District 9

SPOILER ALERT!! If you haven't seen District 9 but plan to, read no further.

Sometimes all we want is to go home. Sometimes the good guys are bad and the bad guys are good. Sometimes us vs. them becomes us vs. us. Sometimes a film is an analogy of racism, segregation, hate crimes, & gay rights not to mention taking advantage of someone you perceive to be less than you!

So is the case with District 9. You know how it is when you root the bad guy to get killed in the end or for the dirty cop to get caught, or for the strings to get cut from the one pulling them all. It's a sense of relief, accomplishment, believing all can be made right in the world. I had that moment where I silently applauded at a scene near the end of the film.

I went on this ride and was very invested in the one of us (humans) trying to help one of them (aliens). I was rooting for the one of them to get back home. I couldn't wait for the leader of the human military unit to get what was coming to him.

Life changed, and quickly for one man. A good man, just trying to do his job, please his father-in-law boss, and love his wife and family. When he was no longer like one of us he became a commodity. His government turned on him led by his father-in-law. Isn't it amazing how when a person is different we have to fight to not change the way we treat them.

We need to treat each other with respect. We need to treat the person without a limb where there once was one, the person with cancer where there was none, the person with AIDS that was once disease free, with respect. All of us deserve respect and compassion with the hope that we will be treated the same if something should "change" in our own lives.

The changed man, the hero, in the film District 9 set out firstly to help the alien creatures get back to the mother ship for selfish reasons then helping for the right reasons prevailed. It was one alien and his son. Getting back home was the only thing the aliens wanted. We, the humans, quarantined them and prevented them from leaving. Why?? Did we think we knew better what to do? Did we just not try to understand them? Did we think we were right? Was is out of fear? Is it so easy to just point a gun and say "Do what I tell you?" Maybe the one that got away will come back with an army and declare war on us.

Is the war we're still involved in right now because we thought we knew best?