By admin [ad_1]
Neill Blomkamp has cultivated a career based on social commentary, but his magnum opus was District 9. One of his early films with long-time collaborator Sharlto Copley, the movie was a near-perfect film about the evils of racism and xenophobia. The popularity and relevance of the film still have fans clamoring for a sequel to this day, though there is some question about when that will materialize. Blomkamp and Copley have promised that a follow-up is still in the works, but for now, fans will have to be satisfied with watching the original film on streaming.
District 9 takes place in a world where an alien ship comes to Earth and starts hovering over Johannesburg, South Africa. Baffled by these events, the government cuts their way through the ship to find aliens on the verge of death. They are relocated to a slum where they are segregated from the rest of Johannesburg, referred to by the derogatory term “prawns.” Tensions rise for the 20 years they are there, motivating the government to evict them and move them outside the city.
On this particular day, the MNU promoted Wikus (Copley) with disastrous results. After coming into contact with alien technology, he deteriorates quickly. As a company man, Wikus is just as xenophobic as everyone else, but is literally put in the shoes of the race of aliens he detests. District 9 is an all-time sci-fi film with one of the best examples of social commentary in a genre known for it. It does this by drawing a direct connection between the aliens of this world and how real refugees are treated.
‘District 9’ Is an Emotionally Devastating Alien Film
Mockumentary-style films have been used to varying degrees of success, but Neill Blomkamp mastered the art for District 9. Like the style of any documentary, talking heads explain the origins of District 9 and Wikus’ journey. This setup works especially well for the film as it weaves a sense of foreboding for the events about to transpire. As Wikus heads into his day of evicting aliens from their homes, the film weaves dramatic irony with interviews that reveal something devastating is about to occur. In the meantime, viewers watch as the so-called prawns are scapegoated, called slurs, and their lack of understanding of human customs is taken advantage of. Even the children of the aliens are regarded with a startling lack of empathy as government officials revel in killing them for sport.
For Wikus’ part, he becomes the perfect vehicle for change because he is as hard-lined against the prawns as anyone else. He agrees with the actions of the government, making his ultimate change in the film significant. The alien material starts turning him into a prawn, and as soon as his transformation begins, he stops being human to everyone, including his father-in-law. He is just another opportunity for experimentation. Throughout the film, Wikus starts to acknowledge that the aliens deserve to be treated as people as he learns the truth of their terrible conditions.
The entire point of District 9 is to demonstrate the horrors of xenophobia. The film brilliantly creates empathy with beings that could not look less human, making a pointed connection to how humans are not seen as people. Even though Wikus is a doomed character, his efforts are heroic as he helps the aliens that he once hated in their quest to get home. District 9 was the beginning of Blomkamp’s socially motivated films that have blown audiences away time and time again. Fans can currently watch the film streaming on Hulu.
[ad_2]