Why District 9 is so important in todays society
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s more to this film than just “here’s aliens, here’s us, here’s how we treat aliens and use their technology” – the end. This movie has a deeper message . . . a much deeper message. This film is going to exploit, indirectly and metaphorically, how we as humans treat other humans and the conditions we live in. There’s really no disputing that the aliens in this film actually represent humans.Whether you know it or not, there’s a lot going on Africa most Western cultures don’t realize or at least want to realize. The conditions in South Africa alone, which is one of the better parts of Africa, are poor. The poverty levels in South Africa are extremely high. There are hundreds of thousands of people living in small shacks. So what better place than South Africa to put a “concentration camp” to oppress this Non-Human race – believe me, its no coincidence Blomkamp picked Africa for his short and for District 9.
Neill Blomkamp grew up in Joburg, South Africa and hes even commented on this very subject by saying:
I was a science-fiction nut when I was growing up in Johannesburg. I just wanted to see that kind of imagery in a third world setting with the complex political history of South Africa.
Not only is poverty a problem in Africa, but slavery is too. From what we can tell and what was released in the Rolling Stone interview the Non-Humans are oppressed and forced into a concentration camp style area and are forced to work. In Africa both slavery and indentured servitude are common, at least to what most people would think possible in the 21st century.
There’s a common belief by Western societies that slavery doesn’t exist anymore. Many Americans think that when Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation in 1861 slavery just ended around the world, or at least died shortly after America declared slavery illegal and inhumane. Of course this isn’t true, and some people are just to ignorant or don’t receive the right education to learn otherwise. The fact of the matter is, this is still a big problem in the world.
Image from the District 9 trailer
I doubt this movie will appear political, but I guarantee it will be (but I don’t expect it to be left or right winged). I doubt this movie will directly come out and say “there’s a problem, here’s what we should do”. I think its slowly going to reveal this message indirectly through sly metaphors and with indirect references to the problems Africa faces.
What do you think about the political and social message of District 9? Leave a comment and maybe I’ll add it to the post!
Posted by Nick Butler. New to the site? Check out the What is D-9 page. Register at the District 9 News forum, which is located at www.MovieViral.com/forum. Follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Excellent article Nick.
I really think District 9 is going to exploit how humans treat each other in the real world with oppression and division, especially that this is set in South Africa. The aliens mean no harm by entering Earth (it seems) but because they are ‘different’ they will be viewed with hate and alert by the people of Joburg and the rest of South Africa. Also as Neil Blomkamp said that South Africa is an ideal setting for this film because it has so much history dating back hundreds of years (slavery, apartheid) it reflects society as a whole.
I think you are partially misreading the movie’s message. While racism is one of them. It has a current message about a current problem in SA. Namely the “Xenophobic attacks”. Black South Africans attacked other black Africans (from other African countries) because they believed they were taking their jobs and homes. They were not discriminated against because they were black, but because they were NOT from South African. These foreigners (from other African countries) were put into refugee camps.
The movie deals with xenophobia (fear of aliens or foreigners).
As a South African, I thought I was at first looking at a documentary about the Xenophobic attacks that took place here. It also has the question of people in any country favouring their own people in times of crisis (like the economic crisis). The alien refugees are not from our planet (country). UK jobs for UK citizens, US jobs for Americans etc etc. It is talking about another form of discrimination other than skin colour.
Xenophobic attacks in South Africa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIZdknSfar4