The racial themes in 'District 9'

Searching for meaning in a movie about the mistreatment of extraterrestrials in South Africa

Neill Blomkamp's "ridiculous" District 9 is fresh proof that filmmakers just can't handle racial issues, said Armond White in New York Press. The movie "idiotically combines sci-fi wonderment with the inane 'realism' of a mockumentary" to show how South Africa forces visiting extraterrestrials to live as second-class citizens. But with its relentless reliance on old racial stereotypes, District 9 "represents the sloppiest and dopiest pop cinema" imaginable. (watch the trailer for District 9)

District 9 could have been a "grungy fable" about our tendency to be ugly to those who are different, said Joshua Rothkopf in Time Out New York. "The movie's creatures, rendered with insectoid precision and derisively called 'prawns' by the white characters, are ghettoized in a Soweto-like township." But the film, though arguably a "gruesomely dark" gem, "has too many gory vaporizations to qualify as a serious statement on race relations."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us