District 9

Original:

How District 9 Defines What it is to be an Outsider

Being part of a community creates a feeling of camaraderie; members stick up for each other. If it is a large community, members rarely have to fight battles alone, unless they choose to. The closeness of those who belong to communities is created from commonalities. When someone is isolated, and not a part of a community, that feeling of closeness and camaraderie does not exist. Being an outsider means having few true friends.

In District 9, becoming an outsider is demonstrated expertly when Wikus van der Merwe is exposed to the chemical that begins transforming him into an alien. Wikus returns to a fast food restaurant just hours after he'd already been there, but as he enters the establishment a news report comes on the television accusing him of having sexual relations with the aliens. Once the other customers see that, they immediately turn on him. He has suddenly become an outsider and those that he thought were his friends are no longer.

When Wikus is taken into custody by the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, they begin running tests on him against his will. Rather than conversing and running psychological tests to see that he is still the same person on the inside, these people that he thought were his friends begin forcing him to do things that he doesn't want to do, including killing an innocent alien just to prove that he can now operate the alien weapons. The alienation he feels is so strong that he decides to cut off his own arm, the arm that has already turned into alien form, in order to become an insider again. Since Wikus is now neither entirely human nor alien, he is an outsider to both communities; alien and human. He cannot go to his human "friends" for help, they now think of him as an alien. Yet to the aliens, he is still a human.

Eventually Wikus meets Christopher, an alien who befriends him. He went from being an insider with many friends, to being an outsider with one friend. Christopher can help him but needs to help his fellow aliens first, proving that Wikus is still an outsider to him as well. Now that he has found an ally however, his priorities change, and he begins fighting for the aliens rather than against them.

Having a strong sense of self-identity and being part of a community provides strength. When members become outsiders, rather than insiders, they no longer have the strength of all those friends that were once there. Being an outsider means having few true friends.

Revised:

How District 9 Defines What it is to be an Outsider

Being part of a community lends itself to safety. Community members watch out for each other and help other community members when the need arises; there is a feeling of camaraderie and friendship. When someone is an outsider, that safety isn’t there. The outsider has no one to depend on but himself. In “District 9,” becoming an outsider is demonstrated expertly when Wikus van der Merwe is exposed to a chemical that begins transforming him into an alien.

This film demonstrates being an outsider as being alone and having no one else to depend on. It portrays an outsider as being different from everyone else, even if just in appearance. When van der Merwe is taken into custody by the munitions corporation that he was once considered part of, he is no longer treated as human, but as an alien, even though the transformation has barely even begun. No one will listen to him when he tries to explain what’s happening. Tests are performed on him that would likely not have been allowed on a fellow human, but since he is now considered an alien, an outsider, they think nothing of it. After escaping captivity, van der Merwe is forced to hide; he can trust no one. Since he is now neither human nor alien, he has no one to turn to; he is an outsider to all. Being an outsider is portrayed as so unthinkable that van der Merwe actually attempts to cut off his own arm because it is beginning to take on the alien form.

Although still thought of as an outsider by fellow humans, he eventually befriends an alien who confesses to knowing a way to help stop van der Merwe’s transformation into an alien. The alien won’t help him until he is able to help his fellow aliens though, so even though he has begun accepting van der Merwe as less of an outsider, he still doesn’t think of him as a true insider.

Deciding whether this film affirms or challenges my perceptions of what it means to be an outsider is difficult for me. I have always perceived being an outsider as being a loner, whether by choice or circumstance. Some people may choose to be an outsider simply by being themselves and not conforming to other ways of life, while others become outsiders because of their circumstances. It challenges my perceptions in some ways, mostly because of how extreme this movie is. Yes, being an outsider means not having many, if any, friends, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone is out to get you. In this movie once van der Merwe begins his transition into an alien, not only do his friends and family refuse to help him, but other humans begin hunting him. In real life, unless being an outsider means that you are a criminal, you probably aren’t going to be hunted down and taken captive, at least in most cases.

On the other hand, the feeling of loneliness and isolation confirms my perceptions. Even when someone chooses to be an outsider, there are likely times when they would like to be on the inside, and to feel part of a community. When someone is an outsider because of their circumstances, the feeling of isolation is forced upon them just like in the movie.

Being an outsider has its challenges, whatever the circumstances are. When someone is considered an insider, there are people around to help if needed, but outsiders have few people besides themselves to rely on. “District 9” shows how quickly someone can become an outsider, and that it is a lonely and sometimes dangerous position to be in.