Living in harsh, not so healthy conditions within their home and being forced to move by the government for no real reason, the aliens, otherwise known as “prawns” to the human population of Johannesburg, South Africa, in District 9 are similar to the people of Sarajevo who had to endure the harsh conditions of the siege in Welcome to Sarajevo and the Pow Wow Indians who were exploited for their work and forced to leave their home in Pow Wow Highway.
The aliens are used solely for their advanced extraterrestrial weapons like the Pow Wow Indians were exploited for their work and oil. The government wanted full access and complete control of all alien weaponry for their own agenda and did not care at all about the aliens well being. It is just like every other movie about oppression. The government and the military want something from a group of people and decide to use force to get what they want and if anyone objects, they kill them. The aliens were not harming anyone just like the Indians were doing nothing to anyone. In fact, both groups were on government land living their lives. Why the people around them were so upset is beyond comprehension. However, with the public upset and the government wanting something from each group, of course something unjust shall be done upon them. The government will think it is for the better, but in actuality it is more harmful than anything that could benefit the military.
Because the people of Johannesburg, South Africa have an extreme dislike for the aliens, they are all forced to live in a ghetto with trash strewn everywhere and a Nigerian gang controlled by a paralyzed Mumbo trying to buy of the aliens weapons with cat food. The citizens of Sarajevo were trapped within their home because of the siege led by people outside their home. Both groups were isolated and were living in unsuitable conditions. The people of Sarajevo were living in their town with rubble everywhere from the various, random bombings while the aliens were living in literally trash scavenging for food and shelter while trying to survive in a world that did not understand them.
I feel as if I should comment on what I realized while watching the movie. I realized that Wikus was similar to the gays during the Holocaust. At first the gays held military rank and were persecuting the Jews, but soon the tables turned and they were being persecuted as well. Wikus went through the exact same thing. He was in charge of evicting the aliens and bringing them to District 10, but after ingesting an alien chemical and starting to turn into one of the aliens, he is the one being poked, prodded, and experimented on for the military’s benefit. At first he was someone of importance, but once it became known that he had become different from humans and was exhibited signs of the aliens, he became one of them was persecuted just like the aliens.
Otto - Comment on Campbell’s Blog - Equality for All
ReplyDeleteObviously this film takes place in a parallel yet futuristic type universe where aliens end up on earth. It is sad to think that if this day ever came, humans would react in such a way as the characters in District 9, as if we have learned nothing from the history of ultimate human destruction, where we take down ourselves. The genocides that we have discussed through this blog are things that I had heard of, however not gone into detail of what has happened. Even not knowing the details before this class, there was still a line drawn between victims and their oppressors; people may not go into details with their surroundings, but it is important to be knowledgable about such things so as to prevent them from happening again. District 9 puts emphasis on a community of human who were either ignorant, or an example of one who advocates death of those who are different, and puts them into the spotlight as one from this group transforms, literally, into “the other.”