District 9

Now granted, I'm a bit of a sci fi nerd. Well, I'm more caught in the middle. Sci Fi purists would think I'm a disgrace, but people who hate any movie with the hint of an alien or supernatural creature think I'm a freak. I liked District 9. There were some peculiarities that bothered me, like how the aliens speak their language, and humans speak English, but they understand each other perfectly. I'll let it slide as I remember back to my early days learning French, when comprehension was so much easier than independent speech. I took the movie as a jab at racism, rather than an alien fight flim. It's no longer socially acceptable in any form of media to express racism against a group of humans for their skin color, religion, sexuality, or appearance in any way. So hey, let's bring aliens down to earth and discriminate against them. The aliens live in slums and are treated as second class citizens. They accept it because they are for some reason unable to get back to their home planet. It's never explained how or why the aliens ended up on earth. If it was at all purposeful or if it was completely an equipment malfunction that stalled their craft over South Africa. As that was never broached in the movie, I chose to see the existence of the aliens on earth as a means to an end. A way to get a life form on the planet, mingling closely to a society, and be able to discriminate against them so drastically and acceptably by everyone. As a viewer of the movie, you can also relate to the discrimination. It's okay, and not just because it's been portrayed smartly in the movie.

The first preview I saw, I thought it was a real documentary of a people in South Africa bemoaning the arrival of another civilization whom they hated. I assumed it was another race or tribe or group of some sort, and I automatically went on guard. Who are they to speak about another group of people like that, simply because they are different?? You become enraged, then realize are talking about aliens, and then it's "okay" I suppose. By disassociating the "aliens", we can examine ourselves as a society. Is that how all forms of racism start? Part ignorance, part human nature? You bring over a slave ship full of people who look different than us, dressed in shabby rags and chained together, is it unreasonable that people started to think of them as less than human simply because they are different? Of course it is. We know that. But every decade or so there is a new group that most of a society decides to discriminate against. You're Irish, you're black, you're Jewish, you're Asian, you're gay, you're fat, you're transgendered. Whatever your "difference" is, it will begin to threaten someone's idea of normal and abnormal is bad. I consider myself to be without any trace of racism. I hate equally. I'm white and Jewish. There are other white Jewish people I dislike. There are a few black people I dislike, and I'm proud to say it has absolutely nothing to do with their race. Gosh, there are so many great reasons to hate people! Why settle for something as silly as their appearance or sexual orientation?! So for a person like me, who is devoid of racism, how can I possibly relate to someone in a movie in a position of power, suppressing a people? Neill Blomkamp found a way! The movie brings "humans" together as one race, one people, one group protection our planet. But is it even our planet? Did we discover earth like Christopher Columbus discovered America? Were these aliens here long before us, and left for a week to go visit their in laws and returned, but a week in space is a few million years here? They leave their planet nice and comfy. Dinosaurs roaming about, and come back and find we have taken over?

I digress. I think in the movie you either sympathize with the aliens or you don't. You either think they are the equal to humans or not. It's fascinating to think like this. To be so confident that you are above racism, and still be torn. This is our planet. You showed up and can't get home, so we'll let you stay. But you can't integrate with us, because we don't know if you are safe and can be trusted. But who are we to determine this? We want a wall between the US and Mexico to keep Mexicans out. Is that much different than what is happening to the aliens in District 9? I think not. I think the movie is a brilliant portrayal of racism in its most basic form, put in a way that anyone can understand.

I recommend this movie for lovers of science fiction, and of unique ways to explore the social conscious.