District 9

Imari Palma
UNST 101
Pastor Sam
1/19/10

Review

Before even seeing District 9, one should know of it's producer, Peter Jackson, who also directed "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which made quite an impact on the movie industry, and becoming a huge deal among the young and old. It was directed by Niell Blomkamp, a brand new director, who tried to capture the vision of sci-fi and tie it in with ugly reality. Many do not see "D9" as being the movie of "the ages." It is dark, bloody, violent, strange, and it has aliens.

I believe the most important thing to do before watching "D9" is to have an open mind and have a little background what the film is actually based on to get a fuller appreciation of it. The story plot of "D9" is based in South Africa, where sickly aliens have landed their mother ship over the city and cannot leave. The people wish to civilize them by putting them into ghettos (concentration camps almost). They are treated poorly, beaten up, and looked down upon with disgust. Most would find aliens different and some disgusting. The point is that this story is based on the apartheid movement in South Africa. When white South Africans fought to gain control over the black South Africans and by doing so they treated them poorly, looked down upon them, and placed them in ghettos.

The main character really intrigued me during his transformation. At fist I thought it was "cool" that he was transforming into an alien because now he could use the weaponry that only the aliens could use. Although, he was trapped in a world that was forgien and grotesque to him and he wanted out. I found it compelling that throughout the coarse of the movie his softer side began to show. He felt a sort of compassion towards the aliens near the end and accepted his fall from society to help save the aliens lives, ultimately.

There will always be places of racism, hatred, and genocide, unfortunately. This world is not perfect and it will take more than one man to change it. Although, isn't that what Jesus did? Isn't it what He is still doing today? In world of violence and hate, He shows peace, compassion, forgiveness, hope, and love, which is what this movie portrayed all in one.