is incentivized to participate. Rather than casting a vote by telephone, like with the singing competition American Idol, viewers can report sightings that may lead to the capture and death of the contestants. The audience is actively complicit in the perverse manhunt unfolding on their screens.

Violence as unscripted reality television is a novel concept, and King was ahead of his time in its depiction. The Running Man could be seen as a precursor of blockbuster books (and movies) like Kousun Takami’s Battle Royale (1999) and Suzanne Collins’s series The Hunger Games (2008-2020), where contestants also face lethal consequences. Reality TV appeals to its audience with its (alleged) lack of a script. However, reality programs are carefully edited and curated by a production team. A televised manhunt in which murder is the goal delivers what most reality TV only alleges to provide: true spontaneity with the highest possible stakes.

King also experiments with the idea of a lethal, public contest in the novella The Long Walk (1979). In the story, 100 boys join a grim contest. Once they start walking, they can’t stop or else they are killed. The last boy receives the grand prize.

In much of his work, King illustrates the problems that a passive, unthinking audience can create if they internalize the wrong message.