MovieChat Forums > District 9 (2009) Discussion > The world let South Africa manage the fi...

The world let South Africa manage the first aliens to come here?

posted 10 years ago by glen-493-944508
24 replies | jump to latest

Seriously, what a ridiculous premise. South Africa is a pathetic basket case of a country. First contact with an advanced alien species is administered by them? Even if the ship is in their airspace, who cares? America, Nato, or the world in general would have conquered their sorry asses if it came down to it just to keep their bumbling hands off the most important development in all of human history.

The way South Africa is depicted in the film just reinforces my premise. Their is just no conceivable way that the rest of the world would let these corrupt, hamfisted turds come near the aliens, let alone run the show. Odds are the UN would annex that area of South Africa into international territory and then give them service contracts for the operation to shut them up. Beyond that, its not like they would have much of a choice.

[–] saintanger3 10 years ago

Did you actually watch the film? The governments wanted nothing to do with it. The aliens were seen as vermin and a menace.

There was also a statement on corporation bs government in the film in the form of MNU taking complete control of the aliens and their technology. This is exactly what would happen, the largest contractor would be awarded the contract and htey would epxloit it for profit.

[–] glen-493-944508 10 years ago

They would give control to some high bidding contractor? For an advanced alien species with a spaceship? You have no concept of reality. The UN would likely take control. They would build a huge facility to house any aliens that had to come down to the surface. They would be kept in a massive quarantined facility, likely maintained by the WHO. No one would have any idea what alien bacteria might be present. So they would not be kept out in the open like they were in the film.

Seriously, the movie treats it all like it's no big deal. Completely divorced from reality. When it would be the biggest world event in history. And in no way would the South African government or anything to do with them be allowed in charge of ANYTHING to do with it. Period.

[–] Ashley Pomeroy 10 years ago

And in Raiders of the Lost Ark the existence of a bona fide Christian relic that can blast out death rays would transform the world, even if it was kept secret. The kind of robot-human interface shown in Robocop would never be solely restricted to a police security project, the time travel technology of Back to the Future - devised by an amateur scientist working on a tiny budget - would probably destroy the universe, the inarguably supernatural powers of Carrie would etc etc.

Etc etc. The list goes on. District 9 is fiction. You're applying real-world standards to a fiction.

You *can* tell the difference between fiction and reality, right? You understand that the people in District 9 are actors, pretending to be characters, and that when they're shot the actors don't die? And that the events of the film - which isn't even set in our world - did not take place?

In any case SA was a nuclear-armed state in the early 1980s. The UN is incapable of controlling itself; it was hardly going to invade South Africa. More likely the SA government circa the early 1980s would have exchanged the alien technology with the US, in return for the US pressuring the UN to lift sanctions against the apartheid regime.

But District 9 does not take place in our world. We have to assume that the SA government decided to make a go of this new reality before realising that it was a futile waste of time.

[–] Degree7 10 years ago

Etc etc. The list goes on. District 9 is fiction. You're applying real-world standards to a fiction.

District 9 takes place in the real world, so it is realistic to assume that the world should operate realistically in this vision of the present.

Aliens with the ability to cross vast distances of space and time, as well as their immense technology, would not be restricted to just one Corporation, the rest of the world would be itching to get at it. If SA was unwilling to hand over the aliens, its likely that the country would be reduced to economic ruin, which is primarily the reason why they lifted Apartheid in the first place.

I doubt they would start a nuclear war over wanting to keep the aliens to themselves (especially when it is obvious that they don't care about the aliens anyway).

Limit of the Willing Suspension of Disbelief: directly proportional to its awesomeness.

[–] walkerjordan963 10 years ago

By the time the movie takes place it's been 25 years( I believe, but I know it's been quite awhile) since the aliens arrived. I'd imagine that the UN has already learned everything they want to know from them. So they gave control to the company and let African deal with them, because they ended up seeing them as lesser beings anyway.

I used to play with matches but then I learned that lighters were more effective....

[–] Promontorium 10 years ago

Congratulations on winning the award for the apex of simultaneously stupid and douchey commenting.

You don't seem to understand what fiction is yourself. The fact that it's not true, doesn't instantly remove all logic and reason, in fact, that would render it something other than fiction, because fiction by definition presents a realistic logical realm from which fictional elements can be addressed. If there are no rules or logic, then it becomes abstract, not merely fiction.

[–] saintanger3 10 years ago

Yes, there would more than likely be a worldwide or even UN effort to help out at first, but that was the point, the aliens had been here for over twenty years and were a drain on resources, they were seen as vermin and the shine of discovering alien life had left us and we had now boiled it down to what we always do, money and profit.

Look at every one of our natural reosurces, once government controlled, now corporate controlled. Look at our countries, once run by the people in who were elected to government, now slowly being privatised.

[–] brendacarolsmith57 10 years ago

I am trying to watch it now, but it is just plain old fashioned stupid. These aliens are advanced enough to build a space ship that can travel light years, in what one would assume in a reasonable amount of time yet they act more like something you would call a pest control company for.

[–] catjoescreed 10 years ago

Well, just because humans are advanced enough to treat cancers with radiation and to build massive computers and space stations and whatnot, doesn't mean that you and I, and 500 just like us, if confined in a small area, could do the same. I can't even extract aspirin from tree bark - can you?

The Haunted Man, by Dori Davis: Sometimes it's the living who torment the dead
Amazon.com

[–] brendacarolsmith57 10 years ago

Yes I agree that pushed into tiny spaces humans would act badly, but they were eating cat food and the can. Not to mention that as a species we are not that advanced. I have a feeling that compared to some in the vastness of space we seem very violent and primitive.

[–] Promontorium 10 years ago

The movie's interior speculation was that there was normally a hive mentality and these workers were deprived of their leaders. Some species have vast differences in social roles.

If we sent a modern US Navy ship to a far off place, have that ship fully complemented with a standard crew, then for whatever reason there's major damage to key operational equipment on the ship. No parts locally available. It will never get fixed. Maybe years of work by some particularly smart crew members they could fashion some replacements, but unless you could bring in some experts, or the spare parts, someone is going to have to work for years to become knowledgeable enough to get it running.

[–] franzkabuki 9 years ago

"Yet they act more like something you would call a pest control company for".

This being part satire, we can always assume that they'd taken after the local population in their non-human loitering ways. Plus there was a million of them aboard that ship and it's quite reasonable to assume not all were equally intellectually advanced.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] pcventures 9 years ago

My understanding is that whoever was really running the ship were more sophisticated and intelligent and had fled the ship, leaving only the "prawns."

...and Mrs. Taylor sure seems to use a lotta ice, whenever he's away

[–] nomen_meltdown 10 years ago

In the movie, the prawns' ship arrived in 1982. In 1982, the world was still in a state of 'Cold War.' If one of the Western powers-- whom I assume you're so certain would be more competent than 'mere' South Africans (no racism involved there, I'm sure)-- had invaded a sovereign nation, to try and sieze alien technology, while the U.S. and Russia had thousands of ICBM nukes aimed at each other, it would have been a short fookin' movie. It wouldn't have made it past the prologue.

I'm an island- peopled by bards, scientists, judges, soldiers, artists, scholars & warrior-poets.

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[–] Royalcourtier 9 years ago

You are missing the key points: 1. An alien arrival is handled by the country on the spot. 2. The aliens arrived years ago, before the ANC was handed power. The former National Party government was more than capable of dealing with a few starving prawns. 3. The UN does not annexe countries. 4. The UN does not bully countries that it believes are incompetent - that would set a precedent 75% of the countries in the world would not like.

[–] glen-493-944508 9 years ago

The US would NEVER allow this arrangement. Period. Nor would, China, Russia, The EU, etc.. Seriously, South Africa is about as functional as a retarded child out in the wilderness and they are going to take the lead on this in ANY way? Nope. not a chance.

There would be war before that would happen. Everyone would want a crack at that technology. And it would take lot more than a few years to study it. Research teams would be there for decades. The whole premise is just absurd.

[–] imdb-5712 9 years ago

They already took a crack at the technology, they got nothing. Once you throw a billion dollars of research at the thing and get nothing, the next step is obvious. Academics are still studying the thing, but it is in the guise of international UN research projects such as global warming. In the meantime, there is a refugee issue, and the UN has seen those before. Without a sovereign country to pay, the refugees are in limbo. All of this makes perfect sense to me, just based on the evening news.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] imdb-5712 9 years ago

So the alien spaceship shows up, it has no technology to impart, and the aliens we find are no more intelligent than we are. Furthermore, the aliens start to behave as 3rd world refugees. This movie shows *exactly* what the UN and therefore the world would do in such an instance. Establish a security zone, implement UN inspection orders, impose UN guidelines and mandates. Quite different from ridiculous, this is *exactly* what would happen.

[–] glen-493-944508 9 years ago

No, it really isn't. That whole scenario is ridiculously implausible. That whole area of South Africa would be UN controlled or US controlled. No one would let that 5th rate govern,emt run a Popsicle stand, let alone manage extraterrestrials of any kind.

[–] shane-stuart 7 years ago

Very true I mean sod it I guess if America wants any country it can just show up with it's guns and ridiculous "USA, USA, USA" tribalistic chanting crap and get it right?

Or perhaps in your naivety and OMGZ South Africas is *beep* yeah" posting you'd fail to realise the prawns were simple a vehicle to portray the narrative of District 6, and has nothing to actually do with Aliens arriving but with the forcible removal of a group of people to a place they don't wish to be.

But I'm sure you small brain can't comprehend that, not with all that "USA, USA" chanting it has to do.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_Six