District 9

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District 9 in which the aliens, derogatorily referred to as “Prawns”, are forced to take refuge in. After years of refuge, the South African government hires MNU, a private military company, to evict the aliens from their current “home” in District 9 and relocate them to the New District 10; a glori?ed concentration camp. We are then introduced to Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), an employee of MNU who is given the task of serving eviction notices to each and every Prawn. Wikus takes us into District 9 in which we observe the ?lthy, unbearable living conditions of the slum and the disgusting, vile behaviour of the Prawns. We, as viewers, immediately side with the humans and despise the “Others” which was precisely the intention of Peter Jackson when producing the ?rst half...

The aliens encountered in District 9 (Blomkamp 2009) are treated with the same level of distain and indifference usually reserved for refugees and ethnic minorities. While the majority of “alien ...

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but required, in order to conform to the charity that the rest of the world expected of South Africa. This parallels quite readily to the Apartheid era, which received enormous public scrutiny and criticism. What the nation expected was “music from the heavens and bright shining lights”. What they got was a population of unhealthy, aimless creatures, physically revolting and openly hostile to humanity’s self-appointed ambassadors.

What follows this “first contact” is a series of conscious and unconscious processes to oppress and debase the alien populace. First and foremost is the term used to describe the aliens – “Prawn”. This name not only refers to their disfigurement, but ...

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