So today I went along to see District 9. I am in the USA on business and took the opportunity on a Sunday morning to go along and see this movie. Now much has been said about the movie and it seems to have got pretty good write ups by many critics despite its low budget and unkown cast. Those of my family that have seen it all "laughed" at the indirect references to South Africa during the apartheid years. If you are South African you would recongise many faces from the local soapie "Isidingo".
In a review on www.guardian.co.uk mention is made that the film, “wears its politics most lightly, making no mention of apartheid or its legacy in today's impoverished black townships. But the allegorical overtones are inescapable in the plot about aliens who, their spaceship stranded above Johannesburg, have to endure a
daily routine of unemployment, gangsterism and xenophobia in a squalid shantytown”.
Indeed this is true, there is no direct reference to these things but there are many subtle and not so subtle references. Most people who see this movie around the globe will not have a South African heritage or have knowledge of the realities of living in South Africa both in 1980s Johannesburg and now. Neil Blomkamp has managed to paint a picture that is consistent with the picture of South Africa that is typically painted by the international media.
What he has also managed to do is make this realistic for those of us whom lived through those times. This is where I had some unfamiliar emotional reactions while I was watching the movie. It was maybe just a bit too close to reality for me. Memories came flooding back of that time both at school and later on during my military stint doing my “National Service”. Many of my friends and some of my family had the ignominious honour of doing “township duty” during national service - patrolling townships which were reminiscent of District 9, keeping aliens in check with force. I came across this blog http://eetkreef2.blogspot.com/2009/08/town-called-alex-part-2.html which is a good description. Neill is probably a bit young to have experienced this directly but he has clearly done his homework and his creative genius is evident.
The apathetic reaction of the journalists and the state stooges and the disgusted reaction of the public in general are close to how I remember. Sadly, the squalid setting in the District 9 location where the prawns live in shanties and pick through rubbish for subsistence is also a true reflection. Even more sad, is that many of these conditions still remain despite 15 years of “democracy”.
I was sad, embarrassed and ashamed when I saw the movie. It got me thinking. Back when I was 17 years old, they trained me to fight, gave me a weapon and told me who the enemy was. I was not even old enough to drive a car or drink a beer legally. I was clearly too young to understand what was really going on in the country. Perhaps it was not Neill’s intention to elicit these emotions and I am sure that the vast majority of folks watching this movie will not know the difference.
I can’t speak for others on this but I guess that for some of us who were there and experienced 1980’s apartheid South Africa, spent time in the military under the old regime, did our best to weather the new regime’s pitiful attempts to mould a new country and also have a conscience, this movie is bound to surface some unusual emotions.
*** Please note that these views are my own and are in no way those of any body, organisation or company that I may be connected to.
In a review on www.guardian.co.uk mention is made that the film, “wears its politics most lightly, making no mention of apartheid or its legacy in today's impoverished black townships. But the allegorical overtones are inescapable in the plot about aliens who, their spaceship stranded above Johannesburg, have to endure a
daily routine of unemployment, gangsterism and xenophobia in a squalid shantytown”.
Indeed this is true, there is no direct reference to these things but there are many subtle and not so subtle references. Most people who see this movie around the globe will not have a South African heritage or have knowledge of the realities of living in South Africa both in 1980s Johannesburg and now. Neil Blomkamp has managed to paint a picture that is consistent with the picture of South Africa that is typically painted by the international media.
What he has also managed to do is make this realistic for those of us whom lived through those times. This is where I had some unfamiliar emotional reactions while I was watching the movie. It was maybe just a bit too close to reality for me. Memories came flooding back of that time both at school and later on during my military stint doing my “National Service”. Many of my friends and some of my family had the ignominious honour of doing “township duty” during national service - patrolling townships which were reminiscent of District 9, keeping aliens in check with force. I came across this blog http://eetkreef2.blogspot.com/2009/08/town-called-alex-part-2.html which is a good description. Neill is probably a bit young to have experienced this directly but he has clearly done his homework and his creative genius is evident.
The apathetic reaction of the journalists and the state stooges and the disgusted reaction of the public in general are close to how I remember. Sadly, the squalid setting in the District 9 location where the prawns live in shanties and pick through rubbish for subsistence is also a true reflection. Even more sad, is that many of these conditions still remain despite 15 years of “democracy”.
I was sad, embarrassed and ashamed when I saw the movie. It got me thinking. Back when I was 17 years old, they trained me to fight, gave me a weapon and told me who the enemy was. I was not even old enough to drive a car or drink a beer legally. I was clearly too young to understand what was really going on in the country. Perhaps it was not Neill’s intention to elicit these emotions and I am sure that the vast majority of folks watching this movie will not know the difference.
I can’t speak for others on this but I guess that for some of us who were there and experienced 1980’s apartheid South Africa, spent time in the military under the old regime, did our best to weather the new regime’s pitiful attempts to mould a new country and also have a conscience, this movie is bound to surface some unusual emotions.
*** Please note that these views are my own and are in no way those of any body, organisation or company that I may be connected to.
