Will District 9 Explore the Classic "Other" Theme?

"It's going to be quick. It's going to be clean. It's going to be quiet."

Those are the words spoken at the end of one of the trailers for the new film District 9 which is out in theatres on August 14.

Directed and co-written by Neill Blomkamp, the film takes place in South Africa where aliens are refugees, having arrived on Earth 28 years ago as the last survivors of their home world.

The film looks promising. The storyline centres, like many storylines, around greed and corruption as certain factions on Earth want to tap into the potential of the alien technology which the aliens are apparently not so willing to share. The aliens are segregated to an area called "District 9" where those who are "not human" live and those who are human avoid.

The words "not human" are quite common in a science fiction film. However, the film may also explore another major theme in most good science fiction: the "other."

Science fiction has always been a clever vehicle in challenging societal norms of the day. Famous science fiction writers such as H.G. Wells have explored the struggle of co-existence between the "other" (whether it be alien, technology, etc) and human beings. Many times this exploration was also a direct comment on what was happening in society, or about our human nature or our history (or all three).

To say a group is below the standard of being fully human, or is not human at all, is something that can easily be found outside the realm of science fiction. Our history has shown, unfortunately, countless times where societies have created propaganda around the enemy to illustrate how they are not as "human" as we are. Look at how the Irish Celt were portrayed by the Anglo Saxons in the later part of the 19th century.

This image from the British magazine Punch depicts the "enemy" or the "other" as something other than human; in fact, the character is ape-like in his appearance and mannerisms. This portrayal was, of course, satirical in nature, but it still impressed upon the British public the notion of the "other."

Indeed, such images have been used throughout history even back during the time of Ancient Egypt when Pharaohs and their cohorts created propaganda that portrayed the Nubians, Syrians and other enemies as the "other." As in this image, the Pharaoh Ramses II is larger than life while his enemies are small, meek and subhuman.

Human beings have used the creation of the "other" throughout history to justify many terrible atrocities against those of different skin colour, sexual orientation, language, religion, culture...the list is endless. In fact this rationalization continues today. It is not surprising then that the genre of science fiction and fantasy explores the "other" theme over and over again in many different and, yes, entertaining and thought-provoking ways.

District 9 is set in South Africa. It will be refreshing that movie goers can view what looks like an entertaining sci-fi film that is set on Earth in another place besides the United States. Perhaps the setting in South Africa is a hint that this film will seriously deal with the "other" theme. Under the Apartheid policy, racial discrimination was institutionalized in South Africa and segregation among many other human rights violations was a way of life for many decades. But, then again, segregation is certainly not an alien notion in North America either.

Looking at our history as human beings on this planet (and even the current state of affairs in many parts of the world) we can only begin to imagine what would actually happen if we did encounter alien life. If we can create "others" among ourselves - other human beings that share all the same essential elements - then imagine how we could create the "other" in an alien species.