Broke the fear of going to overcrowded NYC theatres and Saw District 9 this week. It was certainly different than any other sci-fi movie I have seen. The movie starts as a documentary, showing the interviews of a bunch of people about their reactions to something the audience has not yet been introduced to. It then transforms into a movie with a lot of action and “what next”. The question is clear “what if there are aliens and what if they turn out to be what we have never expected?”
Until now we have always imagined creatures beyond this world to be superior to humankind. Better vision, bigger brains, stronger 6th senses, healthier bodies, better standards… We have been expecting them as the teachers to a world of wonders beyond our imagination. District 9 breaks the precedent.
From the start it is the aliens that are vulnerable. They are forced to do an emergency land on Earth because their ship is damaged and they are desperatly in need for help. The awe and respect the people of Johannesbourg have towards these prune-like creatures who arrive in a massive ship from space is lost once they find out the bad, unhealthy conditions (at least for humans) they live in. Their ugly appearance and appetite to eat anything (even out of the garbage) surpasses the value of their intelligence to humans. The clash of two kinds and the desperate attempts of the minorities for survival is revealed. From that point everything is doomed to get worse until one transforms into the other kind and sees the world from a completely different point of view.
