The film “District Nine” is full of many interesting themes and social commentary, but the most blatant theme that seems to overwhelm the entire film is that of the human propensity towards apartheid and xenophobia. Aliens have long be used cinematically as a stand in for ethnic and non-white populations (from Avatar to Star Trek), and have been a mechanism for discussing the socialized attitudes toward race that affect humanity. “District Nine” had many scenes that reflect on past social movements with a racial justification for violence and murder.
The first clue that this film would have themes of racial injustice is in the setting, that of Johannesburg South Africa, an area of the world that has dealt with institutionalized racial injustice. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Between 1960 and 1980 close to four million blacks were forcibly relocated, including several hundred thousand from Johannesburg, to remote, desiccated Bantustans”. The second clue is in the race of the protagonist, Wikus Van De Merwe. He, as well as the other authority figures throughout the film are all white South Africans, while the supporting roles such as the soldiers, Wikus’ trainee and the Nigerians are all subordinates with dark skin. The alien themselves of course do not fit in a human racial profile, but they are derogatorily referred to as “prawns”, due to their appearance and implying they are social “bottom-feeders”
After the humans take it upon themselves to be generous and “save” the aliens by bringing them down to earth from their spacecraft, they are given an area to live in, as well as humanitarian aide. Soon after violence breaks out, caused by jealousy from the humans towards to aliens (because of “their” money being spent of these “outsiders”, among other motivations) and the camp becomes militarized and degrades into a slum. Historically the segregating of races has often ended with the subordinate race being pushed into slum conditions. It is reminiscent of the segregation of Jews in Germany, which ultimately lead to Holocaust conditions and the murder of millions of people.
Another plot point which supported to the comparisons between the Holocaust was the government’s use of the relocation of the aliens as cover to collect and confiscate the alien’s assets, primarily weapons. This is ironic, since the humans do not have the ability to use the weapons, until Wikus is infected. In order to use the new technology, they need the very qualities of alienness that are so socially repugnant to them. As seen by the government scientists torture and testing of Wikus after he is infected, they have a vested and vicious interest in appropriating the alien technology. Within this situation, a conflict seems to arise in the understanding of the aliens as both subordinate beings, but also with access to superior technology. They have the potential for great power, but they don’t seem able to or motivated to cooperate together to use that power against their human oppressors.
The use of population control and abortion teams also screams of references to slavery, apartheid and the Holocaust. There are so many historical comparisons to this control over the subordinate social groups’ procreation. In addition, the mingling of the two groups, sexual relations between human and alien are one of the many accusations leveled against Wikus, as a means of degrading and alienating him from his class, the human leaders. He is characterized as dirty, having demeaned himself be contact with the aliens, this degraded class within the social hierarchy.
In the final scene of the film, the audience sees an alien and are lead to believe he is the fully transformed Wilkus. He becomes the very demeaned and lowly being that he has fought against, even to the point of sacrificing himself to give the aliens the future possibility of being saved from their exile on earth. The film ends with the impression that the alien Christopher Johnson will return some day, while in the mean time, Wilkus waits and hopes to be saved and vindicated.
Questions:
How does the concept of Wilkus being “cured” fit into the discussion of the alien race as a demeaned social class? (a possible similarity being the untouchables of India) Is this film saying that race can be “cured”?
Even after Wilkus is tortured by the scientists, he still wants to “fix” himself and return to his old life, his status as a member of the superior class, despite the knowledge of the atrocities perpetrated by that class. He distances himself from the aliens, even as he is in the process of becoming one, until the very end of the film, in which he dramatically fights to provide Christopher Johnson the chance to escape. Has he changed his mind about the aliens and is sacrificing himself to provide them with a future means of escape? Or is he still acting in his own self interest, his need to be cured of his new “alien-ness”?
