vies like Independence Day, Alien, and other films containing aliens often don’t want the viewer to feel anything but fear for the aliens. Fear that they are going to ruin our existence and way of life. There is no need to understand another life form when all they want is destruction. District 9 turns this idea upside down, displaying humans as the creatures that only want to destroy life. The only way to make a film that would allow the audience to feel for the aliens was to put a human in the alien’s shoes and have him tortured and experimented on by his own kind. In the end his only sanctuary is among other aliens and they are the only ones that will take him in. The transformation of Wikus was an effective way for the viewer to begin to feel empathy for a race that humans have no connection with besides the fact that every creature has a natural habitat, has certain needs, and wants/deserves to be treated a certain way.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Empathy
At the beginning of the film it’s hard for the viewer to have any sort of sympathy for a creature that a human cannot relate to. The aliens are disgusting and malnourished beings that live off trash and are shown to have no human characteristics whatsoever. This is why it was necessary for Blomkamp to add an element to the film that I (along with most viewers) did not see coming. The transformation of Wikus from a human to an alien. His transformation puts the viewer in the perspective of the aliens which helps the viewer fully understand their situation and allows them to feel empathy. Mo
vies like Independence Day, Alien, and other films containing aliens often don’t want the viewer to feel anything but fear for the aliens. Fear that they are going to ruin our existence and way of life. There is no need to understand another life form when all they want is destruction. District 9 turns this idea upside down, displaying humans as the creatures that only want to destroy life. The only way to make a film that would allow the audience to feel for the aliens was to put a human in the alien’s shoes and have him tortured and experimented on by his own kind. In the end his only sanctuary is among other aliens and they are the only ones that will take him in. The transformation of Wikus was an effective way for the viewer to begin to feel empathy for a race that humans have no connection with besides the fact that every creature has a natural habitat, has certain needs, and wants/deserves to be treated a certain way.
vies like Independence Day, Alien, and other films containing aliens often don’t want the viewer to feel anything but fear for the aliens. Fear that they are going to ruin our existence and way of life. There is no need to understand another life form when all they want is destruction. District 9 turns this idea upside down, displaying humans as the creatures that only want to destroy life. The only way to make a film that would allow the audience to feel for the aliens was to put a human in the alien’s shoes and have him tortured and experimented on by his own kind. In the end his only sanctuary is among other aliens and they are the only ones that will take him in. The transformation of Wikus was an effective way for the viewer to begin to feel empathy for a race that humans have no connection with besides the fact that every creature has a natural habitat, has certain needs, and wants/deserves to be treated a certain way.
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