The movie District 9 is based in Johannesburg , South Africa. Blomkamp has specifically used this location in order to highlight certain aspects which have occurred in South Africa’s history , which occur in the movie as well. One of the main occurrences was Apartheid which forced all non white people into a specific area to live , allowing white people to get preference. This incident is very similar to what happens in District 9 where Aliens land on Earth and are rejected by the humans, however the aliens cant leave, and so they are forced into a confined area where they are monitored by humans , more specifically , Multi National United. This gives the aliens an animalistic quality. P.W Botha oppressed non white people during apartheid and
These visuals create a contrast between the movie and apartheid times where non whites were abused and oppressed. The alien in the visual is angry because it is being oppressed like how the non-whites were oppressed during the Apartheid government rule. This is similar to when P.W. Botha had non whites executed or sent to jail or quarantined , much like how the aliens are treated in the movie. In this way the non-whites and the aliens are exactly the same and are mistreated in almost the exact same way. While the prawns may not look very human , they still show human qualities such as verbal communication , walking on two legs, living in houses and taking care of their families. These prawns are still treated unfairly by the government as the humans feel they are superior. The above visuals put this theme perfectly into perspective as a similar stance is being held by the human , as well as the non white in conduction to the prawn. The prawn being on the ground or at least lower than the human shows the humans have more power and control over the non human figure. The prawn and the non white human are in a position which symbolizes pain , fear and no control as they lay on the ground looking up at the human , this shows they are
In the case of District 9 , the prawns are seen as the other , where as in the real world in South Africa during apartheid or in Xenophobic situations , non whites or foreign humans are seen as the other. This creates a false image of these people as they are mistreated for being different to everyone else. These differences create the perception than humans are scared of being over run by these races or foreign humans. It is evident that the humans are not used to these knew aliens on earth and do not treat them as human , which is understandable because they aren't , but they have no right to abuse them the way they do. The two visuals above show the so called “alien” with the so called “superior race”. The best word that defines this relationship is Diversity. The relationship between Christopher Johnson and Wikus van der Merwe is much like the relationship those two men have in the visual on the left. They are close together and a positive relationship is evident as they both work together to stand for something they believe in. South Africa is a rainbow nation as a whole as it is very diverse. The alliance between Christopher and Wikus shows that there is no need to fight as humans and aliens can work together as one, without Xenophobia or other means of
People, which are frightened and angry in the slums may belong to gangs in search of a haven They did not find it in a just society. Such a society, it creates a conflict between cultures, Conflict between British white majority and dark skin minority rather than merging and containment.
Stereotyping is violent. During the film, when Officer Hansen and Officer Ryan are on duty searching for a particular carjacked vehicle. Ryan decides to stop a black SUV. Inside there is an interracial couple. The whole situation changes as he decides to hold their hands up and put them against the car. The couple, Cameron and Christine, are both convinced and have no choice but to follow the officer’s orders. Within moments, Christine is molested and sexually abused by Officer Ryan as he is searching her. Officer Ryan stops the couple for no reason. The couple is discriminated and handled with such pain and abuse. It is a wrong action. The officers here are not doing their job of assisting, protecting, and regulating people. Rather, in this instance, they abuse these innocent individuals and, most importantly, these officers lost their trust and respect. Stereotyping leads to misjudgments and often influences sexual violence over groups of people.
We first see this towards the beginning of the film where Pinky gets into the altercation with Jake and Rozelia. Because the cops could tell from a distance that Jake and Rozelia were black, they immediately assumed that they were in the wrong. It was only while the cops were arresting them that they discovered that Pinky, too, was “black” and that she must also be in the wrong so they arrested her as well. This also explains why the cops slapped Rozelia when she brought up the fact that Pinky was also “black” because it was unheard of for a black woman to say such a thing about a white woman. A second example of phenotype racism comes when Judge Walker is talking to Pinky, Rozelia, and Jake in his office. He acts under racial pretenses against Jake as he warns him to “keep his hands off of other people’s money.” This displays Judge Walker’s lack of trust towards Jake dealing with other people’s money, primarily because he is black, and assumes that he will probably jip his “customers” again. Pinky does a very good job at highlighting the differences in phenotype racism and racism based on
...is shows racial conflicts throughout the movie. First he shows conflict between two young black men discussing racism around them while they were out at the diner. Second he shown conflict between Jean and Rick while getting changed of their house lock. Lastly, he showed officer Ryan pulling over an African American couple even though they had done nothing wrong. In this movie, director was trying to convey that people in this kind of society are closely related to one another. Our behavior always affect to another in some or the other way. Dealing with this in a good way brings harmony while dealing in a bad way brings conflict. We cannot avoid any contact and interact in anyway, so why we do not just behave in more open-minded way, in which we try to understand and accept others’ culture, customs, complexions, instead of being doubtful, envious and short-tempered.
Before we get into the movie specifically, we should first talk about representation and how race is represented in the media in general. Representation is defined as the assigning of meaning through language and in culture. (CITE) Representation isn't reality, but rather a mere construction of reality and the meaning behind it. (CITE) Through representation we are able to shape how people are seen by others. Race is an aspect of people which is often represented in the media in different ways. Race itself is not a category of nature, but rather...
“It has to go”, cried his sister. “That’s the only answer, Father. You just have to try to get rid of the idea that it’s Gregor. Believing it for so long, that is our real misfortune. But how can it be Gregor? If it were Gregor, he would have realized long ago that it isn’t possible for human beings to live with such a creature, and would have gone away of his own free will” (Kafka 52). The relationship between family member’s in Kafka’s Metamorphosis is an interesting theme addressed, and somewhat distressing subject. Why is it so hard to accept that this monstrous bug is Gregor? Is it so bad for him to want to stay and be near his family- the only thing he’s ever had and known? For the sister to even come out and say these words seems somewhat selfish. Why can’t it be turned around to a viewpoint through which we have a family loving their son, unconditionally, regardless of what state he’s in? The word love is definitely one which is not seen in close companionship with the Gregor family. And we can see that this lack of affection carries on to be one of the driving forces behind the theme of alienation in the novel.
Race and discrimination have been an important and popular topic for Hollywood to take on in the film industry. Many movies have been made about the subject using very conventional approaches; however, Alien Nation takes a more unconventional approach to the subject. Even the title of the movie alludes to the bigger meaning behind the film. Alien Nation; alienation. With the use of sound, makeup and costumes, and estrangement of the Newcomers’ characters Alien Nation sheds light on the racists attitude often seen displayed in America.
The film presents scientific and biological evidence that people of different races are not genetically distinct from each other; the comparison of DNA sequences was able to clearly show that this idea of races being biologically different from each other is false. This was able to show that the belief of distinct differences between races is the effect society has had on us, because of the inequality and social injustice present. This shift will be difficult, because people are so used to seeing people being treated differently due to their race and have been exposed to people of different races being represented
“District 9” raises issues of racial inequality and xenophobia by portraying aliens as suppressed and segregated creatures by humans. The film’s theme alludes to apartheid in South Africa, and in fact, its title “District 9” is not a mere coincidence. It points directly to the real District 6 in Soweto, South Africa, which is known for mass protests of the black people against segregation. The title of the film is actually an allusion to the real city area in Johannesburg where 60,000 persons were moved by force in the mid 70-s by the Apartheid government.
I wish to submit an essay entitled “A Refugee’s Inescapable Trials and Tribulations” for consideration in the Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman’s Quest to Make a Difference Essay Contest.
Whatever the term deviance creates , in general it is popularly assumed that 'deviants' are individuals who are somehow less capable, less socially responsible, less adjusted, and consequently less useful to society than their more fortunate, upright and 'normal' fellows ( Social Deviance in Australia, p 4). In the case of Aboriginal drinking, alcohol is the main source of criminalisation and incarceration. This public labelling gives the individual an entirely new status- one which tends to dominate the person's self conception. Once this assumes a 'master status' it becomes the major reference for personal identity and relegates all to other 'normal' characteristics to a subsidiary status. This process insures that characteristics such as sexual preference, comes to intrude upon and influence almost their entire existence. Once identified publicly, (homosexuals), the person is treated differently and expected to behave differently (Study guide p18). The creation of deviance according to Merton is seen as the responsibility of society ( or the law abiding and respectable members of society) and of the official agents of social control ( police, magistrates, social workers, teachers, judges, doctors and psychiatrists) ( Social Deviance in Australia p 5). Merton draws attention to the causal significance of social, economic and cultural factors of all kinds in pushing or pulling certain types of individuals into courses of action which involved rule breaking. Interactionists', however, like Becker are primarily concerned with the role social control plays in the social production of deviance, which may take two main forms- rule making and rule enforcing. As Becker (1963:9) writes: 'social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitute deviance... and by applying these rules to particular people and labelling them outsiders. While Quinney states that crime is created. He refers to the social definition of deviance, to the fact that the system of government we have created for ourselves was and is constructed by those who have titled authority and power. Control is exerted through a variety of institutions run by and for the elite (Mass media, education, religion). It is those who are in power who define what is seen as deviant behaviour.
In the modern period a common topic used amongst the arts was alienation. The notion of feeling distant from others or an activity to which one should be part of or be involved in was reflected in many pieces during the modern period. Two pieces that were fascinating to me, because of the way they utilized alienation as a part of their visual and literary arts, were “The Scream,” by Edvard Munch and “The Metamorphosis,” by Franz Kafka. Munch and Kafka both used forms of formal elements to get the emotional crisis they felt through to the viewer.
Paton is able to convey the idea of racial injustice and tension thoroughly throughout the novel as he writes about the tragedy of “Christian reconciliation” of the races in the face of almost unforgivable sin in which the whites treat the blacks unjustly and in return the blacks create chaos leaving both sides uneasy with one another. The whites push the natives down because they do no want to pay or educate them, for they fear “ a better-paid labor will also read more, think more, ask more, and will not be conten...
Throughout the entire film race is one of the most prominent themes. The film shows that racism is not one sided as the characters themselves are Caucasian, black, Persian, Iranian, and Hispanic. The film shows that race assumptions not something that is just in existence, but rather society builds up these prejudices and ideas. This can be seen when the district attorney wanting to advance his political career think he can just honor a black man or woman. He suggests a firefighter who his secretary then informs him is actually Iraqi. He responds by saying, “Well he looks black.” Even before knowing someone’s true race and identity society can put up walls. The cops also pull over the couple because the one believes they are biracial and he believes that is wrong. In actuality both people are black one just happens to be of a lighter complexion. Race and racism the film shows limits one’s ability to experience new individuals and
If this movie were to be summarized in one sentence, one may say that no matter who you are, everybody holds preconceptions and stereotypes against other people. For example, in this movie, an upper-class white woman sees two black men so she clings to her husband, showing she is scared of them. Even though this woman had no idea who they were, she still jumped to a conclusion that they were going to harm her because of the color of their skin.