District 9 narrates the invasion of aliens and how humans treat them as refugees. The story provides a historical background on spaceship appearance hovering in Johannesburg. In the beginning, the aliens are assisted by the citizens, but this attitude changes gradually as tensions rise and the citizens feel that the aliens are staying for too long. The movie is a manifestation of political issues that existed within that period in South Africa. The aliens, for instance, represent the settler colony.
In this movie, humans are seen to be more interested in weapons while the aliens are fascinated by cat food. The settler colony starts by encouraging the exchange of resources and language. This positive attitude is embraced by people for some time after which it gradually changes to hatred and fear. Moreover, the settlers face oppression in the hands of the hosts. The action of the government of taking the aliens to a remote area reflects settler colonialism. The main goal of the settler colonialism is to acquire the indigenous resources and territory which lead to the extermination of the natives. Through colonialism, the indigenous people share and expose their cultures to the colonists.
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The moment Wikus leaves the society; the audience begins to identify the lead character ending up building a lot of tension. The commentary given at the beginning shows the xenophobic attitude towards the aliens. The aliens face eviction from the township, are separated from humans and start living on their own away from the humans. From the footage, it is clear that there are hate crimes done by humans against the aliens. For instance, shooting riots and burning down their homes. The film shows clearly how the citizens separate aliens from human being. The relocation of aliens from District 9 to District 10 enables people to stop physical confrontation against the aliens.
Apart from the political issues in the film, there is also a depiction of social issues. Wolfe argues that miscegenation is generated by settler colonialism. There is prostitution happening between the aliens and humans. Also, when Wiku starts to transform into an alien, he cites the relationship going on amongst different species as the cause of this transformation. When the false report spreads that Wikus’ transformation is caused by the sexual relationship between humans and aliens, people get bored and disgusted and suggest that the mixing of races is not acceptable.
The film takes a notable pro-life position. In a particular scene, Wikus gives orders to the soldiers to dismantle the hovel with the alien eggs. Just before he gives this order, he gets out an alien feeding tube and gives it to a soldier terming it as a souvenir. This tube notably looks like the saline injector which is usually used in abortions. The desperate screams of the young alien who is roasted alive are sincerely heart wrenching sending a provocative, powerful statement on the meaning of life. There is also a clear manifestation of racial discrimination in the film. People suggest that the intersexual relationship between humans and aliens is not acceptable. This is a show of hatred against the other race.
Wikus gradual transformation into an alien shows that he is rejecting his race. The transformation into an alien horrifies Wikus. When he loses his teeth and several of his fingernails, Wikus refuses to accept this change. Even when his arm changes into a claw of an alien, Wikus tries to get rid of his arm making him feel a lot of pain. This shows that the alien claw is part of his body. Since Wikus denies his race, he recognizes that humans are superior to the aliens. He knows that humans have certain rights and privileges as opposed to the aliens. Furthermore, he is fully aware that the society does not accept the aliens. Had it been that the society allowed for miscegenation, then there would be harmony, but because the society does not allow this, then there is no balance or peace between aliens and humans.
