第九区与南非殖民主义历史,2018年6月英语六级真
- 编辑:太阳集团 -第九区与南非殖民主义历史,2018年6月英语六级真
Lecture 1
Part I - Post-colonialism and South Africa
The narrator of the “documentary” in the film District 9 describes the
aliens’ landing over Johannesburg as a “surprise” to everyone, since
normally you would expect this to happen “over Manhattan or Washington
or Chicago”. The choice of this location is the first step in separating
this film apart from all the other alien invasion films. And as we
investigate it further, we can discover the political intention behind
this peculiar yet pivotal move.
It all goes back to the director Neill Blomkamp, who is a native South
African himself. He, by choosing to set this film in his native country,
looks beyond the science fiction nature of the alien genre and tries to
evoke the racially segregated past of South Africa. This starts with the
title of the film, District 9, a clear reference to District 6, a Cape
Town neighborhood that was demolished following the enforcement of the
apartheid policy. The non-white people inhabiting in that district were
evicted due to the neighborhood’s proximity to the city center, which is
the exact circumstance under which the eviction of the aliens in the
film happens. Following these two observations, we can grasp the film’s
intention of analogizing the non-white people to the aliens, evoking
some of deficiencies of apartheid that may otherwise be controversial.
The aliens here stand in for the oppressed race and ethnicities. This
film successfully exploits human being’s long-standing indifference for
other species to make the segregation and oppression of the aliens seem
justifiable and reasonable at first. The plot takes a big turn when
narrative shifts from the perspective of humans to the perspective of
the aliens, revealing the “humanity” of those creatures. This change of
perspective is profoundly impactful and relates to the theories of
post-colonialism. According to Shohat and Stam, modern cinema was at
first used to “document the tentacular extensions of empire”(104). It
explored the new “geographical, ethnographic and archeological
territories” from the eyes of the Europeans(104). The spread of
colonialism and imperialism makes cinema a great tool for promulgating
the self-righteousness of the Euro-Americans, making the indigenous
people “invaders in their own land”(123). The problem with this
colonialist view is that it lacks a perspective from the indigenous
people, internalizing this imperialist “gaze” on those foreign lands and
self-proclaiming the right to own them. District 9 differs from the
other alien films in that the aliens are no longer the incomprehensible,
inhumane “other” who kill and destroy without any justifications. They
now have a voice and a mind that we have access to. Their way of
thinking largely resembles that of human beings so that we can
sympathize with these creatures.
In this attempt to humanize the aliens, some of us are able to identify
with them even though they may be a completely different species. And
this is what this film tries to achieve --- it reminds us of the often
neglected other side of coin and sheds a fresh light on the colonized
and apartheid past of South Africa. The irony lies in some of the
similar approaches we take in treating other human beings and a
different species altogether --- segregation, eviction and brutality.
This film thus could be considered a great post-colonial piece of cinema
reflecting on the colonial past and presenting us with the alternative
perspective that the western colonists and intellectuals alike lacked
for centuries.
Government’s private groups and indivisuals spend billions of dollars a year trying to route out non-native organisms that are considered dangerous to ecosystems and to prevent the introduction of new intruders。
Part II - Genre Analysis
District 9 is a refreshing reinvention of a traditional genre, reversing
some of the conventional elements while putting some novel styles into
the mix.
First, it is considered an “alien invasion” film. Its difference from
the more traditional alien invasion films is that the aliens in this one
has no intention whatsoever of invading the earth, rather, they came to
the earth purely by accident. The benevolent nature of the arrival of
the aliens demands a completely different approach on human’s behalf. In
the more conventional alien films, the aliens are often represented as
an evil creature with a violent nature that leave the humans no choice
but to eradicate them one way or another. Such notable films as the
Alien series, Independence Day and War of the Worlds all belong to this
category. District 9, on the other hand, while maintaining the physical
and some of the behavioral differences, reveals the inner common ground
between the aliens and the humans. Such human virtues as friendship,
parenthood and the longing for home can be seen among the aliens
throughout the film. On the contrary, human beings in this film are
generally portrayed as ruthless and profit-seeking, conducting
biological experiments on the aliens and attempting to make profits from
Wikus, the central character who gradually transforms into an alien.
Soldiers destroy the “eggs” of the aliens and kill the aliens for their
own pleasure. All in all, this film depicts a world where people are
mostly xenophobic and uncaring, creating a role reversal in the
traditional alien invasion genre and by doing that, subverting the
established view on the “other” creatures and making us reflect on our
own actions.
However, these characteristics all bear a striking resemblance with
another film, E.T. In that film, the alien is also given a voice and a
genuine human quality. The scientists are also more interested in the
scientific experiments than establishing an effective communication
between the two species. But the difference lies in some of the
stylistic elements in the two films, which may seem trivial at first but
have a huge influence in the way the audience perceive these films. Sony
Pictures, the distributor of District 9, launched a viral marketing
strategy, putting signs saying “humans only” on the streets and creating
a “hotline” for people to report “non-human” activities. These marketing
strategies are created in order to make people aware of the
“seriousness” and “realistic” qualities of the films. They are only
enhanced by the film’s extensive use of “documentary footages”,
interviewing fictional intellectuals to make the whole event seem all
the more real. Media coverage of the entire event is present throughout
the film, eliminating some of the traditional characteristics of genre
films, namely the simplification of social relationships and the
exclusion of other intervening social forces. Indeed, the media does not
only exist in this film, it plays an active role in turning the public
against Wikus as well. By reporting the fabricated story of Wikus having
sexual intercourse with an alien, the government successfully makes the
entire city unsafe for Wikus to stay in. This gives the audience an idea
of what the media is capable of, making the film a critique of media as
well. The “alien-rights” group is also present in the film. Although
they did not make any substantial impact, the inclusion of such a group
reflects the film’s intention in putting the entire story under a
realistic societal context.
E.T., on the other hand, does not put any of those elements in its plot,
making it almost an isolated story happening to a selected group of
people. And since the societal context of the film does not resemble
that of our own, in which media and other intervening forces play a
vital role, the audience is inclined to take it less seriously. Thus
even within the science fiction genre, District 9 sets itself apart in
its exhaustive effort in creating vivid and operating social
relationships that the real-life society possesses. And in this way this
film is taken more seriously than the majority of other sci-fi movies.
We can then conclude by saying that District 9 regroups the syntax of
the alien-invasion sub-genre by creating a role reversal between the
humans and the aliens and adds some interesting elements to the
semantics of the science fiction genre such as documentary and media
reports. It successfully breaks conventions and creates its own unique
narrative, which result in its commercial and critical success.
(16)But a number of scientists question the assumption that the presence of alien species can nevr be acceptable in a natural ecosystem。
Part III - Racial and Class Representations
As I discussed earlier, the film cleverly uses aliens as a metaphor for
the non-white races, addressing issues relating to the apartheid era and
colonialism and evading its potential controversies. Ironically it still
stirs controversy in precisely its ethnic representation as the
degrading portrayal of the Nigerians leads the film to be banned in that
country.
First of all district 9 is a special section designated only for aliens.
On the fences surrounding the district, there are signs saying “No
Humans Allowed”. Yet the Nigerians live exactly in this place where
supposedly only aliens can live, not secretly, but publicly. The
government, while strictly prohibiting any humans to enter district 9,
does not seem to be bothered by the presence of the Nigerians at all.
The exact circumstances of the Nigerians moving into the district and
the reasons behind the government’s inaction are unexplained in the
film. We can only assume that either the Nigerians have a strong
political power to keep them there or the government simply does not
consider them as normal human beings anymore. Second, the Nigerians’
goal in the district is to somehow manage to possess the aliens’
biological structures in order to use the hugely destructive alien
weapons. They don’t want to be humans after all. And they try to achieve
that by using violence, intimidation, witchcraft and prostitution. They
are willing to forego humanity in their pursuit for destructive power.
Third, this is not just one of them. The group consists of at least ten
of them and they are being referred to as “the Nigerians”. This is such
a damaging situation when the people of an entire country is being
represented in a whole by a group of thugs and prostitutes. Fourth, to
add on that, in my genre analysis I point out the “more serious”
approaches this film takes than most of the other sci-fi movies, thus
making this portrayal of “the Nigerians” even more troublesome than some
equally racist characterizations in, say, a cartoon.
All of these aspects make this inconsiderate portrayal of “the
Nigerians” a huge disappointment in an otherwise innovative and creative
film. Some argue that the depiction of white people in this film are
equally negative so it should be exempted from being racist. But I
should argue that the white characters in this film are definitely not
considered as a group and they all have differing personalities. They
can be distinctively heroic or villainy or just simply bland, whereas
the Nigerians as a group are being portrayed as evil and inhumane,
mostly without any distinctions among them.
This leads us to another issue, class. Different classes coexist in this
movie. The upper class is represented by Wikus’ father-in-law, an MNU
leader. When Wikus’ is dear and of use to his family, he arranges his
daughter’s marriage and promotes Wikus on that account. But when Wikus
starts transforming into an alien, he uses the media to defame Wikus and
is able to use military power to fight against him. Basically, he has
enormous political, military and social influence. The Nigerians, in
comparison, have nothing but a limited amount of weaponry. When we come
back to the reason they are in district 9, it can thus be confirmed that
the government simply abandons them there in a way since it definitely
has the power to remove them if it wants to. And for these social
outcasts who do not even have a job, they need to find an alternative
way out. That may be part of the reason why they moved to district 9 and
started dealing with the aliens and seeking supernatural powers.
Wikus, whom the audience is supposed to identify with, is a typical
middle-class man. He is not very intelligent, a bit clumsy and not
charismatic at all to become a leader. However, as he gradually
transforms into an alien, he ironically becomes a better “person” as he
fights off the soldiers spectacularly to make sure the aliens can get
back home at the end. This film, thus, can still be seen as the struggle
of a middle-class white man fighting off his fear to become a stronger
person for love. And it still largely appeals to mainly white, male,
middle-class and heterosexual audiences in this concern.
To conclude, despite all the creativity with genres, this film is still
pretty conservative, even occasionally offensive when it comes to racial
and class representations, appealing mostly to the same audiences other
traditional films do.
They say that portraying introduced species as inherently bad is an unscientific approach。 (17)“Distinctions between exotic and native species are artificial”, said Dr。 Michael Rosenspeek, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona。
Sources Cited:
Ella Shohat. Robert Stam. “Unthinking Eurocentrism”. New York:
Routledge.
“Because they depend on pegging a date and calling the plans on animals that show up after the date, exotic。”
Ecosystems free of species to find as exotic are by default consider the most natural。
“You can’t roll back the clock and remove all the exotics or fix habitats,” Dr。 Rosenspeek said, “Both native and exotic species can become invasive,and so they all have to be monitored and controlled when they begin to get out of the hand ”
At its core, the debate is about how to manage the world’s remaining natural ecosystems and how and how much to restore other habitats。
Species that invade a territory can harm ecosystems, agriculture and human health。
They can threaten some native species or even destroy and replace others。
Next habitat loss, these evasive species represents the greatest threat to bio-diversity worldwide, many ecologists say。
Ecologists generally define an alien species as one that people accidentally or deliberately carried to its new location。
Across the American continents, exotic species are those introduced after the first European contact。
太阳集团娱乐网址 , That date rounded of to 15 AD, represents what ecologist considered to have been a major shift in the spread of species including crops and life stock as they began to migrate with humans from continent to continent。
(18)“Only a small percentage of alien species calls problems in their new habitats,”said Don Smith, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the Univiersity of Tenacy。
“Of the 7000 alien species in the United States, out of a total of 150 species, only about 10% are invasive,” he pointed out, “The other 90% have fit into their environments and are considered naturalized。 ”
“Yet appearances can deceive, ”ecologiest caution, “and many these exotics may be considered acceptable only because no one has documented their harmful affects
What is more, non native species can appear harmless then turn invasive。”
16.What assumption about introduced species is challenged by a number of scientists?
17.What does Dr。 Michael Rosenspeek think of exotic native species ?
18。 What does Professor Don Smith say about alien species?
(李玲贤)
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