Landscape with Invisible Hand

By the year 2036, an alien race called the Vuvv  has taken over Earth. Their presence has caused   unemployment and homelessness in human society  while the aliens live in fancy cities that   float above the planet, but they always sell the  idea that they are here to help the human race   progress. Adam is an aspiring artist living with  his lawyer mother Beth and sister Natalie. Their   father used to live with them too but he left  many years ago, although at least he left them the   house, which is a privilege in this area because  most people don’t have where to live. However Beth   is currently unemployed, so lately it hasn’t been  easy for them. In his paintings, Adam records all   the important moments of his life. On the other  hand, Natalie has been trying to grow some ‘real   food’ in their garden because all they get is the  artificial stuff sent by the aliens. One morning,   an alien floating city appears over their house.  They call it annoying but it’s obvious that it’s   a part of their daily life. Later in school, Adam  attends the final class of English literature,   where they’re made to watch a presentation from  the aliens full of propaganda using a device that   connects to their minds. In this presentation,  the aliens use cute drawings to lie about how   much they’ve helped Earth. Afterward their teacher  announces he’s been forced to retire because the   aliens want humans to learn their Vuvv culture  and history instead and it’ll be done through   the devices, that way the school doesn’t waste  money on teachers. Later, during their art class,   Adam notices a new student named Chloe and starts  talking to her to the point he develops a crush.   He learns that her family doesn’t have a house  and she’s tired of having to move every day.   After class is over, Chloe and Adam are on their  way out when they hear a shot: it turns out their   literature teacher self-deleted. Adam is shaken  by the harsh reality of the situation and invites   Chloe and her family to come stay at his house.  Later at dinner, the mood is tense. Chloe’s father   Mr. Marsh thanks Beth for dinner and promises  to pay rent when he gets a job, but her brother   Hunter is not grateful, instead he complains  about not getting any real food. Suddenly Adam   blurts out that Chloe’s family can stay in their  basement as long as they want without asking Beth   for permission, who thought they would only be  here for a night. Beth takes Adam to the kitchen   to scold him in private, but Adam convinces her  it’s the right thing to do. During the weekend,   Chloe shows Adam how she usually goes drop  hunting, this means she checks the things the   aliens throw from the floating cities to find  stuff to sell. As they talk about the horrible   situation, Adam opens up about his father, a real  estate developer who got an offer to create human   housing for the aliens. However he refused it  on account of the aliens’ unfair terms and ended   up going to California, hoping to make a decent  living, but he hasn’t contacted the family again   since then. While they chat, Adam starts drawing  her portrait, and afterward they have some fun   playing around with the drops. Sometime later at  home, Adam shows Chloe the finished portrait and   the two are about to kiss when Mr Marsh interrupts  them. He makes sure to keep the curtains open so   the teens can’t do anything naughty behind his  back. Later in school, Chloe tries to sell some   of the stuff she salvaged so that her family can  pay rent to Beth, but nobody has money to spend on   things that aren’t necessities. Adam likes her  so much that he is ready to forgive the rent,   but Chloe has an idea to earn some money. Because  their alien overlords procreate only as their   function without any feelings, they consider  ‘human romantic love’ as something ‘peculiar’.   There’s a thing where couples can use their head  devices to broadcast their lives to the aliens   and get paid for it. Chloe asks if Adam would like  to partner up with her, but he dislikes the idea,   saying he finds the concept of someone peeking  into their love life uncomfortable and he would   prefer it to develop more naturally. But when  Chloe explains they’ll still behave naturally,   she manages to convince him. From then on,  Adam and Chloe start developing their romantic   relationship while broadcasting it to the aliens.  The devices record everything but also keep track   of their vitals because the aliens like to see how  love makes their palms sweat and their hearts beat   faster. Their first date goes well, although Adam  is a bit bothered that Chloe makes him move so   that no sad people appear in the background. They  have lots of sweet moments together, which can   get kinda awkward because the device keeps telling  them how many viewers they have and how much money   they’re making. They don’t have many viewers at  first but as their relationship progresses, their   views begin to grow as well. Soon they’re having  actual food at the table and their parents are   proud of them, but Hunter is still skeptical. When  Chloe tries to force a conversation about love,   family, and relationships, Beth tells her not  to bring business to the table. After dinner,   Adam tries to have a sweet moment with Chloe  without the devices, but she’s very stubborn   about them. The next day, Mr Mrash is at home  trying to learn the alien language, which is   based on sounds humans can’t really make. Hunter  doesn’t approve of this because he feels like his   father is selling out. At that moment Beth arrives  and notices that Hunter and Mr Marsh are using her   computer without having asked her for permission,  so she scolds them both as she talks about respect   and boundaries. Hunter storms away, and while Mr.  Marsh admits he should’ve asked for permission,   he wishes Beth hadn’t humiliated him in front  of his son. Soon the discussion escalates into   a shouting argument that the teens join when they  get home. Suddenly Beth snaps and decides that   from now on, they need to establish some house  rules. After that, both families start having   dinner separately. Hunter keeps complaining,  saying that Adam’s family comes from good money   and should be more helpful, so Chloe calls him  out for not being more grateful. As days pass,   Adam gets more and more uncomfortable because  every sweet moment of theirs is interrupted by the   voice in the device sharing their stats. During a  school party, she yells at another reality couple   for appearing on their camera and refuses to talk  about what’s happening at home because it's too   sad for the broadcast, so nothing is natural like  she promised. Adam finally snaps and takes off the   device, but Chloe points out this isn’t the right  time and they finish their dance. The next day   at school, Chloe and Adam receive a letter from  the aliens. They ask a classmate to translate it   and are shocked to discover they’re being sued by  the broadcasting company. To discuss the subject,   they get to visit one of the floating cities by  taking a sky bus. There’s a golf cart waiting   for them and they’re surprised to see they’ll be  driven around by a human. It turns out this was   one of the successful professionals like Adam’s  dad that were chosen to work for the aliens up   here, but now he isn’t a doctor, instead he’s  a driver. Apparently the aliens like having   educated people serving them as if they were  curiosities. Adam thinks this is pretty sad,   but the driver points out he’s making much  more money here than he did as a doctor and   he has children to feed. Eventually they’re  left in front of a hole in the ground and the   couple enters it to arrive at the alien office.  The creature talks by rubbing its tentacles,   and a computer does the translation. It accuses  the teens of deceiving the viewers, claiming   their studies show they aren’t in love anymore  and it doesn’t believe them when they swear they   are. The broadcasting company can sue them for  a huge amount that would take six generations   for them to pay back. However since Chloe is  desperate not to live on the streets again,   she offers an alternate solution: they can start  broadcasting with another partner. This breaks   Adam’s heart, but the alien is quick to accept.  On their way back, Adam demands an explanation,   and Chloe points out shelter is more important  than dating. She also says it’ll be better if   they don’t let business affect their friendship.  Later at home, Beth checks the contract and admits   there’s nothing to do because the rules are clear  and the alien lawyers are too powerful to confront   them in court. Over dinner, Natalie starts getting  pessimistic about their future, which leaves Beth   very worried so she goes to visit the alien office  too. While waiting, she meets the boss’ offspring,   who accepts to shake her hand with  its tentacle. Then during the meeting,   Beth explains there are different forms of love,  and that the most powerful love is actually the   one a mother has for a child. She points out the  alien boss has a child too, so it must understand   the feeling at least a little, then she makes a  new offer. When Beth returns home, Natalie and   Adam are shocked to learn that their mom has come  back with the alien boss’ offspring and they’ll   be paid for being its family. Beth and the alien  have a peaceful wedding, although Adam is worried   about his mother and annoyed by the fact Chloe is  with another guy, still broadcasting. Over dinner,   Beth has to cut the food for her husband and the  family wonders what to call it. Since these aliens   don’t have concept of names, this one asks to  be called “father”, which the teens don’t like   very much. Since their break-up, Adam has been  ignoring Chloe, so she tries to talk to him at   school but he doesn’t want to hear her out. When  he arrives home, the alien calls him 'son' and   asks for a hug, but Adam refuses and is very rude  to it. Beth scolds him and an argument ensues,   so Adam decides to go to the basement to watch  tv with Marsh and Hunter. On the news, they see   two people arguing about the impact of Vuvv on  economics, and one of the hosts is obviously   being paid to sell it better than it is. Hunter  complains about the situation, but Marsh praises   the competitive nature of the economy, and Adam  points out how extreme competition can lead to   domination. That statement makes Hunter laugh and  he makes some very bigoted comments about Adam,   who he considers rich. This triggers another  argument. Hunter ends up leaving in a huff,   and while Marsh at first apologizes, then he  comments that Adam’s family is doing actually   pretty well so Hunter wasn’t completely wrong.  Later in the middle of the night, Adam hears   some noises and comes down to discover that his  father Mr Campbell has sneaked inside the house.   It’s a bit awkward at first but soon Adam becomes  happy to see his dad again and asks what happened.   Campbell explains that he’s been waiting to  actually have something to show his family,   that’s why he hasn’t called. He also asks if Beth  has moved on, but thinking about having to explain   what’s happening makes Adam too anxious and he  runs to hide in the bathroom. Campbell uses the   chance to go check on Beth and discovers the alien  is sleeping on top of her. Unable to deal with   such a sight, he leaves the building, and by the  time Adam comes out of the bathroom, his father   is gone again. Sometime later, the teens go to  school only to discover it’s been closed because   the aliens have decided to provide education  directly to the devices while the students   are home. However Adam stays a little longer to  look at a building that signifies another loss   for society. When he notices that they’ve covered  all windows and doors, he decides to use this huge   wall area as a giant canvas. Meanwhile Beth spends  most of her time watching tv with the alien,   who likes old shows and movies and won’t let Beth  change the channel or leave its side. Suddenly the   mail comes and Beth discovers that the alien has  ordered an apron and a blonde wig for her. At that   moment she gets a call from a workplace where she  left her resume before all this started and she’s   happy to discover she has an interview right now.  When she announces she’s leaving, the alien tries   to make her stay, explaining it wants her to be  a conventional wife that takes care of the house   while the husband provides. Beth finally snaps and  after doing lots of yelling that includes pointing   out the one providing is actually the alien’s dad,  Beth leaves for her interview after turning off   the tv. All this is overhead by Marsh, and when  the alien fails to use the remote control, Marsh   cuts in and offers his help. In the evening, Beth  and her kids come home and are ready to celebrate   because Beth got the job. However they’re shocked  to discover that Marsh has put on the wig and the   apron, explaining he’s been taken over the alien’s  deal and now his family is playing the part. For   the next few days, Adam continues to work on  his mural, ignoring the weather and sometimes   getting help from Natalie. Chloe sometimes  watches him without revealing her presence,   but she’s also very frustrated about the alien  situation with her dad. When Adam’s finally done,   the mural shows what a horrible time people are  having with the overlords. Suddenly Adam trips   and discovers the alien is here, apparently it’s  gone out to explore the world and has discovered   it’s nothing like they show on tv. It notices  the mural and asks about its purpose, but Adam   doesn’t know what to answer. The next day, Adam  is called to the school, where lots of people are   gathering. It turns out the alien has brought its  dad and a human art expert to look at the mural,   so Adam finally puts his words together to explain  he painted this to show the state of the world,   dedicating it to the spirit of human resilience.  The aliens are impressed and offer him a huge   opportunity to be an artist in one of the  floating cities with a huge salary that   leaves Adam speechless while everyone claps  for him. After Beth checks the new contract,   Adam decides to accept the deal. Natalie isn’t  happy to see him go, and when Adam explains it’s   only for a few months, Natalie points out that’s  what their father said. When it’s time to leave,   Adam says goodbye to his family, but before he  can say goodbye to Chloe too, a small spaceship   lands in front of the house to take Adam away to  a huge spacecraft in outer space. Moments later,   Adam is going through a very dark tunnel until  he comes out in a big auditorium filled with   aliens. To his disgust, the mural has been taken  from the school and modified to make it look   like the humans are happy to have the aliens  around. Then he’s asked to come to the stage,   but they only want him to spread  propaganda about how good the alien   overlords are. Finally understanding his  father and refusing to give up his morals,   Adam cancels the contract and returns to Earth.  Adam’s family doesn’t blame him for quitting,   yet Adam still can’t sleep. He decides to go  to the school, and after noticing the damage   caused by the aliens, he starts working on a new  mural that matches his beliefs. Chloe finds him   and after they both apologize, Adam invites  her to help him paint, a sign that they can   slowly work on their relationship. The name of  this painting is Landscape with Invisible Hand.