For my artifact, I chose to review the film District 9 directed by Neil Blomkamp and released in the summer of 2009. This film is set in a fictional present time on Earth, where aliens have come to Earth, but have been put in slums and hated by almost all humans, becoming only creatures to be experimented on for weapons and technology.
This movie was fairly intense to watch because it is somewhat reminiscent of how African-Americans were treated by whites back in the 1800’s. The aliens are shunned and treated as lowly, stupid creatures that can be pushed around and made to do whatever the humans want. It is disturbing to see how twisted and evil people can become when given the chance to. Many of the soldiers in District 9 are terribly twisted men who relish any opportunity they can get to brutally destroy the aliens, something that happens many times throughout the film. A main character of the movie, a human, starts to undergo a physical transformation into one of the aliens; when the soldiers see him, they try to kill him, and when the government and scientists find him, they perform cruel and unusual experiments on him, treating him only as another one of the stupid alien creatures. It is a truly terrifying experience to see how messed up we can become. No alien is spared the prejudice and racism that emanates from the humans, not even the children, who are threatened with life in a square-meter box forever.
While watching District 9, I was forced to ask myself a few questions. Are we today, so different from the twisted and evil characters in the film? What would happen if aliens landed on Earth today and events played out like they do in District 9, where the aliens are forced into slums and persecuted by all humans? It was interesting to think over that. It is a question we should ask ourselves, “Are we so different? What would we do?”
Anything to add after watching Amandla!? :)
ReplyDeleteI'd like to push your questions a little bit, Billy, and suggest that this film doesn't just raise "what if..." questions, but critiques very real contemporary issues in which we play a part. Think about the article we read regarding sweat shop labor, for example. How is our attitude toward cheap labor in other countries akin to the attitudes of humans toward aliens in District 9?
Another observation related to empire: there's no authentic love in the ultimate power structures of the empire shown in the film. All human connections are oriented toward the ownership of alien technology (which is why Wikus is treated the way he is when his body begins to transform).
ReplyDeleteYes, this movie is pretty scary and it gives us some food for thought. I like your mention of a wrong treatment of African-Americans in 1800's and your comparing them with aliens. But it is interesting that African-Americans are showed as a criminal gang who despise aliens. This is so provocative to see how the empire works(human empire): people can be against each other, they hate and kill each other, but when they see the threat of the alien strong opponents, they(people) stick together and defend themselves. They are not ready to accept and understand those 'others" because they wanna keep being independent, powerful and control everyone. When there is no any threat, everyone is like an 'individual', but when the danger is coming, they become a community. This is one of the unexplainable characteristics of the human society.
ReplyDelete