DISTRICT 9

DISTRICT 9. Neill Blomkamp, dir. and script, with Terri Tatchell. South Africa / NZ: Key Creatives, QED International, WingNut Films (prod.) / Sony et al. (dist.), 2009. (See IMDb for complex distribution.)

The aliens of D9 are called "prawns" and do look somewhat crustacean, so also a bit insectoid: their appearance in high-tech contexts therefore fits into the pattern of relating machines with arthropods. Definitely an original work, but as intertextual as most, with potentially useful visual references to D. Cronenberg's THE FLY (1986), Ripley in the loader in the climactic Duel of the Mothers in ALIENS, and the robot in the LOST IN SPACE film of 1998[1], [2] — and, just perhaps, the "cloned" robots of the second STAR WARS trilogy. Central to the plot is alien weapons technology, which can only be used by shooters with alien DNA. For large alien spacecraft, cf. and definitely contrast CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND; for the spacecraft and the ability of humans to operate complex alien equipment without rigorous instruction, cf. INDEPENDENCE DAY. CAUTION:

Insofar as D9 is satiric, we should expect and not be overly upset by the use of types and stereotypes, including ethnic; here, though, one or two may be pernicious, and Nigerians, for one group, may have good reason to complain.

Reviewed by Andrew M. Kelly, SFRA Review #290 (Fall 2009): pp. 18-19.[3]

5. DRAMA, RDE, 14&15/VIII/09 RDE, Title, 21Aug19; 26FEB21