When discussing his creative vision and where it came from, in a recent interview Blomkamp stated that the apartheid was his, “most powerful influence.” Also stating that "It all had a huge impact on me: the white government and the paramilitary police -- the oppressive, iron-fisted military environment.” What Blomkamp witnessed in his younger years has shaped who he is and how he identifies with the world. As humans we bring value from our experiences and it is qu
ite obvious that because he lived in segregated South Africa he values social equality more than most leading him to make a film about it. But Blomkamp moved to Vancouver when he was 18 where he experienced a totally different world. It is interesting to wonder if Blomkamp had strong concerns for equality while he was in South Africa or if this only occurred from spending a lot of his life in Vancouver and how different of a person he would be if he would have stayed in South Africa. This move totally changed his reality and it changed the framing of the film. If he wouldn’t have moved the film could have kept along the path that the aliens are creatures not worthy of rights or freedom straying from the apartheid metaphor. But because he did spend so many years in a segregated country what he emphasizes in the film becomes quite obvious. He emphasizes the white upper class and their brutality to the aliens because these are things he has witnessed firsthand.
While the film was shot on location a lot of the film was shot using green screens and special effects. But the area that Blomkamp decided to use for the ghetto of the aliens was in one of Soweto’s poorest neighborhoods. As the film crew began shooting they noticed smoke clouds and choppers flying overhead. South African groups began to lynch and burn other African groups, there seemed to be fighting between Zimbabwean refugees and the South Africans. The films basic themes were still happening all around them, Blomkamp noted that they were witnessing, “black on black xenophobia.” Because of these events he was making a film not only about the past apartheid but about present South Africa as well. Events like these definitely shaped what went into the film. At the beginning of the film there is a scene where smoke is flying up into the sky from a number of different locations and choppers are flying overhead. He most likely included this as a reference to the present struggles in South Africa and because he experienced it firsthand.
ite obvious that because he lived in segregated South Africa he values social equality more than most leading him to make a film about it. But Blomkamp moved to Vancouver when he was 18 where he experienced a totally different world. It is interesting to wonder if Blomkamp had strong concerns for equality while he was in South Africa or if this only occurred from spending a lot of his life in Vancouver and how different of a person he would be if he would have stayed in South Africa. This move totally changed his reality and it changed the framing of the film. If he wouldn’t have moved the film could have kept along the path that the aliens are creatures not worthy of rights or freedom straying from the apartheid metaphor. But because he did spend so many years in a segregated country what he emphasizes in the film becomes quite obvious. He emphasizes the white upper class and their brutality to the aliens because these are things he has witnessed firsthand.While the film was shot on location a lot of the film was shot using green screens and special effects. But the area that Blomkamp decided to use for the ghetto of the aliens was in one of Soweto’s poorest neighborhoods. As the film crew began shooting they noticed smoke clouds and choppers flying overhead. South African groups began to lynch and burn other African groups, there seemed to be fighting between Zimbabwean refugees and the South Africans. The films basic themes were still happening all around them, Blomkamp noted that they were witnessing, “black on black xenophobia.” Because of these events he was making a film not only about the past apartheid but about present South Africa as well. Events like these definitely shaped what went into the film. At the beginning of the film there is a scene where smoke is flying up into the sky from a number of different locations and choppers are flying overhead. He most likely included this as a reference to the present struggles in South Africa and because he experienced it firsthand.
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