District 9

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Screenwriters: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell

Cast: Sharlto Copley, Vanessa Haywood

Length: 1h 52min

Synopsis: An intelligent alien race, known as Prawns, landed in South Africa over twenty years ago, and have been stuck on earth ever since. Despite the species’ intelligence and sophistication the aliens find themselves at the mercy of human government supervision, relegated to a small patch of land near Johannesburg called District 9. Subject to prejudice and torturous living conditions the Prawns struggle to survive, but a select few hold out hope for finding a way home. That way home, as it turns out, may only be possible with the help of a government agent who has been accidentally infected with a virus that has made him public enemy number one.

Analysis: The most notable aspect of District 9 is not that the world it creates is so immensely intriguing and multifaceted, but that it utilizes and explores such elaborate material to nearly its fullest extent (or at least as well as only a two-hour running time is capable). From the very beginning we are provided with a deluge of information via pseudo-interviews and newscasts that tell us about what has happened over the previous twenty years, from when the aliens first landed to the present. After being all caught up, we the audience are transformed from being historians into anthropologists. The bulk of the film asks us to view its happenings through this anthropological lens, and as a credit to its bravado demands that not just aliens but humans as well are seen in this way.

Perhaps the most obvious correlation that comes about with such subject matter is race relations, specifically in reference to those between caucasians and African Americans (but not strictly, as Apartheid and Nazis also comes to mind). The relationship shown between the Prawns and humans can be seen as a critical, and/or allegorically historical perspective on how different races and nationalities have treated each other throughout human history. Naturally, then, the issues of land ownership and xenophobia come into play. One can make a strong case, though, that it is the relationship between whites and blacks that proves to be the most readily identifiable example that the film alludes to. For starters, the governing humans are represented as industrialized whites, treating the aliens as animalistic and savage despite their obviously high intelligence and complexity. The humans live in urban and suburban homes while the aliens are forced to leave their mother ship and live in a slum that happens to also be occupied by mercenaries and witchdoctors. The film attempts to supply a diegetically logical reason for this black/white association, which is of course the aliens’ landing in South Africa, but this can be considered weak. But while this connection to white/black history is obvious it is to the film’s credit that it is also hardly overbearing; never distracting or interfering with the plot and its progression.

The other significant issue that the film addresses is man’s obsession with the advancement of its weaponry. When a government agent named Wikus (Copley) becomes infected with a virus that begins to transform him into one of the Prawns, he becomes invaluable to humans because only alien DNA can wield the super-advanced weapons that were confiscated from the Prawns when they first landed. This plot device is not terribly original and was ostensibly created to help give the story flare, but regardless of whether it was simply tacked on or passionately pushed it makes the above mentioned issues more dynamic. For instance, it allows for a widening of the xenophobic issue to include the controversial ideal of racial purity (or in this case, purity of species). Once Wikus is “infected” with alien DNA, his only goal is to reverse its effects and fight the transformation. Meanwhile, all the humans he comes into contact with ostracize him because of his “impurity.”

The richness of District 9’s social commentary, and the skillfulness with which it is expressed, would have been enough to label it as an effective and impressive film, however it achieves an even more accomplished status due to its seamless integration of striking visuals and edge-of-your-seat excitement. The backing of the film’s producer Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) had spoken volumes about this film once word had gotten out about it, and upon viewing it becomes clear why Jackson supports the film’s young director. Blomkamp’s background experience with special effects and documentary filmmaking seems all too convenient and appropriate for this film (not to mention also his familiarity with South Africa), as he shows the enviable ability to combine and balance style and story while keeping either from hogging the spotlight . District 9 is a remarkable effort that goes above and beyond what the typical sci-fi formula requires, and is deserving of long-lasting attention and notoriety.

Rating: 8.5