Evicting District 9

Last night we saw Peter Jackson’s latest production District 9. The movie has a documentary feel to it which I think makes it one of the better movies I’ve seen this year since it is strays from the normal movie format. Several interviews start off the movie with people describing the events of the aliens’ arrival as well as how they feel about the alien presence. Most of the interviewees dislike the aliens and want them to go home, which is what the aliens want as well. The government and major corporation of the area, on the other hand, want to keep the aliens here to profit from the sales of alien weaponry – if only they could figure out how it works.

The bipedal, bug-like aliens arrived on Earth aboard what seemed to be either a mothership or a giant life raft. Wikus, the main character, is a goofy fellow in charge of evicting the aliens from the slums of District 9 and moving them to an area that is cleaner and more controlled. He really seems to enjoy his job, especially finding illegal weapons and goods that the aliens have been hoarding. When he discovers an unknown alien artifact, his life changes and finds himself on the opposite side of the eviction helping the aliens.

This movie captured the nature of humanity when we are faced with something we are afraid of or don’t understand. We respond with hatred and prejudice. I liked how this was presented with aliens as the discriminated race instead of humans, even though we all know this has happened and unfortunately still happens today amongst us.

I thought the graphics were incredible, especially how real the aliens looked. This movie had great concepts for aliens, weapons, and technology. It simply looked beautifully done. Having a giant mechanized suite with a gravity weapon and lightning cannons would be awesome!

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