District 9 is an action packed science fiction film that deals with morality and ethics.
After watching it a second time I realized that what the human news reporters thought was a "control module" that dropped off the mother ship was really Christopher's ship! It pulled on my heart strings when watching the father & son bond and made me wish I had a kid of my own.
The social commentary was sharp and did not pull any punches, which is probably why it hurt a few people's feelings and ruffled some feathers. Not everyone will like or identify with the main character and if this is a sticking point for you then you may dislike the film because he's not a terribly likable guy.
In regards to the negative comments:
#1. Some wonder why the aliens would allow the humans to boss them around even when they were stronger and had such great technology and weapons. It was mentioned in the movie that the aliens were very docile and easy to command. This is probably because they were "workers" and more akin to insects such as ants and bees than mammals.
It is normal for us to think that aliens would think like us, but this is assuming far too much.
#2. District 9 takes the struggle of the blacks in Africa during the apartheid and turns it on it's head - making the blacks the ones who were being racist and cruel. This has angered some blacks who think that movie makes them look bad, but hey anyone can discriminate against other humans (or species). The main character's name is a very common one among the white oppressors and the Prawn's language has a lot of clicking sounds, much like the Bantu tribes that were victims of the apartheid. There really were signs many years ago saying that blacks were not allowed. This wasn't a clumsy half-hearted attempt at a historical connection as some have asserted.
#3. Some think that the movie makes humans look bad or that the way they behaved was unrealistic. Humans have the capacity to be bad though! If aliens landed on earth and needed our assistance and the whole world was watching, yes we would help them. You know no country would allow themselves to be publicly shown to be heartless. No they would not blow up the ship or attack it, especially without provocation. Once they were on the ground yes, we would quarantine them so that they were separate from the human population. That's only smart and a good safety precaution. Yes, we would monitor them militarily, especially upon first contact as oral communication would be difficult or impossible thus leaving force as the only universal language available. Of course we would build them shanties and not mansions. Is it likely that any humans who lived near the aliens would feel about as comfortable as they would living next to a maximum security prison? Absolutely. Would companies that dealt with weapons be interested in the aliens, sure. Would such companies have the money to push law makers around and put themselves into a favorable position to gather technology? Probably. This isn't a plot hole as previous commenters have suggested. The movie is quite logical and realistic in it's depiction of how humans would react if aliens like the Prawns were found hungry, dying, and in bad shape.
District 9 has an important message - do not judge a book by its cover. Something we all should remember but too often forget.
After watching it a second time I realized that what the human news reporters thought was a "control module" that dropped off the mother ship was really Christopher's ship! It pulled on my heart strings when watching the father & son bond and made me wish I had a kid of my own.
The social commentary was sharp and did not pull any punches, which is probably why it hurt a few people's feelings and ruffled some feathers. Not everyone will like or identify with the main character and if this is a sticking point for you then you may dislike the film because he's not a terribly likable guy.
In regards to the negative comments:
#1. Some wonder why the aliens would allow the humans to boss them around even when they were stronger and had such great technology and weapons. It was mentioned in the movie that the aliens were very docile and easy to command. This is probably because they were "workers" and more akin to insects such as ants and bees than mammals.
It is normal for us to think that aliens would think like us, but this is assuming far too much.
#2. District 9 takes the struggle of the blacks in Africa during the apartheid and turns it on it's head - making the blacks the ones who were being racist and cruel. This has angered some blacks who think that movie makes them look bad, but hey anyone can discriminate against other humans (or species). The main character's name is a very common one among the white oppressors and the Prawn's language has a lot of clicking sounds, much like the Bantu tribes that were victims of the apartheid. There really were signs many years ago saying that blacks were not allowed. This wasn't a clumsy half-hearted attempt at a historical connection as some have asserted.
#3. Some think that the movie makes humans look bad or that the way they behaved was unrealistic. Humans have the capacity to be bad though! If aliens landed on earth and needed our assistance and the whole world was watching, yes we would help them. You know no country would allow themselves to be publicly shown to be heartless. No they would not blow up the ship or attack it, especially without provocation. Once they were on the ground yes, we would quarantine them so that they were separate from the human population. That's only smart and a good safety precaution. Yes, we would monitor them militarily, especially upon first contact as oral communication would be difficult or impossible thus leaving force as the only universal language available. Of course we would build them shanties and not mansions. Is it likely that any humans who lived near the aliens would feel about as comfortable as they would living next to a maximum security prison? Absolutely. Would companies that dealt with weapons be interested in the aliens, sure. Would such companies have the money to push law makers around and put themselves into a favorable position to gather technology? Probably. This isn't a plot hole as previous commenters have suggested. The movie is quite logical and realistic in it's depiction of how humans would react if aliens like the Prawns were found hungry, dying, and in bad shape.
District 9 has an important message - do not judge a book by its cover. Something we all should remember but too often forget.