GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post - District 9 does not have Plot Holes [spoilers] [for people who watched the movie]

livecarlo · 08-26-2009, 11:13 PM

Here's a post I read a couple days ago on a tube site. I still haven't gotten around to seeing this movie.

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Despite this being a science fiction film I would say that unless you are looking for an Independence Day "we beat up some aliens to stop the invasion" then this film is not going to be a right fit.

The director, Neill Blomkamp is a native to South Africa. This film is an extension to his short film "Live in Joburg" (search google video). What this film depicts are events that are in fact hardly fictional. The realism in this story hits close to home. There's a reason for this. Neill decided to tell the story of the Apartheid era in South Africa that lasted from 1948 to 1994. That is a whole lot of years of racial segregation. That's a whole lot of years of racial tension.

What is really great about this film is that it is depicting real life events in a science fiction world. In this film we see Johannesburg dealing with the arrival of aliens who for all intents and purposes are peaceful and want to go home. Yet the government and an outside company MNU do not want this to happen. Because of the species tension of humans and non humans, non humans are segregated into refugee camps that become permanent. The non humans are forced to live in slums. At the end it is shown that they're then going to be made to live in camps or basically a concentration camp.

This film deals with racism on all levels though it would be more apt to label it as "speciesism." We see "speciesism" through ignorance where people who do not understand the non humans fear what they are and what they might do. We see passive "speciesism" which is apparent in many who might not go out of their way to make their beliefs known but would not mind laughing at derogatory jokes, agree quietly with those against non humans etc. Then we see aggressive "speciesism" where people are out spoken about their hatred and some relishing in "dealing" with the non human.

What was great about this was that we see violence, cause and effect on both sides. Both are equally able to commit crimes, violence, etc yet only one side is villified in the media and in the minds of those against the non humans.

What this film does is show or expose our own belief system that we may not necessarily be aware of, especially if we are a passive "speciest" (or racist).

As for discussing the lead role of Wikus; I actually liked that Wikus was still a prick until the end of the film. It quite honestly felt much more real then the sort of "epiphany then the heroic move" that a lot of films do. If anything it probably shows how 99 percent of us would react or what our motives would be. The thing is Hollywood has now made the "epiphany then the heroic move" so commonplace that when the realistic approach (that may in fact aptly portray human behavior) is done and might be actually closer to home base--it feels foreign to us.

I might be reading too much into this but I would like to think that it was written that way to demonstrated the irony that as a human loses his so called "humanity" and becomes more and more alien he is far more "humane" then as a human. It was because of Wikus's lack of change (even when he comes back to help Christopher--I would argue that it was not because some sort of epiphany but the general prickle of one's conscience when one has done something they ought not to do and the fact that one may have possible ruined a chance at being "fixed" ) that made me like the film all the more as it felt much more realistic.

As for Wikus I do think he is the epitome of most racists. Most racists are not the aggressive "wear a white hood" that we think of but rather are the passive aggressive kind that might not stand up for injustices so easily, make derogatory remarks or jokes, believe in the stereotypes surrounding a given person based on race etc. He is a prick to non humans however that's not all who he is. We're reminded of what an ideal husband he is, hard worker etc to basically remind us that like any given human they might have a lot of good about them and yet have this ridiculous bigotry for other people which can in fact kill the sympathy we're supposed to give him. Maybe in fact it was set up this way on purpose. Too many people tend to go "but he was such a nice boy/girl" when they think of people who seemed to be a nice husband (or father, mother, daughter coworker etc) incapable of such hatred. Yet there are countless who fit Wikus's role quite easily. So it should be that even these seemingly nice people need to be reminded of their hatred and bigotry.

So for Wikus we see the ultimate approach to "walk a day in their shoes" as he's now become alien and has now taken up their experiences in a way that he might not have ever understood or cared. Now he has to live their life day by day and deal with the extreme prejudices and especially now that he is another "face" in the crowd.

Then there's the fact that with racism and bigotry there's usually no happy ending as "heroic" moments do not atone for past grievances. Only complete and change and willingness to do away with one's bigotry and work against it could this be the happy ending for the film.

08-26-2009, 11:13 PM
livecarlo Confirmed User Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: // ICQ 560-024-256 Posts: 123	Here's a post I read a couple days ago on a tube site. I still haven't gotten around to seeing this movie. ------------------- Despite this being a science fiction film I would say that unless you are looking for an Independence Day "we beat up some aliens to stop the invasion" then this film is not going to be a right fit. The director, Neill Blomkamp is a native to South Africa. This film is an extension to his short film "Live in Joburg" (search google video). What this film depicts are events that are in fact hardly fictional. The realism in this story hits close to home. There's a reason for this. Neill decided to tell the story of the Apartheid era in South Africa that lasted from 1948 to 1994. That is a whole lot of years of racial segregation. That's a whole lot of years of racial tension. What is really great about this film is that it is depicting real life events in a science fiction world. In this film we see Johannesburg dealing with the arrival of aliens who for all intents and purposes are peaceful and want to go home. Yet the government and an outside company MNU do not want this to happen. Because of the species tension of humans and non humans, non humans are segregated into refugee camps that become permanent. The non humans are forced to live in slums. At the end it is shown that they're then going to be made to live in camps or basically a concentration camp. This film deals with racism on all levels though it would be more apt to label it as "speciesism." We see "speciesism" through ignorance where people who do not understand the non humans fear what they are and what they might do. We see passive "speciesism" which is apparent in many who might not go out of their way to make their beliefs known but would not mind laughing at derogatory jokes, agree quietly with those against non humans etc. Then we see aggressive "speciesism" where people are out spoken about their hatred and some relishing in "dealing" with the non human. What was great about this was that we see violence, cause and effect on both sides. Both are equally able to commit crimes, violence, etc yet only one side is villified in the media and in the minds of those against the non humans. What this film does is show or expose our own belief system that we may not necessarily be aware of, especially if we are a passive "speciest" (or racist). As for discussing the lead role of Wikus; I actually liked that Wikus was still a prick until the end of the film. It quite honestly felt much more real then the sort of "epiphany then the heroic move" that a lot of films do. If anything it probably shows how 99 percent of us would react or what our motives would be. The thing is Hollywood has now made the "epiphany then the heroic move" so commonplace that when the realistic approach (that may in fact aptly portray human behavior) is done and might be actually closer to home base--it feels foreign to us. I might be reading too much into this but I would like to think that it was written that way to demonstrated the irony that as a human loses his so called "humanity" and becomes more and more alien he is far more "humane" then as a human. It was because of Wikus's lack of change (even when he comes back to help Christopher--I would argue that it was not because some sort of epiphany but the general prickle of one's conscience when one has done something they ought not to do and the fact that one may have possible ruined a chance at being "fixed" ) that made me like the film all the more as it felt much more realistic. As for Wikus I do think he is the epitome of most racists. Most racists are not the aggressive "wear a white hood" that we think of but rather are the passive aggressive kind that might not stand up for injustices so easily, make derogatory remarks or jokes, believe in the stereotypes surrounding a given person based on race etc. He is a prick to non humans however that's not all who he is. We're reminded of what an ideal husband he is, hard worker etc to basically remind us that like any given human they might have a lot of good about them and yet have this ridiculous bigotry for other people which can in fact kill the sympathy we're supposed to give him. Maybe in fact it was set up this way on purpose. Too many people tend to go "but he was such a nice boy/girl" when they think of people who seemed to be a nice husband (or father, mother, daughter coworker etc) incapable of such hatred. Yet there are countless who fit Wikus's role quite easily. So it should be that even these seemingly nice people need to be reminded of their hatred and bigotry. So for Wikus we see the ultimate approach to "walk a day in their shoes" as he's now become alien and has now taken up their experiences in a way that he might not have ever understood or cared. Now he has to live their life day by day and deal with the extreme prejudices and especially now that he is another "face" in the crowd. Then there's the fact that with racism and bigotry there's usually no happy ending as "heroic" moments do not atone for past grievances. Only complete and change and willingness to do away with one's bigotry and work against it could this be the happy ending for the film.