This blog post is for humans only

As of now, I haven't seen most of the films that were nominated for "Best Picture" before the Academy Awards aired last weekend, but one I did catch was "District 9." "The Hurt Locker" took home the prize, but make no mistake, "District 9" is no loser. In short, it's a sci-fi action movie with a brain. It's the classic "aliens invade Earth" scenario, but instead of coming to New York or London intent on destruction, these aliens arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the 1980's, malnourished, sick, and seeking refuge. They are initially welcomed by the humans and housed in a temporary government camp, called District 9. Twenty years later, the "prawns" as they come to be known, are still living in the camp, which has become a slum, and the humans of Johannesburg are growing tired of their presence. A Nigerian warlord has moved into District 9, where he deals in inter-species prostitution and gives the aliens cans of cat food in exchange for their weapons. The Multi-National United company (MNU) wishes to move the aliens to a "better" camp outside of Johannesburg, but in reality they are more interested in studying alien genetics and weapons than in ensuring their well-being. MNU field operative Wikus van der Merwe is the man charged with moving the aliens to the new camp. When he arrives with his team to serve the eviction notices, he is accidentally exposed to a strange alien fluid. He begins to feel ill, and after collapsing at a surprise party at his home that night, he goes to the hospital and discovers that he is beginning to take on alien characteristics. MNU now wants him for genetic and weapons testing, but Wikus escapes and returns to District 9 to seek help. He teams up with an alien who says he can help Wikus become human again if he'll help him return to his ship and get back to his home planet. I read that the director and writer of "District 9," Neill Blomkamp, based the film on his experiences growing up in South Africa during apartheid. In fact, the set for District 9 in the movie was no set at all. It was an actual South African slum, which the filmmakers risked their safety entering every day. The director's driver reportedly had his car stolen at gunpoint one night while driving to the site. Despite the parallels to the real history of Johannesburg though, I actually found the new take on aliens to the be the most interesting part of "District 9." Most science-fiction films depict aliens as hostile creatures who mean to destroy us and take over our planet. But what if this wasn't the case? What if they did show up as poor, hungry, huddled masses? How would the human race react? Considering how cold we tend to be to people of other races and nationalities, it's hard to imagine we would show any kindness to beings from a completely different planet. I thought the idea of setting up government housing for the aliens was probably a vast overestimate of the welcome they would get in reality. I don't know if I believe in aliens or not, but I do know one thing, if they do exist, they're probably much better off wherever they are, far away from Earth.