I’ve seen District 9 seven times now. And yet, I’m not bored – and probably won’t ever be. The movie is beautiful in the most gritty, savage of ways. The brutality of the movie still makes me pensive. I catch something new every time. The emotions portrayed in the movie and the emotions elicited by the movie are genuine and inescapable. The movie is beautiful in the most gritty, savage of ways. It captures the essence of a compelling story of metamorphosis while being a social commentary on the evils of injustice all in the same. This is something not accomplished by many films today, much less science-fiction, blockbusters. District 9, however, does all this and more.
The development of the character of Christopher Johnson is, I think, one of the more interesting and symbolic methods that Neill Blomkamp took in sending a message in his film. Christopher Johnson, upon first glance, is repulsive. He’s a mix of a squid in the abyss of the ocean, the cockroaches crawling outside, and Ripley Scott’s Alien: truly terrifying. This impression is drawn and reiterated from the encounters with the other aliens. News clips and footage already viewed point to savage beasts who find “fun” in destroying normal human life (by derailing trains and flipping cars). These first impressions last twenty minutes into the film – a long time for an introduction, but, again, it all leads to the message that Blomkamp is trying to send.
This first impression is wrong, as usual. The movie progresses and the character of Christopher Johnson does as well. We realize he is not repulsive, far from it. He is human at the deepest parts of his character, perhaps more-so than most of the actual humans in the film. These emotions and characteristics develop from the complementary character that is his son. Christopher works tirelessly for his son, so it seems. He understands fear in that he does not want his son to experience the new camp. He is intelligent, realizing that MNU cannot evict he and his son to the camps legally. He is gentle in that he teaches and cherishes his son’s life.
Other human emotions and characteristics are apparent in other situations of the film. Christopher proves he is brave in that he goes back for Wikus when Wikus is in peril, saying he “will not leave [Wikus].” He also promises Wikus that he’ll come back for him, three years, displaying his trust.
Essentially, Christopher Johnson is an ideal human, and yet he is not a human at all. This is a message I believe Neill Blomkamp was trying to send – people fail to understand the good in people because they only judge them based on their race, or in this case, species. I know, it’s a little cliché, but the notion is resounding. It still affects human society today, and probably will forever. Its unavoidable, almost, with all the evil in this world. The most some people can do is make others aware of it, exactly what Neill Blomkamp does with his audience.
After making all these realizations, I wonder if these ideal human characteristics also apply to the other “prawns” in the film. Does Neill Blomkamp want to develop the humanness in the other prawns by using Christopher as a model for his species? If so, Neill Blomkamp does this well, until one very significant scene. Up until Wikus and Koobus Venter (one of the main antagonists in the film) have their one-on-one encounter, I found myself thinking that every single prawn was like Christopher: misunderstood, abused, and morally conscious people that are not savage. Then, in the scene towards the end of the film, Koobus Venter is brutally ripped apart by the prawns. My assumptions were turned around, and all the strides that Blomkamp took towards proving the human-conscience within the prawns to his audience, I felt, were eradicated.
This scene is the only ambiguous scene in the film to me. Otherwise, all the scenes fall together seamlessly, creating a beautifully created and directed social commentary on the status of human rights and injustice in the world we live in. Well done, Neill Blomkamp. Well done.
Emily,
Your view of District 9 as a whole is ideal in my eyes. The film is honestly one of the most underrated and overlooked science fiction since the 90’s. Your connection of Christopher Johnson being an ‘ideal’ human is risky, but after some in depth thought, I truly believe your side. What Blomkamp tries to portray is exactly that one should not change their opinion based on skin or race. I would argue with you in how you react to the scene of the prawns teaming up and tearing Venter’s head off, which in my opinion is a significant scenario of connection within the prawns, defending Wikus as he is now one of them. They stick to his side, almost as an act of friendship. I take a complete opposite view point from that. YES! I agree after watching District 9 so much it is still simply wonderful.