District 9 Thoughts

District 9 Thoughts
Posted by: Marcus


Truth be told, I don't think that I write about, or speak about, movies very often in this blog, and on my Youtube material. It's mostly been conversation about mixed martial arts and video games, which are both mediums of entertainment for me that stand out amongst the crowd, and I genuinely enjoy. However, there are points where I don't understand myself in regards to conversation, and my neglect of film lately was something I didn't understand, so I decided to do a little thinking about it.

The conclusion that I've come to is that, for the last few years, there really haven't been as many films that have grabbed me in the right way. In fact, most of the movies that have been released in the past few years have been outright garbage. When I decided to look at the top 10 movies of 2009, there were three that I genuinely enjoyed, but only one of them really received any sort of lasting emotion beyond the thought of "that was nice." That movie, surprisingly, was Disney-Pixar's Up, which swiftly became my favorite animated movie behind The Incredibles. However, you look at the other films that get much more attention (films like Twilight, 2012, and Fast and Furious) it seems like a long line of stereotypes and horrible ideas. Truthfully, it seems like the cinema landscape is incredibly lacking in depth. However, there are films out there that are beyond enjoyable, and actually invoke a response from me aside from simply pleasure. A real "steak dinner" of a film, if you will.

That brings me to District 9, which literally hit me like a left hook from Mike Tyson. This film was actually the one film I wanted to see most in 2009, primarily on the merit that I loved the concept of alien refugees on a planet that's become hostile to their presence. Upon renting the movie, I wasn't incredibly excited. However, I found the more that I sat and watched, the more I was in awe of what I was seeing. You see, there are moments when a cinema does more than just entertain the watcher. It seems as if you're witnessing the film from inside the camera lens, and the room around you fades away, achieving what most gamers would call "complete immersion," a term primarily used by people who have played Bioshock.

One of the more pressing themes inside the film is one of xenophobia. Now, there are some that have complained that this part of the movie is by no means subtle, and I agree. However, I also think that's one of the movie's strong points. During the course of the film, it seems that you see both the highs and lows of the human experience. You see love, hate, apathy, rage, and so forth, and are allowed to feel each of them through the character's eyes. In fact, a good amount of these emotions are primarily played through body language, allowing the characters to be defined more by action than words. It seemed to me that the message behind this part of the film is that despite our many advances in society, we humans are a selfish bunch. We want what we want, and we're going to get it, and if you won't give it, we'll simply take it. That ideal is further fueled by the xenophobia of the people involved, and you see all of the extremes because of it.

Another thing that grabbed me was the film's ability to put you in the shoes of the main character, so to speak. Sharlto Copley's performance of Wikus is simply fantastic, but it even further accented by the films ability to let the audience sync with his train of thought through a clever usage of location, lighting, and most importantly the fact that you only know what he knows up to that point. Once the low parts begin to hit the character of Wikus, you're discovering it when he is, without a prior warning, which allows for you to relate to the character. The viewer begins to think "what would I feel if I were in his shoes?" The most interesting part of this is how much of a truly human character Wikus is, and in a science fiction film of all things. In recent memory, this is the only time I can recall a science fiction film attempting such a character and succeeding.

However, despite how well written and acted the character of Wikus is, the one character that the viewer may find himself or herself most attached to is Christopher Johnson, one of the "Prawns" in the film. Though he is the only one in the film to obtain a special amount of characterization, it is incredibly well placed. The most surprising thing about this character is that he is the vessel used to learn the most about these aliens. Johnson, as a character, is unlike any alien that has been highlighted in a major motion picture like this, in the regard that he has no sort of answer to the question that all humans supposedly ask, or has come to Earth to bring new technology or science to humanity. His motivation is simply to take care of his son. That is the beauty of the character. In a situation like the one in this film, he is easily the most humane character in the entire picture, and because of this, he's also the main vessel to help the viewer understand the Prawn as a race.

Now, I think that part of the reason that I may enjoy this film so much is that it seems to agree with me on a subconscious level. I'm an incredibly cynical person in many, many ways (thus the name The Cynic's Corner) and I don't really have a high opinion of humanity and its potential, given our history, thus a film like this makes more sense to me than a film like Star Wars, where humanity is (seemingly) seamlessly integrated into a society with aliens. That's also why I think some of the political undertones of a game like Mass Effect is much more viable in my eyes, where humanity simply lets its xenophobic tendencies shine through. It's simply a part of who we are. We can learn to be different, but it takes time, and I doubt that in 28 years, humans would be incredibly happy with the Prawn, especially after they seemingly haven't given anything back to humanity. Then again, you won't know their motivation until you see the film.

That brings me to my conclusion. When it comes down to it, I think this is a film that any science fiction film fan can, and will, enjoy. It's intelligent, well written, well presented, and all around a simply excellent movie. In fact, I'm anxiously awaiting the day where I can pick this film up on Blu- Ray, sit with a bowl of popcorn, and enjoy it again.