Gommel: District 9

This photo, for me, illustrates how Wikus regains his humanity in the end and reaches out to help the alienated gain independence despite the cost.

Using District 9 as an allegory of the apartheid in South Africa was quite effective. Even if one didn't connect this with apartheid, the underlying truths of the irrational inhumane treatment of others can be grasped. District 9 allowed us to see the insensitivity of humankind that can lead to genocide. Initially, the movie was a bit difficult to digest; but ultimately it was quite moving. As an allegory of genocide in general, throughout District 9 one is attuned to the varied elements of genocide that has been encountered throughout the study of the Holocaust in Literature and Film.

Part of the process of identifying others as less desirable are pointing out the differences among thinking upright walking beings: such as physical attributes, belief, cultural lifestyle. Isn't it interesting how appreciative we are of the differences in all other creatures in the animal kingdom? But when it comes to the former, differences can make people indifferent to others denying them dignity that can lead to genocide. Seemingly insignificant differences such as physical attributes-the color or tone of one's skin, eye color, or hair color has lead to genocide. This was most prominent in Rwanda. The greatest reason for this genocide was jealousy over the differences in physical attributes espoused by the Belgians that Tutsis were more like them and deserved power. The Hutus retaliated using machetes to kill nearly one million people in only three months. The aliens of District 9 not only looked, but sounded and acted totally different from humans; except that they walked upright. Unlike the animated movie, in our real world the aliens would have been annihilated on the spot because of their vastly different physical attributes.

Unfamiliar cultural beliefs and lifestyles bring misunderstanding and harsh judgment unto others. Philbert in Pow Wow Highway represents the victim trying to reclaim his Native American culture that has been excluded from society by the United States government. Indians who survived disease and genocide lost their freedom and identity and were sent to live on the reservations in poverty. Before this era they were free to roam the country gathering food and caring for their families in their unique ways. Their culture appreciated the gifts of the earth and did not violate the earth destroying its resources out of greed. They worked hard and took only what they needed for their immediate survival. However that manner of living also provided for future generations. Philbert gained a sense of his ancestral past, yet was still confined to the reservation. The aliens being so culturally different wrought fear of the unknown to the humans. No attempt was made by the humans to understand the differences. They were just considered undesirable and labeled dangerous to society; therefore excluded. Beyond fear - power, greed, and control were usurped which reigned over twenty years. The victimizers found it better to confine the victims to one area to observe and control their behavior, to subdue them into submission and make them dependent. Exclusion from society destroys human dignity and fosters the concept of "otherness" justifying immoral behavior as it crushes the freedom and self-esteem making victims feel worthless and empowering victimizers. The exclusion of some victims such as the aliens of District 9 and the Africans sent to the reserves is cruel; yet for some exclusion leads to outright extermination,

Once one is seen as "other," actions of the victimizers become justifiable. The Wansee Conference was a perfect example of this. Immoral acts can be presented to appeal to one's rationality in a given situation. Language can be used to misrepresent and decisions are hurried before one has time to actually ponder approved actions. Also the need for conformity arises. A person's ideas may be different from those of the group that are all in agreement, but the tendency is to go along with the tyranny of the majority. In Nazi Germany the horrendously inhumane result was to justify the slaughter of the Jews as quickly and as efficiently as possible through use of the gas chambers to purify the nation. In Sarajevo it was a matter of "shelling, sniping and starvation" to exterminate the lives of thousands of people. The siege was executed in the name of nationalism, but it went against the Law of Armed Conflict killing innocent citizens and destroying protected institutions. The severity of the alien genocide was most profound with the killing of the eggs, the young aliens, that would prevent a future generation of aliens from existing.

So identifying others as less desirable and excluding them from society are strategies that lead to the eventual justification of genocide - the extermination of a certain group. But just as Wikus came to see through different eyes (literally) in District 9 when he was exposed to the alien fluid and came to understand their plight; he conversely saw the absurd persecutions by the multinational unit for which he worked. Experiments were performed on him and the aliens by the governmental MNU, just as the Germans did to the Jews in the concentration camps. All was in the name of justifiable research to those who had been identified as "other" and excluded from society. But we must look through the lens of respect for the dignity of humanity and discern the path that leads to true wisdom, knowledge and understanding in our interaction with others.