I have had a draft of notes on the District 9 movie for quite a while, but was motivated to post it by the following thread:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Tells The Nigerian Story- A Must Watch
« on: Today at 01:24:34 AM » 
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/652

The talk by Chima at the above site parallels my concerns and reason behind the call for a petition about the District 9 movie. Take the time to listen to this talk, and to read the District 9 notes below.

Also you can still sign the petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/ddd2009/petition.html

DE-CONSTRUCTING THE MOVIE DISTRICT 9
'Debo Oladosu

District 9 is a movie about a group of aliens stranded and floating above Johannesburg, South Africa. It is a movie that talks from both sides of its 'mouth' as it were. It is what you would describe as an animal without head or tail. This characterization fits almost every aspect of the movie EXCEPT one - look for this exception below. Let me start with two innocuous  pointers at the opposites that characterize this movie:

1.  The movies' name District 9 is derived from events surrounding an area named "District 6" in Cape Town, South Africa . Here 6 is turned on its head to make 9.
2.  The movie's posters carry two different messages. On one poster a giant alien is depicted along with the phrase "No Humans Allowed"  and "You are not welcome here". On another, it says "For humans only: Non-humans banned".

The above should convince the reader that the conflicting messages related in this movie are deliberate. In case you are not convinced this is how writer and director Blomkamp (an English speaking South African) puts it: "It wouldn't be clear whether or not I actually had a message, but rather that all of these themes that interest me are being presented to the audience, and you can make up your own mind and you can view this hopefully in a somewhat honest environment." (see http://www.cinematical.com/2009/08/14/interview-district-9-director-neill-blomkamp/)
Walking into the theater, I expected  to see the typical alien movie: the human spirit triumphs against all odds in the face of alien superior technology and aggression, that kind of thing. What I found was double-speak after double-speak. The list is long:

Double-speak 1:
The aliens had superior technology alright - a massive hovering aircraft with no visible source of energy. They had individual weapons too, 10,000 times (my estimation) more powerful than anything seen on planet earth. It was clear that these aliens could take Johannesburg and the planet if only they wanted. Instead District 9 aliens were largely benign creatures. In fact, it was humans that went up to the ship and saved the aliens from a dying condition. During interrogation an alien even said: "we mean you no harm", "we had no choice". Whoever, heard of a peaceful civilization that relies on massively superior weaponry. I guess, the disease that forced these aliens to planet earth also implanted a violence-forgetting/what weapons-are-good-for virus in their brains, transforming them into a docile set of cockroaches to be pushed around.  The excuse Blomkamp gives is that they were worker drones who lost contact with their command center, and therefore unable to make decisions - far-fetched if you ask me.

Double-speak 2:
The "rescued" aliens were camped and 28 years later had grown to almost two million, their camp a slum, and their criminal activities beginning to chafe the South Africans who then called for the aliens to leave their land.  These calls for eviction from District 9 were made by both black and non-black South Africans. However, the sentences "they mus go, they mus jus go" and "at least they are keeping them separate from us" were uttered by only blacks. So now black South Africans in Blomkamp's District 9 world are depicted as xenophobes and segregationists. Sure there were xenophobic attacks in South Africa recently, but the approach in the movie is especially appalling. This is because, though supposedly based on actual events that happened at District Six ("an inner-city residential area in Cape Town, was declared a "whites only" area by the government in 1966, with 60,000 people forcibly removed and relocated to Cape Flats, 25 km (15 mi) away." Blomkamp finds no room for the GREAT CRIME of APARTHEID that actually took place in South Africa in his movie. Yet, he used words uttered by black South African victims of that era today to paint them in the light of xenophobia and segregation. Common sense, honest writing and lack of a hidden agenda would dictate that Blomkamp pay close attention to the crime of apartheid in South Africa and the untold suffering that it produced, even if he also intends to suggest a human side to it. Instead in Blomkamp's world and movie the true victims are accused of exactly the same crime, because they asked for their land back and engaged in rioting. Blomkamp equates death to sleep! In his world a  slap to the face is equal to to a cutting-off of the head.

The rest of the movie largely depicts the "adventures" of a MNU operative, Wikus van der Merwe, tasked with effecting the evacuation of the aliens to a more remote location. MNU - Multi-National United is a private military group.

Double-Speak 3:
Wikus is portrayed as a good-natured operative who at once wants to ensure that the aliens are evicted legally and treated well, but at the same time leaves no one in doubt about his views of the aliens. He repeatedly refers to the aliens as "prawns", a derogatory term based on their appearance. In a scene he is seen walking into an alien breeding room (sort of a human nursery) and disconnecting nutrition from the embryos. In another he gleefully steps on alien babies like cockroaches - "no more prawn he says".

Double-Speak 4:
Even in his insistence on legality Wikus accepts the protest smack of the eviction notice by alien fingers as good enough signature of acceptance.
In his search for aliens Wikus ingested a fluid and began to slowly turn into an alien. This marked the beginning of his role as a victim and eventually a defender of the aliens.

Double-Speak 5:
Wikus' father in-law had used his position at the head of MNU to appoint him to oversee the eviction process. However, he soon discovered that Wikus was growing an alien arm that could also fire alien weaponry. Without hesitation he committed to harvesting Wikus' organs for research - alive, towards acquiring alien weaponry. Such loving father, such wicked businessman.

Double-Speak 6:
In his mad desire to reverse his transformation, keep his love, and avoid capture by MNU soldiers Wikus appeals for the help of an alien named Chris. Chris had escaped from the same house where Wikus ingested the alien "fluid". Wikus discovered that the jar of fluid that caused his transformation, the only one Chris could muster in 20 years of search, was actually fuel for the alien control ship that would allow them to leave the planet - don't you wonder how they came about the urge to leave all of a sudden. As pointed out these aliens had lost contact with the mothership, and as worker drones are incapable of making decisions - that is Blomkamp's story! Under the promise that he would somehow be cured Wikus agreed to a mission to help recover the fluid from MNU headquarters. Once they had the fluid, and Wikus discovered he cannot be cured immediately he knocked Chris out cold and decided to take the ship for himself. Long-story short, he saved the day for the aliens by defending them as the control ship and Chris beamed up to the hovering ship - after a lightbulb came on in his head or something. This is the so-called redemption message Blomkamp wants us to take away from the movie. As he puts it: "So at the end, it's really a story of redemption, and hopefully it should be about the guy who made wrong decisions in his life and been an indirect racist, is laying waste to this group that has been oppressing another group for a whole bunch of years. So hopefully it works on an emotional level first." (see http://www.cinematical.com/2009/08/14/interview-district-9-director-neill-blomkamp/). To tell you the truth I couldn't see this so-called "redemption" story as I watched the movie.

After the above parade of double-speak the reader is probably wondering about the one EXCEPTION I promised above.

Well here it is - THE NIGERIANS were the only group of REAL WORLD people REPEATEDLY referred to in District 9. The NIGERIANS were also the only group in District 9 who were collectively named and had NO GOOD SIDE to them.

Here Blomkamp reveals his true heart. It is the same heart that failed to find room to teach the world about the REAL sordid sins of apartheid South Africa in his movie, yet created an alien race with the gentility and appearance of the cockroach, while aiming to teach a message of redemption about an "indirect racist". If Blomkamp was aiming for a catharsis of his own indirect racism while growing up under the protection of apartheid South Africa, his job is not done.

By the lack of sense displayed in characterizing a nation of 150 million black Africans (Nigerians) as thugs, mercenaries, alien-servicing prostitutes, and witchcraft practicing cannibals who believed that eating the aliens would give them greater power and cure illnesses Blomkamp's heart is colored with racist thinking at the best. Blomkamp even took his show as far as to call the Nigerian gang leader ‘Obasanjo’ - the name of Nigeria's immediate past president. One might have missed this slight of hand in the movie if it had been brief. But no, gory scenes of this group of thugs were repeated again and again. And to be sure, these particular scenes were interlaced with a sort of "Newscast" where a white woman describes in English what you see on the screen.

There is enough caricature of Nigerian citizens floating around without having to deal with a medium of culture in the Western world, which though supposedly for entertainment, has become one of the main means of information and cultural transformation. People take messages from these movies. This, and the money of course, is infact why Blomkamp made District 9, and the message about Nigerians is not only unpalatable, it is untrue and most of all RACIST.

If Blomkamp has a message about bad people he needs to look at recent revelations in the West where  daughters and stolen girls are kept in cages for decades, and produced children for their captors (some of them unrepentant after being caught) like animals. I bet Blomkamp would not make a movie depicting this type of behavior and call such a  family Australians, New Zealanders or  Americans since that would be ridiculous and amount to hate. Most of the population of these nations do not behave or agree with such acts, but more importantly ABHOR it. The same is true for the NIGERIANS. WE ARE NOT thugs, mercenaries, prostitutes or witchcraft practicing cannibals.

Lastly, there is precedent for mass generalization of anecdotes and the result was Hitler and the decimation of 6 million Jews, not to talk of Blomkamp's apartheid South Africa.

i love your write up on district 9, wonderful piece.
what the writer of the movie planned to acheive was using the character is the movie to represent difrent set of people be it a person,group of people or country, but one thing you and every1 has failed to recognise is this,if the aliens are a representaion of a race or certain group of people then so are the people in the movie. there is a discription for this movie,its called 'FICTION', !!!u seem not to realise that there is no movie that comes out that does not have a cast and does not have a persons name mentioned and portrayed as one thing or the other,nigerians were just bloody sentimental about the issue,if nigerians were not called and it was somalia,mozambique, or any other country we would have been less concerned, i say this because people are potrayed in bad light everyday,jews,afghanistans,chinees,libyans, name it,even american(who even potray themselves bad too) but do we frown at others problems, NO!
district 9 is a wonderful movie,lovley storyline that wasnt the conventional alien comes into earth to take over the world recycled crap.thumbs up 4 d movie, nollywood should step up its game.
and one more thing,the hit on obasanjo was not indept enuff,how many people did he kill in the movie?how many has he killed in real life directly and indirectly??i feel they should have painted him darker,he is someone the world knows produced negetivity to his people,there is no nid to cover him,do u want them to use ur name?if they do,what have u done wrong?
another comment i noticed is, 'However, the sentences "they mus go, they mus jus go" and "at least they are keeping them separate from us" were uttered by only blacks. So now black South Africans in Blomkamp's District 9 world are depicted as xenophobes and segregationists', big question is,where were the aliens living?it was the slums,how many white people u know stay in da slums in africa,use Ajegunle as an example?these people wanted the aliens out of thier vicinity,they had every right to.
anyways ur write up is ur view really and it was a good analysis but u can think about it from other angles

becomrich!!

u are slowpoke

and a coward

can only hope, one day u will have the balls to disgrace Benin rep ha

The Author of that piece is just like John McCain: he just doesn't get it!

PS: 80% of nigerian home videos do a far more effective job of displaying Nigerians in a bad light than the movie District 9. I don't see any yahoos petitioning against them.

As much as I adore Chimamanda and want to marry her  , I can not but admit this her write up is rubbish.

She might be a formidable and reputable writer but it is obvious from this critism that movie-script writing is not her forte. She should stick to what she is good at: Novels.

I only read it half way before I thought she is chatting crap and couldn't be bothered reading the rest.

@texazzpete

I cannot but agree with you more. Just look at the home videos we have in nigeria. Is that creativity.
It murders the Mind of Nigerians.

What we see is what we believe in do you blame other countries for portraying us evil? when Our own People Portray we as evil? Nigerians can condemn their leaders but imagine what the people are doing to them selves.

The directors are not writing about good dreams of what a police man should be or what should be the right mind of a government official. Already our youths are bombarded with negative images of Nigeria in the international scene our fake producers and film actors finish them off by acting evil films that make commiting an evil act very simple and acceptable.

imagine you see an home video where the police is Afraid of the armed robber or government official why wont the kid grow up to think that a police man is inferior and doomed to collect bribe?

THE POLICE IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE HIGHEST CIVIL AUTHORITY IN ANY LAND.

GOD BLESS NIGERIA

@ Texazzpete and rethink

It is one thing for one of your own to portray the bad side and traits you demonstrate. It is a completely totally different thing for an outsider (antagonist) to not only potray this but also manufacture ones just to denigrate your type and portray you as irredeemable human thing.

Never, ever try and justify the latter.

Sagamite:

@ Texazzpete and rethink

It is one thing for one of your own to portray the bad side and traits you demonstrate. It is a completely totally different thing for an outsider (antagonist) to not only potray this but also manufacture ones just to denigrate your type and portray you as irredeemable human thing.

Never, ever try and justify the latter.

As a matter of fact, it's even WORSE when we portray ourselves negatively. We're the ones supposed to know better, not any 'outsider' as you put it.
I've heard these same sentiments from many Nigerians, and in my opinion they are just a feeble excuse to justify our innate cowardice as Nigerians to fix our own personal problems. All we're good at is looking for scapegoats to place the blame of our failures on.

texazzpete:

As a matter of fact, it's even WORSE when we portray ourselves negatively. We're the ones supposed to know better, not any 'outsider' as you put it.
I've heard these same sentiments from many Nigerians, and in my opinion they are just a feeble excuse to justify our innate cowardice as Nigerians to fix our own personal problems. All we're good at is looking for scapegoats to place the blame of our failures on.

Completely disagree.

The first part of change or self development is to acknowledge there is a fault and that the fault identification is based on innate understanding or feedback received.

So there is nothing wrong in portraying ourselves negatively as long as it is aimed to help change mindset.

Even if the aim is weaker than that, it is by no means on the same space line with a foreigner fabricating and exaggerating what is wrong with you and trying to ridicule and degenerate you as a people close to not being worthy of the human flesh.

Negative, others are doing it arguments are always useless.

Becos there is a bed-wetter in the family (which you should do everything to remedy) doesn't mean it is alright for someone to piss on you through your the window, and while you are down on your luck too.
Another similar argument is "It took America more than 200 years to develop, so Nigeria at 50 can take its time."

By the way the posted article wasn't written by Chimamanda. Her talk on a parallel subject can be heard at the provided link. The name of the author is on the article.

naijamini

Sagamite:

@ Texazzpete and rethink

It is one thing for one of your own to portray the bad side and traits you demonstrate. It is a completely totally different thing for an outsider (antagonist) to not only potray this but also manufacture ones just to denigrate your type and portray you as irredeemable human thing.

Never, ever try and justify the latter.

texazzpete:

The Author of that piece is just like John McCain: he just doesn't get it!

PS: 80% of nigerian home videos do a far more effective job of displaying Nigerians in a bad light than the movie District 9. I don't see any yahoos petitioning against them.

naijamini:

Negative, others are doing it arguments are always useless.

Becos there is a bed-wetter in the family (which you should do everything to remedy) doesn't mean it is alright for someone to piss on you through your the window, and while you are down on your luck too.
Another similar argument is "It took America more than 200 years to develop, so Nigeria at 50 can take its time."

By the way the posted article wasn't written by Chimamanda. Her talk on a parallel subject can be heard at the provided link. The name of the author is on the article.

naijamini

Ahhhhh!!!

Thank god my baby did not write that. I knew she was smarter than that.

I was reading it and thinking "what crap", and just could not believe she could be writing something like that.

I was not happy condemning my baby in public. But I just had to as the logic was poor.

@Sagamite

I am not sure what you meant by "the logic is poor". Please explain. I "wrote that", but wasn't claiming to be a flim critic - simply describing my interpretation of the movie, which is what matters since viewers are not movie critics by profession.

Most of the piece actually describes the movie - and Blomkamp himself said he aimed to make it difficult to figure out whether he had a message or not. EXCEPT for the parts involving "the Nigerians" of course where the message was clear as day. If you think the movie as described sounds like crap, that is because the movie is actually crappy - not a few patrons walked out of the theater before the movie ended. Others have related the same experience.

Take time to listen to Chimamanda's (ehnn your baby - keep dreaming ) talk.

Thank you.

naijamini

Sagamite:

Ahhhhh!!!

Thank god my baby did not write that. I knew she was smarter than that.

I was reading it and thinking "what crap", and just could not believe she could be writing something like that.

I was not happy condemning my baby in public. But I just had to as the logic was poor.

I would go with a few examples.

naijamini:

Double-speak 1:
The aliens had superior technology alright - a massive hovering aircraft with no visible source of energy. They had individual weapons too, 10,000 times (my estimation) more powerful than anything seen on planet earth. It was clear that these aliens could take Johannesburg and the planet if only they wanted. Instead District 9 aliens were largely benign creatures. In fact, it was humans that went up to the ship and saved the aliens from a dying condition. During interrogation an alien even said: "we mean you no harm", "we had no choice". Whoever, heard of a peaceful civilization that relies on massively superior weaponry. I guess, the disease that forced these aliens to planet earth also implanted a violence-forgetting/what weapons-are-good-for virus in their brains, transforming them into a docile set of cockroaches to be pushed around.  The excuse Blomkamp gives is that they were worker drones who lost contact with their command center, and therefore unable to make decisions - far-fetched if you ask me.

Even though the logic is specious, it is not watertight.

What is wrong with aliens being peaceful? The weapons might be superior weaponary to humans, what makes you sure they don't have inferior weaponary in their galaxy? 

Also, superior weaponary does not necessarily equate to aggressiveness, it might be a defensiveness.

naijamini:

Double-speak 2:
The "rescued" aliens were camped and 28 years later had grown to almost two million, their camp a slum, and their criminal activities beginning to chafe the South Africans who then called for the aliens to leave their land.  These calls for eviction from District 9 were made by both black and non-black South Africans. However, the sentences "they mus go, they mus jus go" and "at least they are keeping them separate from us" were uttered by only blacks. So now black South Africans in Blomkamp's District 9 world are depicted as xenophobes and segregationists. Sure there were xenophobic attacks in South Africa recently, but the approach in the movie is especially appalling. This is because, though supposedly based on actual events that happened at District Six ("an inner-city residential area in Cape Town, was declared a "whites only" area by the government in 1966, with 60,000 people forcibly removed and relocated to Cape Flats, 25 km (15 mi) away." Blomkamp finds no room for the GREAT CRIME of APARTHEID that actually took place in South Africa in his movie. Yet, he used words uttered by black South African victims of that era today to paint them in the light of xenophobia and segregation. Common sense, honest writing and lack of a hidden agenda would dictate that Blomkamp pay close attention to the crime of apartheid in South Africa and the untold suffering that it produced, even if he also intends to suggest a human side to it. Instead in Blomkamp's world and movie the true victims are accused of exactly the same crime, because they asked for their land back and engaged in rioting. Blomkamp equates death to sleep! In his world a  slap to the face is equal to to a cutting-off of the head.

To me, this is just conspiracy theory despiration and a spark of hatred for whites.

Was it not the white SAcans that were removing the aliens and trying to do horrible things to them? So to me, they potrayed the whites worse off.

naijamini:

Double-Speak 3:
Wikus is portrayed as a good-natured operative who at once wants to ensure that the aliens are evicted legally and treated well, but at the same time leaves no one in doubt about his views of the aliens. He repeatedly refers to the aliens as "prawns", a derogatory term based on their appearance. In a scene he is seen walking into an alien breeding room (sort of a human nursery) and disconnecting nutrition from the embryos. In another he gleefully steps on alien babies like cockroaches - "no more prawn he says".

At this point was when I felt the write-up was not up to it and my interesting in reading waned.

Any writer (and I am NOT one) would know, even good people can have bad traits or do bad things.

Even bad people can do good things sometimes. Some people just lack the intelligence to understand the consequences and unfairness of their actions until it is told to them like ABC in nursery schools or it is done back to them in return.

You think all the people that participated in hacking their neighbours to death in Rwanda were ALL bad people?

You think everytime someone experiences racism in a western country, the perpetrator is evil in all aspects of his life?

No. Lack of intelligence to assess a situation in CRITICAL detail can lead to good people doing bad things and is probably the most common scenario when bad things are done.

Unfortunately, as I stated earlier, I stopped reading half way as I found the logic wanting and had to (wrongly) criticise my baby.

And for your info, I hate the makers of the movie, so it is not like if I am defending them. See my posts here:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-326120.0.html

@Sagamite

Your LOGIC is escaping me. Here's why:

You read the following:

[b]Double-speak 2:
The "rescued" aliens were camped and 28 years later had grown to almost two million, their camp a slum, and their criminal activities beginning to chafe the South Africans who then called for the aliens to leave their land.  These calls for eviction from District 9 were made by both black and non-black South Africans. However, the sentences "they mus go, they mus jus go" and "at least they are keeping them separate from us" were uttered by only blacks. So now black South Africans in Blomkamp's District 9 world are depicted as xenophobes and segregationists. Sure there were xenophobic attacks in South Africa recently, but the approach in the movie is especially appalling. This is because, though supposedly based on actual events that happened at District Six ("an inner-city residential area in Cape Town, was declared a "whites only" area by the government in 1966, with 60,000 people forcibly removed and relocated to Cape Flats, 25 km (15 mi) away." Blomkamp finds no room for the GREAT CRIME of APARTHEID that actually took place in South Africa in his movie. Yet, he used words uttered by black South African victims of that era today to paint them in the light of xenophobia and segregation. Common sense, honest writing and lack of a hidden agenda would dictate that Blomkamp pay close attention to the crime of apartheid in South Africa and the untold suffering that it produced, even if he also intends to suggest a human side to it. Instead in Blomkamp's world and movie the true victims are accused of exactly the same crime, because they asked for their land back and engaged in rioting. Blomkamp equates death to sleep! In his world a  slap to the face is equal to to a cutting-off of the head. [/b]

And you accused me of this:

To me, this is just conspiracy theory despiration and a spark of hatred for whites.

Yet you did see not the hatred for blacks and Nigerians in a white man who makes a global movie depicting black people in the most sub-servient positions possible, and propagating caricatures that have been painted of us from time immemorial - aka cannibalism, etc. He named the group of whites in his movie Multi-National United (not Americans, British etc), but he had the THOUGHT PROCESS to name the banal people in his movie Nigerians and their leader Obasanjo - a real nation and immediate past President. Please re-examine your logic here.

I was a bit confused because you supported my view in another post, but you did not read the wholet piece before sending your comments, to see how the GROUP in this movie with no other side but the BAD, TERRIBLE CARICATURE is the NIGERIANS. The only country repeately named and pinned to the se terrible things in the movie. This is my point.

In any case we agree to disaggree, but please note that asking a SINGLE white South African writing a movie about racism not to PAINT TERRIBLE CARICATURES of black people is not hatred for whites. I am a member of the global community and have no hatred for any race, but will defend against hate and racism vehemently.

^^^^^

I saw the hatred of "Nigerians" in the movie. Please read my comments on this thread (even if just my first 10 comments):

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-326120.0.html

What I faulted in your write-up was your proposition that he portrayed "black SAcans" negatively and your belief that it was some racist conspiracy. I think he potrayed white SAcans worse than black SAcans, but he exposed his hatred and disgust for Nigerians.

I thought the movie was some kind of superfluous attempt at telling a human interaction story, in relation to South Africa.
I tend to agree a bit with the OP regarding the alien's superior firepower but inferior 'balls'. I mean, just imagine some British explorer group in the 1700s getting shipwrecked off the coast of Lagos, and allowing the locals to overpower and 'colonize them. At least the alien roaches could have made some sort of attempt to negotiate their way into some kind of peaceful(?) co-existence, at least to buy some time.

As per the portrayal of Nigeria and Nigerians . . . really, guys. Russians, Eastern Europeans, Chinese and Hispanics are regularly portrayed in Hollywood movies as a bunch of crude, mindless, but ineffectual criminals. That's why you see like a bunch of 200 gangsters taken out by a single gung-ho action hero. For the Asians, they simply suck in the publicity, use the press to build their own film industry, and cheerfully reinforce the stereotype. Who gives a crap, really?

A colleague just pointed me to one review of Transporter 3, in which the critics were wondering why the Eastern Europeans were still trying to join the EU, what with all the bad movie time they seem to be getting. Abi?

AjanleKoko:

As per the portrayal of Nigeria and Nigerians . . . really, guys. Russians, Eastern Europeans, Chinese and Hispanics are regularly portrayed in Hollywood movies as a bunch of crude, mindless, but ineffectual criminals. That's why you see like a bunch of 200 gangsters taken out by a single gung-ho action hero. For the Asians, they simply suck in the publicity, use the press to build their own film industry, and cheerfully reinforce the stereotype. Who gives a crap, really?

These list are portrayed in certain ways to help a movie plot.

In this District 9, some of the portrayals were developed to portray Nigerians as sub-humans and it was unnecessary as it had no relevance to the plot in anyway.

What is all dis rubish that i am readding

This has nothing to do with the little battles of whether Nollywood is giving Nigeria a bad name outside. All the bad nollywood films in the world cannot start a xenophobic attack on Nigerian's outside the country. Bad Nollywood stories is small potatoes compared to the Institutionalization of Nigerian Hatred that can happen with just 2 No 1 Blockburster Hollywood films.

This is not about Nollywood or Yahoo Yahoo, this is about a deliberate effort to tone down reasoning and inteligence in order to drive home a racist view simple. If Nollywood is telling bad stories, that is our problem, but who gives those basterds the right to tell a bad story about Nigeria and expect us to accept it as if it is a nollywood film,  What Nonsense.

We have forums to discuss and improve nollywood productions, and if at the end of the day we dont improve then that is our cup of tea. But that does not mean that some racist ignorammous somewhere should now start planting and watering trees of hatred all around.
.enough is enough joh !!!!

As the old saying goes, " It is only a basterd that will point the way to his father's house with his left hand"

Sagamite:

These list are portrayed in certain ways to help a movie plot.

In this District 9, some of the portrayals were developed to portray Nigerians as sub-humans and it was unnecessary as it had no relevance to the plot in anyway.

Sagamite,
Have you seen Liam Neeson's 'Taken'?

Sagamite:

Nope.

See, the movie was about a couple of American girls kidnapped in Paris by a gang of bloodthirsty Albanians.
One of the girls had a dad who was some tough ex-bogeyman, and he promptly flies into town, fists, guns and kicks flying in all directions, and busts through a bunch of Albanian gangsters, corrupt French cops, and rich Saudi buyers of white sex slaves, killing all in his path, till he rescues his daughter.

I don't agree that the presence of the Nigerians had little or no relevance to the plot. They were portrayed as the only group with enough balls to engage the aliens. While the MNF was busy with their army of scientists and strongmen, they simply used their native intel and hustling ability to push for control of the weapons. I kinda like that, because it truly portrays us for what we really are, an crude but innately ambitious bunch, without the refined tactics of the West, but with ultimately the same motives.

AjanleKoko:

They were portrayed as the only group with enough balls to engage the aliens. While the MNF was busy with their army of scientists and strongmen, they simply used their native intel and hustling ability to push for control of the weapons. I kinda like that, because it truly portrays us for what we really are, an crude but innately ambitious bunch, without the refined tactics of the West, but with ultimately the same motives.

Is that all there is to you? Is that who you really are? CRUDE and INNATELY AMBITIOUS, WITHOUT THE REFINED TACTICS OF THE WEST, BUT ULTIMATELY THE SAME MOTIVES ?
Of all the 4 attributes you only have one clearly possitive one.

My friend that is you and you cannot speak for the rest of us

AjanleKoko:

See, the movie was about a couple of American girls kidnapped in Paris by a gang of bloodthirsty Albanians.
One of the girls had a dad who was some tough ex-bogeyman, and he promptly flies into town, fists, guns and kicks flying in all directions, and busts through a bunch of Albanian gangsters, corrupt French cops, and rich Saudi buyers of white sex slaves, killing all in his path, till he rescues his daughter.

I don't agree that the presence of the Nigerians had little or no relevance to the plot. They were portrayed as the only group with enough balls to engage the aliens. While the MNF was busy with their army of scientists and strongmen, they simply used their native intel and hustling ability to push for control of the weapons. I kinda like that, because it truly portrays us for what we really are, an crude but innately ambitious bunch, without the refined tactics of the West, but with ultimately the same motives.

Again I doubt this your Taken film is similar to the degeneration of Nigerians in this movie.

I don't have problem with Nigerians being portrayed negatively in movies, I have seen several and did not flinch.

But I have problem when the potrayal makes us sub-human and does not in anyway help the storyline.

For example:

1) The most minor is that they did not need to specify Nigerians as the gangsters. The could easily have used the term "local gangsters".

Nigerians are more known for intellectual crime not thuggery abroad.

But at least this one is still bearable. The next 2, I would want to know your opinion.

2) Why state in the movie that Nigerian women postitute themselves with the revolting looking creatures that no sane human would move close to talkless of sleeping with? How did that help the plot? Was there even a need for Nigerian women in the film as apart from that postitution line, they become irrelevant? Why the need for a sexual interaction line when the film never showed an advantage to the aliens? They had their on female aliens. There was no plot that involved a half human, half alien offspring in the movie. So how does the postitution line help the plot? Was their a scenario where this plot was needed such as an unexpected happening whilst the "Nigerian" woman was sleeping with an Alien.

It had no relevance to the plot. It was just a blatant expresssion of disdain towards Nigerians and a cheap way to degenerate an existence as a Nigerian.

3) OK, lets say we are the most cannibalisious on earth. Which sane human would eat such disgusting aliens ENTHUSIATICALLY without even cooking the meat and enjoyed it? Why not show it being cooked? Even cannnibals cook their meat.

Another evidence that the producers had a lot of hate for Nigerians and wanted to portray us as sub-humans.

Omo_Alex:

Is that all there is to you? Is that who you really are? CRUDE and INNATELY AMBITIOUS, WITHOUT THE REFINED TACTICS OF THE WEST, BUT ULTIMATELY THE SAME MOTIVES ?
Of all the 4 attributes you only have one clearly possitive one.

My friend that is you and you cannot speak for the rest of us

Dude, slow your roll.
You don't need to take it personal. That's my view. I didn't claim to speak for you at all

Sagamite:

Again I doubt this your Taken film is similar to the degeneration of Nigerians in this movie.

I don't have problem with Nigerians being portrayed negatively in movies, I have seen several and did not flinch.

But I have problem when the potrayal makes us sub-human and does not in anyway help the storyline.

For example:

1) The most minor is that they did not need to specify Nigerians as the gangsters. The could easily have used the term "local gangsters".

Nigerians are more known for intellectual crime not thuggery abroad.

But at least this one is still bearable. The next 2, I would want to know your opinion.

2) Why state in the movie that Nigerian women postitute themselves with the revolting looking creatures that no sane human would move close to talkless of sleeping with? How did that help the plot? Was there even a need for Nigerian women in the film as apart from that postitution line, they become irrelevant? Why the need for a sexual interaction line when the film never showed an advantage to the aliens? They had their on female aliens. There was no plot that involved a half human, half alien offspring in the movie. So how does the postitution line help the plot? Was their a scenario where this plot was needed such as an unexpected happening whilst the "Nigerian" woman was sleeping with an Alien.

It had no relevance to the plot. It was just a blatant expresssion of disdain towards Nigerians and a cheap way to degenerate an existence as a Nigerian.

3) OK, lets say we are the most cannibalisious on earth. Which sane human would eat such disgusting aliens ENTHUSIATICALLY without even cooking the meat and enjoyed it? Why not show it being cooked? Even cannnibals cook their meat.

Another evidence that the producers had a lot of hate for Nigerians and wanted to portray us as sub-humans.

Bruv, I wish I was this sentimental. But let's look at this thing dispassionately.
It might just be possible that there is some sort stereotyping involved in the casting of Nigerians as 'sub-human'. But hatred? I doubt very much that's the case.
In the 'Taken' movie, the Albanians were cast as bloodthirsty gangsters who stole white women and sold them to Saudi princes that wanted to use them as sex slaves. Hardly a tolerable example of acceptable human behaviour, wouldn't you guys say?
The whole prostitution stuff, as well as the cannibalism, was probably borrowed from all our bad press over the years, i.e. drug courier business, prostitute trafficking to Italy, Clifford Orji and what have you. I mean, just look at half the posts on this thread, or read the Sun or Daily Independent newspaper over the weekend. There is always someone butchering someone according to Nigerian and International press. If i was a foreigner researching the Nigerian persona, that's the kind of feedback I would get, unless I actually decide to come and reside among Nigerians. So don't blame Bloomkampf.