Social Knowledge

Social knowledge consists of two things: brute facts and institutional facts. The brute facts are the basic things an audience sees. For instance, during the film District 9 when the audience sees Wikus they may note that he is male, around 30 years old, has brown hair, a mustache, etc. These are the basic characteristics of Wikus. The institutional facts are situational and depend on the person. It is a person’s perception that has been shaped, allowing him/her to see certain things as something in particular. Now Wikus may be seen as a person who lacks willpower, has low self-esteem, or is overtly happy in order to hide his hatred for his job. All of these views of Wikus are possibilities that depend on a person’s social knowledge of the situation. What a person sees and perceives is often due to their background. This is why when watching sports some can see an intricate play while others only see random movement. The person who sees the intricate play has probably had some experience with the sport before. For instance, when first watching District 9 I didn’t see the apartheid metaphor right away. For me the metaphor of racial segregation stood out because I am an American and because of our countries past history. Basically, social knowledge isolates bits of information in order to give meaning and significance to something.

Metamorphosis

During the Film, Wikus begins to transform into an alien (which looks very much like insects) and by the end of the film his metamorphosis is complete. This film, specifically the metamorphosis, is very similar to a short story, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. In this story, the main character Gregor wakes up one morning to find he has been transformed into a giant bug. From here his life is forever changed. After the initial shock, his family (especially his sister Grete) begin to take care of him but this becomes tiresome and eventually he is left alone in his storage filled room to die.

Both characters are extremely weak, tiredly trying to please others. For instance, even when Gregor is an insect he pleads with the chief clerk who visits his house looking for an explanation about his absence from work to spare his parents and that he will be present tomorrow. Wikus acts very similar to this and is constantly used as a scape goat. Before Gregor turned into an insect he was a door to door salesman who hated his job. This parallels to Wikus who isn’t shown to necessarily hate his job but is forced to work behind a desk making him seemed trapped due to duty and the circumstances involving his wife’s father. Both Wikus and Gregor become outcasts from the world and their families. As their bodies begin to change they start adopting a new lifestyle. Wikus begins to eat differently, he starts to enjoy cat food and Gregor begins to realize that his favorite drink of milk is no longer palatable. In the end, Gregor is left to die and Wikus is thought to be dead by his parents. After Gregor’s death there is great relief from his family as well as the parents of Wikus who say they like to think they never had a son.

In a weird way both men are more human after becoming something the rest of humanity finds repugnant. Wikus is shown to be most human when he begins his transformation. The viewer learns about his deep love for his wife and his emotions toward Christopher. Instead of being a drone living behind a desk with no agency he takes action and fights back. Gregor on the other hand, would have experienced a similar life if he remained a human. As a human his family would have progressively dehumanized him eventually leading to a sorrowful death. Gregor is stuck with a life that he hates, constantly being lied to by his family and having to provide financially for them. As a bug he beings to learn his family’s financial situation is a bit better than he was led to believe and he begins to realize how dependent his family was on him. Before this, he was unappreciated and used. Gregor isn’t necessarily more human as a bug but he was unappreciated and ignored as much as a bug.

Racism in District 9

District 9 is a politically charged film and it has created a bit of controversy. Many now claim (and I can see it myself) that the film is racist. For instance, the aliens (which are suppose to represent the oppressed black population) are disgusting creatures that eat cat food, live in filth, defecate on their own homes, and kill without remorse. At the beginning of the film, the audience is suppose to side with the MNU and their plan to remove the aliens from the city. Who would want this horde of destructive aliens living in their city among their children? I know I wouldn’t. Only later in the film do we begin to see how badly the humans treat the aliens and begin to have some sympathy for them. But this is only because of Christopher (the main prawn) and how he acts more like a human. A question arises about how these aliens could have all this high tech weaponry and still act like total savages. Supposedly, the aliens took all there lower class citizens and put them on a ship to earth because they were unsure if it would ever return. Christopher is the only educated prawn and was most likely the pilot of the ship. So, the aliens on earth are seen as stupid, destructive, and unclean. Only the one educated alien (Christopher) allows the audience to contain any sort of sympathy for the aliens.

I can see how this could be considered racist but that is only if the viewer believes the aliens are suppose to represent the oppressed black population directly. Making the aliens this way was most likely done to make the films visuals more gritty and scary and to get the bigger message of oppression out there rather than to be a direct representation of black people. Due to this, I do not believe the aliens represent the black population directly nor should it be considered racist.

Where the racism occurs is with the black Nigerian gangsters. The racism occurs when we learn the Nigerians are cannibals who sell Nigerian prostitutes to the aliens. This becomes racist because the Nigerians are already shown as despicable humans; the cannibalism and prostitution are unnecessary and even create some plot holes. Why have the main Nigerian gangster be a cannibal? When he finds Wikus he wants to cut off his arm and eat it in order to become more powerful, risking the only asset he has to the use of alien weaponry. I understand the gangster probably isn’t the most intelligent guy but he has been shown eating alien flesh before with no result. A better option for him would be to cut off the arm and use it to shoot the weapons or try and force Wikus to use them. Having the Nigerians be cannibals only makes them look that more bloodthirsty and really has nothing to do with the story.

This is also seen through Nigerian prostitution. The MNU as well as South Africa knows there are human prostitutes having sex with aliens and therefore know it is most likely impossible for a human to transform into an alien due to sexual contact. An ad is shown warning other South Africans to stay back from Wikus because his STD is contagious and if they see him to call the MNU. Although it is unclear if the general public knows that he is transforming into an alien, the viewer is led to believe that some people do know. During a conversation with his wife Wikus states he is going, “To make himself better” and “Turn things back to the way they use to be” leading the viewer to believe she knows of his metamorphosis. So why include Nigerian prostitution? The viewer knows as well as South Africa that sexual relations have been going on between the aliens and humans but now suddenly there are alien STD’s that are contagious and can possibly transform a human into an alien? The cannibalism and prostitution by the Nigerians is only included to add to the gruesomeness of the Nigerians and this is why they have become so upset about it.