Today, TCM has programmed a bunch of classic science fiction movies, many of which end up feeling like dystopian hellscapes. Beginning at 6:00 with The Robot vs the Aztec Mummy (ok, maybe that one isn’t so classic), TCM runs through The Time Machine (pre-historic monsters), Time After Time (Jack the Ripper goes to San Francisco!), Time Bandits (that finale!), The Ice Pirates, Satellite in the Sky, and Logan’s Run (carousel!!). They finish up the marathon with the classic dystopia Soylent Green, perhaps the most frightening of the series.

Soylent Green is actually more of a police procedural noir than any of the other genres mentioned. In fact, it’s closely tied to Chinatown in its themes of capitalism ruining everything it touches. By 2022, people are existing on rations provided by the Soylent corporation, who just came out with the tasty nutritious product, Soylent Green. Because of the demand and the advances in nutrition, Soylent Green is a strained but highly coveted commodity. Among the world ruined by capitalism, a detective investigates the murder of a wealthy businessman who has deep ties to the government and the Soylent corporation.

There’s a lot of material to unpack. Being a film from the 1970s, Soylent Green plays with future sexism by reducing women to furniture that can be traded with the apartment. Is it sexist or commenting on misogyny? It’s extremely hard to discern in such a hypercritical film. The rampant corrupting nature of corporations seems almost quaint, as do the various murder plots Soylent Green peddles. There are also themes of poverty and income inequality intertwined, especially when the rations of Soylent Green run out and the masses riot.

Soylent Green is set in 2022. That’s only six years away. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Soylent Green airs on TCM at 6:00pm.