Prawns: that's the deragotory term for the aliens in the movie District 9, and it is the word that sets up the relationships between the visitors and the humans. This is perhaps one of the most original and thought provoking science fiction films in quite a while.
The aliens take refuge above the skies of Johannesburg, South Africa, though it is not exactly clear why. What does matter however, is the fact that the aliens are in dire need of resources. They are malnourished, weak and most importantly to the humans, have advanced weaponry. So we leave it to the good citizens of the human race to help out these poor fellows, give them a temporary home and welcome them with open arms as we would do with anyone in need of help. Or so it seems.
This idea is the entire point of the film. If visitors who are just as physically capable as we were asking for our help, would we offer it? Not since Planet of the Apes have we been presented with a film of thinly vieled commentary about human nature that asks the big questions of who we are. Realistically speaking, would we want to take advantage of these poor souls in order to create more advanced weapons? It's the kind of questions that all good science fiction films should try and explore, the deeper darker aspects of our humanity.
Wikus van der Merwe is the dorky and naive human character that the film follows. We see through his eyes how the treatment of the "Prawns" is just another day in the life of Jo'burg citizens. They're here, and we want them out and he's as guilty as the next man when we see his prejudices against them, whether it was an innoncent thought or one of hate. It's not until he accidentally opens an alien canister that he's exposed to some liquid that slowly turns him into one of the aliens. Of course the physical change makes him a target of the government who want to take advantage of the weapons that the aliens have (humans can't use them since the weapons are activated by some DNA recognition technology) and so the hunt begins. We see how the innocently prejudiced are often blinded by societal norms that they fail to see what is clearly in front of them, the mistreatment of others. Perhaps the most human of characters in the film turns out to be the aliens. "Christoper Johnson", as the alien is so called named, wants only to return his people home and live in piece, in no part due to the spectacular special effects that make his body language speak volumes about his emotions. "Chris" is never vicious, and the film certainly gives you room to root for him and his goals.
Even though I throughly enjoyed this movie, it's not without some problems. Why were the aliens there in the first place? Why did they have to land on Earth?
Spoilers
And perhaps glaringly, how the hell did Chris Johnson manage to escape on the ship when the Aliens could've packed up and leave in the first place? What the hell was the point in jettisoning the command module to District 9 when they could've kept it on the mother ship and left Earth a long time ago?
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It's bloody and violent too, and more importantly, when someone like a prawn is shot dead in cold blood, it rattles you. I've never felt more uncomfortable seeing a computer creation shot dead, and this is the point of the movie, humans can show great compassion but they can also be very cruel.
I can't help but think about our own problems with people when I saw this movie. Time and time again, we see this in various societies around the world, the fear of what's different, the change in our lifestyles, the want for the status quo to remain just that. Damned if I didn't think how people still treat outsiders these days, and it's just sad. Look at the problems in America alone: Illegal immigrants are condemned by some because they are "taking advantage of the system and creating less jobs for the citizens" despite the fact that most of the country does run (unfortunatley) on their cheap labour. Or how some Americans won't give gay couples the same rights as married ones, an entirely big issue all together (I won't go into detail about this but fuck, it's only rights they're asking for, what does "family" have to do with anything?) It's all scare tactics that in order to keep the big dogs in power.
District 9 is certainly going to be one of those rare sci-fi movies that only comes along once in a haley's comet. It's entertaining, smart, allegorical, and thought provoking. I would be glad to say that this film is the Planet of the Apes of this generation. I only wish that hollywood grew some balls and make more movies like this.
5/5
Really go see this! Get up off your asses and spend 2 hours with this jewel of a movie. Better than all the other shit like Wolverine, Transformers and GI Joe.
