Racism
The shadow of the institutionalized and legislated system of racism which existed in South Africa for decades known as Apartheid looms like a dark remindful shadow over every frame in District 9. By the time story begins, the aliens have already been on Earth long for the usual symptoms of prejudice and xenophobia to take on a life of their own. The earthlings don’t trust the aliens and so an oppressive atmosphere is cultivated towards them. This oppressive atmosphere creates engender feelings of fear which leads to protective actions by the aliens viewed as aggression which only serves to kindle the differences between then and the fires of prejudice, bias, bigotry and discrimination in a way that strongly parallels the disordered racism that eventual grew into the tightly controlled system of Apartheid.
Justice Wears Contact Lenses
As a critique of the abuses and excessive undermining of the lofty ideals of equality and justice within a standard democratic government, District 9 aims for the subtle ways in which the system under refutes those notions when practiced rather than merely theorized. The standard issue blank observation that within such a democracy justice is blind and doled out equitably is revealed as false and hypocritical. At every time, the lower down the ladder of wealth and the influence it buys you are, the more likely you are to also become a miscarriage of justice. The key in this being that denial of justice based on grounds of citizenship and immigration can be extrapolated to apply to foreign undesirables in real life just as easily as it is applied to unwanted extraterrestrials in the fictional narrative. The justice system not only favors the wealthy, but should be considered a fully participating member of that exclusive elite.
Who are the Real Monsters Here?
One the most subtle themes at work in the film is the implication that human beings have a natural propensity for equating physical ugliness with an ugliness of character. The aliens are deprecatingly referred to as “prawns” which provide a further obstacle between them and any aspirations toward attaining a sense of humanity. As far as movie aliens go, the prawns definitely stand out from the crowd for being unique in their concerted anti-humanoid design. They are purposely made to truly look alien and even approach at least a level of repulsiveness. Their hideous appearance engenders a natural reaction of the aliens as monstrous with the coincident expectation that their actions and behavior will match that physical appearance. While the prawns can hardly be said to be innocent and noble savages, their violence is primarily a reactionary one whereas the bulk of humans treat them pretty badly and those in charge at MNU can only fairly be described as infinitely more monstrous in the things they do to the aliens compared to the what the aliens do to humans.
