District 9 Allegorical Analysis Essay Example

District 9, produced by the famed Peter Jackson, directed by Neill BlomKamp, and starring Sharlto Copley, is a 2009 feature film that possess strong allegorical elements of blatant discrimination, intertwined with the thought provoking concepts of governmental deception. Through District 9’s concentration camp like containment of the foreign alien creatures, to the lies presented to the public by the government agencies, this science fiction film provides a gripping plot filled with allegorical components.

The plot of District 9 is conveyed through a documentary-like point of view consisting of an alien spaceship appearing over Johannesburg, South Africa in 1982, with 1.8 million malnourished and stranded aliens onboard. The Multi-Nations United takes control of the situation by creating a temporary campground outside of Johannesburg, which quickly turns into a slum, filled with alien deprivation and crime, known as District 9. The Multi-Nations United decides to evict the aliens, known as prawns, and transport them to a region further from Johannessburg.  Wikus Van De Merwe, the protagonist who has many traits of a round character, is in charge of the eviction of the aliens from District 9, and during the process comes in contact with an alien chemical that slowly turns him into an alien. Through different trials and tribulations, Wikus becomes a fugitive running from the MNU, and attempts to reverse the alien transformation with the help of a prawn on a mission to return to his home planet. The mutual beneficial alliance between the prawn and Wikus ends in an ambiguous manner, with indications that a sequel will have the answers to whether Wikus remains an alien or not.

South Africa has a dark past with regards to the oppressive regimes controlling the country. The black oppression-white supremacists dynamic under the apartheid regime created political, cultural, and economic mayhem until the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990 (Wiley). Under the control of the apartheid’s oppressive policies, the white citizens of South Africa referred to all blacks, in a derogatory manner, as “bantu” (Rothstein). The residents of Johannesburg portray the discriminatory widespread use of “bantu” in District 9 through the use of the word “prawn”. “Prawn” implies an insect-like, bottom dwelling creature that is said in a condescending manner throughout the movie. It is no coincidence that the setting for District 9 is in South Africa, with the alien creatures first arriving to South Africa in 1982, being forced into poor shelter and an abusive cultural in District 9. Peter Jackson, the producer, used the real life racism and discrimination faced by the blacks in South Africa under apartheid as the basis for the racism and discrimination presented in the film against the prawns. Scattered throughout Johannesburg in the film are “no non-human loitering” signs, along with a widely accepted perception that the alien species are inferior to humans. Moreover, not only is their a negative perception and prejudice towards the prawns present, but also citizens of Johannesburg even suggest releasing a virus into the alien species to eradicate them completely. This discrimination by the citizens of Johannesburg towards the prawns reflects the discrimination present in South Africa during apartheid. 

The Multi-Nations United is the governmental agency directly in charge of District 9. While the MNU appears noble in the eyes of the public, the level of deception and corruption conducted by the MNU is extraordinary. In order to move the prawns to their new location outside of Johannesburg in a proper and legal manner, the MNU must have each prawn sign a legal form that gives MNU consent to move them to the new District 9 location. This “legal” process gives the appearance that the prawns have rights and have legally consented to the relocation. However, MNU uses unethical tactics, such as giving the prawns cat food in exchange for a signature (the prawns are addicted to eating cat food), and if a prawn refuses to sign the form, the MNU agents simply kill the prawn. This governmental deception, rooted in blatant discrimination, possesses an allegorical connection to the discrimination exemplified in the United States after the Civil War, and the abolishment of slavery, through the use of Jim Crow laws. Although blacks were freed from slavery and given rights as citizens after the Civil War, and thus appeared to be free, Jim Crow laws were routinely enacted around the United States to discriminate against minorities and make it virtually impossible for them to exercise any freedom, such as the approval of voter literacy tests for blacks (Milner). The MSU’s abuse of the handling of the prawns possesses an allegorical mirror to the corrupt Jim Crow laws of America’s past.

Once Wikus begins his transformation into a prawn, the Multi-Nations United no longer views Wikus as an employee, but rather as a potentially lucrative business asset. MNU is the 2nd largest weapons manufacturer in the world and, since the arrival of the alien species, the MNU has been attempting to utilize the prawns’ impressive military arsenal.  However, the weapons only work for the alien species. The MNU, though, realizes that Wikus, who is in the middle of transforming into an alien, can detonate all of the foreign weaponry, and seeks to exploit Wikus for his ability to control the weapons, with complete disregard or lack of concern for his health. It is fair to conclude that the MNU’s corrupt agenda presents them as the antagonist, rather than the alien species. Additionally, once Wikus escapes from the manipulating control of the MNU and becomes a refugee in District 9, the Multi-Nations United announces to the public that Wikus engaged in sexual intercourse with a prawn, and this is why Wikus is transforming into a prawn. This is a lie used as propaganda to capture Wikus for his warfare abilities, as the Multi-Nations United uses yet another form of deception and corruption to achieve their political and military agenda. This governmental deception can be allegorical to the War on Terror, as many Americans felt that the government was not being truthful with the public. Some speculation towards to the War on Terror includes the belief that the War on Terror was a lie used as cover for other purposes in a gross contravention of American ideals (Scanlon). However, the truth remains unknown to the general American public, and the same can be said with regards to the many MNU lies to the South African population in District 9.

District 9 is a quintessential allegorical science fiction film that touches on vital human issues such as discrimination and political corruption, without directly forcing the ideas onto the viewer. In addition, by focusing the discrimination on aliens, and not any particular race of humans, the film shows how readily many people will discriminate against those they view as being less human than them.

Work Cited

District 9. Dir. Neill Blomkamp. TriStar Pictures, 2009. .

Milner, Stella. "The Jim Crow Laws." History In An Hour. Word Press, 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. <http://www.historyinanhour.com/2013/09/23/the-jim-crow-laws-brief-summary/>.

Rothstein, Chloe. " Overcoming Apartheid Policies Yesterday and Today: An Interview with a Former Bantu Education Student and Present-Day Activist." Stanford.edu. N.p., 19 Sept. 2004. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.stanford.edu/~jbaugh/saw/Chloe_Bantu_Education.html>.

Wiley, David . "About Overcoming Apartheid." . Michigan State University, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. <http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/about.php>.

Scanlon, John. "The “war on terror” is a lie.." http://www.dailykos.com. N.p., 9 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/09/1276385/-The-war-on-terror-is-a-lie>.