District 9

Composite Score: 85.68

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Vanessa Haywood, Mandla Gaduka, Eugene Khumbanyiwa, Louis Minnaar, David James, Jason Cope, and Nathalie Boltt

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Writers: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

MPAA Rating: R for bloody violence and pervasive language

Box Office: $210.89 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                District 9 is Neill Blomkamp’s feature adaptation of his short film Alive in Joburg, which follows a government employee who is forced to work alongside the aliens (from outer space) whom he was trying to evict when he becomes infected by their technology. The film stars Sharlto Copley in the lead role of Wikus van de Merwe – the aforementioned government employee – a hapless man whose authority on the eviction raids that kick the film off stems from his marriage to the daughter of his company’s head. The film explores themes surrounding Apartheid, racism, xenophobia, and the malicious intent of multinational weapons companies, earning it more than just box office success as an end-of-summer sci-fi hit. It earned Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects, Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture and has been named as one of the best science fiction films ever made.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                Noble though it may be in its pursuit of portraying the evils of Apartheid, racism, and corporate greed, the film is not without its missteps, particularly in its presentation of the Nigerian “gang” that operates in the alien slum and in its treatment of Wikus as a white savior of sorts. By specifically singling out the African operators in the slum – who practice voodoo-adjacent rituals, eat parts of the aliens, and cheat the aliens to try and attain the ability to operate the alien weaponry – as Nigerian, the film gives the audience an immediate negative connotation with an entire nationality, which seems incredibly counter to the actual message of the film, not to mention the fact that Nigeria contains a conglomeration of various West African people groups within its borders, which means that the film also happens to be monolithing the nationality – something unfortunately too common in modern filmmaking.

                Additionally, while Wikus might not be the most capable protagonist to ever grace the screen, his agency in helping Christopher Johnson (the alien who is trying to return to their mothership) is undeniable, making him at the very least a white co-savior, which again weakens the film’s anti-racist narrative. I do think that it feels very much like the point of the film to showcase that, even when white saviors are present, racism doesn’t inherently end because of the systems and power propping it up as a societal institution. It doesn’t change the fact that Wikus is a white savior, but it makes the usage of the trop a bit more compelling in this particular film.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                For a film that, on its surface, is about aliens living in a slum and a company guy learning his lesson by walking a mile in their proverbial shoes, District 9 contains one of the more grounded depictions of racism in film from the 21st century. As a film shot in the found footage/mockumentary style, the “interviews” that serve as the voiceovers for much of the film provide uncomfortably familiar flippancy toward the dehumanization that is inherent to racist and xenophobic rhetoric. The ease with which the “prawn” epithet gets thrown around in those early minutes combined with statements about the inherent “laziness” and otherness of the aliens feels all to reminiscent of any other racist or xenophobic talking head of the last hundred and fifty years (at least). To then tie that xenophobia back to MNU (Wikus’s company) and the way that it benefits them by allowing them to experiment unchecked on the aliens to try and obtain the use of their weapons to sell on the international market shines one of the strongest lights on the systemic nature of racism in modern capitalism that I’ve seen in a film, particularly one that made over $200 million and was nominated for best picture at the Oscars. By then focusing on the specific racism of Wikus, which he is forced to unlearn through interactions with Christopher and Christopher’s son, and of the mercenary captain Koobus (David James) who refuses to let go of his hatred even in the face of brutal death, the film offers two possible paths for change in racist societies – empathy or violent overthrow. It’s this powerful depiction of the evils of racism/xenophobia at every level that also happens to be packaged in this highly entertaining shoot-em-up of a sci-fi film. How a film this rich had the critical and popular success that it did baffles me in the best way.

                Blomkamp gives his audience a harrying look at racism and xenophobia from the corporate to the individual level, packaged in an easy to watch science fiction action thriller that without a doubt belongs among the Greatest Films of All Time. Some of its tropes and characters and stereotyping might not hold up under close scrutiny, but between the excellent visuals and action sequences and the powerful message at its heart, the film more than overcomes its own shortcomings. You can currently stream it on Hulu if you’d like to check it out for yourself in the coming days.