L E V E L 3 F I L M S T U DY

DISTRICT 9

CONTEXT

• Niell Blomkamp is a South African expatriate who moved to Vancouver, Canada when he was 18• As a student in Vancouver he created a short film

“Alive in Joburg” showcasing low-budget, photo realistic special effects – this caught the eye of Peter Jackson who funded and produced District 9 as a full-length feature film• his films are famous for their gritty realism, their

special effects, and their use of documentary style storytelling and cinematography

CONTEXT

• Why South Africa?• South Africa has a history of segregation and isolation from the

apartheid regime, which started before WW2 and ended in the early 1990s

• Under Apartheid, different racial groups were assigned different legal status – this status affected where you could live, go to school, or get work

• It was used to keep black South Africans isolated and separate, and to prioritise white Afrikaan and English South Africans under the law

• Political rights were limited for black africans, and were not allowed to vote despite their democratic majority, which allowed the National Party to maintain power

• Black Africans were forcibly removed to homeland “townships” – where provision of services such as health and education was much inferior to other areas, and thus tried to perpetuate the system of segregation, or living separately

ALIEN

• Segregation• Not belonging• Different• Foreign• Diverse• Outsider• Odd• Unnatural• Unknown• Second class citizen• Separated• Ignored• Downtrodden• subjected

• Green• Martian• ET• Different langauge• Spaceships

• Powerful• Ugly• High tech• conspiracy

PHOTOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

1. What I know already (context)2. My first impressions3. Details4. Interpretation

PLOT

• The film begins as a documentary style investigation• As the film continues it becomes more conventional and

character-driven following Wikus and his metamorphosis into an alien

• Wikus befriends Christopher the alien leader who can craft their technology

• Wikus helps fight back against the MNU military including Koobus Venter the brutal special forces operative

• The film ends with Christopher flying back to the mothership and leaving the miseries of Johannesburg far behind, and we are unsure if Wikus has joined him or not

• As an epilogue the documentary form returns to discuss the fate of Wikus and the justice of the aliens

PLOT

• Documentary:• We learn about Wikus Van der Merwe and his role at MNU (Multi National

United – a global weapons manufacturer and service provider) • Wikus has been promoted to a position as team leader responsible for

the peaceful relocation of the aliens from District 9, a slum on the outskirts of Johannesburg, to District 10, a concentration camp far away from human habitation

• We also learn about the aliens – the “Prawns” – how they arrived 30 years before not as conquering interstellar invaders but as refugees, on incapacitated ships and living in squalid conditions

• They have lived in slum conditions, accepted as refugees but barely tolerated in civil society – largely ignored and isolated in the slums of District 9

• Their weaponry is of great interest to MNU• Wikus is charged with the job by his father in law – and though he sees it

as a promotion we see it as a dangerous and disgusting job in the line of fire

• Sci-Fi Action Flick• Wikus gets infected byan alien battery that turns him into

a prawn• He is taken into hospital and then removed for testing

while he turns into an alien• Once in MNU headquarters he is forced to use alien

weapons, leading him to break out and escape using his new found weaponry

• He goes on the run and is the subject of terrible media propaganda – finding safety in the wilds of District 9

• He is then hunted by MNU and is forced to fight back• He finally survives and eventually escapes with the help

of Christopher, an alien leader

PLOT

• Activity: 1. Make a plot summary of 20 key scenes – hint

use www.imdb.com as a reference2. Select 6 of the most important scenes and

explain why they are important3. Arrange the key scenes in the traditional story

pyramid

THEME

• What does the director want to teach us about:

• Alienation• Justice• Migration

ALIENATION

• Aliens are literally different from us – they are “other”• Human history is a long story about how different

groups see/act towards/respond to those who are different• Do we respond in fear? Revulsion? Acceptance?

Open to learning?

• HOW DOES DISTRICT 9 EXPLORE ALIENATION?

JUSTICE

• Justice is widely seen as “blind” – it is open to everyone not just certain groups of people• However, justice is also in the hands of the

powerful – the downtrodden often don’t get a chance!• District 9 shows justice in many forms – who

triumphs in the end? Who is the most just? Who is the most corrupt?

• HOW DOES DISTRICT 9 EXPLORE JUSTICE?

CHARACTER

• Wikus van de Merwe• Christopher Johnson• Koobus Venter (SAS Mercenary)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Docu-drama format• Handheld cameras• Realistic lighting• Special effects