08.17.09
Peter Jackson’s District 9
My boys and I just watched District 9. Now that movie combines the types of themes that interest me–social issues (such as class struggles), government issues (such as secret programs and weapons development), personal relationships, alien sci-fi, action with a lot of boom boom, and even a touch of humor. But before I recommend this movie to anyone, I will say there is a “lot” of violence and foul language. There is also a lot of logistical problems–i.e. why the aliens got there, why they didn’t put the humans in their place (so-to-speak) given their superior weaponry and strength, but as far as I’m concerned those problems are not the story, so I’m okay with ignoring those problems. The story was the interaction between the humans and the aliens when they are forced to live with each other. My son, Andrew, pointed out that his studies on Africa really helped him to appreciate this movie more. I couldn’t agree more. I think that’s why I also appreciated the movie because it just fit right in there with my readings on Africa, early colonialization, and racism. The way I saw it was a story of intolerance and misunderstandings resulting in unfortunate circumstances. The rest of the movie was dressed up with sci-fi and action. Essentially, I saw District 9 as a modern-day version of The Watermelon Man, but dealing with a larger scope of beings (aliens and humans) on hyper-drive testosterone.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers on this one, so I’ll just say that I give it two thumbs up “provided” the blood and gore and foul language isn’t an issue for the viewer. I think the story was innovative and used actual concepts of how there is often more than two opposing sides (I was reminded of the warlords in Africa and even China and how there’s always some who will take advantage of the weak). Often there is a web of complications and levels of struggle, and District 9 was an excellent reminder of how in real life things aren’t always so clear as black and white. Today, just as in times past, the answers or solutions to our life’s struggles are not so simple as black and white, but rather are entangled in all sorts of shades in between. Much like our current political system we so loosely refer to as right and left (Republican and Democrat, liberal or conservative), we must realize that there is so much in between.
Marlakins
