In 1982, a massive spaceship appeared in the sky above Earth, evoking both fear and intense curiosity among people. After a period of anxious anticipation, the extraterrestrial craft remained motionless. Humans cautiously approached it, eventually forcing their way inside, only to discover countless alien beings. They were described as ugly, resembling prawns, and were in poor health, and weak.
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As it turned out, these were a group of extraterrestrial refugees, eventually accepted by Earth's inhabitants and confined to an area in Johannesburg, South Africa, known as "District 9." Over 20 years, the population of these extraterrestrial refugees grew to over 1.8 million, leading to escalating conflicts with the surrounding humans, with an increasing number of people calling for the expulsion of "The Prawns."
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After consultations, the Multi-National United (MNU) organization decided to relocate the extraterrestrial refugees to a more remote area. Wicus (Sharlto Copley), an agent from MNU's Alien Affairs division, was tasked with overseeing the relocation efforts. However, Wicus' arrogant and casual approach led to frequent clashes with the residents. Ultimately, he paid the price for his actions when he was infected by a mysterious alien substance, slowly transforming into a prawn-like being.
I've watched the movie "District 9" more than once, and each time, I gain new insights and reflections. Some of my friends enjoy the scenes where "The Prawns" attack humans and find it satisfying.
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Why, as humans, do we take the perspective of the aliens?
In "District 9," "The Prawns" and humans can communicate through language; their behavior and thoughts align with human patterns. Witnessing "The Prawns" mourning their companions lost to biochemical experiments, and their efforts to return home—all of these make us exclaim that these prawn-like beings are more human than they seem. Well, it's better to say they are human, except for their prawn-like appearance. This might be why audiences feel a sense of identity with them.
A Story of Earth Infused With Sci-Fi Elements
For me, this identity is like a metaphor for colonization. Humans’ treatment of "The Prawns" reflects the atrocities of humans in history. Why could Europeans slaughter Native American Indians centuries ago? Why did the Germans attempt the genocide of the Jewish? Terms like "prawns," and so on are derogatory terms applied to the other group. It is precisely due to the dehumanization of different races — or the "othering" of these "different races" — that allows them to engage in merciless killings with a disturbing sense of justification.
But in "Schindler's List," why would Oskar Schindler, a German businessman, protect Jews? Because he communicated with the workers in his factory, learned about their backgrounds, and understood that they were at least “human beings.”
The premise for peaceful coexistence between civilizations, races, or species is inevitably mutual understanding and the recognition of each other's humanity. Despite outward appearances, what makes us human is rooted in "human nature." This is why I say that "The Prawns" in "District 9" are essentially human, not aliens. We've projected our moral, emotional, and social views onto them. This is why, compared to the government forces, we lean more towards "The Prawns." The movie portrays them without revealing the human side of the former.
However, this bias can be dangerous and narrow-minded.
The Justification of Morality
Does a noble motive justify one group taking another group's lives? How do you determine the nobility of a motive? Likewise, how do you judge the righteousness of your morality?
By extension, if a human being were possessed by an extraterrestrial being and needed to be killed to save humanity, should they be killed? If a village collectively contracts a virus that poses a risk of infection to the surrounding area, should the village be destroyed? If a certain ethnicity is considered inferior and unintelligent, and sacrificing them would improve the overall quality of humanity, should they be killed?
If we're willing to accept the fact that sacrificing one person benefits the majority, then one day we might accept sacrificing a family for the sake of "justice" and "interests," sacrificing a city, sacrificing a nation, sacrificing an entire ethnicity. And thus, we witness phenomena like the Nazis, the Gulf War, and more.
I am a pacifist because I don't believe in absolute justice, nor do I believe that under any motive or pretext, one group can slaughter another. Our willingness to enjoy seeing humans blown to pieces in "District 9" is because the portrayal of humans in the movie doesn't align with our moral and emotional perspectives. We've treated "The Prawns" as humans and treated humans as the "other."
The Weaknesses of Human Nature
Other races, ones we can communicate with, share similar thought patterns; the "other," those we can't communicate with, have unpredictable behavior and thought processes. Our killing of the former is often driven by greed, ambition, or misunderstanding. In the case of the latter, I believe it's mostly about self-preservation.
Imagine this: early in the morning, you go to the front door to get the newspaper, and suddenly you see a creature resembling the prawn-like beings from "District 9" flying towards you. You remember you have a handgun holstered at your waist—would you choose to draw and shoot?
I know I would, even if it might just want to hug me.
Human nature develops from the survival instinct, leading to greed, cowardice, and caution towards other races, as well as fear of the unknown behaviors and thought processes of the "other." These are the weaknesses of human nature.
In a nutshell, the weaknesses of human nature will ultimately prevent us from ever accepting extraterrestrial beings as our friends.
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