"District 9" Speculative Discussion Thread

Not sure if others noticed but I found great parallels between the conflict and subject matter in the movie and what is going on in Gaza right now.

Maybe the sequel will display the final destruction of the oppressed aliens (Gazan's) or somehow through the chaos they find peace but I highly doubt it.

Can anyone doubt that the "District 10" mentioned in the end of the film is actually an extermination camp?

Think about it. A "final solution" for the fast-reproducing prawns that nobody wants.

And it's not as if Africa is a stranger to genocide, just think of the appalling image of bodies clogging the Kagera River during the Rwandan genocide not 15 years ago... imagine an African river choked with murdered alien bodies. Too horrible to contemplate - but can anyone doubt that is the way it would happen?

First off, outstanding movie. My fav of the year, and a lesson to other studios that big budgets don't mean squat!

How would this play out in the real world? Other than how the ship arrives, which would be much more chaotic than I think they alluded to, pretty much like it did in the movie I think.

However, if the aliens were all of average/upper intelligence I think that things would have been much different. Also, I think it would depend what country they came to a stop in. Would have been a total different outcome if the stopped above North Korea or Iran.

I think what made this movie so much better than most people expected is that, at the core, it is a very human story.

Can't wait to pick this movie up on Blu-ray and relax at home in front of my kick ass Sony HDTV (that I bought myself for the holidays, lol)

reply to post by IgnoreTheFacts


i think the aliens were, of high intelligence. simply for their breeding they had to make a diy labratory..

and we see them effortlessly dismanntle eletrical compoents to build new devices.

Originally posted by MR BOB
reply to post by IgnoreTheFacts

 

i think the aliens were, of high intelligence. simply for their breeding they had to make a diy labratory..

and we see them effortlessly dismanntle eletrical compoents to build new devices.

That's assuming their intelligence could be quantified individually in the same ways as ours, it's possible that given several millennia of advanced technology that they are inherently able to function in a highly technological society, and great at dealing with technology, but entirely incapable of operating in a relatively primitive society such as ours. I think a good analogy would be dropping a stock broker into the darkest part of the Amazon rainforest and expecting them to survive as well as local tribes.

IIRC at the start of the film, during the initial evictions one of the aliens says "what's an eviction?" it's possible they come from a civilisation where notions of ownership aren't ever questioned because of the way their society is organised. Which could be one of the reasons they've encountered so many problems fitting into human society, along with general intolerance and unwillingness to teach them on their terms.

[edit on 17-12-2009 by jackphotohobby]

Nice "preparative" thread. I am full of anticipation. To the point: District 9 is deeply impressive with the unexpected view that even technically superior alens might have non-superior weaknesses. Makes one think that when "they" finally do show up/are revealed, "they" will be individuated and show quirks just as humans do. This will be reassuring and dismal all the same. Also makes one think a lot of us are expecting aliens to have superior intellects, self control and virtue - all the human problems that our religions and philosophies attempt to help us with.

Oh man i loved this movie. So brilliantly written. I've only seen it once so i am somewhat hazy on specifics, but it set the bar for me as far as Sci-Fi goes. It is up there with Star Wars.

Anyways i think there are possibly THOUSANDS of ways the sequel could go. The most obvious one to me was that out of the hundreds of aliens there were in D9 we can't assume the Main Alien (the guy who Vicus Helps.) is the only intelligent Alien. I thought that perhaps from within the Alien Group an insurgency or Revolutionary faction forms from within the camp. The Aliens are clearly Armed well enough to do so and they are more than likely capable of organizing. I believe that the savage nature they displayed is a hallmark of any oppressed or underprivileged group. To a homeless man A Mcdonalds meal could be like eating at the Russian Tea Room or having Bobby Flay as a Personal Chef. To the Jews in the holocaust a well baked piece of bread would be liek a perfectly prepared lobster. As a result of the aliens forming into factions they could use Guerrilla or "terrorist" tactics to achieve their Revolt. Going back to the main alien not being the only intelligent and scientifically capable Alien in D9 there could be another one who was secretly developing a biological weapon much like the one used on Vicus, some exotic weapon based on current Theoretical Physics.



...More to come.

Originally posted by shadow watcher
Ultimately once the military overcame the huge biological hurdle with the alien weapons, they would most likely shuttle most of them away to secure bunkers around the globe to be dissected further to insure total control.
The remaining refugees would most likely be subjected to biological weapons testing to find weaknesses to exploit in the event of an attack.

I honestly cannot foresee a peaceful harmony ever being reached.
In a paraphrase from V (which must also be a historical quote from somewhere), 'when two cultures first meet the stronger will always dominate the weaker'.

V took that from history books;
Some examples would be when Europeans arrived in the "New World"
Or the Vikings with superior weaponry sacking Europe.
Sorry if that was a bit off topic.
On topic:
Supposing aliens were contained in real life on a concentration camp here on earth.
The government would tell us all it was illusion/experiment. That is was a hollographic version of Orson Well's War of the Worlds.
They would do this at the first opening they could get.
Then they would spin the media and turn all the tricks that they usually use to convince us that something which happened did not actually happen.
And we , the sheeple of the world, would buy it.

Great film, and thanks Springer for giving us this opportunity to have some input of ideas.

My hope for a sequel is probably a little bit too optimistic in regards to human (or prawn) nature but I can always dream.

I'd like to see the return of Christopher, not alone obviously, but with no intentions of harming us. I think an Independence Day-style battle would be spectacular, but in my perfect world there would be some way the aliens could return, free their brothers and sisters, and begin some kind of real diplomacy with Earth without the need for violence.

Would probably make for a boring film, but perhaps the plot could be divided between the viewpoints of 2 prawns. Say perhaps they send back ships with their ministers for defense and relations or something (corny I know, but just follow me here for a sec) and the polar opposite views of these 2 individuals could lead to conflict and a self-sabotaging of the negotiations process. War could break out, but the story could follow Christopher and the more peaceful factions aboard the ships in their attempts to broker a deal or rescue those in District 10 before the fighting escalates.

That is about the extent of my ideas for that particular take on the story. Sadly, whatever is done it has to be incredible otherwise it will disappoint compared to the first film. That is the fate of all first-time-blockbuster directors. I do think that Neill has it in him to outdo District 9 though, and I hope he succeeds.

[edit on 17-12-2009 by fooffstarr]

Believe it or not, I have stood face to face with an alien.

He did not refer to himself as an alien though, but as a “time traveler, from our future.”

He was not a friendly, and let me know that he was a cannibal and here for human female meat.

All communication was telepathic.

At first I though it was someone wearing a costume, black cape with a high collar, ashen white complexion, extra-large bald head, over six feet tall, beady human eyes, extremely long fingers, and teeth of a carnivore.

He smiled at me and paralyzed me in my tracks, as I was only able to get within about 15 feet of him.

I have a very clear memory of approaching him, but absolutely no memory of how I left the scene.

The experience was genuine, and it drastically changed my perspective of reality.



[edit on 17-12-2009 by seasoul]

reply to post by seasoul


I've seen that guy around, he's not an alien though.

D9 is as much a story about being human and our place in the universe as it is about ETs. Maybe a popular trilogy can teach those of us who are not so well-versed un the ET/UFO phenonema just how we can make the change and how able we are to get along with our cosmic cousins.

...y'know if thats the route Neil wants to go down... then fair play to the guy...

reply to post by freelance_zenarchist


Dude, this picture you share is basically what the "time traveler" looked like.

The time traveler's fingers were long, but they were fingers and not claws. I don't really recall his ears. The eyes are similar, and he did have the high collar, but it was on a black satin cape, and not a seaman's peacoat.



[edit on 17-12-2009 by seasoul]

reply to post by Springer


All i wanna know is..... can i be in the movie?

I havn't seen 'district 9' yet so i can't give any impressions yet but i'll try and catch it within the 2 weeks and add my 2 cents worth

the most belevable senario is that the govenments would proberly covert the technology involved and try to gain insite into alien culture while preventing other contries from any discovories this in its self may hinder the goal of advancement as the economys of the world are in need of clean energy and when the ships come back the saved may become the saviours as the world changes rapidly the population losses sight of the true intensions of the eleite alians which is to study and imprison us in a prison planet world as slave labour

Originally posted by Cybernet
D9 is another one of those slow "getting used to" pieces for the general public. Heck, Spielberg worked on this movie and he loves aliens and believes in them...

The problem with that theory is since 1902, when Georges Méliès released Le Voyage dans La Lune there have been aliens in SF movies - so unless you claim for 107 years TPTB have been getting ready for a disclosure about aliens....

District 9 has become my all time favorite science fiction film (topping Akira and the Star Wars sagas).

Things I loved about the film:

- Much in the film prompts a sequel.
- The word 'prawn'.
- How Wikus says 'fookin' in practically every sentence.
- The metamorphosis of Wikus throughout the film. He grows from an ancillary character into a science fiction icon.
- The biotech-bot-suit-thingy showcased some of the more realistic cg I've seen in a while.
- The mustache. Wikus makes the mustache cool again.

On a less trivial note and in response to the OP: The film is an apt commentary on man's incivility and overall lack of selfless altruism whether on an interplanetary or analogical level.

Alright you fookin' prawns. I'm off to trim my mustache.



[edit on 17-12-2009 by rexusdiablos]

images3.wikia.nocookie.net...

Has anyone forgotten the Bio-Weapon that turned Vicus? into a prawn?

Wasn't the "Scientist Prawn" developing that weapon?

Screw the swine-flu, imagine all of humanity turned into "prawns"!

reply to post by MajesticJax


Actually, the aliens were developing that stuff for fuel, not for a bioweapon. I believe the effect on humans was an unintended (?) side effect of exposure.

Springer...