Examples Of Dehumanization In District 9

One of the key ideas of District 9 is that, by dehumanizing others, we are able to commit acts that would otherwise horrify us. Explain how this idea is explored by the director.

Throughout the film ‘District 9’, the key idea of dehumanising is expressed through committing acts that would otherwise horrify humans. Neill Blomkamp, the director of ‘District 9’ explores the ways humans often dehumanising others through the use of prawns searching for refuge acting as creatures from a foreign land. Blomkamp creates the film where prawns and humans are divided along racial lines, leaving prawns to be looked upon as unhuman like aliens. Prawns undergo horrific experimentation and abuse by the NMU soldiers, but when Wikus Van De Merwe finds himself

An example of this is within the first ten minutes of the film, the interviewee utters that using the word ‘prawn’ a derogatory term but Wikus lacks respect for the aliens therefore repeatedly, without hesitation calls the alien’s prawns. Wikus also speaks to the aliens in a childish and disrespectful manner. An example of this is when Wikus says to Christopher Johnson junior “Hello, little guy! It’s the sweetie man coming!” when Wikus came to expel the prawns from their home. Wikus’s sarcastic tone creates the dehumanizing effect along with the camera angles Blomkamp utilises. Throughout this scene, there is repetitive use of over the shoulder and high angled shots to show the audience the control the MNU workers and soldiers have over the prawns. An over the shoulder shot enables the viewers to see the weapons the MNU soldiers have in possession in case the prawns don’t

Blomkamp constructs an uneasy sensation amongst the viewers as this kind of act would be considered intolerable if this action was carried out on human foetuses. Through dialogue, high angled and over the shoulder shots Blomkamp explores the dehumanisation of the aliens by humans. An additional scene where Blomkamp explores the ideas of dehumanising others was when doctors discover Wikus beginning to make the transformation into a prawn. In this scene, Wikus was placed in an enclosed body bag in the hospital as he begins to lose his human qualities according to the authorities. Blomkamp uses high angled shots to demonstrate how defenceless Wikus is in relation to surgeons who now have the power to experiment on Wikus. Once again, during this scene Blomkamp uses dialogue as a technique to inspire emotion within the viewers towards the personalities in the film. ‘(……………………………)’ is the direct quote from the doctor. The doctors have the mentality that Wikus is now ‘one of them’ meaning an alien who has lost all human qualities including the feeling of pain and emotions. It was during this scene where Wikus lost his human qualities according to the authorities. Blomkamp uses high angled shots to demonstrate how defenceless Wikus is in relation to surgeons who now have the power to experiment on Wikus. In contrast to this, Blomkamp