Comments on: Allegorical Landmines: Aliens & Race in ‘District 9′ http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/08/31/allegorical-landmines-aliens-race-in-district-9/ A civil rights blog promoting informed discourse on issues of race, justice, equality and democracy. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:01:03 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Michael G. Kramer http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/08/31/allegorical-landmines-aliens-race-in-district-9/comment-page-1/#comment-1653 Michael G. Kramer Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:33:46 +0000 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=10176#comment-1653 I regard District 9 as an affirmation of motion pictures as a worthy segment of the humanities. It is a film,exciting,unpredictable and satisfying on first encounter, yet filled with deeply human values and moral conversation, optimism and much subtle literary convention of a religious and historical character. First, I believe the racial, social commentary of the film is obvious and well appreciated by any casual viewer, these issues reflect known problems in South Africa and are anything but mysterious or subtle nor need they be. I regard this material as the canvas upon which the deeper story of the film is played out. In early times authors used allegory rather clearly to produce lessons of a religious and moral nature in ways which the reader (or viewer) can absorb comfortably without feeling preached to. Nowadays writers and film makers incorporaate Allegory (usually christian allegory but often other themes) to lend texture, weight and a moral or sometimes amoral flavor in addition to the direct presentation. Obvious religious allegory films for example are "The day the Earth Stood Still" "Eddie and the Cruisers" "The year of living Dangerously" "ET" and there are many more. Use of these ideas can be artful, interesting, fun, pretentious, stupid and worst of all added baggage to a bad film to begin with. In the case of District 9 it is my view that the main story of the transformation of the central character is an inspiring morality tale which has a thrilling, compellingly urgent and contemporary theme of human spiritual or ethical development evolved within the forge of great crisis and challenge. This is a story worth both telling and hearing. It is no comic book quest for a magic trinket but a tale of a flawed mans growth under fire. Onto this story, i beleive the director writer has woven very subtly but intentionally a large well crafted system of historical and religiously allegorical elements. I feel myself somewhat unschooled enough to lay all the thematic ideas clearly out because as I write this I am still working through the threads of symbolic reference I see in it, some clearly, some less so. I am however convinced that this film maker has painted a gospel like image on a blank jigsaw puzzle, and sewn the pieces randomly but truly and effectively and elegantly into the film from beginning to end. When I first saw District 9 I wondered about 4 significant elements. What does the ship mean? It is after all the 500 lb gorilla in the room and if this film has echo of subtext it has meaning certainly. The transformation of the lead character is a fundamental element in the film, of primary importance. The VERY strange dual nature of the black fluid is deliciously puzzling as a symbolic element and must (if I am correct about the allegorical nature of District 9) have meaning. and I was struck immediatly by the central character's enduring love. Now, I feel I am just scratching the surface of this very literary work, but here are a couple of ideas which lead me strongly to feel that there is plenty to muse over under the surface of the admittedly wonderful surface. (Heh) What the heck is this fluid allegorically. Half the answer hit me like a brick falling. The contact with this fluid began the transformation of Wikus van der Merve. His transformation was an essentially positive one from a moral and ethical point of view. It was a BAPTISM! Symbolically speaking. Im still mulling over the fluid as the motile power of the Ship. The Nigerians are in my view a rather uncomplimentary reflection of the Roman Catholic Church. Eating the flesh of the aliens (here percieved symbolically as divine) echoes the mass. The acquisition of weapons which are useless to them seem much like the accumulation of holy objects so widespread in Catholicism. The intense exploitation of the aliens (now percieved symbolically as the populace) seems to be a commentary on Catholic abuse of the laity for its own purposes. I believe the return of the ship may be viewed as the resurrection, either as the ship itself returning in three years or the return to humanity of Wikus which Christopher promised he would effect. Wikus himself takes on a Christlike character by becoming one of the aliens, just as God became one of the humans. Clearly this is all loosely assembled but the parts are all here unquestionably and this inner playground of symbolic life gives the film a wonderful suggestion of deep moral direction viewed as it must have been as a subject worth the andornment of so many spiritual themes. Ive only touched on a few ideas here but I have no sense that I am grasping for meaning where there is none. This movie is well made at every level and I am not ashamed to admit that the maker is more subtle, skilled, clever and intelligent than i am in chasing out his little bits of added material. This movie is worth the trouble and I hope to be able sometime soon to describe it very coherently in this way, because I believe District 9 deserves a thoughtful, complete appreciation of its inner and outer life. -- Ok, so I have had a few insights into District 9 but obviously there were a few things ive overlooked. What the does the ship mean and then...the fluid... baptism, clever, yes, but what is the black fluid as fuel for the ship mean? I believe this director wants EVERYTHING to be meaningful. He has such a rich creativity that he has it all under total managmement. I believe ive figured it out. This film maker is not only making a religious allegory, he is commenting on our civilisation. What is the ship? It is US! Huge, technologically advanced, capable of amazing things but.....what if this magnificent engine of ours, this modern society runs out of............................OIL! That black stuff symbolises just what it looks like. OIL. Imagine us in the future, our giant infrastructure and big machines. All rendered inert because we are out of oil. weve destroyed ourselves. This movie is a sobering comment on the future of mankind if we allow ourselves to come to the point where our entire modern miracle comes to a grinding halt. Those million starving aliens in the immobiised ship? Thats US! This movie maker has created a sobering look at so many parts of human life. our misbehaviors, our capacity for redemption, our headlong flight into self destruction. and all played out on a backdrop of the sociioligical madness actually existing in South Africa. District 9 is startlingly rich in content, a wonderful film from any point of view. I believe that the ship, in its inscrutable huge mystery is not only symbolic of human civilisation, but additionally symbolises the God of the old testament. The control module falling to earth in this idea is symbolic of Christ and its return to the ship, the ascension of Christ. I find the dual nature of many of the key elements of the film almost magically adept as expressions of symbolic religious echoes and historical ideas. This is no trivial movie but a rewarding treasure of enjoyment at every level of observation. If this is not brilliance, what in the world is? Exciting, refreshing utterly and at its core, deeply human. Kramer I regard District 9 as an affirmation of motion pictures as a worthy
segment of the humanities. It is a film,exciting,unpredictable and
satisfying on first encounter, yet filled with deeply human values
and moral conversation, optimism and much subtle literary convention
of a religious and historical character. First, I believe the racial,
social commentary of the film is obvious and well appreciated by any
casual viewer, these issues reflect known problems in South Africa and
are anything but mysterious or subtle nor need they be. I regard this
material as the canvas upon which the deeper story of the film is played out.
In early times authors used allegory rather clearly to produce lessons of a
religious and moral nature in ways which the reader (or viewer) can absorb
comfortably without feeling preached to. Nowadays writers and film makers
incorporaate Allegory (usually christian allegory but often other themes)
to lend texture, weight and a moral or sometimes amoral flavor in addition to
the direct presentation. Obvious religious allegory films for example are
“The day the Earth Stood Still” “Eddie and the Cruisers” “The year of
living Dangerously” “ET” and there are many more. Use of these ideas can be
artful, interesting, fun, pretentious, stupid and worst of all added baggage
to a bad film to begin with. In the case of District 9 it is my view that
the main story of the transformation of the central character is an inspiring
morality tale which has a thrilling, compellingly urgent and contemporary
theme of human spiritual or ethical development evolved within the
forge of great crisis and challenge. This is a story worth both telling
and hearing. It is no comic book quest for a magic trinket but a tale of
a flawed mans growth under fire. Onto this story, i beleive the director
writer has woven very subtly but intentionally a large well crafted
system of historical and religiously allegorical elements. I feel myself
somewhat unschooled enough to lay all the thematic ideas clearly out because
as I write this I am still working through the threads of symbolic reference
I see in it, some clearly, some less so. I am however convinced that this
film maker has painted a gospel like image on a blank jigsaw puzzle, and
sewn the pieces randomly but truly and effectively and elegantly into the
film from beginning to end. When I first saw District 9 I wondered about 4
significant elements. What does the ship mean? It is after all the 500 lb gorilla
in the room and if this film has echo of subtext it has meaning certainly.
The transformation of the lead character is a fundamental element in
the film, of primary importance. The VERY strange dual nature of the black
fluid is deliciously puzzling as a symbolic element and must (if I am correct
about the allegorical nature of District 9) have meaning. and I was struck
immediatly by the central character’s enduring love. Now, I feel I am just
scratching the surface of this very literary work, but here are a couple of
ideas which lead me strongly to feel that there is plenty to muse over
under the surface of the admittedly wonderful surface. (Heh) What the heck
is this fluid allegorically. Half the answer hit me like a brick falling.
The contact with this fluid began the transformation of Wikus van der Merve.
His transformation was an essentially positive one from a moral and ethical
point of view. It was a BAPTISM! Symbolically speaking. Im still mulling over
the fluid as the motile power of the Ship. The Nigerians are in my view a
rather uncomplimentary reflection of the Roman Catholic Church. Eating the
flesh of the aliens (here percieved symbolically as divine) echoes the
mass. The acquisition of weapons which are useless to them seem much like the
accumulation of holy objects so widespread in Catholicism. The intense exploitation
of the aliens (now percieved symbolically as the populace) seems
to be a commentary on Catholic abuse of the laity for its own purposes.
I believe the return of the ship may be viewed as the resurrection, either as
the ship itself returning in three years or the return to humanity of
Wikus which Christopher promised he would effect. Wikus himself takes on a
Christlike character by becoming one of the aliens, just as God became one of
the humans. Clearly this is all loosely assembled but the parts are all
here unquestionably and this inner playground of symbolic life gives the film
a wonderful suggestion of deep moral direction viewed as it must have been
as a subject worth the andornment of so many spiritual themes. Ive only touched
on a few ideas here but I have no sense that I am grasping for meaning where
there is none. This movie is well made at every level and I am not ashamed
to admit that the maker is more subtle, skilled, clever and intelligent
than i am in chasing out his little bits of added material. This movie is
worth the trouble and I hope to be able sometime soon to describe it
very coherently in this way, because I believe District 9 deserves a
thoughtful, complete appreciation of its inner and outer life.
–

Ok, so I have had a few insights into District 9 but obviously there
were a few things ive overlooked. What the does the ship mean and
then…the fluid… baptism, clever, yes, but what is the black fluid as
fuel for the ship mean? I believe this director wants EVERYTHING to be
meaningful. He has such a rich creativity that he has it all
under total managmement. I believe ive figured it out.
This film maker is not only making a religious allegory, he is
commenting on our civilisation.

What is the ship? It is US! Huge, technologically advanced, capable of
amazing things but…..what if this magnificent engine of ours, this
modern society runs out of……………………….OIL! That black stuff
symbolises just what it looks like. OIL. Imagine us in the future, our
giant infrastructure and big machines. All rendered inert because we are
out of oil. weve destroyed ourselves. This movie is a sobering comment on the future of
mankind if we allow ourselves to come to the point where our entire modern
miracle comes to a grinding halt. Those million starving aliens in the immobiised
ship? Thats US! This movie maker has created a sobering look at so many
parts of human life. our misbehaviors, our capacity for redemption, our
headlong flight into self destruction. and all played out on a backdrop of
the sociioligical madness actually existing in South Africa.

District 9 is startlingly rich in content, a wonderful film from any point of view.

I believe that the ship, in its inscrutable huge mystery is not only symbolic of
human civilisation, but additionally symbolises the God of the old testament.
The control module falling to earth in this idea is symbolic of Christ and its return to the ship, the ascension of Christ. I find the dual nature of many of the key elements of the film almost magically adept as expressions of symbolic religious echoes and historical ideas. This is no trivial movie but a rewarding treasure of enjoyment at every level of observation. If this is not brilliance, what in the world is? Exciting, refreshing utterly and at its core, deeply human.
Kramer

]]> By: LiaMMV http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/08/31/allegorical-landmines-aliens-race-in-district-9/comment-page-1/#comment-1373 LiaMMV Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:45:42 +0000 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=10176#comment-1373 @ Tyrone - I think the point of this film was clearly to highlight these issues in a perhaps exaggerated way. I doubt any use of racist themes were intended negatively, as though the writers supported these views. To attack the film directly is to stand for all forms of censorship suppressing the discussion and mitigation of such prejudice. You may like to believe yourself that we would approach extraterrestrials peacefully and with understanding but of all else and event such as this would generate mass terror more rapidly than ever before, provoking militaries to prepare for the worst. I'm not saying it's right, at all, it's just the harsh reality in the corporations similair to the MNU depicted in the film have obscene amounts of power in situations such as these and the ability to abuse this power at will in order to attain what they want, that being A) Comprehensive knowledge, and for it to be gained as quickly and cost effectively as possible and B) the ability to exploit such knowledge in order to generate money, in this case advanced weaponry with interest from global military powers. Ethics plays a very insignificant role in exceptional cases where a large amount of money or technological advancement is involved. Also it isn't fair to accuse any form of warped perception of Nigerian people by the filmmakers based on the context of the film, as the only intended inclusion of them in the plot were those noted to be part of a criminal organisation and in no way representative of upholding Nigerian citizens. @ Tyrone – I think the point of this film was clearly to highlight these issues in a perhaps exaggerated way. I doubt any use of racist themes were intended negatively, as though the writers supported these views. To attack the film directly is to stand for all forms of censorship suppressing the discussion and mitigation of such prejudice. You may like to believe yourself that we would approach extraterrestrials peacefully and with understanding but of all else and event such as this would generate mass terror more rapidly than ever before, provoking militaries to prepare for the worst. I’m not saying it’s right, at all, it’s just the harsh reality in the corporations similair to the MNU depicted in the film have obscene amounts of power in situations such as these and the ability to abuse this power at will in order to attain what they want, that being A) Comprehensive knowledge, and for it to be gained as quickly and cost effectively as possible and B) the ability to exploit such knowledge in order to generate money, in this case advanced weaponry with interest from global military powers. Ethics plays a very insignificant role in exceptional cases where a large amount of money or technological advancement is involved. Also it isn’t fair to accuse any form of warped perception of Nigerian people by the filmmakers based on the context of the film, as the only intended inclusion of them in the plot were those noted to be part of a criminal organisation and in no way representative of upholding Nigerian citizens.

]]> By: thadius http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/08/31/allegorical-landmines-aliens-race-in-district-9/comment-page-1/#comment-1264 thadius Sat, 12 Sep 2009 07:09:42 +0000 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=10176#comment-1264 blame the white man i say blame the white man i say

]]> By: Tyrone Z. McCants http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/08/31/allegorical-landmines-aliens-race-in-district-9/comment-page-1/#comment-1209 Tyrone Z. McCants Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:32:36 +0000 http://www.thedefendersonline.com/?p=10176#comment-1209 I found this movie disturbing. It contained attributes of Totalitarianism, Capitalism, Racism and Authoritarianism. Of all places, it takes pace in Johannesburg, South Africa. I did not like the way the Nigerians were portrayed and stereotyped. Its crazy how some governments can force their policies on others. I give this movie 2 Middle Fingers Up. You would think if we came across beings of superior intelligents, we would trying to learn from them, not turn them in to refugees and/or slaves. There was no mention in the trailer that the aliens were taken off the ship against their will, sounds familiar? I found this movie disturbing. It contained attributes of Totalitarianism, Capitalism, Racism and Authoritarianism. Of all places, it takes pace in Johannesburg, South Africa. I did not like the way the Nigerians were portrayed and stereotyped. Its crazy how some governments can force their policies on others. I give this movie 2 Middle Fingers Up. You would think if we came across beings of superior intelligents, we would trying to learn from them, not turn them in to refugees and/or slaves. There was no mention in the trailer that the aliens were taken off the ship against their will, sounds familiar?

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