"District 9" Speculative Discussion Thread

One scenario I could buy, that people have already pointed out ITT, is that Christopher and the people with the 'Gang' (IIRC) signs on their doors are the managers/officers of the ship, and the majority of the aliens were relatively uneducated workers.

I think there would be two major factors governing their perceived otherness.

1) They came from a relatively technologically advanced society. Things like access to food, economics, property etc. may no longer exist in their society. They could be akin to people from a developed country crashing in the rainforest and trying to survive as well as the local tribes. Given potentially thousands of years of technological living it's possible they'd have a hard time functioning in a relatively technologically unsophisticated society.

2) The workers of the ship may have had no briefing about Earth extraterrestrials (us!), and be entirely ignorant of how we function, while Christopher and the officers may have been briefed. It could be Christopher and other officers had a mutiny when they told the workers the ship was broken and will take time (to find the 'liquid') to repair. And were down to their last food supplies when humanity broke into the ship.

If Christopher returns I suspect it will be with a heavily armed ship, for two reasons:

1) To threaten Earth if any more harm comes to the 'prawns', and to rescue those who want to leave.

2) To open up trade and resources. In a very similar way to "The Perry Expedition: Opening of Japan: 1852-1854":

First visit, 1852-1853

In 1852, Perry embarked from Norfolk, Virginia for Japan, in command of a squadron in search of a Japanese trade treaty. Aboard a black-hulled steam frigate, he ported Mississippi, Plymouth, Saratoga, and Susquehanna at Uraga Harbor near Edo (modern Tokyo) on July 8, 1853. His actions at this crucial juncture were informed by a careful study of Japan's previous contacts with Western ships and what could be known about the Japanese hierarchical culture. He was met by representatives of the Tokugawa Shogunate who told him to proceed to Nagasaki, where there was limited trade with the Netherlands and which was the only Japanese port open to foreigners at that time (see Sakoku).

Threat of force

Perry refused to leave and demanded permission to present a letter from President Millard Fillmore, threatening force if he was denied. Commodore Perry was fully prepared for hostilities if his negotiations with the Japanese failed, and threatened to open fire if the Japanese refused to negotiate. He remitted two white flags to them, telling them to hoist the flags when they wished a bombardment from his fleet to cease and to surrender. To demonstrate his weapons Perry ordered his ships to attack several buildings around the harbor. The ships of Perry were equipped with new Paixhans shell guns, capable of bringing destruction everywhere a shell landed.The Japanese military forces could not resist Perry's modern weaponry; the term "Black Ships", in Japan, would later come to symbolise a threat imposed by Western technology.

The Japanese government was forced to let Perry come ashore to avoid further naval bombardment. Perry landed at Kurihama (in modern-day Yokosuka) on July 14, 1853 presented the letter to delegates present, and left for the Chinese coast, promising to return for a reply.

(Emphasis mine, Source: from Wikipedia)

[edit on 20-12-2009 by jackphotohobby]

The limitations of our intelligence depends how well we adapt to change, if change is needed to grow, then we must keep being open to that change.

If a species came in with the intent to help push consciousness forward would we really care.

Sometimes learning new modes of operation or new ways to live may fade out old civilisations.

If there is a more clean way of living would one not take it.

I would hope, if one had the answer to GODS EQUATION would you be able to understand it in laymans terms.


The potential of a living being or organism functioning better then we are is inevitable.

Push consciousness by all means, but it will have to be on full stomachs. We can talk all day of 'higher conciousness' in the comfort of our homes after a hearty meal, but then there are billions out there that are still starving since the day began.

The realism offered by the movie District 9 was stark and gritty. It would do well to offer a sequel in such similar mannner, so that we all can dispense with philosophies and fears.

Advance civilisations that mastered space travel will not come here for any other purpose than to further their society's goals and economic aims. Even if they are deemed benevolent, it still serves a purpose - research and study. After the research is done, the applications of their purpose would be applied, the way we study frogs, guinea pigs, etc and then apply what we learn to control and manipulate them.

We may be different from advance civilisation, but societies, no matter what stage of developement and evolution they are at - behaves the same way.

The truth is out there.... but now is the time for reality of aliens we must face and be prepared, not with fear or illusions, but with pragmatism, on what we can offer and be offered by them. Best we do not behave like the red indians of ancient past - offering valuble gold for trinkets and 90% proof alchol liqour, wiping ourselves out in the bargain.

The consumption on monatary gain would suffice to some, but not the many that make the whole function, You are only as strong as YOUR WEAKEST LINK.


Well, now if by some chance they through us into that pairing then perhaps what we could help teach and learn, only through reflections of selves past and present do we move onto the future.

Imagine for a bit owning your own Star cruiser, you are moving space around your vehicle, hence time. Each time you jump into another spatial quanity you have just entered another world on what is possible.

And within each new world you come across, you give them a piece of your equipment, mannerisms, physical mechanics and quantum technology.

Now by the time you make the leap back into (your own spatial quanity )the sector of space is closed, what happened did somebody just change the potential of that spatial quantity you were in for you to enter?

Or now that they have just got rid of what they knew that begun that civilisation is outdated, your at the point of a new breakthrough.



Were arriving into somebodys old spatial quantity in space in which their space exploration just began.

[edit on 21-12-2009 by menguard]

I may perhaps had grasp a bit of what you are trying to put across. It is akin to Jackphotohobby's post regarding Perry's arrival to Japan.

Japan had been a feudal society for years, and an orderly one. But with the arrival of Perry and the technology he brought in exchange for trade, it heralded a social change in the Japanese civilisation, which embarked on a modernist drive, dismembering feulalism and embracing tech education for advancement.

Similarly, will we too change when the alien fleet arrives, bearing their advance tech and civilisation ways.

Mankind had survive for thousands of years, simply because it had always choose a winning society to emulate. Rome - England - US. It is what those advance societies of their time offered that other civilisations adopted for progress.

Communism, for all its idealism, is now 6 ft under. Mankind, more aware of the potential of human capital as a valued thinking resource, chosed democracy instead, but with a hopefully more regulated Capitalism stance.

Will the aliens show us a more advance form of civilisation that mankind can progress? Only time, patience and further sharing of concepts with an environment of peace and good will, will it tell.

reply to post by SeekerofTruth101


The Japanese certainly caught up, and I wonder if a similar thing would happen here, whether there'd be exchange programs. The resurrected Imperial Navy were very keen to learn. You're obviously familiar with the history, so what follows is really for people unfamiliar with it.

The Wikipedia page about the gives a good run-down. Basically prior to the opening of Japan to the West the Japanese operated under the general principle of seclusion, but after Meiji Restoration, a period of vast industrialisation and technological advancement, catching up, had near parity, unfortunately leading up to WW-II.

Is it possible that we'd undergo a similar technological advancement, with people like MNU (or those that tolerated MNU) in charge? Leading, over the course of a century or more of technological and industrial advancement, to a near inevitable military confrontation with the 'prawns'? Could Vikas find himself sympathising with or even siding with the 'prawns'?

An argument against is that we weren't deliberately in seclusion, and that the extraterrestrials didn't necessarily want to visit (although whether mining resources in South Africa played a part is open to conjecture). Obviously their technology would be of benefit.

[edit on 22-12-2009 by jackphotohobby]

[edit on 22-12-2009 by jackphotohobby]

i think the sequel would have to be along the lines of what S.O. said in the orginal post. a ship would return and it would contain a different looking species...the explanation would be that the prawns on the original ship was suppose the find a habitable planet like earth, but one that did not have a higher life form such as ours. the prawns were either scared, desperate, or their ship malfunctioned and they ended up stranded on earth for 20 years....this would be like the australians loading up a enormous ship and putting all the natives of that country on it, providing rudimentary education on the operation and navigation, providing them with enough stored goods, casting them off, and telling them good luck on their quest to find another homeland.
the others that caste them off would look similar, but have a more refined look physically and be more appeasing socially, but, their intentions after all those years, would be more sinister, and the prawns and the humans would have to join forces to fight them off, the prawns and humans would eventually win, the prawns would be given a island, say, madagascar, to insure a peaceful life, at the same time learning about how to operate on a human earth.
something along those lines.

[edit on 22-12-2009 by jimmyx]

[edit on 22-12-2009 by jimmyx]

I am watching District 9 right now and it just begun, I am keeping my eye out for anything weird.

the question that I think we should all be asking is why did the ships fuel turn Wikus into a prawn? think about it. does this mean the prawns are even in their "natural" form? Or is this "infection" that Neil mentioned is the very mutation that happned to Wikus, as it happens to any humanoid life form exposed to the chemical. Christopher was able to immediately link Wikus'es mutation with the fuel. That means the aliens are aware of the effect. Why would they design a fuel that is both very efficient and serves as a means of turning other humanoids into them? That just doesn't make sense. A more likely explanation is that the fuel used for their highly bio-chemical technology just happens to have a side effect of being a contagious, universal mutagen. I would not be surprised if we are yet to see the true nature of prawns, both physical and mental. Can't wait for the sequel.

[edit on 23-12-2009 by Naza11]

From a real world perspective- there is no way that the government and their Illuminati/Alien allies are going to allow any ships- ever- to come to our planet in a mass wave without their sole permission. They would shoot down these ships rather than let the public "in" on their secrets and lies that they have been force feeding us for decades. THEY are always in control. THEY will never ALLOW any of the other alien species Disclosure. They have been keeping it this way for decades. If We collapse our alliance with THEM, then the earth has a chance of surviving. But as it stands now- the "bullies" of the universe are the bouncers for planet earth- and not until they go- will they allow anyone else who intends on disclosure in.

I go with the idea that the ship was a slave ship.

In the sequel the masters (probably a new alien species) will come back and try to enslaves humans. The humans will then sell their own people. We can also imagine it as the spanish conquest of america. Maybe putting the aliens in the role of the spanish and the humans in the role of Aztecs / Incas. Aliens will use the fact that humans fight eachother and a very little group of aliens will finally conquer earth. It will be the humans that will cause their own fall. Because aliens will exploit their stupidity and greed. They will trick them by selling them weapons etc...

I imagine a scene just like when pizaro killed the Inca's King after it was given all the gold of the empire in exchange for his life.

[edit on 23-12-2009 by ickylevel]

We watched the movie last night. The documentary style of filming got a little annoying after a while, but then it got better. I thought after the "Brundlefly" guy got infected that maybe it was going to end with all of them (the Prawns) having been human originally and got infected too. The ending did leave open for a sequel.

No offense, but I just thought that an alien race traveled who knows how far, and their obviously intellegent beings, but when they get here, their space ship tears up, come on now. That was just so silly.

Originally posted by Mr_skepticc
their space ship tears up

How so?

The ship stayed suspended above J-burg for years and then, at the end of the movie, flies away with Christopher and his son at the helm to a predetermined destination in space.

The only alien ship I saw damaged was the shuttle.

forget district 9.

I bought the movie on blue raye and it came with a God of War 3 demo. Absolutely AMAZING! Cant wait till march!!!!

It's interesting we're even having this discussion. Does someone know something the rest of us don't? Just wondering...anyway, the movie was great. I'd like to see the main character eventually reunited with his wife and rebel against earthly oppressors. Simplistic yes. But it's always good to see slaves win the rebellion.

I'd have to say i really enjoyed this film, although, to think that the Prawns were there for 20 years and humans were accessing the mother ship, and did not reverse engineer the ship would be simply unbelievable.

every member of that scientific discipline would have been all over that for corporate profit to promote their greedy little pockets as well as the side bar of enhancing human knowledge/technology. however the ties that the film projects to bio science i can really see happening, if the humanitarian concern was a reality, knowledge of the Prawn's anatomy would deffinatley be researched. as we might now what would have a negative effect on humans. i like the end though, where it shows the protagonist making the little scrap metal flower for his wife, as a fully changed Alien. that was a nice touch. beautifully written work.

reply to post by jackphotohobby


Thanks for your reply. I guess you major'ed in History.

Then I am sure you knew what happened when Perry arrived in a foriegn land Japan was, of a different culture and an almost different civilisation from the West.

The powerful Shoganate, whom determines every aspect of the serfs life, were frightened that Perry's civilised and culture ways would infect the common japanese, whom were treated worse than slaves and kept utterly stupid and servile, bullied often by the elites.

So the Shoganate restricted Perry to a small port, hidden away from the common people. Perry would have none of it, and with his guns, bombarded the port to show his power. The hapless Japs surrendered, and allowed Perry to come ashore at Yokohama to present a treaty from the US President.

From them on, even though limited cultural exchange, CONTACT with the japan common folks were made, and it eventually led to a general enfranchaisement of the Japanesse people, and ended feudalism, to find themselves and progess to a modern power in the world.

So similarly, with the arrival of the alien fleet, i believe this aspect of history will once again be repeated, and could be one side aspect for Part 2 of the film for realism to the storyline.



[edit on 26-12-2009 by SeekerofTruth101]

Originally posted by Dargar
The one thing bothered me about that movie is the amount of blind hate and discrimination towards the 'visitors' I don't think it would happen in real life.

District 9, the new blockbuster film, was inspired by a very real South African disaster, District Six.

article

Unfortunately this is all to real here, now, on Earth, with real humans.

It was not to last. In 1966, South Africa's apartheid regime declared District Six a "whites only" area under the notorious Group Areas Act, a piece of legislation whose sole purpose for three decades was to divide, and then divide some more, until whites controlled every piece of valuable land, and blacks—or natives, as they were then known—were relegated to arid, poverty-stricken Bantustans, there to rot until the end of days. The policy, begun on the very day it was passed, was carried out with shocking clarity of purpose and efficiency; resistance was futile.

[edit on 12/26/09 by Lillydale]