# District 9: Rave Reviews So Far... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2009, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152 "2009-08-12T07:49:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/141 "2009-08-17T21:06:38Z")
> [@Incubus](#): > > …[spoiler]…1.) What do they call THEMSELVES? We name them after some indigenous crustasceon, but I’m sure they have a more dignified term for themselves. > > 2.) Um, culture, religion, origin? They toy around with this by tossing some vague theories, but they’ve been here for 20 years, nobody thought to ask questions like, “What do you call your planet, where is your sun located, how different is your planet from ours, etc.”…[/spoiler] Who says we haven’t asked all that? It’s clear that humans and MNU’s are physically incapable of actually speaking each others language. Translating the proper noun for their homeworld would be like translating the word “Earth” into “dirt”. Just learning to understand it must’ve been extremely difficult, yet nobody seems to have any problem. :dubious: > [@wierdaaron](#): > > …The only alien that seemed to think independently was Christopher. I wonder if he was actually a higher-up in the alien civilization, the pilot of the ship perhaps. Well we saw footage of that command pod being jettisoned soon after the mothership arrived and Christopher just happened to build his shack over it. Do we really need to keep using spoilers at this point? ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/142 "2009-08-17T21:16:57Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Do we really need to keep using spoilers at this point? No. Someone from Weta (who did the CGI and effects) said that some of the weapons in the movie were intended to be repurposed tools. In the same way you could wield an axe, chainsaw, or steel riveter as a weapon, some of the prawn “guns” may have been mining equipment or such. Note that some of the guns had a very earth-gun aesthetic to them (hard, black metal) and others were bright orange and white, like the… lets call it gravity gun that Wikus uses when he first escapes the Nigerians (it seemed to just push things away with a gust of force), that could easily be originally intended as a tool of sorts. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/143 "2009-08-17T23:15:18Z")
I liked the average-ness of Wikus. He was your average fuckup, given a huge assignment out of nepotism by a father-in-law who didn’t really like him. He could barely keep a lid on his followers’ desire to kick some crustacean ass. The military officer pushed him around on camera for weakly asserting his authority. When he came home sick his father in law laid into him. I really liked Widkus as a character because he was so realistic. The only thing that drove him to action hero mode was the desperation of seeing himself turning into a prawn and knowing the government was more interested in dissecting him than using him alive. I really liked this movie. It was very un-Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/144 "2009-08-17T23:31:23Z")
Just seen it and just have to give my thoughts on the movie. This is probably the first movie that I have ever seen that portrays humans as aliens, not the genetic transformation, but the occult stuff with the Nigerians. Now some guesses the alien ship was either a colony ship or an industrial miner, the majority of the prawns would have been simply workers with no education, twenty years later presumably after the originals had landed, the second and third gen aliens would have reverted to iliterate savages. While we see prawn senior and junior being able to manipulate technology, they don’t really operate it like ship techs would. They make no effort to relocate the remaining prawns onto the ship, simply get the thing into orbit, using the genetic key and hit auto pilot, and promise to return in 3 years, which makes me add convict ship to the list of what it was. The only real problem with the movie that I had was that I could not fixate on what jackson wanted us to fixate on, I seen a big honking ship hovering over joburg, no full time human presence on board working on reverse engineering, basic stuff like that. The corney plot device to have some human multinational Corp taking control and turning the alien camp into some concentration camp with no oversight from anyone and doing medical experiments on the ETs. Can I have interstellar war or starstrike for a thousand Alex. Like I get that South Africa is a pretty powerful country regionally, but Washington not getting involved strikes me as naive. Overall I liked the movie, but don’t expect it to make sense. Declan Big honkin ship hovering over joburg, can I hqv ---
**Author:** ![Saganist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Saganist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saganist)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/145 "2009-08-17T23:52:57Z")
What I’ve been thinking about is how realistic the portrayal of the alien assimilation would be if something like that were to actually happen. It seems to me that such a worldview-shattering event like aliens actually showing up would inspire a vastly more impressive reaction from the world’s governments and populations than a minimal amount of help and moving them into a slum. I got the impression that basically nobody on the planet cared about the prawns except the handful of officials assigned to deal with them and the executives trying to get their weapons. Weren’t there scientists, sociologists, engineers, linguists, etc. interacting with them constantly for the _two decades_ they were on the planet? Was there absolutely no social pressure to make them comfortable? Personally, I found the social setup extremely unrealistic, but then again, maybe that’s exactly what would happen if the arriving aliens were primarily rather dull-witted and preferred to avoid human contact. Any thoughts on what would happen in reality? For the record, I thought the movie was quite good. I have to admit I was a little disappointed from what I expected from the trailers which was a movie that would explore how human society would react to an ambivalent alien arrival (e.g., the interview scene in the trailer; why was that dropped?). I would love to see a sequel where Christopher Johnson returns with a large group of very intelligent prawns and we actually try to explore what would happen in such a scenario without everyone shooting at each other. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/146 "2009-08-17T23:53:27Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > …The only real problem with the movie that I had was that I could not fixate on what jackson wanted us to fixate on, I seen a big honking ship hovering over joburg, no full time human presence on board working on reverse engineering, basic stuff like that… You’re right, that is odd. Then again we don’t know for certain that there wasn’t anybody onboard when Christopher took off. I can why they’d be very reluctant start taking stuff apart though. Cut the wrong wire and suddenly the gravity control drive fails and the ship crashs and wipes out most of Johannesburg. It’s technology must be almost completely beyond our comprehension. The unmanned ship hovered perfectly still for over 20 yrs, they can reverese gravity (the command pod was falling up to the ship along with debris), and it has some form of FTL that can get it to their homeworld (or at least a nearby colony) in 18 months. Humanity is doomed if they come back in force. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/147 "2009-08-18T00:04:13Z")
Jackson who? Michael Jackson? He died. If you mean Peter Jackson, he merely produced this movie (i.e. supported it financially). ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/148 "2009-08-18T00:24:51Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > You’re right, that is odd. Then again we don’t know for certain that there wasn’t anybody onboard when Christopher took off. I can why they’d be very reluctant start taking stuff apart though. Cut the wrong wire and suddenly the gravity control drive fails and the ship crashs and wipes out most of Johannesburg. It’s technology must be almost completely beyond our comprehension. The unmanned ship hovered perfectly still for over 20 yrs, they can reverese gravity (the command pod was falling up to the ship along with debris), and it has some form of FTL that can get it to their homeworld (or at least a nearby colony) in 18 months. **Humanity is doomed if they come back in force.** Well the more I digest the movie , I would have to say no. Some assumptions [SPOILER]The Prawn ship was either a slaver or a forced labor ship and the prawns affected a rebellion, the ship was forced to head the nearest star that could support life and it turned out to be Earth. Mainly because the Prawns were starving and in need of medical attention, and I would imagine that a ship that large, if they could not figure out how to add a hydroponics section, its because they did not care about the Pax, cause it was supposed to be a short trip. We could sanitize the records that say medical research, and remind the New Prawns, that the resident Prawns fell in with a bad crowd and organized crime, and yes the remains of gang warfare were autopsied as per our rules, and yes the cattle that you denied Sentient rights to, by failing to comply with these rules that our admiralty have, which as a fully sentient race such as yourselves must have some version, we were forced to basically pen them up( Get the SecState to gussie that statement up for public consumption) and oh by the way, here is our bill for your nationals and their welfare, as we dont have a common currency , we will take it in trade.[/SPOILER] Declan ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/149 "2009-08-18T00:31:18Z")
My Name is CLickckuclwhbeeepkadf, aka Christopher. Recently repatriated from the Planet Earth, I have access to many millions of dollars. My exit from Earth was less than legal and and I have need of someone to help me repatriate my monies from the National Bank of Nigeria, through the use of Google, your name came to me as being someone of good character. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/150 "2009-08-18T06:20:42Z")
I loved it and it bugged me. As a metaphor for apartheid? It seemed to work quite well. I just can’t quite imagine something like that happening if aliens really showed up, though. If nothing else, I know personally at least one person who would sell everything he could get his hands on to buy a ticket to South Africa and live among the prawns and learn their ways. He’s not just a xenophile, he’d find these specific aliens specifically intriguing. He’d be the Jane Goodall of the prawns. I kept thinking “Eddy would give his right arm to be here.” 😛 I think the main human character was incredible. And I think the idea of “Christopher” being the only ‘intelligent’ one among them makes a little sense: if they really were like worker ants or bees, they could breed for genetic predisposition to castes: scientist, worker, soldier, queen, whatever. But only queens should be able to lay eggs, so children being born down here doesn’t work well for that. Still, they aren’t actually ants, so who’s to say? Anyway, I have the feeling that burning creches was probably pretty common as population control. That horrified me more than anything else, even Wikus losing his teeth and fingernails, and may I just say I think I’ve developed a new phobia? Perhaps it went all Lord of the Flies – er, prawns – up in the ship and they’d lost a lot of their culture. Perhaps it was a generation ship… no, that doesn’t make sense, since Christopher was only three years from home. I kept thinking: “They had no Mandela.” It seemed unreasonable to me that there was never any leader born to them. Again, I suppose it makes sense if they’re mostly uneducated semi-sentient aliens, but if that’s the case, why was Christopher so keen on rescuing them? They are his people, yes, but if they’re just a lot of workers, his species can breed more. If he’s interested in rescuing them, that might indicate the possibility of individuality among them. There are individuals worth saving. But as a metaphor for apartheid, it seems to work fabulously. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/151 "2009-08-18T07:05:14Z")
> [@iophobon](#): > > Personally, I found the social setup extremely unrealistic, but then again, maybe that’s exactly what would happen if the arriving aliens were primarily rather dull-witted and preferred to avoid human contact. Any thoughts on what would happen in reality? They also seemed to be very violent and causing _a lot_ of trouble, so you don’t have to stretch your imagination too far to believe the people would not want them around after the initial amazement of first contact wore off. Anyway the movie was **awesome** and definitely my favorite of the year. The plot was gripping and compelling with actual character development on top of the spectacularly rendered CGI (the way the aliens were lit made them seem so real, so seamlessly integrated into the environment). Ever since the dawn of badass CGI, it seems like those things have fallen by the wayside but not for this film. I was glued to my seat from beginning to end. (I actually had to pee really badly by the end but I stuck it out because I couldn’t bear to miss anything) ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/152 "2009-08-18T07:57:54Z")
Spoilers. Was it ever part of either Wickus or Christopher’s plan to for Wickus to travel to Planet Prawn? They’re about to get into the shuttle when Wickus freaks out about it taking three years. So then he steals the shuttle with plans to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_? Was is a question of fuel? There was enough fuel to either cure him or travel to prawn world? And then at the end, I understand they were separated by the fire fights, but would Wickus have traveled with them if he had the chance. He’d go full on prawn in a few days either way, and it seems like JHB is the worst place for him to be - whether human or “disguised” as a prawn. Christopher promises to come back, so you’d think Wickus would want to tag along, get the cure off planet in 18 months, and hitch a ride back to Earth with the Prawn Armada. Plus, he’d get to see another world. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the film, and I enjoy pondering over these bits. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/153 "2009-08-18T09:09:13Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Was it ever part of either Wickus or Christopher’s plan to for Wickus to travel to Planet Prawn? They’re about to get into the shuttle when Wickus freaks out about it taking three years. So then he steals the shuttle with plans to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_? The plan before they broke into MNU and Christopher saw the medical experiments, was to steal back the fluid/fuel and get Wikus to the mothership, where Christopher could use the technology on board to fix him. > [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Was is a question of fuel? There was enough fuel to either cure him or travel to prawn world? Ostensibly. But, now I can’t think why Christopher would have been so willing to give up his 20 year collection of fluid just to reverse Wikus’s metamorphosis. > [@drastic\_quench](#): > > And then at the end, I understand they were separated by the fire fights, but would Wickus have traveled with them if he had the chance. He’d go full on prawn in a few days either way, and it seems like JHB is the worst place for him to be - whether human or “disguised” as a prawn. Christopher promises to come back, so you’d think Wickus would want to tag along, get the cure off planet in 18 months, and hitch a ride back to Earth with the Prawn Armada. Plus, he’d get to see another world. That would have been an interesting development. But, like you said, they got separated; Wikus had to fight off MNU from destroying the drop ship while it made its slow decent in the tractor beam. That was Wikus’s only noble deed, really. > [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Don’t get me wrong, I liked the film, and I enjoy pondering over these bits. Me too, the sign of a really well done film/story. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/154 "2009-08-18T10:36:39Z")
Spoilers… The good: The premise was pretty original- there were similarities to Alien Nation in the broad strokes but the execution was fairly new. The effects were generally great - some of the far shots of alien action were diminished by the shaky cam, but the close ups were all integrated well. I very quickly started thinking of Christopher as one of the actors. I also really liked his kid. Some of the twists surprised me- I liked that when the command module took off it crashed, and figured this would not be a happy ending type movie, so was surprised when the action continued on. Wikus was great. He seemed like a real person, basically a selfish bureaucrat, enhanced by the mockumentary aspects. Even when he starts helping Christopher it’s for selfish reasons at first. I loved the whole Wikus alien VD cover story. Also loved that it was set in another country with actors I haven’t seen before, that added to the realism and ordinariness. And the way they say ‘fooking’ there. 😃 The bad: The parts of the plot dealing with getting the ship running and with Wikus’ tranformation didn’t really make sense. That the ship’s fuel was also some kind of virus that can transform a human into an alien was just ridiculous and nonsensical. Why did the command module leave the ship in the first place if that’s all they needed to leave? And why did they need fuel if it could just be remotely tractor beamed back up? How could the humans not have found the command module easily when they were searching for it? I’m guessing WIkus stole the module out of desparation and wasn’t thinking because there didn’t seem to be any way in which that could have potentially helped him. I also thought it was weird that he stayed behind. While I liked the various twists with the module crashing, it also confused me a bit emotionally, such that I was expecting a tragic ending and so wasn’t able to enjoy the happy ending as much since I didn’t know to root for it. > [@yendis](#): > > it references the forced removals of non-whites from District 6 in Cape Town How does the district thing work there? Was district 9 just a district of the city or was it the 9th camp for the aliens? I ask because the new camp was district 10, the next sequential number after 9, but it was located very far away. > [@MrDibble](#): > > With this and the _Charlie Jade_ series, it looks like South Africa’s SF output is finally seeing some quality writing I was thinking the same thing. They also gave us that WB show about an eco bed and breakfast in SA. Seems like we might start expecting some good stuff from there. > [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Like why the corporation is trying to kill someone who, by what is portrayed in the movie, should be more valuable alive than dead. They weren’t trying to kill him outright, just capture him so they could extract his organs for study before his transformation completed. It was only the soldier guy that decided to disobey orders and just kill him off. > [@](#): > > 1. any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot. I think the suit was very well established and foreshadowed. The remote control aspect was fairly obvious after the kid started up the command module controls. But I guess YMMV. > [@Hampshire](#): > > I thought the point of getting prawn and prawn jr. to the mothership was to gather up everyone and go home? But then we see that a million or so of them are now living happily in district 10? Did they leave or not? He said he had to go and get help. I don’t think he was in any condition to try and rescue all the prawns by himself. And I doubt they were living happily lol. > [@Incubus](#): > > 1)What do they call THEMSELVES? We name them after some indigenous crustasceon, but I’m sure they have a more dignified term for themselves. > > 2.) Um, culture, religion, origin? They toy around with this by tossing some vague theories, but they’ve been here for 20 years, nobody thought to ask questions like, “What do you call your planet, where is your sun located, how different is your planet from ours, etc.” > > 3.) Their technology can pop humans like blood-filled water balloons, yet they live in a slum in south africa, getting punked around by physically weaker, technologically inferior beings (us). 1. Obviously they call themselves _clickityclackclickclickclack_. They didn’t have the sort of vocal sounds amenable to translating proper nouns, hence “Christopher”. 2. I’m sure those questions were asked. We did learn from the kid what the planet looked like and that it was larger. We don’t know the speed of the ship, but it’s 1.5 years away as it travels. It did seem strange though that humans were still unsure about why they were there and how the ship got stranded. I guess the aliens were either not so forthcoming, or the worker class didn’t really have all that info, or both. > [@Cubsfan](#): > > (Oh, what’s up with Final Destination? Is that a remake of a movie thats only like 10 years old or is it a continuation of the story?) It’s a sequel. I think the lack of a number is due to the fact that it’s in 3D. Speaking of the trailers, I found it interesting that the majority were horror movies. I wonder if they were matched to District 9 by theme, or if it’s just cause October/Halloween is near. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/155 "2009-08-18T11:17:45Z")
oops double post ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/156 "2009-08-18T12:28:46Z")
From[here](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/board/thread/145381864), based on comments from the director: > [@](#): > > District 9 FAQ > > I gathered these questions mostly from all the passionate comments on this board regarding plot holes. If these questions come up, you can simply link the original poster to this thread and save yourself a load of time explaining. I hope this FAQ list, although in no means complete, can help some people. > > 1. What was the mothership? An alien convict ship? An alien slave ship? > The ship was a long distance resource and mineral collecting structure. Blomkamp explains: “Obviously, there’s much more of a population on the main planet, but the ships will go out and get the minerals and the ore and whatever resources they need and then bring them all back home.” It is actually part of an even bigger structure. “The other thing is that the ship was meant to clip together with other ships. So there’s, like, vast amounts of resources that they’re bringing to the parent planet.” > > 2. Why did the mothership cruise to a stop above Joburg? Did it run out of fuel? > No, the mothership did not run out of fuel. After the queen died, the mothership cruised to nearest life-sustaining planet. Blomkamp explains: “…it was the ship that realized that, unless it gets to a life sustaining planet everything is going to die, which is a cool idea. So the ship just auto pilots to the closest one in the Goldilocks band, and it’s our planet and then pulls up and hits the breaks.” > > 3. What falls off the mothership when it first makes contact with Earth? > The command module to the mothership. In the movie, it is shown to fit into the mothership like a perfect puzzle piece. > > 4. Why does the command module fall off? > Not explained. There are many speculations, however. Maybe whatever virus, disease, or entity that killed off many of the prawns lead to a malfunction or lack of maintenance in the mothership. Or maybe, when the queen dies, the mothership is programmed stop near a life-sustaining planet and detach the command module so that the worker drones do not attempt to pilot it and get themselves killed or waste valuable resources. Or maybe the mothership was programmed to respond to threats like holes being ripped open in the mothership and detach the command module to save the more valuable, intelligent prawns inside. > > 5. Why didn’t scientist rip apart the mothership and examine it like they did to countless prawns in the medical labs? > Because unlike the dead prawn subjects, the mothership is a threat hovering > above Joburg. The scientists could not comprehend alien technology. One false move could lead to the entire mothership crashing down upon the populated city. > > 6. Why doesn’t the military shoot down the mothership? It is a theart. > It is more of a threat when it is a flaming fireball falling upon Joburg. See FAQ #5. > > 7. Why would the prawns not come out of the mothership for three months if they were malnourished? Did they want to die or something? > The prawns do not operate like humans. They operate more like a hive society. Although with proper leadership they were able to achieve amazing technological feats, without their queen they were simply individual worker drones that were unable to get much organized. Much less make first contact with a new species. > > 8. How come only the queen (or smarter leaders) died but the less intelligent prawns survived? > The worker drones were more immune to disease because they were bred to be physically tougher, not mentally capable. Blomkamp explains: “And the ship, when the army generals or the queen of that particular ship died off by some sort of virus or bacteria that they picked up on some other planet, that killed them off. And it didn’t effect these sort of resilient, hardy sort of drone workers.” > > 9. Who built the slums in District 9 right over where the command module fell? Very convenient. > The slums were already there. Many people were relocated from the slums when the prawns first made contact, because rights and property for the prawns was a big issue back then. The only change is that District 9 was segregated and walled off from the rest of society. Explained in the introductory documentary style clips. > > 10. Why did the prawns not resist? Not all of their weapons were confiscated. They would have easily defeated MNU security forces with their superior weaponry. > Yes, they would have. But without their queen, they were unable to band together any form of effective resistance. Blomkamp explains: “Also, it [the hive mentality] sort of explains why they don’t turn on the humans. Individually, they may be feeling oppressed, but they don’t have it together enough to form a resistance and back one another. So I found that really interesting.” > > 11. How were the Nigerian forces able to hold gang operations in District 9 when it is secured by MNU? > District 9 was very loosely secured by MNU. This was exemplified in the movie by prawns able to sneak out of District 9 although they were prohibited and Wikus easily sneaking into District 9 when he was a fugitive on the run. > > 12. Why couldn’t any prawns help Christopher gather fuel but his friend and his son? Don’t they want to leave? > The majority of the prawns were worker drones. Without their queen simply seeking survival, unable to formulate any sort of plan. See FAQ #7. > > 13. Well then why was Christopher so special? I thought the queen (or the leaders) all died. And if he was so sharp, why did it take him 20 years to get his stuff together? > A hive is programmed to adapt a new queen or some sort of leader, but after some time after the queen’s death, not right away. Blomkamp explains: “There is a subconscious hive mind happening, really what they should do is lay one egg that has a different embryo in it that grows into a Queen or being someone that dictates direction. But I think in the interim, because they may have done that, there may be an egg out there with that, but as that being is growing, I just like the idea that he may have been a lot more directionless in the beginning. But the hive structure of their society may just pick one or two that starts to become the leader. Like the overall structure of his brain may change because the hive may want that to happen. So he starts having a direction and a goal. Which is an interesting idea and it’s just enough to kick start them to be able to get to the ship to get back.” > > 14. Why couldn’t Christopher just jack a chopper and fly the mothership away? > The mothership cannot be flown without the command module. > > 15. Christopher says he needs the fuel to fly the mothership away yet little CJ pilots the mothership from the command module without fuel. What’s that all about? > The mothership already had fuel. See FAQ #2. The fuel Christopher was gathering for 20 years was for the command module. The command module pilots the mothership like a remote control can pilot a toy car. It can also pilot highly armed mech suits. > > 16. If the mothership needs fuel so badly, how is it hovering above Joburg for two decades? Plot hole! > Once again, the mothership already has fuel. See FAQ #2. > > 17. So this fuel magically transformed Wikus into a prawn? Very convienient. > The biological goo-like substance containing alien DNA powered most of their technology, such as their weapons and the command module to the mothership. It is based off of prawn DNA, so if exposed to internally, it can actually alter another species’ DNA to integrate that of a prawn. > > 18. How in the world do Wikus and friends talk to prawns? > The prawns have lived integrated with human society for over 20 years. Because the new species was so heavily impactful, many humans must have learned to understand the prawn language in that time period. Especially hired MNU workers serving as ambassadors between the two species. It is important to note no species learned to speak[/] the other’s language, only \*understand it. Humans did not speak prawn, but they understood it. Prawns did not speak human, but they understood it. > > 19. Why three years? > No explanation. I guess this is the amount of time Christopher needs to make a round trip to his planet and then back to Earth, with some sort of species saving in the middle. > > 20. What was the point of attempting to put fuel into the command module and fly up to the mothership if the tractor beam could have just picked it up all along? > The command module controls all of the technology on the mothership. Without fuel in the command module, Christopher would not have been able to activate the tractor beam in the first place. > > 21. How was the fuel that transformed Wikus’ DNA into prawn DNA supposed to fix him? Why won’t Christopher just fix him right away? Why wait three years? > Contrary to popular belief, Christopher was not going to use the fuel to fix Wikus. He states that he was going to use the “medical machines” aboard the mothership to fix him. However, the command module controls all of the technology on the mothership, including the medical machines. See FAQ # 20. The reason Christopher did not want to fix Wikus right away is also stated in the movie. He did not want to waste the command module’s fuel activating anything besides what was absolutely necessary to get them back to their home planet. > > 22. I don’t like the main character. He aborted alien babies. He threatened to take Christopher’s kid away. He hit Christopher with a shovel or a gun or something. He killed innocent MNU agents. He’s a jerk! > Okay. > > Sources: > District 9 the movie > [District 9's Director Tells Us All About His Alien Back Story](http://io9.com/5331799/district-9s-director-tells-us-all-about-his-alien-back-story) ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/157 "2009-08-18T13:19:23Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Was it ever part of either Wickus or Christopher’s plan to for Wickus to travel to Planet Prawn? They’re about to get into the shuttle when Wickus freaks out about it taking three years. So then he steals the shuttle with plans to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_? No, the plan was to return to the mothership to use its advanced medical equipment to return him to human form. Which leaves open the possibility that if the medical machinery can return him to human, it can also revert a prawn to human, sorta like Caprica six, aliens among us. > [@](#): > > Was is a question of fuel? There was enough fuel to either cure him or travel to prawn world? This is where I differ from everyone else , including Blonkamp, who should have let the experts decide what the back story was. What that cylinder contained in my opinion was a genetic key. The weapons could not be used by humans , and probably most of the worker prawns, or convicts really because they did not have the genetic sequence that the overlords had. And then at the end, I understand they were separated by the fire fights, but would Wickus have traveled with them if he had the chance. He’d go full on prawn in a few days either way, and it seems like JHB is the worst place for him to be - whether human or “disguised” as a prawn. Christopher promises to come back, so you’d think Wickus would want to tag along, get the cure off planet in 18 months, and hitch a ride back to Earth with the Prawn Armada. Plus, he’d get to see another world. He would have tagged along , imho, in the year or so that it would have taken to get to prawn prime, he would have been up and running as a human again. Explaining what he did for a living might get interesting. > [@](#): > > Don’t get me wrong, I liked the film, and I enjoy pondering over these bits. This was supposed to be a commentary on Aparteid , but park a big honking ship over joburg and us scifi geeks are gonna get involved, so those little bits will be pored over for quite a while. On a related note, the movie did well as a stand alone. However if they do end up deciding to make a sequel its going to resemble independence day and go with an american director with a ship or twenty hovering over mid western USA , and we all know where thats going. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/158 "2009-08-18T14:52:22Z")
I think I’d rather that they _didn’t_ do a sequel. I like the note of open optimism at the end the way it is. You know Christopher Johnson is coming back, probably with a full prawn armada, to rescue the rest of his people, but you don’t know exactly what kind of form the rescue will take. The most natural assumption is that it will be violent, that prawns will want to kick some human ass – maybe even wipe them out completely – but I don’t think that would necessarily be the case. They might be able to effect a rescue with very minimal violence, and I think that might even be more interesting. Either way, this is a case where people are going to imagine their own versions of hat will happen in three years, and a sequel can’t possibly please any other, plus it runs the risk of not being able to match everything that was special about the original. I think it’s one of those lightning in a bottle types of movies that might be better left alone. If they do make a sequel (and I’m sure Blonkamp and Copley are going to get offered shovelfuls of money to do one), that they try to go away from an _Independence Day_ style alien invasion action movie and find a more unexpected and original angle. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/159 "2009-08-18T15:51:22Z")
Makes you wonder if Wikus becoming a Prawn has changed his personality and intellect to that of the more hive minded? I’d like to see that explored if they do make a “District 10”. Then have Christopher arrive in the first third of the movie (with support of a queen or two), change Wikus back, and Wikus becoming some sort of Ambassador for the Prawns (not the other way around), to negotiate rescue and evacuation of the 2.5 mil population. There’s a good story in there somewhere. But, still, I would rather them leave District 9 alone, if any sequel would ruin it with mediocrity. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152/160 "2009-08-18T16:15:29Z")
If they did make a sequel. I’d like the plot to flow similarly to the way the plot flowed in this film. I, like many others, didn’t think there was going to be a happy ending. [spoiler] I imagine the sequel being like this: 3 years later, Christopher Johnson comes back with a prawn armada. He negotiates the return of the 2+ million prawns, which the governments are more than willing to cooperate with. MNU mucks things up and tries to manipulate people into thinking its a full-blown alien invasion, to cover their own ass for what they did. The prawns, this time being intelligent, organized, and familiar with trecharous human nature over 20 years of previous captivity, don’t fall for it. But rather outright slaughter MNU personell they put them on trial, under their own laws and systems of justice. There is a big fuss with humans either feeling like its unfair, or wanting to martyr themselves to save others or other goofy human traits. Finally over the course of the film the Prawn Grand Council or whatever is getting impatient with Christopher since many of them only care about getting their people back/their mining mission/procuring more catfood. So in a twist, the prawns get impatient about the mass trials and leave. Before they go, some Prawn researches discover human beings have some physical traits favorable to the Prawn empire. They decide to detain several thousand humans for ‘research’ and as a bargaining gesture of good faith (we’ll take some prisoners and leave the rest of you alone). Witkus, though cured, must tearfully say goodbye to his wife, as he is compelled to leave with the Prawns to act as a Human-Prawn liason. While christopher feels some alien equivalent of sympathy in his plight, he cannot show mercy as his progression in the hive structure doesn’t allow a member of the Leader Caste to show any favoritism toward any specific individual below them. As the film winds down, it goes back to a kind of mockumentary style, only this time from the Prawn prespective, as their information officers describe the plight of their brethren getting stranded on some backwater world and the nuisance caused by the tribes of frail squishy inhabitants on the surface 😉 The sequel ends in a rather ironic twist, with crowds of naked, filthy, terrified humans being herded into the vast holds of the ship, their fate unknown.[/spoiler] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/district-9-rave-reviews-so-far/506152.md?page=9)