Trigger Happy
Shoot first, ask questions later
STEVEN POOLE
Space Invaders (Tomohiro Nishikado for Taito, 1978) has by now become a genuinely universal cultural touchstone, one you don’t need to have actually played to understand. The road authority Highways England recently released a video campaign called ‘Don’t Be A Space Invader’, to discourage tailgating, in which a blocky avatar, glowing white, of one of the iconic invaders follows a car too closely behind, threatening to cause otherworldly havoc on the motorway.
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kaeru.com.ar Have many young drivers today who need to be reminded of basic driving rules ever actually played Space Invaders or any of its legion sequels? It doesn’t matter. We all know what that alien represents: it has become a potent symbol far beyond its original context. But that is not always a good thing.