District 9 (Peter King) (Alien, Christina Ricci, screen, buy)

[annika08]

Originally Posted by xGrendelx

Left and right? I must've missed that. I can only recall maybe 4 times I heard it. One of them being when Christopher said it in his alien language.

I must've missed all of this swearing as well-nothing more than you would hear in any other movie these days.

[annika08]

Originally Posted by JillBoBill

You do realize that most of these questions were answered in the movie, right? If not answered directly, then indirectly by the circumstance.


Why did they crash land, why were they starving? They didn't crash land, they hovered. And they were locked in a section of their ship - the aliens that ran the show are said to have died. We presume it was from a sickness, but no one really knows. The aliens that are left are 'workers' (think ants or bees) and aren't organized enough to take initiative and fend for themselves. Also, a piece of their ship fell off - rendering it unusable. How long do you think a group of a million+ can survive on a boat, for example, before they run out of food?


Why do the aliens like cat food, is this a joke? Why are they trading a alien robot for 100 cans of cat food. They just like it - it's like crack. They're aliens, what do you expect? I bet they'd like dog food, too. They explained this in the movie. Later, they mention how the aliens have no concept of land ownership (think native americans selling Manhattan for a handful of beads, whatever). Why do crackheads sell their cars, houses or whatever else for drugs? Think of it in reverse - if you traveled to another planet that had never seen a Zippo lighter and they're offering you something you desperately love/craze in return for the lighter, you'd hand it over. No questions asked. Because it's simple and common to you, but not to them.


The humans response to the aliens - not really believable they were so inhumane I mean look at how people treat cats/dogs/whales etc. This would never happen. Uh, duh... Look at how people treat cats/dogs/whales, ect. It's the same thing. Some people treat them nicely, some don't. Some people beat dogs, eat cats, vivisect monkies, shoot whales with harpoons, ect. These men we seeing dealing with them are used to them, they deal with them everyday and see them as more of a hassle and a problem than as people. Look at the way they did or didn't use their 'names'. This point here is one of the main 'issues' in the film. How WOULD we treat aliens, especially crude, mostly helpless and 'stupid' ones. Also, there were some scenes that showed people with signs protesting their abuse ('We <3 Prauns' or whatever). And the men ARE concerned with how people will view violence against them (this is talked about when they're issuing evictions), so there is the tension to be humane in the public eye, but at the same time there's a complete disrespect.

What are Nigerian terrorists doing in the alien slum? How are they there? Making money! Here are people they can push around and take advantage of -- and all for what? A few cans of cat food and some cow heads. Think of all the cool things they got out of it: weapons, robot suits, sex (apparently?), money, ect. Why WOUDLN'T they be there?


More importantly, I was asking WHY the human turned into a praun and what about that fluid made that happen. That to me (that the same fluid that mutated him can also power / allow interface with their space ship) seemed the biggest snag.

Excellent response-tried to rep you.

[Bostonian08]

Originally Posted by hartford_renter

The plot itself made absolutely no sense - there are aliens obviously with extremely advanced technology and for some reason they are relegated to this slum. Why did they crash land, why were they starving?

What are Nigerian terrorists doing in the alien slum? How are they there?

Yeah you missed the point here. I got it, no one else seems to have brought it out. There are many subtle points.

The aliens are just like humans - there are millions and millions that are just plain stupid, just like humans. Just like humans, many are bad mannered, rude, gross, obnoxious.

The flyover scene in the beginning showing District 9 from the air could well have been Soweto for real.



They brought out the horror of life in such a place as a brilliant metaphor in this movie. If conditions there shocked you at all, well they ought to, and it should shock you worse to know that actual humans really live in such circumstances all around the world. The Favelas of Rio de J is another such example.



I guess any group of people confined to such horrendous conditions inevitably deteriorate as a society. On the other hand, the behavior exhibited by the aliens and perhaps by the human counterparts in the real world may indeed be a factor if not the factor for their social condition. I'm sure it's some of both. I guess the shocking truth is that such horrors do exist - be it the personal horror found in the world of the demented mind that aspires no higher than the ghetto or the demented society we live in that breeds monsters by confining good and worthy living beings to places far worse than any US prison that I have been to.

The gangsters (Nigerian in this case) are of course a real entity in Africa. All over Africa there are such ruthless gangs that sometimes grow into the the size of armies. Nigeria is in reality presently overrun by just these sort of gangs. The slaughter of the Tootsies by the Hutus in Rwanda as brilliantly shown in the movie Hotel Rwanda is another such example. What's left of the Hutus are still in business now calling themselves the Interahamwe. Watch the Locked Up Abroad Uganda Episode to see how bad bad can be.

City of God is a brilliant portrait of life in the Favelas that is the far more to the point depiction of life in the shantytown world that District 9 metaphors. A brilliant film that is a must see for anyone who appreciated the metaphor portrayed in District 9. Hotel Rwanda and City of Joy (Calcutta slums) are also must sees if you want true insight into the world's most brutal places.

D9 showed all the good bad ingenious sweet stupid gross reality of true ghetto life. That was the genius of it. It lured us to Soweto under the guise of Sci-Fi to illuminate some ugly truths about our sick world. I guess that's good for those who never knew.

I personally have all too much knowledge of the ghetto. If I need more I want to real deal like City of Joy. For my SciFi, I much prefer seeing Will Smith punch a stupid fascist alien any day!

Personally, I think the movie Knowing is a far more likely scenario for extraterrestrial visitation than D9. On the day we are to destroy ourselves or be destroyed by a higher power, some much higher beings than ourselves might just come down and grab up a few of us and repopulate us somewhere else to preserve our species just as we might move goldfish to a fresh tank. face it people - as a species we are about as clueful as goldfish - perhaps less so. At least goldfish don't kill each other.

I think of humanity as like a colony of termites. All our endevours combined really amount to no more than building a tall of mud. Higher beings walk by our society with varying degrees of mild curiosity, disinterest, disdain, contempt or utter disregard. As surely as any one of us would completely wipe out the entire collective efforts, livelihood and social history of an anthill without a second thought, one can be sure that those in the universe who have the knowledge of the eons see us in just such a manner and and will just as casually either swat us down or put us on a new gerbil wheel with only the least of consideration. Frankly I believe as a species we'd be considered more pest than pet.

[FlashM]

District 9 is a masterpiece. Awesome movie.

[AlexTx]

Originally Posted by xGrendelx

Left and right? I must've missed that. I can only recall maybe 4 times I heard it. One of them being when Christopher said it in his alien language.

It was quite a bit during some of the scenes. And when they would say it, they said it 10 times in a row. Now normally I would not notice because I'm pretty much immune to it in movies. But, there was a girl that couldn't have been over 10 years old sitting by us and when I see kids in a R rated movie, I notice all the R rated material so much more.

The movie is Rated R for bloody violence and pervasive language.

[danameless]

I thought the movie was pretty good and had a strong, yet subtle message behind it. Great job by a first time director IMO.

There was a reason the movie was filmed in South Africa, to deliver a message of aparteid that has existed over there. Slums exist all over the world. Even those kids from the Slumdog Millionaire movie lived in modern day slums in India. There are many people who are blind that these living environments exist in other parts of the world.

Everything in the movie represents what happens in our modern day. Aliens trading weapons for cat food? How many people in poor areas trade whatever they have for food to feed their families? How is this different from pawn shops that give $20 for a diamond ring so someone can eat for the rest of the week? The fact that it's cat food is irrelevant, it could be dishwashing fluid for all it matters.

Humans discriminate all the time in today's world. The way they treated the aliens is a representation of that. They called them "Prawns" because they said that is what they look like. How many names do we call people from other nationalities/backgrounds? We call each other names every day and there is hatred against those who are different, but yet we are all human. The way humans treated the aliens in the movie is no different than how we treat each other today.

I thought the violent was a little over the top. I can see it was needed at times, but a little extreme at others. The language is fine with me. I have cursed before when I get a papercut, so I can imagine how much I would curse if I had someone shooting at me.

[danameless]

Originally Posted by JillBoBill

Also, a piece of their ship fell off - rendering it unusable.

I think that "piece" that fell off was actually the smaller ship that Christopher was hiding under his shack and used to get back to the mothership at the end. The humans said they tried to find it, but could not because it was underground in the slums.

My prediction for District 10?
3 years later - Christopher will keep his promise and come back to change Wikus back to a human. However, he will bring help for his people and declare war on humans for how we treated their kind - and Wikus will be the only chance for peace between humans and aliens. Man, I should be a screenwriter...

[FlashM]

I'd like to add. Don't read into the movie. It's not right to state only people were guilty. All the characters (people, aliens, the main character) have their fault in all that mess. The key idea is nobody was perfect!
Besides, while it has a distinct hint at apartheid it's not only about apartheid. It concerns more global and local issues. Take a look around you and you'll see lots of aliens. Are these aliens you see everyday in real life dangerous to you? I don't know. The decision is up to you. So I see the director wanted to say us, "The decision is up to you".

[Mr. Opinion]

The movie was awesome!!

My one comment is.

If Aliens come to visit Earth and they want to leave. Let them go!!

[PurpleLove08]

Originally Posted by JillBoBill

Wouldn't it be less expensive to just buy the DVD? How much is it rent a movie these days, anyways?

I have Netflix. A trip to Hollywood video would probably be about $4. Who knows, maybe the local library will buy a copy of it and that's free.