Statue in front of District 9 caption saying: "District 9, Paving the way to unity"
District 9 is a motion picture directed by Neill Blomkamp which depicts the compartmentalization of an alien race, segregating them from the rest of the population. The "prawns" are only allowed to live in a government camp that translates to a real world slum or ghetto. This movie consists of a classic problem with urbanization, the separation
of classes. In a city, someone has to be on the bottom of the social/economic ladder.
of classes. In a city, someone has to be on the bottom of the social/economic ladder. In Johannesburg, South Africa this is true for the immigrating aliens who are not accustomed to the social norms of human society. In the picture above is a statue showing the unity between the aliens and humans. This statue is only an act to satisfy the ironically named "humanitarians" of earth but the aliens are still a completely seperated part of the community. One woman when being interviewed for the documentary style
A picture showing the would be new residence for the aliens
movie says "[the government is] spending so much money to keep them here when they could be spending it on other things. At least they're keeping them separate from us." The aliens are considered to be hostile and gross creatures. In district 9 there is an abundance of gang activity and crime but what is not acknowledged is the fact that the aliens are uneducated. For instance when Wikus van de Merwe is going from shack to shack asking for the signatures of residents agreeing to move out of their homes within 24 hours many do not know what eviction means and yet are still forced to sign the document. But why keep them confined on earth if they only contribute violence and crime to human society? Because their weapons are more powerful than anything ever created by man yet men have not been able to control or reverse engineer any of the weapons.
Humans had been performing cruel experiments on the aliens for years trying to master their technology. And although the aliens have more advanced technology they are still confined to their camp and looked down upon. Having to live amongst the discarded remains of Johannesburg, the aliens become such monsters that society systematically organized them to be.
good choice for a post, evey. one of the scariest things about this movie was how, even though it was science-fiction, the imagery of the immigrant slum was taken right out of the history books and contemporary newspapers. it is no mistake that the setting of the story is south africa. i believe the district 9 of the title is based on a district 6 in cape town. though you are right that this kind of racial segregation continues to be the norm even in american cities today.
ReplyDeleteI think this movie was great. I like how it got viewers to sympathize with the aliens rather then the rest of humanity. The aliens didnt want to remain on earth, but human greed and the desire to be powerful is what trapped them. Good job evangeline!! ;)
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