Shaw: Power and Humanity in District 9

I was really excited when I saw that we were going to watch District 9 because when I initially saw it in theaters I was very confused by the movie. I could see the clear connections to apartheid especially given the film's setting in South Africa. It was very interesting to watch it again with the perspective after taking this class. In watching it this time it was very clear the ways in which the humans systematically discriminated against the aliens and forced them into ghettos.

Since the oppressed in District 9 are literally aliens, it is much easier to see how they can be discriminated against. The use of aliens as the victim was also very interesting because in films, humans are most frequently the victims. It made me think about how we depict "other" and how power is the basis for any victim/oppressor relationship. While we commonly think of aliens as being the definitive "other" this is only because we assume their knowledge and technology is far more sophisticated than our own. In District 9, with the aliens lacking power, the humans are able to subjugate them and subject them to terrible treatment.  They are so clearly different from the humans due to physical appearance and culture, which makes it even easier for the humans to control them. Also, a technique that is frequently employed in genocides is trying to make the oppressed seem less than human which is much easier because the victims in District 9 literally are not human. However, Wikus' experience in the alien culture provides a unique insight that we rarely see when studying genocide. Being able to straddle the two sides of victim and oppressor, Wikus is able to see his original perspective and understand the alien's as well. It reminded me of the situation in The Pianist when the German officer finds Szpilman and spares his life. It's through Wikus' transformation that he begins to understand the aliens and how similar they really are. Through these interactions he sees the family dynamics and the culture of the aliens that he recognizes as being not entirely like his own life.

Overall, it was a very unique portrayal of the ways that people are systematically excluded and when that occurs, the potential for that to evolve into a very terrible situation.  I was also reminded of Schindler's List because Wikus was able to use his power and status as a human to try to help Christopher. 

Dacula - Looking Beyond the Surface

District 9, a film meant to depict a fictitious period of apartheid, has proved to be an excellent way to end this course on holocausts throughout history and from different lenses, real or fiction. The film centers on the main character Wikus, who becomes infected by alien DNA after taking it upon himself to test alien technology found in an alien’s home. From this point onward, as his infection gradually spreads, Wikus is referred to as a “prawn.” A private military company called Multinational United (MNU) proceeds to conduct a number of tests on him that bring Wikus to the realization that the severity of his infection is greater than he thought. For example, in one of MNU’s tests, it is discovered that Wikus’ new hand has the ability to use alien weapons. To test this, MNU uses  a random “prawn” as Wikus’ aim. The random prawn is marked with an “X” for Wikus to shoot, and from seeing Wikus we see that he is afraid of the MNU and their questionable tests. From this scene onward we see that the MNU becomes the central antagonist of the film and the instigator of future violence. A subplot exists within the film as well in which the character Smit, Wikus’ father-in-law, announces to the press that Wikus has contracted an alien STD from having sexual relations with one of the “prawns.” Quite obviously, we realize that this is not the case, but because of this declaration, Wikus’ wife must struggle with two things about her husband throughout the film: (1) to deal with the fact of her husband’s deformities and (2) to wonder whether or not her father is telling the truth. Wikus pleads with his wife to “please not give up” him and begs her to believe her husband over her father.

One connection that exists between this movie and the theme of victim vs. victimizer/oppressor vs. oppressed that we have studied throughout this course is seen through the depiction of a member of the victimizing group becoming the victim. By Wikus’ infection, he is able to learn that the groups he is so adamant against are not all inferior to each other. The victims of the Holocaust and other genocides we have learned about did contain these types of people, but their numbers were few in comparison to the vast majority of victims of these crimes against humanity. We see a unique situation come into play through this film: that oppressors can easily become the oppressed and vice versa in an instant.

The film makes a significant note of the fact that some groups of people can be easily neglected and not recognized as human beings as well. Obviously, this message is not as clear-cut in the movie: the aliens are definitely not creatures who look like us. But through other elements, we see apartheid into play and prejudice that stems from the humans seeing the aliens as rightfully ostracized because they look different, speak a strange language, and do not act out in ways similar to us. However, these aliens find similarities to the humans in that they have an understanding of family. They know and have to the ability to feel the most intense emotions we selfishly attribute to ourselves as human: pain, joy, anger. We see in this futuristic society that the only thing separating the aliens from the humans is the fact that their culture and appearance are different. And in this sense, District 9 becomes an excellent choice to learn and understand the injustice, the utter injustice that stems from the most violent forms of hatred in history. 

Pauli - District 9: NOT HUMAN NOT WELCOME

District 9, directed and written by Neill Blomkamp is the perfect example of genocide! Blomkamp uses the examples of real aliens, that almost no one is likely to relate to in the audience. However, the twist of fate takes a human and transforms him into an alien which whom the audience will be able to sympathize with. 

For over twenty years an alien spaceship has been hovering over the South African city, Johannesburg. Its 

stranded alien occupants have since been living in slum conditions in a militarized camp, District 9. Tensions between the human and alien population are running thin so the private company Multi-National United (MNU), who have a commercial interest in harnessing the alien technology for weaponry, are sent in to relocate the aliens. The mass eviction campaign is lead by Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a bureaucrat who, like most humans, refers to the aliens as ‘prawns’. However, when Wikus becomes exposed to a black fluid he finds in one of the slum houses he finds himself undergoing a genetic transformation. Now hunted by the MNU military division and the slum criminals, Wikus has nowhere else to hide but within District 9. Wikus is forced to hide and no one will help him other than the aliens. Even his own wife is torn between the lies. 

     Wikus is an unlikely hero as he is selfish, cowardly and prejudiced. However, he is nevertheless identifiable and not beyond redemption. After being among the aliens, Wikus comes to realize that the aliens are not lacking cognition skills and even grieve when a member of their family is loss. Due to his transformation, Wikus is able to relate to the aliens and empathize with their situation and how they have been treated by humans. 

    District 9 does a terrific job at exposing the ignorance and cruelty of human beings. The aliens have a different appearance and are not understood by humans. The only thing humans have an interest in is their weapons, which probably enticed humans to keep them alive as long as they did. Of course, humans do not care about the conditions they live in or if they separate them from the rest of society. It was obvious that they did not pose a threat to humans unless seriously provoked. The aliens could have used their weapons on the human population but chose not to despite how cruel they were treated. 

    District 9 has many parallels to the history of genocide. For example, similarly to the Jews in Germany, the aliens were forced to live outside of the city walls. Jews were placed in ghettos just like the Indians were placed on reservations. In South Africa during the Apartheid the groups of Africans, Caucasians, and Indians were separated and forced to live in different places. Some of which were slums. One thing genocide has displayed is that in order for it to be successful, one must separate individuals from the "norm." Just like the different terminology, victims must be separated. For instance, Jews had to be labeled with a gold star, homosexuals had to identified with a pink triangle, Hutus and Tutsis had to carry identification cards, etc. Tutsis were called cockroaches and Jewish people were referred to as subhuman. In The Pianist, Jewish men, women, and children were forced by law to be in their homes at a certain time, they could not go into certain places, and they were not allowed to own things. In District 9, the aliens are being forced to evacuate their current slum area. In one scene Wikus tells the alien that if he does not sign his form and move he will take his child because he is living in bad conditions. Wikus manipulates the law to get what he wants. Another similarity in District 9 is the media. Wikus is exposed through television and the radio of having sexual interactions with aliens, which makes him someone an individual cannot relate to. In Hotel Rwanda, the hutus use the radio as a means of spreading false information about the Tutsis and dehumanizing them by declaring them cockroaches. 

    In Bent, Max constantly switches from victimizer to victim and back again. Max victimizes his roommate Rudy and participates in killing him. However, Max himself is a victim of the war. There is a lot of variation. In District 9, Wikus is seen as weak and can arguably be seen as a victim of his society. However, Wikus victimizes the aliens until he is slowly turns into one. Then, Wikus becomes the victim and is forced to flee. Similar to the Wannsee Conference, the military in District 9 does not try to understand the aliens but goes directly into declaring an idea on how to get rid of them. For the Jewish people in the Wannsee Conference, it was their extermination at the concentration camps. In District 9 is was moving them out of the area. Something scary and important to notice is the way no one questions what they are doing besides Wikus. Similar to C.P. Taylor's Good, the characters in District 9 do not even notice the damage they are doing. Hadler in Good does not even notice his transformation and condemnation of his only and best friend Maurice. Wikus is automatically assumed good use for studying and the question of killing their fellow employee/friend/son-in-law is not even questioned. 

I think District 9 was a great film to sum up what we have been learning!

  

Cardon - District 9

The story of District 9, directed by Neill Blomkamp, shows significant correlation between the historical genocides of the Jewish population during Nazi Germany and that of the African Apartheid. It takes a unique approach on the issue by incorporating a completely distinct species from another planet juxtaposed with the already conflicted human race. The alien spacecraft lands over Johannesburg in South Africa, filled with the emaciated foreign population. The government sets up a camp for the “prawns”, a derogatory name in reference to their unattractive shell appearance. They fabricated the idea of their threat to humanity as a reason for their isolation. This is much like the rationality for the concentration camps developed for the Jewish. We see how the aspect of business and power comes into play as the military sees the value in the aliens advanced weaponry. They want to extract this intelligence by any means whatsoever, regardless of the cruel torture inflicted on the prawns. This is similar to the experiments and persecution the Jewish faced since they too were seen as less than human.

Soon the camp turns into an overcrowded slum in which the prawns are forced to reside in squalor. The government makes a new agenda to move the prawns into a new location, designated District 10, under the pretense that it will be in the best interest of prawns. The task of organizing this façade to make the prawns appear willing is assigned to an official named Wikus van de Merwe. In this way, it will seem like a more humane and lawful solution to the issue of how to handle treatment of the Prawns. Wikus’s character comes off as somewhat frivolous and unaware of the true nature of the plight of the Prawns as well as the consequences of his intended actions. He soon finds himself relying on one of the members of the group after being infected with an unknown substance. As his is DNA slowly starts mutating him into the creature he once looked down upon, he begins to find himself in the midst of an awakening upon which he discovers their interrelatedness. His role takes on a similarity to that of Schindler and Clive Owen’s character in Bent, making the transformation from aversion into compassion and even identification with the Stranger or other. They as well as Don Cheadle’s character use their leadership roles as means of bringing salvation to the group they once worked to eliminate. Schindler’s attitude was apathetic at first and was just happy to have the Jews in his factories to make money. After time and interaction with the Jews, Schindler’s attitude changes and he realizes he needs to help/aid in their survival. We even see this compassion in little Bruno from The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Even though Bruno wasn’t aware of the immensity of his friend’s situation and his father’s role in it, he was able to empathize with his friend because he “lost” his father. Some of the characters we have viewed this semester were forced into understanding the stranger’s position and others came to the understanding on their own. The important thing is that they came to the realization. The route to the realization is important and significant but the ultimate goal is being able to understand someone else’s suffering.

Fuhrer: District 9

District 9 is very different from the other genocide and apartheid movies we’ve watched. No longer is it a conflict between two human groups instead the group in question is not even from planet Earth. They are extra terrestrial beings that are left stranded in South Africa after their space ship mysteriously breaks down right above the center of Johannesburg. What comes after though is nothing new when compared to the historical treatment of one human group against another opposing outsider or “Alien” group. The treatment of these aliens or “Prawns” as they are dubbed in the movie share the same elements of cruelty and dehumanization witnessed in almost every other instance of genocide.

The movie itself is depicted as an allegory for the South African Apartheid that segregated the population of South Africa in to three races; White (Afrikaans), Colored (Mixed blood or any non-white person who wasn’t Black) and Blacks (The ethnically African people). Although it’s not a movie We have looked at for this class I recently watched a movie called “Skin” which tells the real life story of Sandra Laing a girl born with dark skin and African features during the South African apartheid to White Afrikaans parents.

The brutal onslaught of racism and discrimination She had to endure due to this was shocking!  The movie highlights very clearly the three different racial profiles and hierarchy similar to the way the article “Apartheid in South Africa, A forum” by Carol Thompson does. In both cases the wide poverty margin between Blacks and Whites due to South African Industry being completely dominated by White ownership makes it so that while Black South Africans make up about 2/3 rds. of the work force they will still make eight times less than a White South African.

Moving on, the director of District 9 Neil Blompkamp being of South African decent himself and having lived in the country during Apartheid wanted to use the vehicle of Science fiction as social protest against the South African apartheid but also to draw parallels with all the other instances of apartheid, persecution, discrimination and genocide that have taken place all over the world.

 For example, what are the aliens referred to? Prawns because they resemble crustaceans and are considered bottom feeders. Humans eat prawns in abundance. They are harvested by the millions and by referring to them in this way not only becomes derogatory but makes one consider the aliens as nothing but large prawns devoid of any intellect or emotions. Such tactics of referring to groups as pests or things of an expendable nature can be seen in Hotel Rwanda where the Hutus refer to the Tutsis as cockroaches and how the Nazis referred to the Jews as vermin. Thus robbing them of their rights as humans becomes the first stepping stone to Genocide. This shows itself in District 9 where the humans think nothing of dissecting the aliens or even Vikus who was still part human and begging them not to do it. This complete disregard of  life (human or otherwise) is an echo of the experiments carried out by Nazi doctors on Jews, homosexuals, invalids and anyone else they believed to be undesirable.

Another parallel that needs to be mentioned is the isolation of the prawns from the rest of society. Segregation is naturally a form of this but more specifically as is shown in the film the prawns are rounded up and put in to more or less slum type housing where they are heavily guarded and not allowed to leave. This act of isolation can be seen in almost every movie we have watched. In the Pianist and Schindler’s list the Jews are rounded up and put into ghettos. In Pow Wow highway (and the history of Native American culture) the Native Americans are put in reservations where they cannot hope for a particularly good quality of life even in the siege of Sarajevo, The Serbs isolated Sarajevo from the rest of Yugoslavia in order to starve them out and gain control of the city.

 In the article “Shelling, sniping and Starvation: The law of Armed conflict and the lessons of the Siege in Sarajevo” The Serbs military tactics are completely explained. Their success relied heavily on technological advancements specifically in military weaponry. This concept is seen in District 9 where the humans dominate the prawns through the use of guns. They are also desperate to get their hands on the aliens weaponry because they know that if they acquire it they will be unstoppable. Such faith in technological superiority is not uncommon as similar tactics were used in dealing with Native Americans, as it was the acquiring of guns that allowed the settlers to take their own land away from Native Americans.

Asmussen - District 9

District 9 is a movie that is supposed to show apartheid in South Africa and also show how genocide starts and is carried out. The aliens represent the unwanted minority, forced to live in confined spaces with no where to go. They are not integrated into society and therefore begin to act out. The aliens were identified as an enemy to the South African people because they were a minority that was easily identified. This is similar to what is described in the article “Native American Genocide.” Native Americans were a minority in their society and because they were easily identified by their features and therefore negative stereotypes developed quickly. They were excluded from society and therefore lived in poor conditions just like the aliens in Sector 9.

The exclusion of the aliens that occurs in the movie is similar to that in the ghettos seen in the movie “The Pianist.” They are separated from the rest of mankind and made to live in slums. They are forced to break laws and steal in order to survive. It is much like the ghetto because the rest of society thinks it is acceptable to confine these people to horrible condition and small places because it is easy for them. Unlike in the article “The Fate of Raul Wallenberg,” there seems to be no one that wants to help the aliens. No one will risk their lives to help them because they feel it isn’t worth it. They don’t seem them as other living creatures and thats why it is so easy for the military to kill them. At one point in the movie, a military man even says that he loves his job of killing “prawns.”

The systematic extermination of the aliens is similar to that seen in the movie, “Schindler’s List.” While it seems that the MNU doesn’t mean to exterminate the aliens at first, it seems easy for them to do once it starts. It also seems like the rest of the population is not quite aware of all that is going on. This is similar to the Nazi extermination of Jews. Many were not aware, or pretended not to know how they were being killed off. However, all that matter in the end is that it did happen and it was allowed to happen. No one stood up for the aliens because society had labeled them as being unwanted.

Coulter-District 9

District 9 is a very different type of genocide story than those we have looked at this semester. Besides the fact that it deals with aliens from outer space it also has to do with an integration of human into alien. This is similar to when in Europa Europa the boy tries to tie his foreskin up to make himself look uncircumcised. But just to add a sense of further alienation to the Prawn in the film they also had the side of their heads painted to show where they belonged in the camp, just like the pink triangles and stars were put onto people form the article by Micheler. This definition and redefinition of the type of prawn, where they belong by label, and movement from place to place is also like the Jews that were in the Ghetto. And just like Szpilman from the pianist those that could prove a talent or provide something desired, like the prawn with the suit, are given a sort of reward. This film also deals with urban, or Ghetto conflict, and here to it is redefined with the alien weapons just like it was in the siege of Sarajevo as detailed in the article by Riordan.

In the film at first the people of Johannesburg try to integrate the Prawn within the society but as one of the men interviewed says, "The Prawn have a different sense of fun than we do. Fun to one of them might be to burn down a building, or kill someone." This leads to the establishment of District 9, in order to separate those dangerous types away form the main populous. This seamed odd to me because it seemed that the Wikus and the other men understood what the Prawn were saying, and vice versa. So if communication was possible then weren't the Prawn smart enough to learn proper behavior, I mean they were smart enough to make guns out of trash. What really seams to be happening is similar to the myths that were started about the Jews leading up to the Holocaust, that they could hypnotize women into sleeping with them, or men into giving away their money, that they controlled the banks, and so on and so on. The reality of the situation was that the Prawn were smart and strong so therefore a threat, and they had to be put into their place so that what they had could try to be exploited.

However the part of the film that interested me the most and is something that we haven't really touched on much in this class is the experimentation. In district nine they take Wikus down into an area were they are experimenting with alien weapons, on Prawn bodies, and even bring out a live Prawn to make sure that the weapons work on them. This is very similar to what the Nazi scientist did to the Jews during the Holocaust. The disturbing fact is that modern doctors know more about the effects of hypothermia because of result of tests that where done on live Jews to see what happened to a person when they were put into freezing water. The ethical conundrum to these results is great do you use the information gained by torture in order to save new live, or do you bury the results because they were gained from horrible methods and murder. Apparently to the government it was worth the torture of one man to unlock the secrets of District 9.