Comments on: Spoily Spoily Spoilerpants District 9 SPOIL SPOIL

By: Blogosaurus

Blogosaurus — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:38:15 +0000

The aliens were amazing. Actually the special effects overall were superb!

Yeah, I bet there is a ton of stuff we north americans miss. One of my areas of concentration in my history degree was South Africa so I have a bit of a background, but I would love to watch it with a local to get the real goods!

By: Hillary

Hillary — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:09:15 +0000

I was just talking about that movie today! I haven’t seen it yet (just got back from 8 months in Africa!) but am really looking forward to. A friend from S Africa was talking about how it has SO many levels of political satire in it that we N Americans wouldn’t get. But also, know those crazy crazy aliens? My good friend Gus is the animator/artist who dreamed those suckers up and brought them to life! I’ll be sure not to expect much from the characters, though, apparently!

By: Mel

Mel — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:48:04 +0000

I really enjoyed the movie. You are right that the human characters were all jerks, but they also showed that there were other concerned humans out there, they just didn’t work for MNU. Why? Because MNU was controlled by a greedy corporation who had no interest in taking care of the aliens beyond how they could profit from them.

Also, the main alien was not the one that got raided, it was his buddy that he had asked to hide the fluid for. The main guy did a really good job of staying below the radar until closer to the end of the movie. He was clearly smarter than the other aliens, and they hinted that there was a smarter race of aliens controlling the workers left in the ship. He may have been one of them, or just a really smart worker. It was definitely a movie that left a lot of unanswered questions, but I didn’t see that as a flaw.

And I wouldn’t call the main character a martyr…he was a bastard until it didn’t serve him any more. He didn’t die, and he didn’t take his punishment willingly, and he didn’t have a cause.

I liked this movie precisely because I could not relate to this character…because although he was not likable, people like him certainly exist and it’s interesting to explore that.

By: Blogosaurus

Blogosaurus — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:21:51 +0000

You’ll have to see for yourself!

By: Lara

Lara — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:46:45 +0000

I have to say that I went into the movie with a preconception. I honestly wanted to see a movie where the humans were the monsters and the aliens the hapless victims. (It was, in fact, something that I said on my way home the night that I saw it.)

the whole “humans good, aliens bad” schtick is so played out, IMAO. Humans have failings too, which should be acknowledged and addressed.The non-acceptance of outsiders and workaday cruelty that we are capable of should not be overlooked or taken lightly.

I found the Pratchett quote (or “quotation” is you want to be all “correct” about it) that I was referring to earlier:

“There are hardly any excesses of the most crazed psychopath that cannot easily be duplicated by a normal kindly family man who just comes in to work every day and has a job to do.”

— (Terry Pratchett, Small Gods)

By: Husband

Husband — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:05:24 +0000

It is certainly well documented that many concentration camp staff were ruthless and inhumane at work but were kind and gentle at home, after work.

Human beings are a complex and certainly not straightforwardly consistent bunch.

I haven’t seen this movie yet, but I recall that historical observers of WW 2 concentration camp survivor behaviour would regularly note the striking disparities between “at work” and “at home” action.

Was that perhaps being echoed in this film?